You'll never guess who the media decided is fat now....

By ELIZABETH PLANK

Now that Kim Kardashian is no longer pregnant and the clap trap about Kate Middleton not being able to gain a significant amount of weight before she delivered, is at an end… the body police is running out of celebrities they can exploit to give you body dysmorphia. Instead of going for the usual unflattering pictures of Tyra Banks or Kate Upton bending down in awkward angles, they decided to pick the most visibly overweight celebrity they could find: Kate Moss.

Yes. Kate Moss is fat now, guys. Deal with it. Go home, skip the gym and eat a cheeseburger because there’s just no point in trying anymore. The Sun‘s article entitled “Even Supermodels Can Have Off Days!” is predictably hair-raising.

If Kate Moss, may I repeat KATE MOSS is overweight, what does that make the rest of us non-supermodels? It literally feels like the media has decided to troll women’s bodies and intentionally spam us with their flaws, deliberately spreading insecurities to every woman around the world.

Here’s a glimpse of The Sun‘s hard-hitting photo-journalism, minus the topless photo they just decided to plop in there. It comes to no surprise since the U.K. newspaper features a topless woman every single day in its infamous page 3. Because the only thing that’s better than coffee with your newspaper, is a topless lady!

Exhibit A: Behold, Kate Moss’ scandalous back fat. 

Ew! Look at those totally invisible love handles totally not hanging over her bathing suit! What’s up those two fat pockets between her tail bone and her legs? How dare she have a butt? I’m pretty sure it’s a moral obligation for supermodels to have those surgically removed now.

You can see the image here

Exhibit B: This photo shows clear evidence of a stomach. 

You can see the image here.

Exhibit C: When she bends down, there’s an almost fold in her stomach. Did you catch it? No? Look harder. It’s between right between her two minuscule arms. Right above her tiny thighs.

I can’t even look at this!  Why is she relaxing when she should be stressing out about her weight? Why is she drinking when she could be exercising? Why is she talking when she could be counting calories? She could at least suck in her belly in between her sips of wine. Women these days …

You can see the image here

Exhibit C: She looks totally different from the way she used to.

The Sun made sure to find a picture from last year where she virtually looks the EXACT same and points out how much more “toned” she looks. I guess everyone looks 10 pounds lighter when they’re not crouching over or getting out of a pool with a wet bathing suit.

You can see the image here

Note to self ladies, while on vacation: Never. Sit. Down.

Sure, Kate Moss is a model. She makes a profession out of her body so it’s fine for that to be the focus of her media attention. Despite that, we still need to think about what this kind of body scrutiny does to women and girls. What happens when the media tells them that even when they’re a size 2, they’re too fat? This kind of exposé warns women that they will always be watched and that they will always be picked apart, no matter where they are or what they’re doing.

This “omnipresent surveillance,” discussed by Foucault, implicitly encourages women to internalize this form of policing and women become their own disciplinarians. They watch themselves because they never know when they are being watched. The consequences can be fatal.

Eating disorders are on the rise and although the media can’t be fully blamed, it’s partially responsible. It’s time for the media to take responsibility for the harm it causes. It’s also time for us to stop consuming it. Let’s vote with our wallets. Let’s buy with ours minds. Let’s stop supporting those who don’t support women and take the wind out their sails.

You can start by signing the change.org petition to end The Sun‘s display of topless women on the third page of its newspaper.

What do you think about The Sun’s treatment of Kate Moss? Upsetting? Outrageous? Atrocious?

This was first published on Policy Mic and has been republished here with full permission.

Elizabeth Plank is the Viral Content & Social Justice Editor at PolicyMic. She has a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and is a behavioral science connoisseur, feminist crusader and recovering cake addict. You can follow her on Twitter at @feministabulous or on Facebook here.