Gossip rag US Weekly decided to celebrate Reese Witherspoon’s 38th birthday with a look back at her bikini body over the years.
Or in other words, “Happy Birthday Reese, now let’s all judge her body!”
UGH.
There are so many other accomplishments the US tabloid could’ve pointed to like (as E! Online did) her best movie roles.
Witherspoon first starred in The Man in the Moon at age 15, so that’s 23 years of seminal roles that could’ve been showcased, including her Very Important Role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.
Given that’s she’s an actor, we dunno, it kind of makes COMPLETE sense.
Another media outlet, The Huffington Post, chose to celebrate her birthday by writing a post about how much she looks like her mother at age 38. Sure, it’s not an unexpected conclusion to make (that a daughter would one day look a lot like her mother) but it’s still better than publishing photos of her ‘bikini body.’ And don’t even get us started on how much we loathe the term bikini body.
Whether intentional or not, posting a gallery of someone’s body throughout the years is an open invitation for others to body shame.
If you take a look some of the 213 comments on US Weekly’s Facebook page, the responses range from slamming the publication to celebratory (You go girl!) and downright bitchy.
“It’s funny that years alive are counted by your bikini pics not living a good life. Go US weekly!” says Facebook user Kit Fitzsimmons.
Another user, Sharon Maceyak, says: “Seriously US? I’m sure Reese really appreciated you posting all of the unflattering photos your paparazzi has taken over the years. Her career would have been a better choice (yes I am a US fan and read your magazine occasionally).”
And then there are the predictably awful and insulting comments that will make you lose all faith in humanity.
Erin Redhot Harris-Butler: “She looks like she’s 57.”
Frances Tapia: “In that blue bikini she does not look amazing.”
Tiffany Purifoy: “That’s not a amazing body, she looks normal and if she’s happy good for her! The comments that’s a moms body is false I know “moms” who look way better!”
But it was one commenter in particular who summed up the mood perfectly, “Yeah because at 38 and a mother of three, I want people to look at my bikini body,” says Mandy Moya Krause.
This isn’t the first time that gossip magazines have linked a female celebrity’s weight to her worth, here’s just a small sample:
Top Comments
Magazine sales are dropping. Most of my friends and I stopped buying glossy mags years ago - they're just full of ads.
I then looked at the Women's Weekly/New Idea et al and thought. why did I just buy this - I couldn't find an answer and so I stopped buying them too.
Still the mag publishers don't get that objectifying women or being mean about "celebrities" is very boring - people are waking up to themselves and don't want to contribute to the paparazzi rubbish behaviour.
Magazine publishers please pay attention - we don't care! We don't care about anyones "bikini body", the latest diet, who is getting divorced or misbehaving - we have lives of our own and are too busy to care about what people we don't really know, are doing.
It's actually quite derogatory and annoying... She's a mother of 3 who appears to have her head screwed on straight, who works hard, and actually seems nice. Leave her alone US