It was an explosive 13 minutes of dancing, singing and acrobatics – entertaining millions of fans watching Super Bowl 2017. But instead of concentrating on Lady Gaga’s epic halftime performance, critics took to social media to comment on her weight.
In response, the performer posted on Instagram, “I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too…”
Why are female performers and athletes subjected to such scrutiny and how can we change perceptions?
Catherine Sabiston, professor in U of T’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, and her graduate student Eva Pila explain why these comments are common, their negative effects and how Lady Gaga’s reaction helps to change the narrative.
Why is society still focusing on women’s bodies rather than their performance?
EP: The Super Bowl is an elite performance of two of the best US football teams, and the halftime show is supposed to be a spectacle. It was an amazing show, but the focus wasn’t on how well Lady Gaga performed, but rather on what her body looked like. It’s not surprising in some ways, but it shows that as a society, we are much more concerned about how women’s bodies look rather than how their bodies function and perform.
CS: There is a long history of research demonstrating that men are judged on performance in sport and women are evaluated on their appearance. This extends to how female athletes are portrayed in the media. When reporters describe women, there will be more discussion about emotion, social aspects and body talk. For men, it’s all about preparation, skill and performance.
We haven’t come very far when we see that Eugenie Bouchard was criticized for caring more about how she looked than how she performed in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Other media coverage focused on female sprinters’ nails.
What did you think of Lady Gaga’s reaction to the negative comments?
EP: Her acknowledgement of the weight commentary was great to see. When she outwardly rejected the criticism, she showed self-compassion and she counteracted the public shaming of her body with pride.
CS: Outwardly she’s suggesting she’s okay, but these negative comments are hard on a person. Knowing she has a history with eating disorders and issues with her weight, there’s absolutely no way those comments didn’t resonate with her in some way. I would have preferred to hear her say that the comments really bothered her but that she’s proud of her body – I think she would have made a stronger statement if she had acknowledged the negative impact.
What do you think of the backlash to the social media criticism?
CS: It’s great that people are defending her. But the challenge is the need to defend body image in the first place. The fact that we’re even having this discussion shows that accepting people’s bodies as they are is not the norm.
EP: Beyond support from the general public, many fitness bloggers have also responded to the criticism. Despite profiting from posting photos of their perfectly sculpted bodies, fitness bloggers are now showing their staged photos and are comparing them to normal images with unflattering lighting, camera angles and poses. They’re helping to change the conversation by showing that even fitness models have belly rolls and visible fat.
How can we combat self-criticism and obsession with body image?
EP: A lot of these issues are perpetuated by society’s stigmatization and bias of weight. It’s a common misconception that weight is easily controlled and easily targeted with diet and exercise. These ideas contribute to criticism at an individual level and weight bias at a societal level. A lot of people struggle with weight and being compassionate to ourselves and others can help reduce the bias and criticism around weight.
CS: There’s a continuous need to stop the commentary in the beginning. There has to be a social movement to have it be unacceptable to put these comments out there. We see the impact of these comments regularly in our research with young girls. Parents, peers and coaches need to intervene and stop these weight conversations so that they don’t become internalized and ultimately impact women’s self-esteem and confidence.