Founder and CEO of Wonder Woman Writer, Jennifer Palumbo, has hit out at “privileges” for slimmer people as she criticised the “misconception” that “all people who are overweight are lazy”.
This follows new data suggesting around two thirds of Americans are classed as ‘morbidly obese’.
Appearing on GBN America, host Patrick Christys questioned if celebrating being plus size is “encouraging people to be quite unhealthy”.
Palumbo argued that the average woman is “around a size 14 to 16”, which is “already considered plus size” in America.
Jennifer Palumbo has hit out at privileges for ‘slim’ people
Getty / GBN America
Palumbo said those who are overweight often face negative side effects such as “depression, low self-esteem, and sometimes a connection to drug use”.
She added that in an age of social media, we should encourage women to “be realistic” about their size, but often the average body sizes for an American woman are “not the sizes we’ve been seeing in the media”.
Jennifer Palumbo says many clothing shops ‘do not stock sizes past a size 10’
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In a discussion about the “privileges” for slimmer women, Palumbo said many clothing stores are not making clothes “really designed for larger women”, and often the options are “very limiting” for those of a bigger size.
Palumbo explained: “When you go shopping, a lot of the clothes are not really designed for larger women. I don’t want to name stores, but there are certain ones where they don’t go higher than size ten.”
She also argued that there are other circumstances which are limiting to those who are of a larger size, such as flying and struggling to “fit into a seat and the seat belt”.
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Palumbo told GBN America: “I just think it’s unfair. You never really know someone’s medical profile or what efforts that they’re making to lose weight.
“Also, I do think in terms of the gym, there’s endless stories online of heavier people going to the gym and being fat shamed. And that makes them not want to go to the gym anymore”.
Defending the body positivity movement, Palumbo continued: “I think that’s kind of where the movement comes into place, it is to accept that not everyone looks one way, not everyone can look one way. And we need to be okay with that.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to be tall and thin like Kate Moss. And at some point I’ve got to accept I’m an Italian curvy woman who has hips. And this is who I am, and that is who she is.”
Jennifer Palumbo says being overweight is ‘not a choice’
GBN America
Host Patrick Christys argued that often women as well as men are “held to an unfair standard”, adding that male models are “tall and skinny and unrealistically beautiful”, similar to female models.
He asked Palumbo: “I can completely accept that, but one thing I wasn’t aware of was people like Adele and Rebel Wilson getting online abuse for ‘leaving the fat lifestyle’. Is that true?”
Palumbo replied: “It absolutely is true. Women tend to so be judged by their bodies, and women who are overweight kind of felt like they had a beautiful representative to be like, see, we can be beautiful and overweight.
“But I think they felt betrayed when these women lost weight, which is unfair.”
