Cheryl Burke of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars is addressing recent criticism that she’s “too fat.”  It seems that viewers and bloggers have been critical of Cheryl, who (according to the dancer herself) gained 5 pounds this summer.  That 5 pound weight gain (and who among us HASN’T gone up and down 5 pounds here and there) left Cheryl a whopping size….. FOUR.  Yep, that’s right.  Fans of the show are criticizing Cheryl for being a SIZE FOUR!!!

Have we really gotten to the point where we look at a size 4 woman, who is physically active and in far better shape than most Americans will ever be, and call her FAT?! 

Part of the problem is that Americans have been flooded with images of pencil-thin actresses who are engaging in unhealthy, unrealistic, and dangerous activities to be thin– such as starving themselves, spending hours each day in the gym, smoking instead of eating, and God knows what else– and it is by these super-skinny standards that we now judge other women and ourselves!

American starlets have become progressively thin over the last decade.  Kate Moss took over where shapelier models like Cindy Crawford left off… Stylist Rachel Zoe (whose oversized sunglasses weigh more than she does) and her legion of Zoe-bots (starlets like Joy Bryant, Mischa Barton, Debra Messing and Lindsay Lohan) are so thin that they sometimes look unhealthy.  Many of today’s female stars are almost absent of breasts and hips, sporting figures so slim their bones are often visible in photos.  Popular actresses such as Keira Knightley, the Olsen twins, Calista Flockhart and Nicole Kidman among others, are so thin that fashion designers were inspired last year to create clothing sizes for women SMALLER THAN SIZE ZERO.  Give us a friggin’ break!  

Unfortunately, trends like this are influencing our young girls and teens, and even influencing grown women.  At one point or another, most of us have judged our own bodies based on the unrealistically thin bodies we see on actresses and models on television, the silver screen and in magazines.  But by doing so, aren’t we holding ourselves to standards that the average person simply can’t meet? While most of us may just feel a little bad about not fitting in those size 6 jeans or get a little down about being a little more “jiggly” than we’d like, for those more easily influenced by the images they see, Hollywood’s obsession with all-things-thin can lead to dangerously unhealthy behaviors such as anorexia, bulimia and body dysmorphic disorder.

Luckily, some stars are beginning to embrace their womanly curves once again.  Jessica Simpson has embraced her curvy frame and no longer seems hell bent on being a size 0. Former Rachel Zoe client Nicole Richie famously dropped to a frighteningly low weight while working with Zoe, though Zoe denied having anything to do with the weight loss.  But since dropping Zoe as her stylist, the petite Nicole has maintained a healthier and slightly curvier figure, and we think she looks more lovely than ever.  And men are sending messages that (too) thin is definitely not in, as new mom Halle Berry- post baby curves and all- was recently voted Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive.  Other curvier stars like Tyra Banks, America Ferrarra and Jennifer Hudson have all begun to prove just how beautiful curves can be!

As for Cheryl Burke? She’s fighting back against the criticism she’s received in an effort to combat the attacks that she’s overweight.  She told People magazine in a recent interview, “I want kids or women out there to realize you don’t have to be anorexic to be beautiful. There’s a lot of pressure living this Hollywood life. People expect to see you at a certain weight and when you gain a few pounds then all of a sudden it’s the talk of the week.” 

So just in case Hollywood or Burke’s critics haven’t heard, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES!

FWO-ForWomenOnline!