In the past few weeks we’ve seen celebrities such as Kelly Clarkson and Pink body shamed online, and while these women were criticized for not being ‘skinny’ enough, online body shaming isn’t restricted to just celebrities deemed overweight. Recently fitness model Sarah Stage was heavily criticized for being so fit during her 9 months of pregnancy that she and her baby couldn’t possibly be healthy.  Sarah repeatedly posted picture of her bare baby bump on her Instagram page where she was constantly shamed for being too vain and thus not gaining enough weight to ensure her unborn child was properly nourished.

It seems in the world of celebrity your damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Kelly Clarkson perhaps, had the best response to her online critics, telling Redbook Magazine “There are just some people who are born skinny and with a great metabolism–that is not me. I wish I had a better metabolism. But someone else probably wishes they could walk into a room and make friends with everyone like I can. You always want what someone else has.”

Sarah Stage shut her haters down when she delivered a healthy baby boy weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds and 7 ounces. She posted this picture to Instagram of her 4 days postpartum body, making most of us incredibly jealous.

 Again, her focus has been on ‘healthy’ the entire time. Kelly’s has been on ignoring the critics and simply being happy. I’m a bit worried though about the response of some other celebrities. 

Pink was openly criticized for her appearance after a night out at an awards dinner where her friend was being celebrated. After reading numerous critical comments about her weight, she took to her twitter account and posted a variety of pictures and comments, defending her look. She explained that maybe her dress didn’t photograph as well as she thought it looked, and that her husband just said that there’s more of her to love, and that she explains to her daughter that the reason she’s so squishy is because she’s happy. This is what Pink looked like.

I’m not saying that Pink doesn’t have the right to defend herself against the idiots of the world who seem to have nothing better to do than critique a woman’s figure. I do have a problem with her seeming to acknowledge that she may be bigger than she should be. By saying that her dress photographed better in her kitchen and that her husband says there’s more to love is saying that she might be bigger now but that’s ok. Of course it’s ok to be whatever size you are, but let’s face it; Pink is probably a size 6. Definitely not what I would call ‘voluptuous’ or ‘squishy’ or a size that requires any explanation whatsoever.

Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are two young celebrities who have been taking a stand as well recently about body image and shape on their instagram accounts. Lovato, who has undergone treatment for depression and an eating disorder has been very vocal about being happy with herself in the past few years, as she should be because she’s a gorgeous and talented young woman. She posted this photo to her Instagram account the other night with the caption ‘Phuckkk yo thigh gap….#latinacurves.’ 

Selena Gomez was also criticized after pictures of her vacationing in Mexico hit the gossip blogs. The pictures showed a very adorable Gomez enjoying herself with friends on the beach while wearing a bathing suit that one might call ‘unflattering.’ Naturally, because people are awesome, Selena was met with her own body shaming criticisms prompting her to post this picture to Instagram with the caption ‘ I love being happy with me yall #theresmoretolove.’

So once again, here’s my issue. While I love that Demi and Selena and Pink are laying new ground in what should be the new normal for celebrities—women with healthy bodies who aren’t starving themselves to fit in to dresses that are a size 000—they also shouldn’t be claiming that they’re the poster children for the ‘curvy’ or ‘voluptuous’ woman. 

What is Demi Lovato – a size 4, maybe? I’d honestly give Selena probably a size 2. Look at these two pictures she posted recently after the weight criticisms – this is not a woman with ‘more to love.’

This is a healthy, fit woman who is setting the right example for her young fans. My issue comes with these celebrities embracing their new healthy lifestyle, but then claiming that they’re voluptuous or curvy or that there’s ‘more to love’ of them.  What I want them to say is that they’re healthy and happy and still ridiculously fit with gorgeous figures. That they’re enjoying life instead of working out relentlessly and constantly dieting to maintain a body size that isn’t attainable for anyone who doesn’t have a personal trainer and chef at the ready. What I don’t want them to say is that they’re curvy or voluptuous because then they’re claiming something that isn’t true, and the women who are curvy and voluptuous don’t deserve to have to compare themselves to Demi Lovato or Pink.

Ideally every woman, regardless if they’re a celebrity or not, shouldn’t have to validate their weight or how they look in a bathing suit. I’m happy to see celebrities trending towards healthier body shapes because I think it’s safe to say that they and their perfect bodies were setting unrealistic body weight goals for the rest of us.  Celebrities though that look like Pink, Demi Lovato or Selena Gomez who claim to be ‘voluptuous’ and ‘curvy’ are about as relatable to me as super skinny celebrities.  If this is what’s passing for ‘curvy’ and ‘voluptuous’ these days then most of us normal women are in trouble, because celebrities are once again setting a body standard that regular women won’t be able to attain.