Musical genius Adele took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a picture for her 32nd birthday. Little did she know, this photo would go on to break the fucking internet.
Throughout the lengthy photo caption, the Grammy award-winning artist thanked fans for their birthday wishes and showed her appreciation for first responders and essential workers “who are keeping us safe while risking their lives.”
But although she made no comments about her weight loss, thousands of people on the internet have felt the need to share their thoughts on her new figure.
Before we begin, let’s just get one thing straight: regardless of her weight, Adele is an undeniably attractive and talented woman. She always has been and always will be.
Ever since photos first emerged of a slimmed-down Adele back in October 2019, she’s made headlines for her weight more than she has for her truly impressive career. Despite her 15 Grammys, her Oscar and her record-breaking musical career, the internet is more obsessed with the fact that she’s shed a few kilos than they are about well… anything else.
I’m not saying you’re in the wrong for noticing (or even commenting) on the fact that Adele has lost a substantial amount of weight. But considering she’s yet to publicly comment on her weight loss journey, it’s a little disappointing to see the internet flooded with comments about how Adele “got hot” or had some incredible “glow up” now that she fits into society’s idea of an acceptable size.
We don’t know why she’s lost weight, how much she’s lost, or how she did it. And frankly, it’s none of our business. She doesn’t owe us an explanation, and she sure as fuck doesn’t deserve to be picked apart on the internet over the number on the scale.
But alas, in the day since the picture was first posted, the internet has been flooded with before and after photos and commentary about how she “won” her breakup, as if she would’ve “lost” had she not shed a few kilos. In a matter of 24 hours, Adele’s ~weight loss journey~ has outshone all of her other incredible achievements, which sends an incredibly problematic message to young, impressionable women.
Considering women comprise 64% of the roughly 913,986 eating disorder sufferers in Australia, the last thing we need to be promoting is extreme weight loss as a way to “win” a breakup or as some sort of major achievement that outshines winning *checks notes* 15 Grammys.
We don’t know anything about Adele’s reasons for losing weight, but by equating her new “skinny” look with an increased value in society, we’re reaffirming the thought that thin is beautiful and that your weight equals your worth.
She was merely trying to thank frontline health workers and celebrate her own birthday, and now we’re treating her weight loss like it’s her next Grammy winning album.
For all we know, this could be a result of an underlying health (physical or mental) condition. We have absolutely no insight into her reasons for losing weight, and we don’t really need it until she chooses to share it with us. It’s not for us to speculate why or how she’s lost the weight, but by making her figure the talking point of the conversation, we’re telling women that being “skinny” is more of an achievement than being creative, intelligent, philanthropic or just a genuinely good person.
Adele has long been a proponent of body positivity at any size, so it’s disappointing to see her extensive list of achievements outshone by her weight loss.
Although the intention of complimenting somebody’s weight loss is almost always pure, the message that we’re sending by flooding social media with commentary about her new figure is that the key to success, beauty and worthiness is a slim figure.
In her 32 years of life, Adele has sold over 120 million records, won an Oscar and 15 Grammys, done some truly impressive philanthropic work with organisations such as MusiCares, raised a child and been a mostly unproblematic role model for young people to look up to. Let’s just stick to praising her long list of other achievements.
Regardless of her weight, Adele has always been a brilliant talent and a genuinely good role model for women.l. If you’re feeling insecure about your weight, I’d suggest you take the advice Adele gave Mirror back in 2012.
“I think no matter what you look like, the key is to first of all be happy with yourself. And then you know if you want to try to improve things that you don’t like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself.”
If you want to talk about Adele, you can talk about how much of a certified banger Rolling In The Deep is.
If you are suffering from disordered eating or an eating disorder, there is help. Contact The Butterfly Foundation or Lifeline. If you are in immediate danger, call 000
