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Opinion: Don't Pressure Us to Fit Into Our Teen Jeans, Brooke
Filed under: Celeb Kids, Celeb Parents, Extreme Childhood, Opinions, Diet & Fitness, Beauty & Style, Celeb News & Interviews
Apparently, not even 30 years, two kids and good sense comes between Brooke Shields and her Calvins.
This week, in an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the 45-year-old model, mom and actress revealed that she still fits into the famous Calvin Klein jeans she wore 30 years ago in her controversial jeans ad for the designer's denim.
"They didn't look pretty," she offered, "but they fit."
In case you've blocked out the '80s -- the decade of "Flashdance" leg warmers and "Working Girl" hair -- let me refresh your memory.
The innuendo-packed 1980 Calvin Klein ad features 15-year-old Shields sitting provocatively with her legs spread open, whistling "My Darling Clementine" (what's that about?) and suggestively offering, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."
Thirty years ago, I was 18 and had no clue why everyone thought the ad was such a big deal. But when I watch the commercial today as a mother with two kids of my own, I definitely get it. And, by "it," I mean that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you watch an innocent teenage girl being sexualized for commercial gains.
I'm happy to say that I don't think this type of commercial could be made in the United States today. At least, not if celebrities such as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, who just this week launched a campaign to fight child sex trafficking, have their way.
But, soft-core child porn aside, Shields' appearance on "Ellen" really struck another chord with me. After admitting that she squeezed into her Calvins, the actress continued: "I got those suckers zipped up ... I looked like a sausage in them, but I was going to get them zipped up if it was the last thing I did, so I could say that I fit into them."
Wow, Pretty Baby, great message for all the mature women out there.
Shields apparently recognizes that focusing on looks and beauty can be destructive to a young girl's self-esteem. During the interview, she tells DeGeneres that she would never look at herself in the mirror during her early modeling years and that she never actually thought she looked good.
And, when the TV host comments that people tell little girls they're pretty all the time, Shields remarks: "They start to put value in that ... people say it to my girls all the time ... I always say to them, 'Pretty is only as good as you are smart and strong and confident.' "
That's a great message -- for girls of all ages. Because, in an age when experts are now seeing a serious surge in eating disorder diagnoses in women 30 and older, it's not OK to convey to our generation that we should desperately be trying to regain that "teen nymph" look.
To be fair, I don't think Shields had any intention of slighting or offending -- after all, she has been a strong, outspoken role model for moms. Her remarks are likely the unfortunate remains of her own struggles with self-image.
We are a generation of women who grew up with the message that we had to be thin and beautiful to matter in this world, and secretly swore we would do better with our daughters. Because, no matter how many times you tell your daughters that they're powerful and smart, they'll only believe it if they see it modeled by you.
And, frankly, I may not be able to fit into the jeans I wore when I was 15, but I'll gladly trade those jeans for being comfortable with who I am as a woman, and demonstrating to my daughter that true beauty is way more than just a number on a label or a scale.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-26-2010 @ 7:52PM
Juls said...As a product of the 80's I still have many of my jeans worn back then!!The cut is all wrong, and not anything that I would want my daughter to wear. I know I have some body issues-like watching your body age sucks!!!!!!! However, logically I know my twenties are not going to be repeated. Although, my weight remains about the same, it is not 20 anymore. My daughter, although picky about what she wears, has an excellent sense of self-I hope that sticks with her through life.
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9-27-2010 @ 5:32PM
jan said...Well said SGT_Williams.
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9-28-2010 @ 9:19AM
John said..."Wow, Pretty Baby, great message for all the mature women out there." and "To be fair, I don't think Shields had any intention of slighting or offending". HUH??? Brooke Shields is a beautiful woman who probably works hard at staying slim and looking good. Should all women just let themselves go to seed when they become "mature"? How did she possibly slight or offend? Ellen DeGeneres ASKED her if she tried them on! Brooke answered truthfully and was even self-deprecating by stating that she looked like a "sausage" in them. As a man, I appreciate women who make an effort to look good instead of gorging themselves on food and avoiding exercise then blaming their pudgy shape on middle age.
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9-28-2010 @ 12:30PM
dmom1 said...Sensitive much? The whole premise of the article is rediculous. She didn't starve herself to get in them. Nor did she suggest that grown women should still look like teenagers, She certainly doesn't. She just tried them on & was determined to zipper them up. Typical female behavior. Why didn't you rip apart the special K ad that had a mother living off cereal to reclaim her premom jeans from her teenage daughter? No wonder some parents are hysterical these days, Knock it off Chicken Little. The sky isn't falling & mIllions of girls will not starve themselves because someone they would consider a has been tried on a famous pair of jeans.
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10-03-2010 @ 10:05AM
Momof2 said...Oh please! I saw this interview and Brooke Shields never "pressured" anyone into fitting into their teen jeans. It's unfair (if not just downright misleading) to characterize what she said as advocating that everyone else should try to fit into theirs, and she never claimed doing so was an aspiration of hers. While she was ABLE to get into her old jeans (and was pleased with herself for having maintained a slim weight into maturity), she also recognized that her mature shape was not flattered by her teenage pants. And, she made it absolutely clear in the interview that for girls' self images, it was and should be more than about their looks. She spoke wisely throughout from the perspective of someone who knew.
Just because someone has had children doesn't mean their bodies have to become dumpy middle aged bodies, and to criticize someone for not looking dumpy in middle age speaks more about the author's image of herself than Brooke Shields. Frankly, Americans should worry more about their weight considering that a majority are overweight and a third are clinically obese! Why would the author try to justify "love the way you look" when "the way you look" may be killing you?
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10-04-2010 @ 4:00PM
sugardaisy said...Honey, do I detect a bit of jealous? Why do women always hide behind the erroneous belief that they are just "expected" to gain weight as they age? That is nonsense. I had two children, ate right, excercised, and I am the same size I was in my late teens. Now, if you have a growth spurt in height after that time it would be expected that you would be a larger size, but in that case I would say that if you were a normal weight at 21, you should be within 5 pounds of that for the rest of your life. Women should stop getting fat and blaming babies and getting older for it. Put down the fork and quit being lazy about your looks. Congratulations to Brooke!
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10-15-2010 @ 8:44AM
sonja said...that is great for you, but I eat right and have had four babies and my body will never be the same...I eat less than most people and I keep pretty busy, but the weight I gained while pregnant WON'T come off...so maybe we aren't all as lucky as you...
2-11-2011 @ 11:33AM
sayso said...There is no way I could fit into any of my clothes from when I was a teen and with good reason- I finally look like a woman! Back then I had a flat chest and no hips. I was a late bloomer. Now, as a 26 yr old mother of two I finally have curves in the right places! Who cares about back then?!?!
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