Amy Schumer is really not letting this whole “plus-sized Glamour Magazine” thing go. In case you aren’t up-to-date, let me explain. Last week Glamour released a “Special Edition” all-plus-sized issue in collaboration with retailer Lane Bryant. The magazine included a coverline that read, “Women who Inspire Us: Melissa McCarthy, Adele, Amy Schumer, & Ashley Graham.” Well A-Shu was NOT okay with this. She took to social media to call out the magazine for including her name.
So that was last week. Last night, Amy was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and she was quick to bring up what I’m going to now call “Glamour Gate.” (Clever, right? You can use it if you want.) Right off the bat, she sat down in the Tonight Show armchair alongside Jimmy and said, “For those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m a famous plus-size model.”
She then used the platform to go on and explain again her issues with the whole thing. She said, “I love Glamour Magazine, honestly. They’ve been so nice to me. They’ve done so many great things for women. But what I learned is people really don’t like being categorized by ‘plus-size.’ We don’t need these labels. We don’t need them. It should just say what size you are, right? Why?”
So let’s break this down. I get it, Amy. You’re saying we don’t need labels. Great. And you aren’t even really plus-sized (Schumer explained she goes between size 6 and 8, and plus-sized in the US is size 16). Calling you plus-sized is problematic because it invalidates the experiences of actual plus-sized women. I’m on board with that. And you think singling out a certain body type is kind of just weird in general. I get all of this. I do. BUT the fact that Schumer keeps harping on about how offended she was by this whole thing is starting to come across as “Amy Schumer really does not want to be plus-sized.” It’s turning into a real “The lady doth protest too much”-type situation. I also feel inclined to point out that this is a woman who has opened herself up to being talked about around this subject because a lot of her comedy involves her discussing her weight. And those jokes about her body are fucking awesome. They’re funny and real and do a much better job at pointing out the problematic nature of our constant critique of women’s bodies. So why is so offended by being called on as a women of inspiration for her “body positivity,” as Glamour called it in their response?
How I feel about this conversation.
All and all, I see both sides. I get that Schumer thought the whole thing was weird and silly and confusing. But I am also tempted to just say, “Look girl, you’ve made your point, and we’re on board. Now give it a rest. Let’s get back to talking about your kick-ass comedy.”
Images via Youtube, Perez Hilton
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