Recently, Jersey Shore’s Snooki announced that she had reached her goal weight of 98 lb.  Now, I don’t watch the show – I think Jersey Shore is tacky and low brow entertainment to the core – but I can’t help but find her critics – those who say that she’s “gone too far” when it comes to weight loss – a little more than ignorant.  Is it because her “new” weight is just hovering around the 100 lb mark and anything in that range or below is considered “gross”?  Without taking height into consideration?  People seem to forget that Snooki is 4’9″, and for someone that height, it isn’t unrealistic to be under 100 lb.  In fact, for her to be as skinny as many other celebrities, including those who are petite, she’d have to weigh around 85 lb.

Snooki, posing at the 2011 MTV Music Awards

How one loses weight, however, might be a reason to criticize.  Apparently, Snooki’s weight loss came from diet pills, which I don’t support.  However, it seems to me that a lot of the critics are more number-obsessed than of the process.  While body image activists will also criticize HOW one loses weight, even if it’s considered “healthy” (there are some I know who believe in eating anything and everything, without discussing moderation), many seem to be more obsessed with the number.   My question to them is:  What’s wrong with you?  You tell people to stop obsessing about numbers, yet you seem to criticize those who are under what you consider “normal.”  Why?  And why can’t you seem to fathom the possibility of a grown woman weighing less than 100 lb?  Not every woman is an average 5’5″ after all.  It seems to me that anything considered “light” is bad, while “heavy” is good.  Isn’t this just as awful?  Seriously, think about it.

Image courtesy of: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com