We all remember Gabourey Sidibe’s portrayal of the titular character in the film Precious. Unfortunately, we also remember all of the rude jokes that have been made at her expense along the way. Once she began to receive acclaim for her performance, she was invited to a number of red carpet events. This made her an easy target for those who wanted to ridicule the actress about her weight.
Sidibe even shared a heartbreaking story about a conversation that she had with Joan Cusack. The veteran actress told Sidibe that she should probably just quit the industry entirely. According to Cusack, Sidibe was simply never going to truly break through because the industry is “image conscious”. This painful anecdote shows just how far we have to go before we are truly ready to embrace all body types.
Fortunately for us, Sidibe was not willing to quit. She is now opening up about the struggles that she has experienced. Her new book This Is Just My Face: Try Not To Stare gives a peek the curtain. The actress has been struggling with depression since her college days and these feelings contributed to her over eating and unwillingness to exercise.
She developed bulimia as a result of her depression. Gabourey realized that she needed help and spoke to a doctor about the feelings that she was experiencing. This has allowed her to develop a regimen that focuses on the mental aspect of her rehabilitation, in addition to the physical. She is happy to be losing weight, but this is not the most important thing to her.
It is all about finding a mental space that she is happy with. She is not looking to be congratulated on losing weight. In her words, those who are willing to congratulate her for losing weight should also be ready to congratulate her every single time that she pees. No one else has anything to do with her body and we are glad to see that she is embracing every aspect of her transformation.
Other people fight battles that we know nothing about. She is not losing weight because she wants to meet our superficial beauty standards. She is losing weight for herself! In a world where everyone wants a (sugar free) cookie for shedding unwanted pounds, her approach is definitely a refreshing one. We would like to take this time to wish her all of the best going forward.
