So everyone knows that Kirstie Alley pranced on Oprah's stage yesterday to keep her promise of showing off her slimmer body in a bikini. Kirstie lost 75 pounds from a high of 220. The video broke out online early in the day before the Oprah episode aired here in the Bay Area. I wanted to see the show before I made any comment on the video, and I'm glad I did.
Kirstieoprah_1 In the video clip, all you saw was the first 30 seconds or so of Kirstie's unveiling. Many of the comments on the other blogs/sites where the video was posted early were mostly positive, but there were a good deal that were negative. The message behind the bikini prance was much deeper than to say, "Hey don't I look hot now." It was about giving some courage and relief to other women about their bodies because we are so obssessed about tying our value and esteem to the way we look.
If we don't fit a mold or are not perfect, many of us feel we have no right to be so bold as to celebrate our selves as the beautiful women we all are. Kirstie is no Giselle but she is also not 220 pounds anymore. Dropping 75 pounds is a big accomplishment, and more importantly Kirstie is using her experience to help encourage others.
Kirstie made this appearance on Oprah not as a publicity stunt but as a way to show other women, "Hey you are good enough!" From the Oprah website show summary:
"At age 55, Kirstie now feels comfortable in her own skin. "I don't think women ever feel like we're good enough," she says. "We don't feel like we're thin enough or pretty enough or smart enough or work hard enough … We all are good enough and we look good enough and we are not our bodies, you know?"
Bravo! Following Kirstie's story there were follow ups on other guests including a 22 year-old young lady who lost 170 pounds and looked so amazingly happy, two girls who survived the Rwandan genocide and were reunited with their parents almost a decade later, and another woman who worked at Starbucks and somehow supported 10 children and her own mother. With Oprah's help she has a new house, and college money for each one of the kids. Bono's Product (RED) endeavor has already raised $15 million. Buy (RED) this holiday.
The whole Oprah episode was incredibly uplifting, and I'm very glad I stay tuned to watch the whole thing. It's awesome to watch something on TV and walk away feeling good.
