Gabourey Sidibe on the Cover of Ebony

By Sherrie Gulmahamad on February 2nd, 2010

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Gabourey Sidibe, whose impressive star-making turn in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire has netted her countless nominations and awards, is gracing the cover of the March issue of Ebony Magazine looking pretty glam, sassy and strong.

Sidibe may have played Precious with bravery and heart, but it was hard for most reviewers to mention Precious’ name without also bringing up her size. But being bigger doesn’t phase Sibide as she relates in the Ebony interview:

“I don’t try to live up to the standards of Hollywood or any of that – I know that I’m different and I celebrate it. In a weird way, I kind of really, really love being the alien in the room. I dig it.”

Some folks think Sibide’s weight is still an issue. Alicia Villarosa of TheRoot.com, a website “that provides thought-provoking commentary on today’s news from a variety of black perspectives,” had a number of harsh realities to posit when it comes to Sibide:

“A five-foot-something woman tipping the scales at over 300 pounds is not something to celebrate. That’s SUPER fat, and no matter how passionately you argue the opposite, medical science will pull the plug on that position: Your health will suffer from carrying such an extreme amount of weight.”

She continues:

“As well adjusted as Sidibe purports to be, there’s got to be an emotional disconnect between the mind and body. Finding comfort eating one’s way to morbid obesity is not healthy, nor is it self-affirming.”

The tone of Villarosa’s piece indeed seems overly harsh, and user comments even refer to the piece as “a hatchet job,” but her point of view seems to illustrate that there is a nebulous amount of space between “this girl is unhealthy and fat” and “this girl is happy and beautiful.”

The word ‘diet’ can make one’s self esteem plummet, so how can we teach girls to love themselves but also help them make healthier life choices in the same breath?