My sisters and I have been discussing Crystal Renn’s book “Hungry” lately. We all read it after reading Portai di Rossi’s memoir, which is called “Unbearable Lightness” (but should just be called “Unbearable”).
It’s interesting, reading memoirs about the struggles of image and eating, from different women with different perspectives. These books have definitely been a springboard for important discussions between myself and the women in my life.
So when my roomate heard that we’d read “Hungry” and said, “You know, Crystal Renn is thin again”, it made me curious.
I googled.
She’s lost a lot of weight again, and is being criticized. Again.
So in the following interviews and videos, she tries to justify herself. It’s kind of fascinating because she’s basically become a spokesperson for eating disorder awareness, whether she intended to or not. And the attention doesn’t fall on the important issue, but rather on how she looks today. I wonder what it’s like to have to rely on your looks for your livelihood. I bet there are days when she doesn’t want to justify her looks to anyone anymore. I’m not sure how I feel about it all…I just find it interesting that she’s in a no-win situation. And that she chooses to stay there. It must be hard.
then…
Crystal Renn, Glamour, May 2006
Renn for Gaultier, 2005
and now…
renn (left) for gaultier, 2010
harper's bazaar, december 2010
The article, along with several videos about her ups and downs (career- and weight-wise):
Weyward Sisters 
I think the notion of ‘choice’ is an interesting one, because it assumes that one has not only options from which to choose, but more importantly (I believe) the power to make those decisions. I wonder if Renn’s experiences include feeling like she has the power to choose? Or if she really has any options? Looking back (and presently) at my own life, I’m aware that I claim the power to make/participate in many of my own decisions….and that is attributable to both privilege and the people in my life who love and support me.
I’m not going to lie, when I saw that she was under scrutiny for her weight loss, I was kind of disappointed myself. Especially after reading her book, where she explains her journey of self-acceptance, it’s dis-heartening as a fan to see how she is looking more and more like one of those models whose whole image is unattainable and therefore, unrelatable. That being said, my feelings alone say a lot about the kind of pressure she must be under to stay a certain size. As long as there’s no “Hungry 2.0” in the future, she’s still amazing to me.
~a
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