Christina Hendricks is a Positive Body Image Role Model in Hollywood

After her appearance at every awards show the internet lights up with talk about Christina Hendricks who stars as Joan Holloway in the hit TV drama Mad Men. Much of the chatter surrounding Hendricks has little to do with her amazing performance and more to do with her size. People seem to be obsessed with her body and cup size, which both stand out in a sea of stick thin actresses. Hendricks has a body that belongs to another era, the era in which Mad Men is set.

Yet despite the obsession with her body - to the point of people discussing her cup size in comments online - Christina Hendricks doesn't pay much attention. People comment on her size all the time, but the former model tends to ignore most of it. She seems honestly surprised upon learning that women admire and want her body. After years of working in modeling and acting, where she was told routinely to lose some weight, the comments from regular women are a surprising breath of fresh air that lets Hendricks just be herself naturally.

But does all the negative commentary that exist still get to her? Of course. As she said recently, "I made the grave mistake after one awards show of reading comments online about what I wore, and I was like, [gasps] "Oh my God, people are so mean! I still remember all those negative comments, despite all the wonderful positivity." Because of this Christina says she generally ignores the talk about her body.

Instead she likes to talk about living the good life and enjoying things - including food. When she was in Italy modeling she gained 15 pounds from all the cappuccinos and Italian food. She decided to keep the weight because she felt beautiful and had gained it by eating real food. She continues to eat delicious healthy things like olive oil and avocado guilt free. She also admits to the vice of salty, creamy foods, which makes her even more real to the fans who all look up to her.

Christina Hendricks seems to not care what other people think of her. She is happy with her curvy, voluptuous body the way it is and has found acting roles that allow her to be her naturally beautiful self instead of bowing down to the pressure to lose weight. Most female fans hope she continues to do so, as she is an amazing role model for women who need to see someone in Hollywood with a curvy and natural body. Positive body image role models are few and far between and we all hope Hendricks continues in her path and doesn't fall to the pressure of the fashion industry and negative comments.

Sources:

"Christina Hendricks: Curvy, Confident, Gorgeous". July 6, 2010. CNN.com. September 2, 2010. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-06/health/christina.hendricks.confident_1_christina-hendricks-joan-holloway-mad-men?_s=PM:HEALTH

"Woman of the Hourglass". February 14, 2010. New York Magazine.com. September 2, 2010. http://nymag.com/fashion/10/spring/63808/