I not only bring home the bacon, I bring home the bacon too. So since I'm the primary grocery-getter in my household, I have to find things to keep my waits in checkout lines as tolerable as possible, given my well documented "issues" with supermarkets and whatnot. While this usually means toying around on the Blackberry, sometimes I like to peep at those tabloids, just to see what sorta ignoramus stuff they're trying to pass off on their "readers" this time.
You don't even have to crack open such trash-mags as People, Us Weekly, or the National Enquirer to lose a few brain cells. They usually spell out the idiocy right there on the cover in BOLD LETTERS for you.
BRITNEY PREGNANT WITH QUADS! WHO'S THE BABY DADDY?
DAKOTA FANNING'S WILD WET WEEKEND IN CABO!
OPRAH AND GAYLE SECRETLY TIE THE KNOT IN GAY MARRIAGE CEREMONY! STEADMAN FURIOUS!
And so on and so forth. These magazines usually aren't even 10% factual, yet people still burn hardearned cash on them for reasons I can't figure out.
So, the other day, I'm checking out, and I see the US Weekly cover above, with pop-tart Christina Aguilera proclaiming how she lost 40 pounds in 4 months. This would be a pretty cool thing to read about, but there's one minor detail being omitted.
Uh, she also just had a baby.
Seriously, do they really think people are that dumb? It's not like Aguilera was Shamu before the baby, so reality is, the 40 pounds they're talking about having lost most likely included the baby itself (born in January, according to Google) as well as a sh*tload of afterbirth. If the baby was a solid 7 pounds, and the afterbirth and water weight added another 13 or so, it's probably fairer to say she dropped 20. But of course, 40 both sounds and looks a lot better in BOLD LETTERS.
Talk about disingenuous.
But of course, this is all about selling magazines, not empowering other women, so why let something so superficial as a baby get in the way? And since we're on the topic, here's a commercial that irks me for the very same reasons.
Barberie and Aguilera prolly weighted a buck and a half at best combined before the pregnancies. There's no way either was 40 pounds overweight after they dropped their kids, given the fact that the average woman only gains about 25-35. Believe me, I'd know.[1]
I'm sure you guys are reading this and sayin' "why the hell is AB talkin' about two ditzy blondes?" Honestly, I don't have a good answer for you on that one, but I know a Grand Hu$tle when I see it, and hey, I can't resist callin' em' out.
Question: Do you think the US Weekly cover and Nutrisystem ad are misleading? Got any other examples of recent Grand Hu$tles that really irked you?
Pregnancy and Weight Gain [WebMD]
[1] Well, not personally of course, but secondhand, yeah.
