Women in the postfeminist era, while supposedly strong and commanding and equal to men in every sense, looked weaker and smaller than ever before.

Average. It was the worst, most disgusting word in the English language. Nothing meaningful or worthwhile ever came from that word.

I justified it in so many ways. I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality.

People might find me attractive, but it's also my job to prove that I can be intelligent.

Supermodels are over, and the new picture girl has become the television actress.

And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating. "Ordered" eating is the practice of eating when you are hungry and ceasing to eat when your brain sends the signal that your stomach is full. ... All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering. If you can accept your natural body weight and not force it to beneath your body's natural, healthy weight, then you can live your life free of dieting, of restriction, of feeling guilty every time you eat a slice of your kid's birthday cake.

Just look at all the awards shows now. It has turned into a catwalk. You have to be wearing a certain designer, a certain dress, and everyone's critiquing.