I've never written a heroine who wore anything smaller than a 12 -- maybe a 10, can't actually remember. My heroine's, usually at the moment they're about to get naked, usually have a moment of insecurity (most women I know do) but they manage to move past that. My 13 year old daughter is 5'10" and wears a woman's 10. She has a great figure. Her best friend wears a double 0. We deal with these issues all the time and it makes me crazy. Small wonder women starve themselves with idiots labeling Love-Hewitt "fat". Okay, I'm going to shut-up before I get into a full-blown rant.

Welcome to my neurosis. I constantly struggle with my weight--even when that weight didn't break triple digits. But yay for JLH standing up for herself and young women anywhere. Personally, I'm *so* tired of starlets you want to hold down and force-feed...

I guess I have been in a cave (well, at least hotels and airports) because I totally missed this. YAY for JLH for standing up for herself and yay to you for sharing this. Having been anorexic in my 20s and early 30s (yes, I'm a control freak, which is what anorexia is all about!), there are times when I'm trying on clothes I admittedly wish I could go back to living on a bullion cube a day, but not really. Because I have the love of family and friends and a career I'd dreamed of since I was seven, all which are so much more important than what size I wear. Though I have written books with some curvier heroines and readers seemed to enjoy reading about those "real" size women. BTW, when I was in H.S. I modeled for a department store one summer, and the "sample" size back then was a 10. Now it's a 2. Which is really, really depressing. Especially when you consider what all that starving is doing to those young women's bones, not to mention other health issues.

I guess I have been in a cave (well, at least hotels and airports) because I totally missed this. YAY for JLH for standing up for herself and yay to you for sharing this. Having been anorexic in my 20s and early 30s (yes, I'm a control freak, which is what anorexia is all about!), there are times when I'm trying on clothes I admittedly wish I could go back to living on a bullion cube a day, but not really. Because I have the love of family and friends and a career I'd dreamed of since I was seven, all which are so much more important than what size I wear. Though I have written books with some curvier heroines and readers seemed to enjoy reading about those "real" size women. BTW, when I was in H.S. I modeled for a department store one summer, and the "sample" size back then was a 10. Now it's a 2. Which is really, really depressing. Especially when you consider what all that starving is doing to those young women's bones, not to mention other health issues.

oops. Sorry for the duplication. I guess my shiny new mac hiccupped. :)

Barbara, I agree with your points. But allow me to add another. JLH is a woman of undistinguished talent who has parlayed big breasts and a pretty face into a career that brings her a level of fame and fortune to which most of us hardworking women will never aspire. She chose to base her carer on her physical attributes, but then is appalled when her body is scrutinized and judged? Isn't that a bit like an author protesting that reviewers have no right to criticize her book?

It’s the old Rhett and Scarlett thing and a wide winding staircase. Heroes can’t carry a “Woman of Substance” no matter how macho they are, and so many authors seem to think that image is necessary. Being a tall woman of sturdy German descent, I always get the impulse to hurl my read across the room when I get to the sweet little petite 5”1” heroine and the broad hero of 6’3”. While I may enjoy the rest of the book, that thing hangs me up every time it’s mentioned. Queen Betsy Taylor (MJD) is refreshing…

PS: And she'll wear Shoes to prove it!

Hooray for JLH for being proud of her body! But I think she needs to fess up. There's no way she's a size 2. Her body looks a lot like mine, and I am a 6 or 8. Nothing wrong with those sizes either. I'm just saying...

In response to Ave D. Reader. I completely agree with you, public scrutiny is a large part of the fame one seeks when going into show business. However, the danger here lies in the reaction and resulting action from the young girls READING these comments.

As for what size she wears (and I agree, if it wasn't photoshopped, she doesn't look as if she's currently a 2), one thing I have noticed over the years is the more I'm willing to pay for an outfit, the smaller the size I wear. Those designers who create clothes for the super rich obviously are very clever marketers. I mean, double oughts weren't even a size until a decade or so ago when they started popping up on TV and movie stars and socialites who are mostly famous for being famous.

I am 5' 6" and consistently wear a size 10. I work out regularly and don't overeat, but I was still shocked when my doctor told me I DIDN'T need to lose any weight. I even made her show me the chart. That is how skewed things have become. A size 10--I HAD to be overweight, right? Wrong! Is anyone real about weight and size anymore? If we want things to change, we all (models and actors included) have to start admitting real weight and size. I also want to respond to the person who said that because JLH based her career on her physical attributes, she has no right to complain when her body is scrutinized. True, that is how it has been, but should it stay that way? Actors should be judged on their acting ability, NOT their bodies. I hope more of them complain.

I agree with the posters who take exception to JLH's claim to be a size 2. I'm calling her out on that one. There is nothing wrong with her body, but a size 2 (at the moment), she ain't. And by lying about that, she is doing a terrible disservice to the "girls out there" who she is ostensibly trying to encourage.

When I write my heroines, I try to make sure that fiction mirrors reality. Most of us are not size 0, so while I do not specifically dwell on their size, they east, drink have fun. No guy friend of mine has ever said, "Wow, she's gorgeous, she's built like a twig!" More like "Wow, what curves." I have to say that about JLH--you can see her on the Hanes undies ads on TV, and she is quite clearly a well-endowed girl, not a 2 but certainly not a candidate for liposuction, for heaven's sake. Love your body and feel sorry for the way our bodies are being dictated by the fashion 'industry' which is just that, a business, and run, more often than not, by men who do not celebrate the feminine form (perhaps because the men in the fashion industry are predominantly gay?) Sorcha MacMurrough

Pfft, I gave up on all that long ago. Yeah, I should exercise, yeah, I should make better choices about what I eat but that's for health, not for looks. I don't hate my body. This is what I've got. It's mine. I deal with it.

PS - God bless Jamie Leigh Curtis for that magazine shoot she did, without makeup, without glitz, just herself. It opened my eyes about what the fashion industry and Hollywod have done to women.

I am also with the posters who know that JLH - a non-celebrity - is nowhere near a size 2 - not with those hips! And all we women would have been totally with her in our communal outrage at how society treats women and their weight... until she lied about it.

Great post, Barbara. Kinda makes me think of that song by Martina McBride - This One's For the Girls. Though the focus of that song is about age, one line in the chorus sticks out in my mind as a message to be heard and remembered - You're beautiful the way you are.

I'd just like to say that you can be a size 2 and still have hips. I am a healthy size 2 (5'3", 125 lb) and I *definitely* have hips!

I'm not all that interested in Jennifer Love Hewitt's media problems, but if you want to read books about happily plus-sized heroines who enjoy their bodies, you could do a lot worse than any of the novels by Stacey Ballis.

Fabulous blog Barb. And LOL I agree with you whole-heartedly. So much so that my heroine in my first book was a whopping six-feet tall and no shrinking violet.. Keep up the great work and commentary. hugs

My heroine in the very first HQ Temptation I wrote back in '83 or '84 was six feet tall. (Her father and brothers were all basketball players and she'd played in college.) The editor at the time made me change it because she didn't think any woman could identify with her. She -- sigh -- ended up five foot ten. Fortunately, after that one book, the editor left and I got the fabulous Birgit Davis-Todd who let me do anything I wanted for the nearly two decades and somewhere around 60 books. :)

So glad you posted this, Barbara! And good for JLH for responding as she did! (It's funny - this topic came up in terms of heroines at a recent reading and I blogged about it at cleasimon.blogspot.com ) I mean, we're REAL, we're flesh and blood - accent on the FLESH. Can't we get over it? I'm happy Jennifer is happy. ANd, yeah, I wish I were a size 2. But I'm far far from it! - Clea

I'm continuously amazed at the unreal expectations that young girls have with weight. A week ago, my daughter (at 8 years old) asked me if I thought "this outfit makes me look fat." I nearly had a fit. And I have to agree that the more expensive the clothes, the smaller the size label. I've been a 10 for years ... even though I'm certain I'm no longer that size. Size 10 trousers from 10 years ago are mighty tight.

Hi Barb! Trying to catch up on your blogs for this week! I did hear about this earlier in the week. Thankfully, I've never been one to be so swept up in size expectations. Now, do I get annoyed with myself when the clothes start fitting a bit tighter??? Yes!!! And would I like to lose the weight I've gained over the past 4 or 5 years? Yes!!! For the past year, I've been between sizes 10-12 and while I could afford to lose some weight, I'm not obsessed with it. I think JLH looks great...as for heroines being small or "curvy", lol, I can't say that I prefer either way. I really don't think of their size when I'm reading. I get to know them through their thoughts, their conversations and their actions...NOT their bodies!!!

Thanks to all for weighing in on this. (You know I can't resist) To Loving Plus-sized characters, I'll have to check out Stacey Ballis. JoAnn, glad you get to write what you feel is right. Christy, I too like to know a character through their thoughts, conversations and actions...not bodies. Ahh, if it were more like that in real life.

I look at some of these actresses and models and shudder. They don't look good to me at all. Walking sticks. And at that weight, you know any breasts they have are fake.

Thanks Barb--I was outraged too! If I only looked that good in a bikini!! And good for Jennifer Love Hewitt for speaking out! Thanks for keeping up with not only great books but interesting & meaningful topics too!

What is it for? Who are we wanting the approval from? Are we craving love and acceptance from men? This is a bigger issue than just what size a woman is. Why is it so important to be desirable as a woman? Can we get through life without the approval of others?What does it even mean to want to do that? Some questions to consider...

Thanks Geo, lots of questions to consider. My son works at a high school and was telling me how many girls are anorexic there and how helpless he feels in dealing with them. I think the more we talk with our kids and let them know they are accepted as they are and how to accept others, we'll have a start.