Terry Simmons said she thought it was depressing Claudia Audsei, a 20-year-old college student from England and aspiring R&B artist, died in Philadelphia after a botched butt implant surgery on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
“I think the media and culture puts so much pressure on these girls to look a certain way,” Simmons, 73, said. “For that girl who died, that pressure has a lot to do with it.”
Simmons said she was not surprised to learn of a recent study, which found leaner men and women earn more money than those who are a bit heavier, with lean women earning up to $16,000 more than curvier women.
“No wonder people are going to these extremes,” Simmons said.
“I don’t think skinny or fat should have anything to do with it,” Simmons added. “If they have the ability to do it, their size isn’t important.”
Simmons said the societal pressure toward beauty standards was not as bad when she was a teenager. She said she’s proud of her daughter, nieces and granddaughter for having high self-esteem in spite of pressure.
“They don’t let stuff like this bother them, and I think that’s great,” Simmons said.
“It’s sad this affects our society,” Simmons added. “God made everyone equal, and we should have the respect to judge everyone on the content of their character, not on other factors.”
Josh Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.
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