Co-authored by Heather Widdows, Ph.D., and Jessica Sutherland, University of Warwick

Ariana Grande told People that she is “taking a step back from visibility” because of the “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.” She has had enough of people talking about her body: Is she too thin? Does she have an eating disorder? Is she healthy? Some of the talk about her has been vile. Marina Hyde on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast said the way some people talk about her is “repulsive” and “a massive percentage of it completely without humanity." But is not talking the answer? When can we talk about other people’s bodies?

Some think "never," because we should not talk about other people’s—especially women’s—bodies. Others think that in Grande’s case we should definitely not speak about her body, as she has repeatedly asked us not to. Others think it’s not that simple. As appearance becomes more valued and valuable than ever before, not to talk about bodies might be failing to talk about something we must talk about. Despite the body positivity movement, everyone wants to be thin. For decades, women have believed that if they could be 10 pounds lighter, they would be happier. Children as young as 3 attach positive characteristics to thinner bodies, and our desire for thinness continues into old age. We routinely put our health at risk to be thin; historically we’ve taken amphetamines and purged, now we diet and exercise and buy black market GLP-1s. In this context, should we really simply not talk about Ariana Grande’s undeniably thin body? Some recognise there is a dilemma here. For example, Emma Madden, who suffered eating disorders herself, writes in The Guardian that “the only honest response may be to........

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