Should Allure have put Zoe Saldana’s weight on their cover?

Zoe Saldana’s Allure feature has sparked a great deal of controversy because they proclaim exactly how much the 5’7″ actress weighs right on the cover. The magazine, which features Zoe completely in the buff inside, says she weighs 115 pounds. While it’s not an unhealthy weight for her size, it’s definitely on the low end of the spectrum, and some believe it glorifies the cult of thinness.

Even when a star’s weight is talked about in magazines and websites (usually tabloids, sometimes health publications,) it’s usually within the context of a weight loss journey, or recovery from an eating disorder. To see a woman’s healthy but low weight measurement on the cover of the magazine with no context, just using it as descriptive, just isn’t done, and it’s thrown everyone for a loop. Even though it’s technically healthy according to BMI charts, it’s not necessarily a healthy weight for girls and women of her height to aspire to. Different people have different bone structures and metabolisms. The goal shouldn’t be to get as thin and slight as possible without dying, it should be to be as healthy as possible.

Another complaint about the headline is that it contrasts her slight weight with the words “grit” and “heartache,” which minimizes her as a person. It’s like they’re saying “Isn’t it amazing that she’s so thin AND has feelings and strength?”

If they knew this was going to be a publicity coup, they’ve definitely succeeded.

Zoe didn’t just expose her weight and her body in the magazine, she also dished on her personal life. CLICK HERE to read more.

Zoe appears this summer in Star Trek Into Darkness, and is working on a biopic of legendary singer Nina Simone. Today the New York Post has her romantically linked with Italian artist Italian artist Marco Perego even though she revealed to Allure that she sees herself settling down to have kids with a woman.