Leonard Nimoy has been out and about promoting his new photography book, The Full Body Project. That’s right, Spock is a photographer. And a good one. But his book—a collection of obese women recreating classic paintings and portraits—has been stirring up some controversy.

On The Colbert Report, Nimoy said, “There really is a standard established...this book would be appropriate on the coffee table of every home in the United States, particularly where there are young ladies. Young girls are standing in front of mirrors and saying, ‘I hate my body.’” Colbert’s tongue-in-cheek response: “What I seem to hear you saying is that everybody is beautiful. What kind of message is that? There’s nothing to shoot for then!”

The man is a genius. But I’m biased by my all-consuming crush. Nimoy also appeared on Craig Ferguson, who played devil’s advocate sans the irony. Ferguson said, “There are certain points where I go, ‘Okay, that’s more junk than that trunk should be carrying.’ There’s a health issue…I like it, I think it looks very interesting, and I worry for some of the girls.”

The two reactions underscore an interesting challenge—there are unfair standards set for women, but obesity is also known to cause serious health complications. So how do you tread the fine line between embracing overweight body types and advocating them? Is it possible to celebrate all body types without the footnote that obesity is unhealthy? I think it should be. After all, you rarely see a picture of Jennifer Aniston or Cameron Diaz lounging on the beach and think, “Damn, that girl is tan. She’s putting her health in jeopardy and setting a terrible example for our youth.” So maybe poor health choices only matter when they go against the standard of beauty.

Thoughts?

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