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In 1988, Oprah Winfrey hauled 67 pounds of meat fat onto her famed stage to symbolize the weight she'd lost. Today, there's a more rhetorical wagon on our minds -- you know, the one Oprah just fell off of.

We're not just speculating -- in this January's O Magazine, Oprah opens up about the 40 pounds she's put on over the past four years, bringing her up to the "dreaded 2-0-0." In an eight-page package titled, "How Did I Let This Happen Again?," Oprah confesses, "If you're a regular subscriber, you'll notice you've not seen a head-to-toe shot all year. Why? Because I didn't want to be seen." She continues, "I'm mad at myself. I'm embarrassed ..."

While Oprah's weight has been an invariable topic of conversation for her audience and the tabloid press, some women are more concerned about her public apologies than the numbers on her scale.

Static on Oprah's message of shame
The "fat-shaming" language in Oprah's confessional prompted one commenter on blog The-F-Word to ask,"Why not pour yourself a nice steaming cup of SHUT UP and weigh whatever you weigh."

In a letter to Oprah, blogger Elizabeth Tamny uses slightly nicer language to point out that in apologizing for her weight gain, Oprah is "telling the world, over and over ... that no matter what you do, nothing is more important than what you look like." She goes on to harshly criticize Oprah for violating the most-loved of Oprah edicts -- unconditional self-love and acceptance.

At Shapely Prose, Kate Harding points out something Oprah seems to have missed: "I hit 200 and shrugged ... That's all that happened here. You got fatter. You're still one of the most accomplished women on the planet."

Click here to read what the experts say and to see the other side.

We talked to Ophira Edut, body image expert and author of "Body Outlaws: Young Women Write About Body Image & Identity," about why someone as successful and widely loved as Oprah can't seem to let go of the body shame. Edut calls body image "feminism's unfinished business," and says Oprah's struggle "demonstrates just how much a sense of power and self is linked to appearance." In our society, the feeling of control over life is linked to the sense of control over body. Oprah experiences her weight struggles just like any other woman -- as personal failures.

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The other side
As with any good debate, though, there's another side. Bloggers like Deborah King of the Huffington Post are applauding Oprah for her honesty. "When celebrities are willing to show their weaknesses, it makes it much easier for the rest of us to admit we may have the same problem and to take the necessary steps to heal."

Oprah's experience certainly does mirror "the rest of ours" -- on any given day, 45 percent of women are on a diet, and 80 percent are dissatisfied with their appearances. The diet industry brings in $40 billion a year, which is even more incredible considering 95 percent of all dieters will regain their lost weight in one to five years. (Statistics from the National Eating Disorders Assocation.) Oprah shows real women everywhere that they aren't alone, which may ease some of their shame and isolation.

"Most of us do care about our appearance, even while simultaneously holding in our mind the belief that it's oppressive to have to do so," says Beverly Hills psychologist Dr. Susan Axtell, Psy.D. By explicitly addressing her weight struggles (which, let's face it, will be noticed whether or not Oprah's the one broaching the topic), Oprah is regaining some control over the message.

How should Oprah respond?
Given the controversy, how should Oprah handle the weight topic? Edut's advice: "In my perfect world, Oprah would say, 'Listen, I gained weight because that's how my body is designed. I have to work really hard on emotional, psychological and physical levels to do what other women's bodies do naturally. I stopped doing that, and my body went back to default settings. Now, my challenge is to love myself when I don't fit society's ideal.'"

Tell us: In sharing her struggle, is Oprah sending a message of self unacceptance for women, or is she empowering them through her honesty?

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