Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Are we REALLY that petty that we have to read about and revel in celebrities having the same problem most of us “commoners” do?
Reading the newspapers over the last few days and weeks, I’m struck by how horribly hypocritical they are. On the one hand they lament the negative body image the celebrities impart on us lesser women and how young women (and some not so young, even) end up anorexic as a result. In those same articles they go on to campaign for more pictures of normal women, and how we should stop perpetuating the image of skeletal people as being something to aspire to.
Then, often in the same paper, they hand out a whallop in the other direction. “Check out Mischa Barton’s Cellulite!” one paper screams. “What is wrong with Mischa, how can she have cellulite?” is the message from another.
I just want to scream myself. What is wrong with THE MEDIA??? Cellulite is a COMMON thing.. you don’t have to be fat to suffer from it!! Stretchmarks are another common thing.. slim people deal with them too.
And what is the deal with saying “Nice pout, shame about the hairy armpits“??? Hair grows there naturally, folks. Not too long ago, nobody would have batted an eyelid at its existence. Men have it too, do we go around gasping in horror seeing the tufts of clumped and sweaty hair (I know.. ewww, right?)poking out from their armpits?? Well… of course not! Because men don’t buy into the “I need to make an effort to look good for everyone else” that we women unfortunately do. Nowadays, it would seem that any body hair on a woman, except for the hair on our heads, is taboo and something to wrinkle our noses and lift our eyebrows at.
We need to take a stand against this two-facedness of the media. We have to acclimatize people to the fact that we all have our flaws, we all deal with our own little burdens and it’s nobody’s dang business but our own. If the Mischa Bartons of this world want some downtime, catching a few rays and just letting it all hang out, then they should be allowed to do so without having to deal with zoom lenses working overtime to catch that miniscule little flaw that actresses and celebrities are supposed to be immune to. Leave them alone, media!
And stop perpetuating in one mouthful the unhealthy ideal that’s won so much acclaim while in your next mouthful berating those of us who do not desperately cling to the trends as they shift and shimmy. BACK OFF!!
Phew. Another thing I can check off on my to-do list of pet peeves that need addressing.
