Media's focus on body image, eating disorders distasteful
Cassie Strum
Issue date: 3/10/10 Section: Entertainment
3/10/10 - I can hardly watch television or read a magazine without seeing some celebrity's gaunt figure or model's emaciated frame blowing up the screen or page.
While "emaciated" seems like a harsh adjective used to describe members of the entertainment industry, I want to know why eating disorders have so recently been connected to celebrities. Why is there a celebrity face associated with the disorder, thereby glamorizing it?
Magazines such as Star, OK!, People, Life & Style, among others, constantly cover celebrity eating disorders. From Stephanie Pratt's interview on her experience as a bulimic, to Nicole Richie and Rachel Zoe's suspected anorexia, to the "E! News" coverage of the latest hospitalizations or rehab visits by stars like Mary-Kate Olsen and Lindsay Lohan- celebrity culture is the face of the disorder.
Advertisements are to blame as well, featuring "waif-like" models who are recognizable and constantly in the media. In a recent Ralph Lauren advertisement, model Filippa Hamilton appeared so gaunt that her waist actually appears to be smaller than her head. Model Kate Moss, also known as "Co-Kate," was dropped from numerous fashion campaigns including endorsement deals for H&M and Burberry because of the negative body image she promoted.
The media needs to start focusing on new role models, who enhance a mentality of confidence and positivity, embracing and promoting different forms of beauty. Singer, actress and now television-show personality, Jessica Simpson is on a quest, starting Mar. 15, to change our cultures perception of beauty.
She has been harassed, questioned and negatively affected by constant tabloid stories, focusing on her weight. Through a new show, VH1's "The Price Of Beauty," Simpson travels the world, documenting how different women on different continents and various countries view, practice and promote beauty. In an interview with the New York Daily News, Simpson said, "outward beauty is an easy thing to become obsessed with in our society…I haven't always had an inner confidence. I haven't always looked at my reflection and loved it, because there was always something I wanted to fix, because someone always looked better."
While "emaciated" seems like a harsh adjective used to describe members of the entertainment industry, I want to know why eating disorders have so recently been connected to celebrities. Why is there a celebrity face associated with the disorder, thereby glamorizing it?
Magazines such as Star, OK!, People, Life & Style, among others, constantly cover celebrity eating disorders. From Stephanie Pratt's interview on her experience as a bulimic, to Nicole Richie and Rachel Zoe's suspected anorexia, to the "E! News" coverage of the latest hospitalizations or rehab visits by stars like Mary-Kate Olsen and Lindsay Lohan- celebrity culture is the face of the disorder.
Advertisements are to blame as well, featuring "waif-like" models who are recognizable and constantly in the media. In a recent Ralph Lauren advertisement, model Filippa Hamilton appeared so gaunt that her waist actually appears to be smaller than her head. Model Kate Moss, also known as "Co-Kate," was dropped from numerous fashion campaigns including endorsement deals for H&M and Burberry because of the negative body image she promoted.
The media needs to start focusing on new role models, who enhance a mentality of confidence and positivity, embracing and promoting different forms of beauty. Singer, actress and now television-show personality, Jessica Simpson is on a quest, starting Mar. 15, to change our cultures perception of beauty.
She has been harassed, questioned and negatively affected by constant tabloid stories, focusing on her weight. Through a new show, VH1's "The Price Of Beauty," Simpson travels the world, documenting how different women on different continents and various countries view, practice and promote beauty. In an interview with the New York Daily News, Simpson said, "outward beauty is an easy thing to become obsessed with in our society…I haven't always had an inner confidence. I haven't always looked at my reflection and loved it, because there was always something I wanted to fix, because someone always looked better."
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Megan
posted 3/10/10 @ 3:33 PM EST
First and foremost, I applaud you for writing such an important article and having it published at your university. While it is important for everyone to understand the media and its tie to eating disorders, your audience, college students, is especially significant. (Continued…)
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