Rant

I have been flicking through some gossip magazines today and felt the urge to rant about how they portray celebrities weight. I know that of course this is a much discussed topic, but in particular, I am referring to the way that these magazines think that they know celebrities 'real' weights. Often, particularly at the moment because its summer, they line photos of celebrities up (preferably bikini clad) and state their height and weight. Honestly, where do they get these figures from? They then decide if they are underweight or overweight- what is that about? I truly think that some of the calculations are absurd, but what makes these claims dangerous is that it is far to easy to take their claims at face value and in turn not only make comparisons between the celebrities, but to compare yourself to such images. There is nothing to gain from these speculations, yet it seems to merit front page news and people seem to buy it.

The 'size zero' debate is still constantly discussed, but little has been done to rectify it, instead the media is just making the situation worse. There seems to be no middle ground, celebrities are either seriously and worryingly labelled thin or criticised for being overweight, even if they are not, they are rarely just accepted for them and their successes - even when a celebrity who is relatively free from such criticism is for example caught at a bad angle, or appears to have cellulite and so on it is highlighted all over the press.  I have rarely seen a gossip magazine celebrating someones body or crediting them, and when they do it is short lived, instead they are subject to harsh criticism. It also really frustrates me when, for example, a headline might read 'Beyonce eats pizza' - firstly why does this kind of remark get so much column space, and moreover who cares if a celebrity eats pizza - they are human! Of course health is a whole different ball game, but no wonder these kind of headlines cause great issues.

I think what I am trying to say is that in light of literally every body shape being criticised, no wonder there is a severe problem with self-perception and body image at present. The pressure is inescapable. For me, I avoid these tabloids at all costs, but when I do occasionally flick through them it fills me with such frustration to have to vent like this. It's sad that they can have such an effect over people, and actually it is incredibly boring and soul sucking material, but yet people continue to get reeled in. Because of this, not only does it cause body complexes, it promotes bitchiness and over-analytical tendencies not only of oneself but of others too, it is shamefully unhealthy. Unfortunately, I can't see this ending any time soon, so in the meantime the best thing to do is to ignore it and not to take it seriously.