Television shows and movies are a huge part of growing up and social life. Celebrities are idolized by the public, and everyone has their “celebrity crush” or favorite actor or actress. These actors and actresses are constantly criticized by the media for their body. If an actress is not skinny enough, they will be harassed and tormented in tabloid magazines. They will not be considered as “beautiful” and every flaw of their body is pointed out. To avoid these nasty comments from paparazzi and the public, actors and actresses hire personal trainers, buy the most expensive diet foot, and go to extreme lengths in order to stay skinny and “beautiful”.
Carrie, a 23-year old blogger created an extremely popular blog titled, Wish Wish Wish, where she speaks about all things beauty. Carrie is a curvier woman, and is proud to be a voice for the women that identify with her. In one post Carrie states, “…size shouldn’t matter, but it’s only inevitable people obsess over how they look when so many ‘influences’- celebrities, actors- are so stick thin and leading a seemingly ‘perf
ect’ life. It’s almost as though it’s normal- worrying.”
As a curvy woman myself, I can personally admit that my celebrity crushes are extremely thin and beautiful- Selena Gomez, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston. There are not many actors and actresses on television that are curvy or looked up to. For instance, the average female media personality of actresses weighs 23% less than the average woman in American (Goodman, 2005). Therefore, the actors and actresses that we have been looking up to and idolizing are somewhat unattainable goals for my fellow curvy women and men.
The leading women in shows and movies are almost always thin, and have certain positive attributes that seem to always be accompanying them. For example: having well-glamor, success, competence, involvement in romantic relationships, and having more positive interactions with others (Goodman, 2005). Because of these certain characteristics that most female actresses have, women feel the need to look as aesthetically pleasing as the actresses and models do. If a woman looks like the successful, beautiful, and well-liked actress on their favorite show, then they will then have a higher chance of gaining the same positive attributes.
Many individuals in society need to realize that being thicker and curvier than the average celebrity does not make them less of a person. Being as skinny as the actresses and actors in the media does not define an individual; their character does. The media needs to begin focusing on the healthiness of actors, and not necessarily the weight of them. So many people idolizing these skinny and “beautiful” actors and actresses backs up the media’s claim of skinny being “beautiful”. A change in the population’s thoughts and perceptions on these celebrities needs to be brought about.
Together, let’s change the reasons we look up to certain actors and actresses in the media. Beauty should be determined by how individuals act, not by what size jeans they wear.
Sources:
Goodman, J. (2005). Mapping the sea of eating disorders: A structural equation model of how peers, family, and media influence body image and eating disorders. Visual Communication Quarterly, 12(3/4), 194-213. doi:10. 1080/155551393.2005.9687457
http://wishwishwish.net/2014/08/lets-talk-body-image/
Perfectly Imperfect 