Celebrity worship is rife among young people, and in particular among girls and women. This fixation on the rich and famous is significantly contributing to the rise in the diagnoses of eating disorders. Through reading celebrity magazines and watching celebrity television programs, young people are encouraged to believe that they ought to be size zero and that being physically attractive and slim is of highest priority in today’s world.
The stories contained in popular magazines types such as Hello and Heat can be as destructive to readers as digitally enhanced and airbrushed pictures of celebrities. Furthermore, what can be truly offensive is that these magazines claim to care about the growth in eating disorders and so choose to cover the topic. However, often a few pages after the article, a female celebrity is the ridiculed for having less than stick-thin legs. The contradictions are rife and these add to the confusion experienced by young readers.
The world of celebrity is followed by millions of people around the world and, while public interest has dropped a little over the last two years, it is still a thriving industry (Independent). There are magazines, books and television programs dedicated to reporting on the lives and behaviours of the rich and famous. Among the fans of such media are teenagers and young people who can be influenced by what they see and read.
Celebrities, characteristically, have money to spend on their appearances. Many of them have private trainers and stylists, and dedicate a great deal of time to exercising and keeping trim for the cameras. Consequently, celebrity magazines are littered with pictures of very slim, very glamorous men and women. For some teenagers and young people, these images can be unhealthy in that they cause the reader to believe that they should look like the celebrities they are looking at. In this way, young readers can begin to feel insecure about their own appearances if they don’t live up to the celebrity image. Furthermore, the importance placed on appearances is high in the celebrity world, and this can encourage young people to apply this importance to themselves and their own lives.
In her article, “Head attacks ‘size zero’ and celebrity culture,” Julie Henry reports how Pat Langham, the head of the Girls’ Schools Association, believes that the media is to blame for young girls’ distorted body images. Langham said that eating disorders are affecting one in every hundred girls and that children as young as eight years old have been diagnosed (Henry).
There are many strains of eating disorder, two of the more well-known being anorexia and bulimia. An eating disorder can take over the life of the sufferer and, even though their health could be in serious danger, the sufferer often either refuses to believe it or doesn’t care. To the sufferer, achieving their ideal body weight and shape is more important that their life.
Girlguiding UK conducted a study into the body images and opinions of young women and revealed that over half of the participants claimed that the media caused them to believe that being thin and attractive was “the most important thing” (Henry). The results also showed that the two most significant role models were celebrities Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham (Henry). Both Beckham and Moss are constantly in the media and all areas of their lives are scrutinised. With such emphasis being placed on modern day celebrities, it is hardly surprising that young people are mistakenly believing that they should be looking up to them and trying to match their appearance and behaviours.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that young people are starving themselves in order to look like the celebrities they idolise. Not only is this seriously dangerous for the health of the sufferers, it is also distressing that the most popular role models are celebrities such as Victoria Beckham rather than individuals who have achieved something more profound, such as winning an Olympic medal or setting up a successful charity.
Although interest in the lives of celebrities has dropped slightly in recent years, the levels are still extremely high and, arguably, unhealthily so. Studies have shown that young women are placing more emphasis on the importance of being thin and attractive than they are on anything else in their lives. Furthermore, size zero famous women are more popular as role models than any other. It is no surprise, therefore, that incidents of eating disorders are on the rise as young people strive to be like their idols. However, the problem could be seen as a vicious circle. People want to read about celebrities and so the media responds to their wishes, which in turn sends out damaging images to the readers.
Works Cited
Henry, J. “Head attacks ‘size zero’ and celebrity culture.” The Telegraph. 11 Nov 2007. Web.
9 Feb 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1568961/Head-attacks-size-
zero-and-celebrity-culture.html
The Independent. “Tim Lott: The culture of celebrity is far from dead – it's just growing
up.” 17 Jan 2010. Web. 9 Feb 2012.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/tim-lott-the-culture-of-
celebrity-is-far-from-dead-ndash-its-just-growing-up-1870278.html
