Having just read about a girl who starved herself to a size zero, I felt compelled to voice my opinion on celebrity gossip mags who shove skinny models in the faces of young girls, most of whom are quite clearly easily influenced. Yes, it is a sad fact that Britain, alongside America is undergoin
g a constant weight battle, our streets bulging with either extremely overweight people or those desperately seeking the “perfect body”, but the media has a huge part to play in the way we perceive these stick thin celebrities. The simple fact that they are in the gossip magazines, whether or not it is simply to comment on how painfully thin they look, they are still getting the publicity, the rewards of a lifestyle made to look glamorous when actually its a life of ill health. Although I give credit that the magazines that feature the likes of Nicole Ritchie and Amy Winehouse are often commenting on how ill they look. The article on the left is still giving fame to Nicole as she is still getting publicity. Whilst she is still in these magazines, whether she likes it or not she will be seen as a beacon of hope for those who want to obtain what they feel is the ideal body. Media coverage on issues of weight in the world of celebrities has a more harmful effect on people like Nicole as really she is not famous for anything other than being Lionel Ritchie’s adoptive daughter. To have any media attention is better than no media attention at all!
My brother lost half a stone in a week, by completely changing his lifestyle and the way he eats, but these magazines are full of fad diets that last merely a week or a month. You see the results if you are determined enough to stick with it, but after a DAY of regular eating you put all the weight back on and maybe some more. The girl I read about went from 9 stone to 7 stone, then back up to 11 stone. She ended up heavier than she was before the diet. It is a sad fact that these girls, so young and so gullable, are literally dying to look like the very people that have the power to promote a healthy body image. But with the cruel world we live in, even they feel pressured to live a life controlled by food.
Sources used:
http://www.richiefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/nicole-richie-mag-01-copy.jpg
