I’M BACK!! I know it’s been a while, but it was Christmas, and everyone needs a break at Crimbo 😉 well there is no need to panic, I am back writing posts and talking about topics that I know a lot of you are interested in. Today’s post is about body image in the celebrity world, the normal world, and the pressure people may feel to compete with others on social media or the internet to have the ‘perfect’ figure. I don’t know about you, but lately I have seen this issue talked about on nearly every social media platform – even snapchat! So I thought this would be a perfect time to talk about it and tell you all what I think, and what the rest of the world is saying.
A tiny waist, a big bum and long legs is thought to be a ‘perfect’ figure by most people. All across the world people are being judged for their figure and the way they look, it doesn’t matter who you are, whether if you’re famous or not, everyone feels the pressure to look their best. Even I do! Every time I open a magazine I seem to find at least one
celebrity being scrutinised by the press, and this includes the celebs with good figures as well as bad. Over time people such as Cheryl Cole, Adele, Melissa McCarthy and Gigi Hadid has been judged for their bodies for completely different reasons. While Cheryl was on X Factor she was labelled as too skinny, Adele and Melissa were shamed for being fat, and Gigi Hadid was told by the fashion industry she was too fat and short for runway modelling. And this isn’t the first time the fashion industry has body shamed a celebrity – Melissa McCarthy was rejected by high fashion brands when looking for dresses to wear to the Oscars as she was said to be too big to wear their clothes. Society also spoke out about Barbie and how the doll sets the wrong example for young children, yet in the new Barbie film, the directors cast Amy Schumer and people protested calling her too fat to play the part. Its shocking that such talented people are being criticised for the way they look in today’s age.
Due to the scrutiny Gigi Hadid has previously suffered, in 2016 she helped run an event with stars such as Ruby Rose, Lena Dunham and Zoe Kravitz, which confronted the idea of ‘unattainable perfection’ for women today, which is exactly what my blog represents. At the event, they tackled this subject to remind women that all imperfections are a part of femininity. They used #PerfectNever across all social media platforms to show everyone that you do not need to be perfect. The picture below shows what Gigi had to say about the event on Instagram:
Despite this society still judges us, but in fact, we tend to judge ourselves more harshly than anyone else. Over time everyone’s body will evolve, this is just a part of growing up. Growing up means that your body and metabolism changes, and this is nothing to be ashamed of or to fear. I used to be one of the those girls that could eat anything and everything and never gain any weight (which my sister used to hate me for), but sooner or later this changes, and for me it was when I went to university. You do start to gain weight or get curves, and looking at the internet and comparing yourself to others is something a lot of girls do, but is the worst thing for us! The internet sets an unrealistic expectation of ourselves, which is extremely harmful to self-esteem and confidence in our bodies. You may look at your friends or celebs online and envy the way they look, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have a good figure. It means that your body is just different to theirs, not inferior! Bella Hadid spoke out about how in the effort to gain her Victoria Secret Angel figure, she lost more weight than she expected, and in doing so lost a cup size on her boobs which she now regrets.
It seems that no matter who you are, social media and the internet will always have a some-what negative effect on you,whether it’s your own doing by comparing yourself to others, or other people tearing you down, but it’s time we start thinking for ourselves and ignoring what the internet has to say. I hope you have all taken something from my post this week, and feel free to leave any comments at the bottom – I love reading what you have to say! Until next time… bye!!
Only barbie has a figure like that not real people.
Brilliant post; really good read. I was waiting for this to come out, kept refreshing the page.
Thank you 🙂