Late night talk show hosts and indeed a host of other satirists make them the object of continual jokes. Whatever you think of whether such jibes are in good taste or not, it's clear that many celebrities, particularly female celebrities, engage in dieting practices fueled by the very sort of driven personality which likewise enables them to achievement greatness in their craft.
This understandable, if unfortunate, fact of life, though, is all too often absurdly demonized by certain people who want to lay blame at the feet of the mass media and its unholy influence on people's lives. In addition to the platitudes about showbiz glitz, the other supposed villain of the piece is the alleged puerile consumerism of the unwashed public who consume those media images. These patronizing assessments though cloud over more than they reveal; everything in the lives of successful film actors, singers, or other media celebrities is subjected to the drive and ambition which allows them to achieve their professional success.
There should be no surprise then to realize that if they turn that same focus and determination to weight loss, they can get a little obsessive. The great Christina Ricci displays her usual inimical style in ironically capturing just this dynamic in remarks to the Guardian newspaper in 2004, explaining how her initial experience with eating disorder began while watching trash television. "At the time that I was starting to diet and stuff, I saw this TV movie, and I thought, 'Ooh - anorexia. I could probably do that.'"
Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, in a different way and tone, likewise helped dispel the PC myth machine when she acknowledged that the cause of eating disorders, even among celebrities, can be the simple challenges of coping with the roller coaster like ups and downs of everyday life. Celebrity status surely has unique pressures, but is their careers so much more stressful than many jobs and professions? Whatever the stresses of celebrity life, they do not dictate the coping strategy adopted.
The backlash against the innocent, ironic tweet of the ever entertaining Lady Gaga, from 2012, though is typical of the victimizing machine of the mass media and the self-appointed morals police. Young girls everywhere, it would seem, are in constant danger of the corrupting influence of social expectations. Even Lady Gaga, already on record as encouraging girls to develop a healthier sense of body image, couldn't acknowledge resisting a craving for a cheese burger without the self-appointed busy bodies raising hell. (Whether a cheese burger would actually constitute a healthy meal choice is of course another matter.)
If Lady Gaga, who had already bowed and scraped in front of the these morals police cannot joke about her own freely chosen adult dietary choices without being persecuted, what in the heck is really going on? Why does there seem to be such an effort to deny celebrities like Lady Gaga the freedom to take responsibility for their adult choices. Why must they be treated like victims? What is the agenda at work here? Could it be that the unremitting victimization of the celebrity has a residual benefit in making so much easier the victimization of their fans? Does this victimization though actually help the fans of celebrities with eating disorders?
The lesson in all of this, naturally, is not that celebrities are uniquely confronted with the trials of eating disorders. It is true though that such disorders are a product of the motivation and will power of the person making the food choices. It would be silly and a straw man to pretend that the view contrary to the busy body victimization crusade denied the role of environmental conditions in creating very real pressures. That though in no way changes the reality that in the end the bulimic or anorectic are making their choices. To claim anything else is to resort to two-bit mysticism.
Those who decry such a statement as a shameful "blaming of the victim" need to look more closely at the implications of their own pervasive victimization strategy. In any event, if the celebrities with eating disorders really were the victims of Hollywood and the mass media,, the only cure would be to permanently leave showbiz. The great number of celebrities, who beat their disorders, without retiring from the business, illustrates an important point. The cause of the eating disorder lies in the celebrity, but equally as important so too does the solution. If the busy bodies were more concerned with personal empowerment and responsibility than vilification of the media and victimization of its supposed casualties, they would recognize this as good news. Everyone who suffers eating disorders, whatever the stresses of their personal life, have a reservoir of strength upon which to draw. The very determination and discipline that you so strictly harness to enforce your unhealthy dietary regime is likewise always there in you, a reservoir of strength, to draw upon, to change your life. It only takes your willingness to access it.
If celebrity idolization is somehow mandatory, there are many different kinds of celebrities to idolize. You can choose. And better still, why not be the celebrity of your own life. It's your choice how to live your life; you've already proven the strength and determination of your personality. It's up to you how to use it. You don't need facile excuses about social pressures and mass media indoctrination. Take responsibility for your own life. Be the star of your own story.
This understandable, if unfortunate, fact of life, though, is all too often absurdly demonized by certain people who want to lay blame at the feet of the mass media and its unholy influence on people's lives. In addition to the platitudes about showbiz glitz, the other supposed villain of the piece is the alleged puerile consumerism of the unwashed public who consume those media images. These patronizing assessments though cloud over more than they reveal; everything in the lives of successful film actors, singers, or other media celebrities is subjected to the drive and ambition which allows them to achieve their professional success.
There should be no surprise then to realize that if they turn that same focus and determination to weight loss, they can get a little obsessive. The great Christina Ricci displays her usual inimical style in ironically capturing just this dynamic in remarks to the Guardian newspaper in 2004, explaining how her initial experience with eating disorder began while watching trash television. "At the time that I was starting to diet and stuff, I saw this TV movie, and I thought, 'Ooh - anorexia. I could probably do that.'"
Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, in a different way and tone, likewise helped dispel the PC myth machine when she acknowledged that the cause of eating disorders, even among celebrities, can be the simple challenges of coping with the roller coaster like ups and downs of everyday life. Celebrity status surely has unique pressures, but is their careers so much more stressful than many jobs and professions? Whatever the stresses of celebrity life, they do not dictate the coping strategy adopted.
The backlash against the innocent, ironic tweet of the ever entertaining Lady Gaga, from 2012, though is typical of the victimizing machine of the mass media and the self-appointed morals police. Young girls everywhere, it would seem, are in constant danger of the corrupting influence of social expectations. Even Lady Gaga, already on record as encouraging girls to develop a healthier sense of body image, couldn't acknowledge resisting a craving for a cheese burger without the self-appointed busy bodies raising hell. (Whether a cheese burger would actually constitute a healthy meal choice is of course another matter.)
If Lady Gaga, who had already bowed and scraped in front of the these morals police cannot joke about her own freely chosen adult dietary choices without being persecuted, what in the heck is really going on? Why does there seem to be such an effort to deny celebrities like Lady Gaga the freedom to take responsibility for their adult choices. Why must they be treated like victims? What is the agenda at work here? Could it be that the unremitting victimization of the celebrity has a residual benefit in making so much easier the victimization of their fans? Does this victimization though actually help the fans of celebrities with eating disorders?
The lesson in all of this, naturally, is not that celebrities are uniquely confronted with the trials of eating disorders. It is true though that such disorders are a product of the motivation and will power of the person making the food choices. It would be silly and a straw man to pretend that the view contrary to the busy body victimization crusade denied the role of environmental conditions in creating very real pressures. That though in no way changes the reality that in the end the bulimic or anorectic are making their choices. To claim anything else is to resort to two-bit mysticism.
Those who decry such a statement as a shameful "blaming of the victim" need to look more closely at the implications of their own pervasive victimization strategy. In any event, if the celebrities with eating disorders really were the victims of Hollywood and the mass media,, the only cure would be to permanently leave showbiz. The great number of celebrities, who beat their disorders, without retiring from the business, illustrates an important point. The cause of the eating disorder lies in the celebrity, but equally as important so too does the solution. If the busy bodies were more concerned with personal empowerment and responsibility than vilification of the media and victimization of its supposed casualties, they would recognize this as good news. Everyone who suffers eating disorders, whatever the stresses of their personal life, have a reservoir of strength upon which to draw. The very determination and discipline that you so strictly harness to enforce your unhealthy dietary regime is likewise always there in you, a reservoir of strength, to draw upon, to change your life. It only takes your willingness to access it.
If celebrity idolization is somehow mandatory, there are many different kinds of celebrities to idolize. You can choose. And better still, why not be the celebrity of your own life. It's your choice how to live your life; you've already proven the strength and determination of your personality. It's up to you how to use it. You don't need facile excuses about social pressures and mass media indoctrination. Take responsibility for your own life. Be the star of your own story.
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