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.
A flash point for the politically correct game of media blame was the backlash against the innocent, ironic tweet of Lady Gaga, in 2012. It was typical of the victimizing strategy employed by the self-appointed morality squad. For never doubt or forget, young girls everywhere are at perpetual risk of the corrupting pressures of mass media messages. So it happened that poor Lady Gaga, who was already on the public record, urging her young fans to strive for healthier body images, couldn't innocently joke about the challenges of resisting her craving for a cheese burger without the busy bodies' morals police turning it into a federal offense. (And this is to entirely ignore the odd operative assumption that a cheese burger was somehow a better meal choice than a salad.)
If a celebrity already on record as alerting her young fans to the dangers of eating disorders cannot joke about her own freely chosen dietary deprivations what exactly is going on here? It seems that there is a large, invested concern to deny such celebrities freedom to take responsibility for their own choices. Somehow they have to be treated as victims, presumably so that any admirer of such celebrities can also be easily convinced she too is a victim. But who benefits from this?
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.
A flash point for the politically correct game of media blame was the backlash against the innocent, ironic tweet of Lady Gaga, in 2012. It was typical of the victimizing strategy employed by the self-appointed morality squad. For never doubt or forget, young girls everywhere are at perpetual risk of the corrupting pressures of mass media messages. So it happened that poor Lady Gaga, who was already on the public record, urging her young fans to strive for healthier body images, couldn't innocently joke about the challenges of resisting her craving for a cheese burger without the busy bodies' morals police turning it into a federal offense. (And this is to entirely ignore the odd operative assumption that a cheese burger was somehow a better meal choice than a salad.)
If a celebrity already on record as alerting her young fans to the dangers of eating disorders cannot joke about her own freely chosen dietary deprivations what exactly is going on here? It seems that there is a large, invested concern to deny such celebrities freedom to take responsibility for their own choices. Somehow they have to be treated as victims, presumably so that any admirer of such celebrities can also be easily convinced she too is a victim. But who benefits from this?
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.
About the Author:
Check out Mickey Jhonny's other great work at the Celebrities with Eating Disorders blog.
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