They are the butt of countless jibes and satirical pop culture references, but there's no doubt that a lot of celebrities, especially the females one, find their dieting practices fueled by the same driven personality traits that enable them to rise to the top of their craft.
It has become something of a clich by now to point a wagging, accusing figure at the mass media, blaming the glitzy lifestyle along with the shallow and sexist mindless consumerism of the general public, who are said to buy into it all. Such glib diagnoses, however comfortingly politically correct they may be in the current environment, serve to obscure the fact that all aspects of the lives of successful movie stars, performers and other media personalities is colored by the hard driving personality tendencies that motivate their 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.'"
Others, such as Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, acknowledge that the source of eating disorders is often in dealing with the highs and lows and pressures of daily life. Being a celebrity may or may not increase the pressure, but it doesn't dictate the particular 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?
Obviously the lesson here is not that only celebrities need worry about eating disorders, but rather that such disorders are a product of the determination and resilience of the individual experiencing it. Of course environmental conditions can create relevant pressures, but at the end of the day the bulimic or anorectic are the ones who are making the choices to conduct themselves in the way that they are.
And for those who think this assessment is unfair, who would dismiss it as a form of blaming the victim, perhaps you have the whole thing backwards. If the explanation for celebrities with eating disorders really was the mass media and the Hollywood glamour machine, there could be no other solution than to leave Hollywood or working in the media. Yet, there are plenty of success stories in which celebrities were victorious in combating their eating disorders, without needing to retire from their careers. They may have needed a break from the stress of work, but stress reduction is going to be an ingredient in any recovery plan. Rather, what this reveals is that just as the cause of the eating disorders lies in the celebrity, so too lay the solution. This shouldn't be offensive or threatening, it should be a note of encouragement. The news for all those who suffer eating disorders is one of hope: regardless of the difficulties in your own life, you have a secret weapon. That same strength and determination that holds you to the your current strict regime, the very engine of your eating disorder, is likewise there in you, the very same strength and determination, to draw from, when you decide you want to change your life.
That should be encouraging, even exciting. You can be the celebrity of your own life. It's in your hands to choose how to live. Don't accept easy excuses about social pressures and expectations. Take responsibility for your own life. Be the star of your own story.
It has become something of a clich by now to point a wagging, accusing figure at the mass media, blaming the glitzy lifestyle along with the shallow and sexist mindless consumerism of the general public, who are said to buy into it all. Such glib diagnoses, however comfortingly politically correct they may be in the current environment, serve to obscure the fact that all aspects of the lives of successful movie stars, performers and other media personalities is colored by the hard driving personality tendencies that motivate their 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.'"
Others, such as Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, acknowledge that the source of eating disorders is often in dealing with the highs and lows and pressures of daily life. Being a celebrity may or may not increase the pressure, but it doesn't dictate the particular 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?
Obviously the lesson here is not that only celebrities need worry about eating disorders, but rather that such disorders are a product of the determination and resilience of the individual experiencing it. Of course environmental conditions can create relevant pressures, but at the end of the day the bulimic or anorectic are the ones who are making the choices to conduct themselves in the way that they are.
And for those who think this assessment is unfair, who would dismiss it as a form of blaming the victim, perhaps you have the whole thing backwards. If the explanation for celebrities with eating disorders really was the mass media and the Hollywood glamour machine, there could be no other solution than to leave Hollywood or working in the media. Yet, there are plenty of success stories in which celebrities were victorious in combating their eating disorders, without needing to retire from their careers. They may have needed a break from the stress of work, but stress reduction is going to be an ingredient in any recovery plan. Rather, what this reveals is that just as the cause of the eating disorders lies in the celebrity, so too lay the solution. This shouldn't be offensive or threatening, it should be a note of encouragement. The news for all those who suffer eating disorders is one of hope: regardless of the difficulties in your own life, you have a secret weapon. That same strength and determination that holds you to the your current strict regime, the very engine of your eating disorder, is likewise there in you, the very same strength and determination, to draw from, when you decide you want to change your life.
That should be encouraging, even exciting. You can be the celebrity of your own life. It's in your hands to choose how to live. Don't accept easy excuses about social pressures and expectations. 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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