Celebrity and Media Effects

Celebrity and Media Effects

For centuries women have fought to be accredited as the self-assured, mature, intelligent and competent creatures we are. To be accepted with our blemishes as well as our fabulousness and above all, to accept and love ourselves. We were succeeding and were almost there. However, through the emergence of media communication and the more recent establishment of the internet, value systems in terms of the body have been reformed, thus impinging upon ones self perception concerning body image and identity.

Western culture now sees personal appearance as imperative to success and power, with countless magazines and films geared towards the 'ideal' of being thin. The media and advertising are ultimately responsible for this perception as they possess acute mastery in their influential abilities. The abnormal depictions of waif thin celebrities in the media, such as Geri Halliwell, have fuelled an alarming increase in anorexia which in turn has caused a radical escalation of internet websites promoting and rationalizing anorexia. Vulnerable young women are thus extremely susceptible to these influences and it is for this very reason that these sites, as well as the unattainable images of celebrities, need to be terminated. This essay will be discussing the promotion of anorexia over the internet as well as the necessity of the discontinuation thereof by referring to media effects and celebrity discourse.

Celebrities saturate the pages of magazines, commercials, films and television. Everywhere one looks we are inundated by these ethereal stars whom we "never actually know as real people, only as they are found in the media." (Dyer, 1979:21; Watson, 2003:170).Talented actresses, singers and models are idealized not for their abilities but for their lifestyles. "Celebrity is sustained not by someone's excellence or ability in their chosen profession, but almost entirely by notoriety and infamy...attention is directed towards, and in the final instance sustained by, the drama of the stars 'private' life." (Watson, 2003:173-174). The media promotes and reflects, through the images of celebrities, the current mainstream culture standards for body shape and size and importance of beauty. The media reflects images of thinness and link these images to other symbols of prestige, happiness, love and success. . "The star is seen as an object of desire" (Watson, 2003:171). For women, repeated exposure to this thin, even emaciated ideal via the media, can lead to feelings of inadequacy and thus the internalization of this ideal, even though this ideal is realistically unattainable. Little girls, adolescents and even older women view these celebrities as role models and successful women on which they feel they should format their own lives. They feel thus, that if it is slimness that will assist them in their pursuits of happiness then they too will follow in the footsteps of their role models, which can lead to the onslaught of eating disorders. When women's magazines devote a proliferation of pages to the "best" and "worse" celebrities and when celebrities are ridiculed for their "spare tire" or "buns of peel" women in a worse off bodily condition are acutely deterred and feelings of worthlessness can also lead to eating disorders.

These celebrities who impose constricted images of the ideal body type transgress upon individual identity composition. Congruous representations of women are invariably exhibited. One is rarely presented with an image of an overweight celebrity as being desirable and thus a standard body type remains void from publication. This causes an individuals choice of identity to be overpowered by outside influences such as celebrities- "The star is seen as an object of desire and is studied in terms of the ways in which spectators identify with, find meaning in, and gain a certain fulfillment from her image."(Watson, 2003:171). "The body is the medium through which messages about identity are transmitted," (Benson, 1997:123). The body and the self are in relation to one another and a toned body is seen as morally as well as physically in shape. Thus, through the dictatorship of these skeletal images of celebrities, women are basing their identities on their body image. Women thus, become fixated on various methods that will result in their perceived bodily identities. Anorexia has thus become problematic and in extreme cases, suicide has become a reality as a result of the inability to achieve society's ideals. "Anorexia Nervosa involves intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, refusal to maintain normal weight, and dangerous measures to lose weight." (Weiton, 2001:607) These distressing measures taken to alter self image causes a shift in ones identity with women becoming obsessed with appearances. An over emphasis on surface value may mask who an individual truly is and render that individual empty and lonely. These shifts in identity are experienced not only by women trying to live up to celebrities lifestyles but also by celebrities themselves who have to live in that very stressful lifestyle.

Geri Halliwell is a prime example of one of the many celebrities who are consumed by their bodily image. Starting her career as a member of one of the first ever all girl bands, the Spic Girls, permitted her instant admittance into the world of the stars. Known as 'Ginger Spice' she stole the hearts of millions of little girls, teenagers and women across the globe. Becoming