Hollywood is known to be the home of many celebrities, ranging from musicians, actors to models. The celebrity life is something everyone wishes to live. Driving big cars, living in mansions and having attendants to attend to various needs all seem to be something to make life easy and comfortable. Despite all the love that is shown to the celebrities, the celebrities live a life of intense scrutiny. The common people, who are their fans, keep track of every single detail of their life. Each short coming is noticed and put on the limelight with the help of the media who are the main information givers on every move celebrities make. “The paparazzi, in turn, have become watch dogs who never let them out of our sight, staking out their gyms, …show more content…
He further builds his argument by quoting the words of a celebrity who is taking part in the whole celebrity dieting exercise that leaves them looking weak and frail. “Unhealthy looks should be abandoned and it is wrong to stifle womanly curves” claims the underweight model (Harris, 135). He uses a disappointed tone as he describes how the common man tries to imitate the frail looking celebrities “..so slim she could seek cover behind the nearest swizzle stick” (Harris, 136). In this particular article, he reinforces his ethos as he maintains his cultural criticism argument, an argument he is well known for throughout his works as he argues that the celebrities should not be imitated for they do not even realize whether their funs look like them or …show more content…
His detailed description gives the audience the expression that the author has enough knowledge on the issue he is bringing forth. Harris brings out the logic in his argument by describing the findings of his interviews with the admired celebrities with frail looking bodies. The author gets the same response and arguments that eating leaves and juices is the way to go. It is always claimed that they only eat as advised by their fitness advisors who are mainly the reason as to why the women look so frail and sickly, “I do not eat anything” (Harris, 135). Harris employs a pathetic appeal as he pities how the celebrities are not bothered by not being an attraction to men. He claims that the models are no longer interested in looking all good with the right weight for men to admire, to them being slender is the thing that matters and if the available men are not sexually aroused by their slender bodies then they consider that as the man’s loss and not theirs (Harris, 137). Arguing using the biological facts of sexual attraction Harris shows that celebrities are absent presence in our lives, living far from us but we have them linked in the way we live. The celebrities through nude scenes and close up sessions make their fans feel close to them in a way they are not with normal people in the society bringing out an attraction that is never satisfied in them (Harris,
In the article, “Too ‘Close to the Bone’: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness,” Roberta Seid goes in depth on the emotionally straining and life altering trials women take on to try to portray society’s “ideal” body over time. She delves far into the past, exposing our culture’s ideal body image and the changes it has gone through over time. The article brings to light the struggles of striving to be the perfect woman with the model body. On the other hand, in the article “Rethinking Weight”, author Amanda Spake, details the many differing views of obesity. Spake voices her opinion on the idea that being overweight, and not losing weight, is caused by laziness. “Too Close to the Bone” and “Rethinking Weight” both deliberate about weight issues that are
In his essay, “Celebrity Bodies,” Daniel Harris asserts that the majority of Americans would be healthier if they strove to be just like the celebrities they adore and seek perfection in their appearance. While it is true that many Americans could benefit from an increased amount of exercise and motivation to get in shape driven by the flawless physiques of famous people, such intense concentration on personal image and appearance can actually be extremely harmful. No person is perfect, and putting so much worth into looks and how people perceive one another can lead someone to being depressed and unhappy with him or herself. Exercise and fitness should be emphasized in the American
It looks like looks are here to stay” (Akst 331). Akst’s degenerate remarks about beauty revolves around self-centered and arrogant values. He mentioned so many scientific statements about how humans should focus on maintaining an attractive appearance for society, and not for themselves. If Mairs and Walker read Akst’s essay, they would both disagree with his opinion about beauty. Both women would convey a message of accepting and embracing one’s beauty, despite the society’s view. Akst limits differences in a degrading way by mentioning “overweight” individuals are worthless and they send a negative message to society. The reader and the women can disagree with Akst’s statement because size, appearance, height, ethnicity, gender, and other abnormalities does not send a negative message, it is the comments made by a bias hypocrite who sees beauty as the aspiration to an individual’s
She insults the article by telling her audience, “Gossip magazines keep us constantly abreast of what 's happening to the bodies of famous women.” She even talks about disciplining herself to lose weight to let audience know that she is over weighted. Some of the text that the authors use, people can relate too, and understand that the author has been through the same situation. Gay uses the word denial to explain the outraged of how people deny themselves to maintain their ideal bodies. The article is convincing, and the appealing of the author tone sets the mood of this article. Roxane Gay contrast on how these television shows are not the shows you want to watch. She also gave the audience other examples on a positive effect of losing
At times I was dangerously thin, and my arms have always been longer than they should be for someone of my height. Nonetheless, my body has never gone under scrutiny and in fact, was common and celebrated among male basketball players. This is one of the many benefits of my male privilege. Female athletes, on the other hand, are subjected to a contradictory ideal that they should maintain a strong athletic body for the sport they play, yet also remain thin and appeal to the sexual ideal men hold them to. Nita Mary McKinley states in, Weighty Issues: Constructing Fatness and Thinness as Social Problems, “The construction of ideal weight parallels the construction of the traditional ideal woman and ideal weight becomes gendered” (99). This is unfair to the female athlete as it creates a conflict between physically exceling in their sport and being sexually discriminated against by men. As a male, there is practically no sexual consequences I suffer from that pertain to the body type I maintain. One of the most publicly scrutinized athletes for her body shape is tennis legend Serena Williams. Male sports writers in their attempts to objectify Williams, have shared their thoughts on how she is too strong and too muscular to sexually appeal to men. Serena has since reclaimed her sexuality by posing in ESPN Magazine’s body issue, along with appearing in Beyonce’s “Formation” music video. American celebrity culture, European fashion culture, and international advertising are all responsible for the development of thin female body types being the most sexually desired among males in America. It is important to apply locational context and recognize that other female body types are celebrated throughout other cultures. For instance Fatema Mernissi confesses, in Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem, “In the Moroccan streets, Men’s flattering comments regarding my particularly generous hips have for decades led me to
The celebrity gossips are indeed the most important news in the modern day society since it benefits the younger generation. For instance, some gossip stories motivate the young to explore the singing or acting talents so as to earn what their favorite celebrities earn. Additionally, popular celebrity gossip blogs provide the best opportunity for marketers to reach out for their target market segments. The senses of humor, as well as the criticisms associated with the readers’ comments often ruin the public image of the concerned celebrities, especially if they are abusive.
Imagine yourself rich and famous, living the modern American Dream. Now, imagine constantly being stalked by a herd of random strangers bombarding you with cameras. Over the years, the paparazzi have sought scandals from celebrities in order to receive money. In the process, they have stripped thousands of celebrities from their privacy rights. According to the 2006 blog, “The Digital Paparazzi”, there have been 1,360 different events between the years of 1999 and 2010 involving the intrusive photographers (Sim and Adcock, n.p.). They have caused numerous headaches, injuries, and even deaths. The abuse from paparazzi has gotten extreme to the point where the Congress has created a set of laws, restricting them from certain exploits.
A few years ago, the beauty industry seemed to become less of a beast: the media started promoting larger attractive-looking models. But Klein did not consider this when he decided to promote “real people.” These not-so-flattering photos seem to mock big people, says Idrea Lippman, an owner of a plus-sized boutique in Los Angeles (Goldberg 1). These two photos, which feature a man and a woman, show the contrast of what larger people are wanting to see. The woman, who is wearing all black make-up and clothing, “slouches and grimaces” (Goldberg 1). The featured man, who is swinging his arms ridiculously around him, seems to be in the middle of a dance move. Lippman ...
... creation is just a doll” says the article “Beyond Thin”. But with people in pictures and magazines it’s different. A study in Europe links the fashion industry's use of super-thin models to the self-identity problems of many young women.
The models and celebrities in the media that set the standard for what women should look like are thinner than 90-95 percent of the American female population (Seid p.6). This is an unrealistic portrayal of what the human body should look like when compared to most women’s genetic makeup. Women’s self-image, their social and economic success, and even their survival can still be determined largely by their beauty (Seid p.5). Men on the other hand seem to have it a little easier when it comes to looks. Their self-image is largely determined by what they accomplish in life and not by whether or not they meet the social standard for looks. Modern clothing and fashion require women to show off their bodies more in tight clothes and by showing more skin than in the past. According to Roberta Seid ...
The deception of media consumers allows for the abuse of economic infrastructures of society. An obsession with celebrities’ lives passifies ordinary people in accepting the stratification of the elite businesses and the ordinary citizens. Though pseudo-events and celebrity worship may not be exactly complementary, the similarities of both leaves the public to be utterly vulnerable unless they begin to critically think for themselves.
What remains similar between the bodies flaunted across the media, is that they all possess popular standards of some kind of objective beauty. Women have an aptness to fall prey to advertisers and somehow unknowingly accept the creation of such standards for a woman’s body that is unrealistic for the majority of society. Slender, good-looking models are so prominent in today’s culture that chronic exposure to them reinforces a discrepancy for women between their actual body and the ideal body. Media fuels this unrealistic image and convinces women that in order to be accepted and considered beautiful, you better be fat-less, have silky hair and a flawless complexion. Unrealistic media images of women are so prevalent that it seems that females who fulfill such a standard are more the norm than the exception. The Cultivation theory argues that images that portray women who match the sociocultural ideal of beauty are extremely prevalent in pop...
The gossip industry has become popular in the last few decades. Our society enjoys knowing about the lives of celebrities. We obsess over celebrities on gossip websites, and even obsess to the extent of stalking these celebrities. This industry has impacted our culture immensely. It has tainted our culture in several ways from creating bad role models for our children to making stalking an everyday affair; either way, the media has changed our society greatly. The gossip industry has brought new entertainment for our pleasure, but it has come with negative consequences.
Today I have gone over three main points to aid me in persuading you of my cause against this unhealthy promotion of an unattainable body image by the media: The highly negative effects on body image caused by the media, the ways the media promotes an unhealthy, unattainable body image of a woman as the ‘perfect’ and ‘ideal’ image, and last but definitely not least, how the emulation of this sort of body image can be prevented. With that, I do hope I have managed to convince you that the
When living their day-to-day lives in the public eye, many celebrities must deal with gossip columnists, the infatuation of stalkers, and the unrelenting paparazzi. They follow celebrities into restaurants, their children’s schools, on vacations, and even their residential neighborhoods (Jones). By seeking out and publishing the whereabouts of celebrities, they cannot be sure who will find or come across that information. The paparazzi ...