Summary Of Daniel Harris's Celebrity Bodies

Flawless Famous People’s Physiques as Forces for Fitness?
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

culture, but not obsessed over so much that it leads imperfect people to agonize over their tiniest flaws and to loathe the beautiful bodies the God has given each person.
Body image is defined as the things that a person believes about his or her own body, as well as how he or she feels about specific aspects of the body like height, weight, and shape. It can also encompass how comfortable or uncomfortable someone feels in their body, such as their sense and control of their body as they move (Miguel 1). The Bible makes it clear that a person's body is a temple with which to glorify God, and in respect to him Christians should take measures to make sure that their body is in good condition. However, the verse in 1 Corinthians 16:9 does not only refer to the physical condition of the body that God has given us, but also the actions that we choose to use our bodies for. Applying this concept means that people should indeed exercise and make goals for their physical condition so that they have something to aim for, yet that should not be the primary focus of their life. They should concentrate rather on how they live, because their actions, service, attitudes, and relationships with others truly define who they are. If looking at celebrities and their perfect bodies serves to motivate someone to work harder to better their own bodies, then it is acceptable and even beneficial to imitate the famous people. However, often such idolatry of others can instead lead to a person magnifying their own problems in their mind and focusing much too minutely on their flaws instead of recognizing that God has designed them perfectly according to his plan. Like Ephesians 2:10 says, God has created us as his masterpieces and we should try to better ourselves only for his glory, not man's. Lack of self-love, aggravated by the obsession over idealized people, can lead to destructive eating disorders and depression (Miguel 1).
In Harris's argument that Americans should imitate their favorite celebrities' diets and fitness regimens in order to achieve perfect bodies like them, there is a fine line between using famous people as fitness models and looking to them as role models.

If a teenager or pre-teen is focused on particular celebrities and their goal is too look like them, it is not difficult to slip into acting like them as well, or at least being influenced by their behavior and perceived attitudes. The media abounds with bad examples of celebrity behavior, from Justin Bibber driving recklessly to Miley Cyrus parading around scantily clothed, and although every celebrity is not a terrible role model, a disproportionate amount of them can be found to have shaky morals and seem to have let the attention that they receive affect their behavior. In addition, the perfect bodies that most of them display are not realistic and in some cases not even naturally attainable, thanks to the modern tools of plastic surgery, augmentations, liposuction, and other cosmetic surgeries. The media too contributes to the unreal portrayal of models and famous people by using airbrushing on pictures and other editing that lead regular people to compare their bodies to images that are not even humanly possible. The Barbie-like models that girls compare themselves to and the ripped and muscled men that boys compare their bodies to are often completely unnatural and the people who have somehow attained them are,

in reality, unhealthy and unstable (Robison et al 3).
God has created every one of his children exactly as he wants them to be.

This is not to say that Christians should be complacent and never seek to improve themselves, but that God has equipped us each with the tools and abilities that we need to serve him and that he loves us with a love that we cannot even begin to understand. Our bodies are tools with which we can glorify God, and keeping them in good shape is a way to respect him and show him honor. However, being dissatisfied with our bodies actually disrespects the work that God has put into us because it is as if we are saying that he did not do well enough when he created us, which is certainly not true. Exercise and healthy eating are essential and should be prioritized, but this should be kept in perspective because the things that really matter will last much longer than the perfect body or the beautiful face will. A relationship with God and being able to serve him with our lives is what ultimately

matters.
While Daniel Harris's idea that Americans would be healthier if they imitated the inhabitants of Hollywood and strove to attain “perfect” bodies is compelling, the problem with the concept is that personal appearance and image should not be the goal of our lives. If someone pursues beauty and good looks with single-minded intensity, other areas of their lives can break down even as they bulk up (or slim down). How people perceive us should not be the central focus of our lives, and imitating celebrities can lead to an unfulfilled life and such maladies as depression, eating disorders, and even weakened relationships with family, friends, and most importantly, God. This is because someone who only cares about their appearance often becomes shallow and cannot spare time to concentrate on other people and their spiritual life. Though health and fitness are important and affect many areas of our lives, the only thing that lasts past death is our souls and our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Appearance needs to be kept in perspective, and God's eternal love should be always remembered and shared with others.