Body Shaming – Does the media go too far?

July 18, 2016

Jennifer Aniston made the headlines this week when she blasted the media through a powerful essay on “body shaming” published by the Huffington Post.

In an open letter the former Friends star called out the media for constantly reporting on her figure and pregnancy status. The first line she wrote was “For the record I am not pregnant, what I am is fed up!” a powerful opening line that has made headlines around the world and has made people wake up and ask the question..

Does the media go too far?

A picture of Jennifer Aniston on holiday with her husband Justin Theroux, sporting what can only be described as a small rounded tummy was what prompted the tabloid story in the first place and lead to headlines all over the world which read ‘Finally Jens pregnancy dream comes true’ ‘Aniston Pregnant!’ ‘Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are thrilled to be expecting first child together’ ‘Jennifer Aniston pregnant with miracle baby!’

Picture source – Daily Mail

Jennifer Aniston is known for maintaining a dignified silence when it comes to rumours about herself, she is a very private person and very rarely responds to rumours or the media in general, however this time she has had enough and has decided to call out the media for body shaming women by claiming she is pregnant when she says herself she simply had a burger for lunch:

“I resent being made to feel “less than” because my body is changing and/or I had a burger for lunch and was photographed from a weird angle and therefore deemed one of two things: “pregnant” or “fat.”

The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty?

Is she pregnant? Is she eating too much? Has she let herself go? Is her marriage on the rocks because the camera detects some physical imperfection”

Since the publication of Aniston’s essay, females around the world have applauded her and backed her in every way, however on the flip side of this, a debate has since erupted as to whether Aniston has the right to privacy when she puts herself out there as a ‘celebrity’.

This is an ongoing debate where people argue that celebrities crave attention and put themselves out there in order to get press and publicity yet when they get any negative press they pull back and cry out that’s it’s an invasion of their privacy.

So where is the line? When does the media go too far?

This is a hard question to answer and each case is extremely different as you have celebrities like Jennifer Aniston who does not put herself out there for publicity, in fact does everything in her power to keep her personal life private and paid millions for security to make sure her recent wedding photos remained private, versus the fame hungry reality TV stars who are doing all they can to get in front of the camera and get publicity in any way they can.

So when should the media pull back?

Where is the line the media should not cross?

It’s a question you feel won’t ever be answered and will be debated for years to come, however I take my hat off to Jennifer Aniston for raising the issue especially when it comes to body shaming, as it seems these days’ women in the media are either too fat or too thin and simply can’t win!

Where do you stand on the issue?

Edel

Edel Cox is a Senior Account Manager with Fuzion