Yep. Brick's back to her old tricks again, just when we thought someone had poured a bucket of water on her. This time herDaily Mail article focuses on body size, specifically the belief that women aren't happy unless they are skinny. In the article Brick discusses how she used to survive off under 1000 calories a day, and how all women should strive to live the same.
Lets start by saying, "Okay Samantha, that's really nice for you," because, to be honest, if Samantha is happy eating only sushi and hollowed out bagels everyday, then fair on her. And if she is truly happy with her size and diet then I am glad for her; we unfortunately exist in a world where a lot of people are unhappy, so if she has found what makes her happy, then she should pursuit it.
What I have a problem with is the idea is that all women strive to be 'skinny.' Unfortunately she has clumsily raised a point here, that a lot of girls and women think that happiness is found in a smaller dress size. I don't necessarily think these girls want to be thin, I think that they want to be what society deems acceptable. Fashion trends, society ultimate gage on what is cool, reflect female perception: in the 90's when Kate Moss was popular girls lusted towards the 'heroin chic' look, whilst modern idols such as Katy Perry and Beyonce have prompted a wave of popularity for curvy, but still slim, women. Women and young girls see these women having fun and being lusted over by men and assume that skinniness equates to happiness.
What makes it even more bewildering and confusing is the daily mail's choice to run this story, despite repeatedly scolding fashion brand for using underweight models in their shows. What does the Mail want from women? These confusing and often aggressive messages just leave women not knowing who or what to listen to. In fact, they fuel a lot of the unhappiness women feel.
All of this has left me concluding: the media know nothing about what personally makes you happy. You know what your body likes. I am sick of journalists or magazines trying to promote a one size fits all policy. These blood type, eye colour body mass index diets leave you feeling empty and defeated when you can only survive off grapefruit juice for ten minutes. This also goes out to all those people who rub food in girls faces. Those celebrities who constantly instagram greasy burgers and food covered in cheese. Everything in moderation, our culture has become so anti-diet that we are seemingly encouraging dangerously gluttonous eating. If you fancy a burger eat a burger, if you want salad have salad.
If we look past all the negativity in the media we can see positive role models in all shapes and sizes; curvy women like Adele and Rebel Wilson, skinny girls like Alexa Chung and Emma Watson. All happy successful girls. William Cowper said, 'variety's the very spice of life,' which is why we're all born with different colours, different sizes. I am glad that Samantha Brick has found happiness with her size, but if social media's reaction is anything to go by, her dress size isn't that appealing to everyone.