It's time to wise up, Kids. Remember the #BeKind movement? There’s enough evil shit going on in the world, it’s time to put an end to the dragging down of women (by women). Capeesh?
I hated all body shaming shit. It made me feel sick. Luckily at OK! We never really went down that path. I remember during my short tenure as OK! editor there was one particular week in which Kelly Brook was pictured on holiday hunched over on a sun lounger, her belly in folds. Every magazine that week featured it, taking great pleasure in suggesting she’d piled on some heartbreak pounds. I found it disgraceful. So I asked our picture desk to pull up the other shots from the set and lo and behold there were a whole slew of more flattering shots where Kelly looked svelte and glamorous. Of course, the other mags had obviously chosen the most unflattering pictures and gone to town with them. So in my editor’s letter the following week I called the other mags out (sadly no one noticed) and did an interview with Kelly about the way she had been treated just to give her the chance to reply to these mean spirited stories. It didn’t have much an effect but it made me feel better to have made a stand, small and unnoticed as it was.
After OK! I did a short stint at another mag that relished in cover stories about celebrities who were either too fat, too thin or had had so much work they looked like cats. Sometimes the cover stories would be framed as positive takes - ie a woman who had put on weight would be ‘praised’ for being proud of her gain. However, the truth is the feature was designed for readers to laugh at them. I quit the job after six months when I could take no more… The straw that broke the camel’s back? Following weeks of ‘eat or die’ covers it was suggested in an editorial meeting that we run an image on the coverof an over weight Hollywood star on the beach ‘flaunting her happy pounds’. I had no problem with the image itself - the actress looked happy and pretty. My objection was the intent of usage. We all knew it was to make readers gawp! But I also hated the hypocrisy. Why was the mag telling skinny stars to ‘eat or die’ one week (ignoring the fact that in some cases the state of their bodies were no doubt the result of serious mental health issues) and then praising someone for being overweight the next when, at the time, there was a real drive to combat obesity levels in the UK. I was appalled and by the end of that week I handed in my notice.
I used to be across the lift lobby from you at Endeavour House. Never worked on news, so didn't indulge in the fat-shaming, but used to rip their outfits to shreds, with many a sly dig re class/mutton-ish tendencies. Makes me feel a bit sick now. The power dynamics in a magazine office are weird. Lots of 20-somethings in their 1st or second job and then the suits you are trying to please.
Why can't the world be filled with more Dean Pipers? Most of us (sadly, myself included) don't have hearts of gold. Social media adds to the toxicity. Highs and lows make a much more compeling story. We love to worship celebs and then bring them a peg or two. You're absolutely dead on about women. We're the easiest of targets not to mention our own worst enemies. Thank you for writing about this. It speaks to a issue that's rarely discussed. Thanks for being kind always!
this was such an eye opening post. as a teen growing up reading Heat and seeing those kind of articles, those messages hit deep! i'm curious about what shifted to allow this kind of free for all environment to happen? was it the rise of reality tv/social media etc?
Hi Dean, such an interesting article and I was so shocked to see that line in the Spectator. Horrible! As a young female journalist just joining the industry I'd like to think the situation is changing. My generation is known for being woke and from what I've seen, that translates into writers who are here for diversity and inclusion. I know many people who hate what the 90s and the 00s (and now, let's be honest) did for body image and fat shaming and no journalist I know would ever want to be a part of that. I'm sure, and I hope, that we're leaving the past behind us. Thanks for writing!
this is a great read Dean. I recall that era in absolute horror working as a celeb PR. The messages all of this was sending to young girls in their formative years about their bodies and how they are allowed to be the subject of so many, is shocking. So sad it is still a reality today although less obvious (gone are the circles of 'shame') but the messages are manifesting and lurking in harder to find places.
I hated all body shaming shit. It made me feel sick. Luckily at OK! We never really went down that path. I remember during my short tenure as OK! editor there was one particular week in which Kelly Brook was pictured on holiday hunched over on a sun lounger, her belly in folds. Every magazine that week featured it, taking great pleasure in suggesting she’d piled on some heartbreak pounds. I found it disgraceful. So I asked our picture desk to pull up the other shots from the set and lo and behold there were a whole slew of more flattering shots where Kelly looked svelte and glamorous. Of course, the other mags had obviously chosen the most unflattering pictures and gone to town with them. So in my editor’s letter the following week I called the other mags out (sadly no one noticed) and did an interview with Kelly about the way she had been treated just to give her the chance to reply to these mean spirited stories. It didn’t have much an effect but it made me feel better to have made a stand, small and unnoticed as it was.
After OK! I did a short stint at another mag that relished in cover stories about celebrities who were either too fat, too thin or had had so much work they looked like cats. Sometimes the cover stories would be framed as positive takes - ie a woman who had put on weight would be ‘praised’ for being proud of her gain. However, the truth is the feature was designed for readers to laugh at them. I quit the job after six months when I could take no more… The straw that broke the camel’s back? Following weeks of ‘eat or die’ covers it was suggested in an editorial meeting that we run an image on the coverof an over weight Hollywood star on the beach ‘flaunting her happy pounds’. I had no problem with the image itself - the actress looked happy and pretty. My objection was the intent of usage. We all knew it was to make readers gawp! But I also hated the hypocrisy. Why was the mag telling skinny stars to ‘eat or die’ one week (ignoring the fact that in some cases the state of their bodies were no doubt the result of serious mental health issues) and then praising someone for being overweight the next when, at the time, there was a real drive to combat obesity levels in the UK. I was appalled and by the end of that week I handed in my notice.
I used to be across the lift lobby from you at Endeavour House. Never worked on news, so didn't indulge in the fat-shaming, but used to rip their outfits to shreds, with many a sly dig re class/mutton-ish tendencies. Makes me feel a bit sick now. The power dynamics in a magazine office are weird. Lots of 20-somethings in their 1st or second job and then the suits you are trying to please.
Why can't the world be filled with more Dean Pipers? Most of us (sadly, myself included) don't have hearts of gold. Social media adds to the toxicity. Highs and lows make a much more compeling story. We love to worship celebs and then bring them a peg or two. You're absolutely dead on about women. We're the easiest of targets not to mention our own worst enemies. Thank you for writing about this. It speaks to a issue that's rarely discussed. Thanks for being kind always!
this was such an eye opening post. as a teen growing up reading Heat and seeing those kind of articles, those messages hit deep! i'm curious about what shifted to allow this kind of free for all environment to happen? was it the rise of reality tv/social media etc?
Hi Dean, such an interesting article and I was so shocked to see that line in the Spectator. Horrible! As a young female journalist just joining the industry I'd like to think the situation is changing. My generation is known for being woke and from what I've seen, that translates into writers who are here for diversity and inclusion. I know many people who hate what the 90s and the 00s (and now, let's be honest) did for body image and fat shaming and no journalist I know would ever want to be a part of that. I'm sure, and I hope, that we're leaving the past behind us. Thanks for writing!
this is a great read Dean. I recall that era in absolute horror working as a celeb PR. The messages all of this was sending to young girls in their formative years about their bodies and how they are allowed to be the subject of so many, is shocking. So sad it is still a reality today although less obvious (gone are the circles of 'shame') but the messages are manifesting and lurking in harder to find places.