The Spectrum

Issue date: 9/15/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: AP Photo/Jacques Boissinot Lohan and Olsen with their "new" slim figures.

The recent trend with women celebrities has been thin, frail bodies as a result of dieting. Since celebrities are constantly in the media, women and young girls find themselves wanting to be as beautiful and thin as the celebrities they see everyday.

Many of the popular dieting habits of these celebrities are unhealthy, and can have a huge affect on young girls' eating habits. The exposure to thin celebrities is pressuring girls to look as slim as possible, which may be putting them at risk to disease or possbily death.

"Pictures of celebrities can be found anywhere and they are constantly reminding me of what society thinks we should look like. It puts pressure on me and many other females to keep in shape so that we can get as close to the 'celebrity look' as possible," said Cheryl Difabio, a freshman from Philadelphia, PA.

No matter how hard we try to stay away from it, there's no escaping the "pin thin" look of celebrities and models. Learning to not be envious of these super-skinny celebrities is easier said than done.

"Seeing an abundance of thin celebrities does affect my body image. You look at how skinny people are and you think that's what you're supposed to look like. But at the end of the day, I just like to be comfortable in my own skin," said Elizabeth Onorato a sophomore, from Malverne, NY.

Women have always been conscience about their weight, and celebrities have been "pin thin" for years. Young celebs such as Lindsay Lohan, Mary Kate Olsen, and Nicole Richie, are prime examples of what young girls focus on looking like. In a way, the media is somewhat to blame for tiny celebrities. The media is constantly criticizing everything about celebrities from their clothes, to their hair, to their bodies.

"I don't believe celebrities lose weight on purpose or do it because of other stars. I think they get skinny because they have so much to deal with. Between family problems and their work schedules they probably don't eat healthy or eat enough. So a celebrity looking frail and thin really does not affect me," said Christie Feraudo, a sophomore from Freehold, NJ.

It seems as though a lot of girls these days are looking to celebrities as a model of what they are expected to look like. Although there are a lot of girls who want to be the mirror image of celebs, such as Linsday Lohan, there are also girls who are happy with who they are.

"Regardless of how thin celebrities are getting, no one wants to be fat. As long as I'm not fat, I don't need to be stick thin," said Jenine Kleeman, a sophomore from Manalapan, NJ.

Celebrities often think it is better to be skinny, so they keep losing weight. In reality, they are becoming less attractive than what they were at a healthy size. Hopefully in the future, young girls will realize that the distorted self images some celebrities have for themselves are not healthy, and being "pin thin" isn't as attractive as they think.

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