I am a hypocrite (with an awesome tan)

A discussion I overheard today got me thinking about role models and their ability to spark debate in society. In my opinion there are two categories of role models. The first are the people who put their hands up to take on positions of esteem. This group includes politicians, teachers, parents, and the captain of the North Melbourne Football Club. The second, more interesting, type are those who are involuntarily branded advocates for a particular cause. This group includes B-grade celebrities who get breast enhancements at the age of 19 and then appear on popular reality TV shows.  

To set the scene – earlier today I was traveling home from the solarium (“woah stop, she has just lost all credibility on this issue”) when I heard two women sitting oppoite me on the train (“oh ok she takes public transport instead of adding to the carbon footprint by driving, she can’t be all bad, We’ll listen a bit longer”) discussing Krystal Forscutt (pictured) from the 2006 series of Big Brother.

The general gist of their conversaion was around how “abhorrent” and “hypocritical” it was for her to appear on A Current Affair saying she doesn’t condone plastic surgery. Krystal infamously had her chest surgically enhanced before appearing on Big Brother at the age of 19. It took every ounce of common decency I could muster not to rudely interrupt their conversation. I wanted so badly to inform them that it is neither “abhorrent” or “hypocritical” of her because she never set out to become a role model.

I could be wrong but I thought people went on Big Brother to:

A) win money

B) win fame

C) have the whole of Australia watch them get drunk, get naked, pash the other housemates (possibly while drunk and naked), and generally make a tool of themselves.

D) all of the above

I didn’t think anyone seriously went on there to become a role model. On The Biggest Loser (strong views on this - check out previous post) the purpose is to lose weight. On Australian Idol the purpose is to find Australias next chart topper. On Big Brother the purpose is to uhhhh hmmmmm entertain?? I don’t even know what the purpose is. Contestants on Loser are ’supposedly’ role models for healthy weight loss – Contestants on Big Brother don’t set themselves up as role models.  

Krystal came under fire after a plastic surgeon, Kourosh Tavakoli accused her of proliferating the practice of teenage plastic surgery, “I do get about 5 to 10 percent of girls aged 18-23 who do want to look like Krystal from Big Brother”.

 While I have no desire to go under the knife and certainly don’t condone plastic surgery for teenagers (unless for reconstructive purposes), I do believe it is an individual choice. Krystal made a choice to alter her body. The only person she put in physical harms way by making that choice was herself. I assume she went into the surgery fully aware of the possible consequences and made the decision that was right for her – not for anyone else. She didn’t set out to be a role model. It is unfair for the media to point it’s judgemental finger at her as the cause of an increase in teenage surgeries. Where are the parents? Where are the doctors? Where are the real role models?

It must have been obvious to Channel Ten that by selecting her for their reality tv show they would cause controversy. Surely if they are going to publicise the fact that they have a 19 year old with surgically enhanced breasts they should publicise the risks of undergoing such a procedure. Maybe I blinked and missed it but all I saw in the 2006 series was a variety of camera angles showing Krystal parading around the house in her bikini.

Krystal should be praised for appearing on A Current Affair to warn other young people about the riskes involved with such a surgery. She was under no obligation to go public and risk looking hypocritical. She defiantly seems more genuinely concerned with the effect media can have on impressionable young people then Channel Ten.

In high school I had a teacher who could be seen at any given lunch hour in a cafe across the street from the school (in full view of students) smoking a cigarette. This person elected to become a role model to teenagers. In my opinion this teacher failed in their duties as a role model. A couple of years ago the captain of the North Melbourne AFL team slept with the wife of his vice captain and more recently admitted to drinking excessive amounts every weekend during his AFL career. This person accepted the position of captain and as a result accepted the position of role model. This person failed in their duties as a role model. A former cricketer/sms extrodinaresigned a deal with an anti-smoking campaign and in doing so declared himself a role model. Shortly after signing with the nicotine substitute maker this person was photographed smoking. This person failed in their duties as a role model.

On a personal note, occasionally I go to the solarium. I know it’s bad for me, I know it damages my skin, I know, I know, I know…but I feel healthier and more confident when I have a tan. I know there are consequences but I have weighed them up against the benefits based on what is important to me. Have I failed as a role model? Am I a horrible person?

No I don’t think so. I never set out to be a role model. I am not doing anything illegal, the closest I ever come to walking the fine line of the law is the odd jay-walk across the road. 

My decision is not physically hurting anyone but myself. I was listening to a talkback radio program a few months ago. The issue was smoking. An 80 year old man called up and claimed that doctors were making too big a deal about the link between smoking and lung cancer. He smugly informed the host that he had been smoking for 60 years and had never suffered lung cancer. His wife of 60 years never smoked a cigarette in her life and recently died of lung cancer. I wanted to call up and scream at him, ”You killed your wife through passive smoking you moron”. I could be wrong but I don’t think they have proven that passive tanning kills.  

I am over 18. I know full well the risks involved. I go to the doctors and get any moles that I am concerned about checked regularly. If any of my friends or family wanted to go to the solarium I would talk them out of it. At the very least I would make sure they knew the potential risks they faced. Hypocritical? Maybe, but I accept that.

I am not an ambassador for The Cancer Council, although I fully support them and the valuable work they do. I don’t judge anyone who gets plastic surgery and I don’t recommend anyone go to the solarium. However, if you are thinking about it please view the following links so that you are making an informed decision:

The Cancer Council

NSW Government Department of Health Solarium Safety Guidelines

Clare Oliver Melanoma Fund

  

Lose it Channel Ten

I would make a terrible psychologist.

It is beyond me how anyone can find ‘The Biggest Loser’ motivating, inspirational, or even vaguely entertaining.

Let me backtrack, I spent last weekend in my hometown visiting family. When I suggested Gladiators (I don’t wanna love it, I just do) for a bit of light Sunday night entertainment. I was promptly shot down by my nine year old sister who sternly advised me that it was time for ‘Loser’.  

I argued what I thought was a pretty decent case for Gladiators in an all female household…i.e. the Tom Williams factor, however was out voted. So, reluctantly, I settled in to watch my first (and hopefully only) episode of Loser.

Promising Start: I managed not to throw up my dinner listening to lyrical genius Shannon Noll belt out the opening theme song (maybe that’s how they lose all that weight) which goes something like: “I know your stronger then this…you gotta lift, you gottttttta lift….yeah yeah yeah”, to a backdrop of really overweight people gazing out over the horizon with a look of scripted plastic determination.

Over the next hour (yes – they devote a full hour to this trash) I watched in horror as the contestants were stripped of all dignity by their ‘motivational’ trainers. I’m talking grown men and woman being made to parade around in spandex, do push ups in the mud, and yelled at until they cried. All of this to a national audience. 

I’m sorry but I was under the impression that exercise was meant to be fun and food was there to be enjoyed. No wonder we have an ‘obesity epidemic’ and children as young as 5 are getting a food complex. Watching what these people go through does not make me think ‘gee that looks like fun, I too would like to eat only green food for a week and go for daily 10km runs in the rain’.

What’s scary about all this is that the show runs for around about 15 weeks during which some of the contestants lose 50+ Kg’s. This is not realistic. This is not healthy. This should not be tried at home. How are these people going to fair when they leave the house and they don’t have Bob and Jillian screaming motivational abuse at them from dawn to dusk. Also, I wouldn’t imagine that 20 year olds with skin folds (due to losing excessive amounts of weight in an excessively short time) that make them look like 80 year olds would be particularly good for the self-esteem.

I don’t take anything away from the contestants – I think it is incredibly courageous to 1. admit you have a problem, and 2. take steps to rectify it. Having battled my own food demons (on the opposite end of the scale) I understand how serious and emotional a disorder is.

What I take issue with is how irresponsible it is to run programs like Loser. It’s not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous. It is dangerous to exercise people to the point that they look like they are in the early stages of a heart attack. It is dangerous to present these people in a jocular, degrading fashion. It is dangerous to portray food as something to be used as a reward or manipulation device. People who are overweight should see their GP for a gradual healthy eating/exercise plan, not their cardiologist in heart surgery after doing a Biggest Loser style overhaul. Wise-up Channel 10.

I’m sorry but bring on the Gladiators – I know that they are hardly realistic role models (I think half of them could actually meet the weight requirements for Loser) but at least they are promoting physical activity and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.