Over The Opinion...

Will Gore- The Independent:

Unfortunately so, journalists are too busy trying to meet the requirements of their readers- ignoring any morals and laws that are in place to regulate the potential, underestimated harm that words can do. Words can often go off on a tandem, bringing hysteria and virtual anarchy to social media. Journalists are too busy, that some (not all) are skimming past and ignoring the facts: that their words become a canon for future journalism. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on matters, but their opinion on people, written down in either print or online, read by the masses and absorbed by some (not all) people into believing that they could be right, is becoming all too common in an industry of dog eat dog. Personally attacking people is now a journalistic norm that has evolved from comment/opinion writing, and has been greatly encouraged through the access of online platforms for citizen journalism. It's when professional journalism becomes too brutal and in in this case, too embarrassing to read. The question is: when did journalism get so arrogant? 

A budding journalist myself, and also being pretty opinionated, it would seem a shock to some that I believe journalism is not regulated enough. It would seem like a dream to write a column in a magazine or regularly write on an online blog, getting paid for simply stating my opinion. But I would never make personal remarks about someone, for example their looks, when they aren't there to stand up for themselves and for thousands to read. Online and in print, opinion writing needs to draw a line between personal bullying and professionally stating an educated and carefully evaluated opinion. Sometimes provoking a reaction is taken too far. Journalism in some publications have great success on their opinion columns, but the words used can be highly offensive and blatantly rude. Take this article for example.

Her success is undoubtable. Her success also depends on filming her life which means just being herself. An easy job some may say, getting paid for filming your everyday activities, but not everyone could do that and be liked- I don't even think I could. Becoming a digital ambassador for the charity Mind and achieving a book deal with Penguin, Zoella is leading the YouTube parade. None of this would have been achieved without her blog and YouTube channel where she has gained a loyal following of 6 million followers, which to me, is pretty frightening! That's a lot of people! Therefore, her success is due to her likeable personality, so how can someone skim past that and attack her looks. Making fun of her enormous eyes and calling her a "startled bird" is only feeding our corrupted norm of noticing flaws in people. Journalists forget that people will only consume this idea and habit, and adopt it in their own everyday norms. And for journalists who are the most educated on the impact of media, should know that personal attacking can only escalate, as demonstrated in this journalists follow-up article. 

The journalist said that she "expected a backlash". The backlash that she did receive was indeed, very extreme, ranging from abusive tweets to threatening hate mail. I don't think she expected backlash on such a massive scale but why wouldn't she? Attacking Zoella's fandom is like attacking One Direction's- it is a teenage, global affair. It would be ignorant to not know that you will receive extreme threats when you insult one's teenage idol's looks. I understand the power of social media is unfortunately and overwhelmingly scary, how many opinionated minds of all ages have the freedom to say anything within a few seconds for absolutely anyone around the world to see it. But it is ignorant to not understand the audience you are addressing your 'opinion' to, and not expect the threats that unfortunately come with it. 

The YouTube platform is one that has grown so vast in the last 5 years- making it's own tribe of online celebrities. YouTube culture, in particular, is one that is becoming so popular that it has gained a hysterical following (e.g. chasing people down the streets- not cool). But to me, it is a slight relief that many young teenagers are idolising YouTube stars for simply being themselves and advising their viewers, as close to the truth as you can get in the media, on anything from dealing with anxiety to what beauty products are the best to get. It makes a nice change from idolising 'celebrities' for doing nothing. The journalist did think it was ridiculous how Zoella and many other YouTuber's are recommending young girls on how to improve their appearance, but the fact is, that's what their viewers want. And in modern-day journalism, young women are being taught that looks are important, and unfortunately for you, your choice of words in the article show you are also contributing to this idea, that good looks are important- or you will be penalised in the media for them, regardless of your success. 

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The Curvy vs. Skinny War...

Shockingly, the whole hoo-har of 'when did this become hotter than this' is turning women against each other- conflicting their opinions and targeting the opposite body shape. A sensitive topic, it allows women to get their claws out and fight for what they think is right.  And let's just say, we all know someone who enjoys doing that… 

So with every scratch and roar, some women are taking their cat fight to social media, using internet 'memes' to support their point. This raises three questions: one, why can't people accept other people's opinion? Two, why does your body shape matter to the point that it causes so much controversy and anger? And three, why do these 'ever-so-important' opinions need to be posted on social media? *Yawn*

It is no news that there is some sort of metaphoric tug of war between curvy and skinny people. In the recent years, our social media feeds have been bombarded with images of body transformations and comparisons between people of different sizes. It was until the other night I found an image and decided to read the comments, which you will gather, left me feeling pretty opinionated and critical upon the matter. Understandably, anyone would when people are arguing what is better- challenging those of the opposite shape and size that in fact their body IS the best and is what men WANT. The one difference between me and the people commenting on that image is that I had no desire to let my voice be heard on what progressed into a brutal Facebook war. So I decided to do it on here and make a valid argument (unlike the other commenters). The image used was the one below:

The first thing that drew my attention was the crazy 'thigh gap' in Candice Swanepoel's legs. It kinda creeps me out but anyway. More importantly was the fact that people were so willing to let themselves be heard- regardless of how others may react to it. Name-calling, swearing, and directing their opinion at individuals on the comments, people seemed to have no filter (or care) at how it can hurt someone's feelings. Social media destroys our communicational barriers. It allows people to adopt another (and more argumentative) persona. It was almost like people were looking to find an argument and get them riled up. All that came to mind is how much time they were wasting on something that simply stated an opinion (hence the 'I think') and why they couldn't just accept that. But yet again, why on social media? To reach more people? To make more people involved in an active and persistent debate?

As the comments flooded through, it was clear that skinnier girls were offended at how they were portrayed as an unrealistic figure- arguing how it isn't their fault and that it's natural for them. I understand, this image targets skinny people whilst applauding those who are curvy. But what isn't taken into consideration is that curvy people are targeted (and even ignored) in other ways, such as on the catwalk and in the media. The act of compromising is not considered. The image is simply a justification; a response to what has been the norm for the last decade, that being curvy is not desirable. This led me to the thought of what possessed someone to put this online. Maybe the power of social media allows people to unite in their opinions? For example, you click the 'like' button and join others in their preferences- getting some sort of weird social buzz from it. It's like you willing and instantly join a Facebook group of people who prefer curvy people to skinny people and for some reason, feel instantly better from it, like a virtual high five for sharing the same ideology. It's all pretty bizarre. 

In modern society, the idea of curvy has had people in question. What classifies curvy? Where does the line draw between curvy and overweight? Curvy women out there have been justifying their figure for the last few years now against the one industry that made skinny trendy: fashion. The bony, more masculine figure became fashionable and in my opinion, still is. Clothes shops are still catering for skinnier people and ignoring that women do have boobs and hips. I understand that there are certain cuts out there that don't flatter non-hourglass bodies, but there are also clothes out there designed with the skinny body in mind and you only have to take one look at catwalk pictures to prove it. 

But catwalks and fashion aside, the unification of curvy people seems to be driven by one thing; that their body is what men want. As delusional as it sounds, women seek to please men physically, which greatly frustrates me. The culturally sensitive nature of women, as proven on the comments of the image, is for them to care about what others think over the importance of their own self-confidence and self-esteem. Male opinion is a crucial factor in justifying the curvy figure on social media sites, mainly Facebook. Whoever put this image online, wanted men to like this- proudly committing themselves to the opinion that 'I think this looks better than this' aka. 'I don't like skinny women'. Women then access the information of 'likers' and feel better if their curvy figure has had the male approval. Unfortunately, making one feel better, makes another feel worse. What the comments on the image show is that 'memes' like this create a huge emotional impact. And for what? Changing a law, gaining world peace? It's only for wanting to be the most attractive, popular, and sought-after body shape- that's all. 

What's proven is that it's not even worth it: the targeting, the justification, the argument. Everyone has their own opinion but the context of social media provides no substance to the argument and opinions, as you instantly become another commenter on the image that feeds the constant and repetitive debate. If anything, you are connoting ideas that you're uneducated, bored, and easily offended. The key is to not care. If we didn't care, then the whole curvy/skinny war wouldn't be an issue on social media and responsive images like these wouldn't be posted. The public have the power to determine what makes social media as we are the contributors. Our size shouldn't be part of it. Besides, your body shape is only a fraction of what makes you attractive. 

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