Womans Trash
June 15th 2009 21:51
"Kate Middleton Can't Have a Baby" and Therese Rein's "Amazing Weight Loss," or Nicole Kidman's "Secret Vietnamese Baby Boy Adoption." All of these stories have been written without the subject being interviewed, and except for the case of Ms Rein, happen to be completely false.
I call the magazines that produce these features McDonalds for the mind. Perfect for passing time in a waiting room or in my mother's lounge room. Yet, I always feel so dirty afterwards. Sometimes the effect on my mood is almost as bad as the effect of KFC chicken on my body (let's just say both involve multiple visits to the bathroom, staring at my face in the mirror, feeling fat and like I need to vomit but in the case of KFC something way worse than nausea occurs).
Knowing and expecting trash, can readers still get outraged at such misleading headlines? Kate Middleton, in case you didn't know, is Prince William’s girlfriend and assumedly physically healthy and fertile. Woman's Day reported she 'can't have a baby' because the prince's military commitments will keep him busy for quite a few years yet, so she may not be having a baby until in her thirties. And the ideal time for a woman to have a baby is in her twenties, according to the magazine, so it may be too late. Hate to break it to you Womans Day, the ideal time for a woman to have a baby is when she has the right partner and they are both ready for that kind of commitment. The whole concept of these stories is to make single and childless women crave the 'normalcy' of a husband and child yet worship the affluence of celebrities.
That New Idea fictitiously reported that Nicole Kidman and Mr. Handbag Husband adopted a child in Vietnam is another example of the sort of ridiculous culture of celebrity gossip that has warped our minds. Nicole Kidman has not adopted any child from Vietnam, the "journalist" went to Vietnam and took a few pictures of orphans and hashed the piece together. This makes me think, if the magazine took the heat for the false claims, and the writer got off scot-free (a freelancer) then maybe I should throw together a few pictures of my trip to Cambodia, where I did indeed visit an orphanage, and announce that Angelina Jolie's Khmer child's twin sister is in the very orphanage and can't find a home as she has two left feet. (On second thoughts, that's not a bad idea)...
The feature on Prime Minister Rudd's wife work out success is actually true as she does indeed look amazing, having lost 25kg in six months. The Prime Minister's office is understandably ticked off at someone taking a picture of Ms Rein in her sweaty gym gear without her knowledge. Fortunately however, Ms Rein, despite being 50ish, invested in decent quality workout wear and doesn't get that red blotchy face and frizzy hair look from exercise. In fact, she looks pretty okay when working out. The images are far less embarrassing then say, Cherie Blaire in her dressing gown. Aside from the invasion of privacy, Therese Rein is a positive role model. She's a millionaire business woman, the PM's wife, and lost a stack of weight in order to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. At least this story has a positive and empowering focus to it.
You know what; I am having a fast food fast. No junk food or mind junk for a month. I will see how I go on this diet. But I doubt the average tabloid reader will be able to go without a fix for that long.
I call the magazines that produce these features McDonalds for the mind. Perfect for passing time in a waiting room or in my mother's lounge room. Yet, I always feel so dirty afterwards. Sometimes the effect on my mood is almost as bad as the effect of KFC chicken on my body (let's just say both involve multiple visits to the bathroom, staring at my face in the mirror, feeling fat and like I need to vomit but in the case of KFC something way worse than nausea occurs).
Knowing and expecting trash, can readers still get outraged at such misleading headlines? Kate Middleton, in case you didn't know, is Prince William’s girlfriend and assumedly physically healthy and fertile. Woman's Day reported she 'can't have a baby' because the prince's military commitments will keep him busy for quite a few years yet, so she may not be having a baby until in her thirties. And the ideal time for a woman to have a baby is in her twenties, according to the magazine, so it may be too late. Hate to break it to you Womans Day, the ideal time for a woman to have a baby is when she has the right partner and they are both ready for that kind of commitment. The whole concept of these stories is to make single and childless women crave the 'normalcy' of a husband and child yet worship the affluence of celebrities.
That New Idea fictitiously reported that Nicole Kidman and Mr. Handbag Husband adopted a child in Vietnam is another example of the sort of ridiculous culture of celebrity gossip that has warped our minds. Nicole Kidman has not adopted any child from Vietnam, the "journalist" went to Vietnam and took a few pictures of orphans and hashed the piece together. This makes me think, if the magazine took the heat for the false claims, and the writer got off scot-free (a freelancer) then maybe I should throw together a few pictures of my trip to Cambodia, where I did indeed visit an orphanage, and announce that Angelina Jolie's Khmer child's twin sister is in the very orphanage and can't find a home as she has two left feet. (On second thoughts, that's not a bad idea)...
The feature on Prime Minister Rudd's wife work out success is actually true as she does indeed look amazing, having lost 25kg in six months. The Prime Minister's office is understandably ticked off at someone taking a picture of Ms Rein in her sweaty gym gear without her knowledge. Fortunately however, Ms Rein, despite being 50ish, invested in decent quality workout wear and doesn't get that red blotchy face and frizzy hair look from exercise. In fact, she looks pretty okay when working out. The images are far less embarrassing then say, Cherie Blaire in her dressing gown. Aside from the invasion of privacy, Therese Rein is a positive role model. She's a millionaire business woman, the PM's wife, and lost a stack of weight in order to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. At least this story has a positive and empowering focus to it.
You know what; I am having a fast food fast. No junk food or mind junk for a month. I will see how I go on this diet. But I doubt the average tabloid reader will be able to go without a fix for that long.
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Comment by Nevar
Is Why
But I'm not giving up my junk food staples, I do have standards to adhere to.