Is Kate Middleton Responsible for The World’s Body Image Issues?

July 29, 2011 1:00 pm     Posted in Body, Featured Left  Kim- Syracuse University g+ page

Ever since Kate Middleton stepped into the public eye, there has been much scrutiny surrounding her weight. The 5 foot 10 in. tall duchess is rumored to weight in at just under 100 lbs which, according to her BMI of 14.35, is seriously underweight. (Anything under 18.5 for women is considered underweight.) Now, once again, everyone is worried about young girls and how they’re going to respond to Kate Middleton’s body. “If the Duchess of York is dangerously thin, then maybe I should be too,” are the thoughts that people fear the young girls of today will undoubtedly have, especially since so many of these girls idolize these women. Although this strong influence hasn’t necessarily been proven, I don’t doubt its existence.


By Kim

However unpleasant it is to see someone being so heavily scrutinized in the media, everyone knows that with the spotlight comes the criticism.  The one thing I can’t come to grips with though is the idea that Kate Middleton is being criticized for being underweight because of her influence, and NOT because of her health. In my opinion, there needs to be a conversation held  about the role of the media and their own perpetuation of the ideals of beauty.

It is not the responsibility of Kate Middleton or any other famous women to regulate their weight for the sake of the young girls around the world. Is that not the role of a parent? And how hypocritical is it of the media to hail Ms. Middleton as gorgeously divine and then to turn right around and poke at her for being incredibly thin? Unfortunately, what the media chooses to cover isn’t always shaped by what we viewers want to see, but by what they want us to see. If you hail all of the ghastly thin women as physically perfect as the gods, then that is how the viewers will see them.

What’s most important in this issue of public scrutiny (specifically about weight) is the idea of influence. Education is the key to unlocking the truths behind what we see in the media, and the  simplest form of education begins in the home. If young girls are so heavily influenced by what they see in the media, then there must be some deficiency in the education at home. We should be influenced simply by things that we like and things that we learn. Our parents have always encouraged this notion, and the parents of young girls should continue to do so. There is a difference between admiring someone and idolizing them, and the difference should be made clear. Kate Middleton should be admired because she’s graceful, intelligent, and well spoken. She shouldn’t be idolized because she has zero% body fat. These are conversations that should be held, if not at home then in a public sphere — perhaps, as crazy as it sounds, in the media.

You know, there’s a reason for the phrase “Don’t believe everything you see on TV.” In cases like these, it can seriously be bad for your health.

What are your thoughts on the media and their influence on our own decisions regarding our ideal of beauty? Should celebs be held personally responsible for the well-being of their followers and fans?

21 Comments on "Is Kate Middleton Responsible for The World’s Body Image Issues?"

  1. Kelly says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20111:28 pm 

    Just FYI, Kate is the Duchess of Cambridge.

  2. Miriam says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20111:38 pm 

    Don't blame individual women like Kate Middleton when all they've done wrong is 1) be underweight, and 2) be famous. Blame the media and the beauty and fashion industries, which hold these women up as ideals.

  3. tina says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20111:54 pm 

    i don't hold kate middleton up to anything. She has no boobs or hips and she not as skinny as everyone thinks. Heck the magazines were the ones that photoshopped her photos to make her even skinnier. If anything Kate is just as influeneced as the millions of girls around the world by media. Personally would she have had to lose the weight for her wedding if it wasn't going to be filmed and known as a royale wedding….media is tying to kill her like they did to dianna.

  4. Jenna says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20112:45 pm 

    "f young girls are so heavily influenced by what they see in the media, then there must be some deficiency in the education at home. "

    I think this statement is incredibly simplistic. Everyone is influenced to a certain extent by what they see in the media. It's impossible to live in a vacuum, the things we like and dislike are heavily influenced by what we observe. Obviously home life can help to a certain extent by building up healthy self esteem, but education isn't always enough to overcome the subconscious effect of seeing nothing but images of very slim women.

    Everybody knows rationally that you should maintain a healthy weight, do exercise and not worry about the ideal body shape devised by the media but that doesn't stop us worrying when we look in the mirror.

  5. Jessica D. says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20115:38 pm 

    Why don’t we stop blaming the media for causing eating disorders? The media can influence our self esteem, but it doesn’t cause the horrible emotional complex that makes girls dive into eating disorders. Having suffered from an eating disorder, I can say that the media didn’t have a single damn thing to do with my problem. Like stated above, parents/family life have a much greater influence on the development of an eating disorder (along with genetic markers and “buddy” disorders such as depression and anxiety) than some chick in a magazine you’re never going to meet and whose opinion you probably wouldn’t care about anyway.

  6. Mary says:
    Fri, 29th Jul 20119:13 pm 

    As a 5'10" female who was naturally 110 pounds at one point before birth control + freshman year of college did me in, I'd like to say that there's no way in hell she weighs 100 pounds. She's at least 120.

  7. Guest says:
    Sat, 30th Jul 20113:25 am 

    I have to agree with mary. When I was high school I was 5'7" and just about 100lbs and wore a 0. I was then put on the pill and gained about 25 lbs or the next few years and am still considered quite thin. She is most definitely at least 120 if she is really 5'10"

  8. Dana says:
    Sat, 30th Jul 20114:27 pm 

    Everybody should seriously stop worrying about kate and whatever she wears, weighs, does, etc. Live your OWN life and worry about your own weight. There will always be someone thinner, fatter, shorter, taller than you. There is somebody thinner than kate she is not the only thin woman in the world. It is impossible for her to weigh only 100. That is something around what I weigh, maybe 99 or so, and I am 5'1 and I am thin and fit. The media does this on purpose to drive us crazy and claim that only somebody that is a size 0 looks good in clothes. There are women in the media that should be praised like Adele, she is not a size 0 and she is an amazing singer and a stunning woman, Kate is not the only size 0, I have been a size 0 all my life maybe because of my fast metabolism and active lifestyle. Please do not woryy about her, I have seen women as thin if not thinner than her, just because she is a 'duchess'. That does NOT make her any special than you or me. She is just going to have more money. Maybe the secret to her weight is that she eats money. Live your own life and do what I do, avoid the television and go out and enjoy life with your family.

  9. Sara says:
    Sun, 31st Jul 20111:30 pm 

    I think if a young girl is looking anywhere in the media for a role model to be like, then something is wrong in the girls home life. I see people like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan being famous for doing stupid things but I don't say "Hmm, maybe if I shave my head and do drugs I can be famous too." I think each person is responsible for themselves. Maybe if we taught young girls that they are more than their looks and something to please men then maybe these body image issues would go away.

  10. Harley Lyden says:
    Tue, 2nd Aug 201110:28 am 

    I would seriously worry more about what the sexually perverted show Jersey Shore is doing to our young people before I would worry about the influence that Duchess Kate's weight has on them.

  11. anna says:
    Tue, 2nd Aug 20117:50 pm 

    I used to be 99 lbs at 5'3" then I started eating four square meals a day and I started gaining weight. Yes, I still had a good metabolism weighing in at 120 lbs until I was 30. And for some, it's downhill from there and that's when you choose to watch what you eat and exercise or you don't.

  12. beth says:
    Tue, 2nd Aug 20118:10 pm 

    Folks, my sister and I are the same height, but our bone structure is ENTIRELY different. I'm 5'9" and am about 118, and I've got a bit of a belly and big boobs. I've been as low as 105 without looking too thin, but I have an extraordinarily tiny bird frame. My sis is 120, the same height, but looks positively skeletal at that weight, her frame just NEEDS more weight. Her wrists are two inches larger in diameter than mine. Why is it that people can have different size hip bones and shoulder bones but be oblivious to the fact that they may consequently weigh more or less accordingly? Height is NOT the only factor in weight, frame and muscle density are equally important. Kate may well be under 100 at 5'10," and yes that is probably too skinny. But, it's also her business, and speculating whether or not that's "impossible" ONLY applies to you – not her. Leave the poor girl alone, she's got enough scrutiny focused on her as it is.

  13. Jessica D. says:
    Fri, 5th Aug 201112:57 am 

    Oh, and anyone who's posting that "there's no way she weighs less than 100" or "She's AT LEAST 120" clearly doesn't have a clue. I'm 5'7", and at 95lbs I looked BIGGER than her. She easily weighs as little as 95-105lbs.

  14. Trina says:
    Fri, 5th Aug 20112:52 pm 

    Why would she be RESPONSIBLE for this? There are many reputable celebs who are just as tall and thin.

  15. J says:
    Sat, 6th Aug 20114:36 pm 

    I’m the same height and I have the exact same frame as her, she DOES NOT weigh under 100 lbs, she’s at least 125 lbs may 130lb, cause that’s what I am.

  16. Lauren says:
    Sat, 6th Aug 20116:19 pm 

    Exactly. Some of us are just genetically preconditioned to be thin, just like some people were made to be bigger. I'm only 5'2" and am 109 and was only 100 until I got on birthcontrol in college. There is no way Kate weighs 100 lbs. Since she is taller there is no way she could weigh that low, unless she looked really really unhealthy. More than likely the rumor about her weight is just that, a rumor.

  17. Matt says:
    Fri, 12th Aug 20113:55 pm 

    Oh, totally, no question: a 20-something girl in 2011 is to blame for the world's body issues. definitely. Before she came along, there were no problems. Bulimia? Her fault. Anorexia? Her bad. Off with her head I say.

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