So, tonight I was invited to join the Radio 5 Live debate about Kate Moss's comment "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".
It was interesting! Giles had some incredibly contentious views, which I really didn't agree with. He talked a lot about how we don't need food, and how humans should be skin and bones, like we were throughout history - ummmm really? What about the beautifully curvy women seen in paintings for hundreds of years?
It seems to be just terrible that there is an intellectual public debate where views such as Coren's are discussed - and that's not criticising Giles personally. If you read his article in the Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/giles_coren/ you'll read that Giles himself has huge body issues. He weighs himself 6 times every morning, he seems obsessed with his own weight and size.
My worry is that he's not alone, and that too many of us worry this much about our own body image -and that's why I'm pushing Body Gossip so much. It's awful that so many people obsess so much about their bodies - how can we stop this insecurity and self-loathing that so many of us feel?
Giles got a lot of criticism tonight, which I must say he deserved - his views were at times ridiculous, at other times offensive. But what worries me most of all is the fact that he is clearly just as obsessed with body image as so many people in the UK, and that this obsession will take over his life, so that he doesn't enjoy his life. He said he doesn't eat for days on end - he's missing out on so much enjoyment!
I'll write more when it's not late - to be honest tonight was an odd experience, I was literally onstage in 'War Horse' 5 minutes before the interview on Radio 5 Live, and it's taken me this long to digest it all - but yes more shall be written about the interview, but for now, all I have to say is this: If you listened tonight, or if you didn't but have something to say about your body, write your story and send it to story@bodygossip.org. Your story could be performed live onstage by a celebrity cast, and you could take part in the revolution that is Body Gossip.
Ruth x
