Women and Gender

Shields: Criticism of Zellweger highlights hypocritical beauty standards

Actress Renee Zellweger can be added to the ever-growing list of female celebrities who are persecuted for their looks. On Monday, Zellweger attended the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards, her first public event in years, looking considerably different. Since then, news outlets and gossip blogs alike have had her name plastered across their headlines, berating her new look and demanding to know whether or not she has had plastic surgery.

Zellweger was degraded and insulted based on her looks, but also mocked for changing them. Our society creates unrealistic beauty standards and then demeans women regardless of whether or not they fit the harsh standard. It is extremely hypocritical to build up these standards that shouldn’t exist in the first place and then tear down women who try and fit them.

Zellweger has openly said that she has not had surgery. She told People Magazine that she’s, “living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows.” She said that chatter about her appearance is “silly” and that she was only addressing it because “the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn’t exist won’t get off my porch until I answer the door.”

Zellweger, like many other female celebrities, is no stranger to having her appearance talked about. For years, many people seem to be amazed that a woman in Hollywood does not fit snugly within the beauty standards.

The sad and ironic aspect of this entire incident is that once people believed Zellweger had plastic surgery to achieve this beauty standard, they seemed to have a problem with that as well. Shaming Zellweger or any woman for real or perceived plastic surgery is absolutely wrong. Subtle plastic surgery that slows aging is celebrated, but seemingly dramatic alterations are mocked.



Shaming a woman for getting plastic surgery done only reinforces the notion that women should fit into our society’s beauty standards naturally and effortlessly. It also instills the idea that women should hide any modifications they need to make in order to meet those standards. This sets up a situation in which women can’t take action, whether that be surgery, makeup or lifestyle changes to modify their appearance and help themselves feel better. When it comes to meeting beauty standards, you’re shamed if you do and shamed if you don’t.

Whether or not Zellweger had any plastic surgery is beside the point. Even if she had, there should not be such an intense backlash against her. We cannot and should not have to expect all women to fit into impossible beauty standards without the help of surgery or makeup.

Instead of obsessing over which celebrity had what done, maybe our society should wonder why. Whether a woman embraces her looks outside of typical beauty standards or chooses to modify them so that they are within the beauty standards, they can never win. Or, even more importantly, maybe our society should wonder why so much of a woman’s worth is placed on her looks.

Mandisa Shields is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at meshield@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @mandisashields.





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