Friday 20 May 2022 05:22 PM JANET STREET-PORTER: How is being overweight now a lifestyle choice? trends now
With 2.2 million followers on Instagram, former Towie star Gemma Collins is impossible to ignore. She's loud, large and proud and has just been announced as the new face of Walkers Crisps, replacing Gary Lineker. The GC (as she refers to herself) is not my cup of tea, but then I don't buy grab bags of crisps very often.
Walkers chose Gemma because she's a successful businesswoman who's everywhere on social media - even the BBC couldn't wait to sign her up for a series of podcasts in their desperate bid to appear 'relevant', hoping to win over some of ITV's young Love Island viewers.
It's also hard to ignore that Gemma Collins is someone who has struggled with weight issues, and often talks about them herself. Launching a new clothing range for New Look this week, she was photographed in a flowing kimono the size of a bell tent, telling reporters she's already 'lost three stone'.
Whatever her body issues, fans reckon Gemma represents 'ordinary women', and love the way she speaks the unvarnished truth. She shows that larger women can be just as successful as slender high-fashion models.
Whilst I applaud glamorous Gemma for staying true to herself, the fact that the makers of nutritionally dubious snacks are willing to pay an overweight woman thousands of pounds to promote their products shows how far FAT BRITAIN has been brainwashed. Gemma Collins says she like crisps and buys huge bags of them - so she's endorsing a diet which campaigners like Jamie Oliver say is destroying the nation's health for good.
Also, she's a role model which millions of young women look up to: rich and successful.
These days, being thin or even a normal weight is seen as a bit odd, unfashionable. The fashion industry has embraced 'plus' sizes mainly because the bulk of the female population is overweight and - in a highly competitive industry - manufacturers need to sell their wares.
Whilst I applaud glamorous Gemma for staying true to herself, says Janet Street-Porter, the fact that the makers of nutritionally dubious snacks are willing to pay an overweight woman thousands of pounds to promote their products shows how far we have been brainwashed
Victoria Beckham - the High Priestess of controlled eating - who admits she only ever eats a bit of steamed fish and spinach every day and never touches evil carbs, had the bare-faced cheek to tell an interviewer that wanting to look thin was 'old-fashioned'
The Duchess of Cambridge is regularly said to be 'worryingly thin' when she actually looks the same size as my mother did back in the 1950s, the days of food rationing. This week, Victoria Beckham - the High Priestess of controlled eating - who admits she only ever eats a bit of steamed fish and spinach every day and never touches evil carbs, had the bare-faced cheek to tell an interviewer that wanting to look thin was 'old-fashioned' and that 'every woman wants a nice round curvy bottom'.
Coming from a stick insect who is fetishistic about what she eats, that remark was astonishing. This high-end fashion
