01/12/2013

Are appearances still over-shadowing success?

Following on from the 2012 London Olympics last year, the country was on a high.  Everyone wanted to don their running gear and be like Jess Ennis, or hop on their bike and epitomise Bradley Wiggins.  Sports like rowing, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, and dressage saw their popularity rise and their Olympic stars become national heroes.  Finally, the next generation had more to aspire to than to being 'like Wayne Rooney' or 'a pop star'.

It was an incredibly positive outcome of a brilliant period of time for Great Britain.  It finally looked as though young girls were starting to focus more on the person that they could be, rather than the way they could look.  So I was astounded by the way Rebecca Adlington was speaking during her time in the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

She was blaming girls like camp mate, and Miss Universe Great Britain, Amy Willerton for making her feel self-concious.  Rebecca explained how beautiful girls like Amy, who have a great figure, have made her hate her body and have really damaged her self-esteem.  This coming from a gold medal winning Olympian who set world records in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

If Rebecca Adlington can't embrace her tremendous achievements and allow for them to send her self-esteem through the roof, then what hope is there for the next generation of girls?  Not only was Rebecca revealing a lot about her own insecurities, she was also being very unkind to Amy.  It is not her fault that she is a naturally pretty girl who has a good figure.  You could see Amy was visibly upset by Rebecca's comments; who was bringing down Amy's self-esteem as well as her own.

It's not only Rebecca Adlington who has been negative towards Amy because of her looks.  Lucy Pargeter has been the biggest surprise to me.  In fact, all of the females in the jungle have.  All of them seem incredibly jealous of Amy and are being very nasty to her as a result.  Last night they were all shown questioning whether any of them had heard of her before she went into the jungle, asking what she had actually done to be there.  So what if she isn't as well known as some of the other camp mates?  You can't tell me that they have all heard of each other and can, hand on heart, say they know the reason behind each other's 'celebrity' status.  These catty women in the jungle need to back off the poor girl.  She's proved that she is more than just a pretty face and a pair of boobs; and has certainly come off a lot better than any of them.

It serves well to remember that life isn't all about looks and how attractive somebody is.  Yes, given the choice I am sure most girls would choose to look like Amy - tiny waist, toned tummy, big boobs & a bum.  But if I was given that choice or having an Olympic gold medal and my name as a world record breaker, I would choose the latter.  But whether someone is attractive or not, there's no reason to be nasty to someone on that basis.  Jealousy is always going to rear it's ugly head, but being jealous and being cruel as a result are two very different things.

Achievements and successes last forever, but appearances don't.  Are men still going to be drooling over Michelle Keegan when she is 80 and covered in wrinkles?  I don't think so.  Rebecca's gold medals and incredible achievements will never fade, disappear, or go South with age.

I understand how hard it must be for Rebecca Adlington to receive the nasty comments that she does via Twitter.  Nobody deserves to have their looks commented on in a negative way.  But she should rise above it and remember that, at the end of the day, she has far more going for her than whether she looks like a size 6 glamour model.  She should be immensely proud of her body and want to show it off as much as possible because that is what won her all those accolades and why, after the Beijing Olympics, everyone took to the pool to be just like her.

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