Like every year, once those jungle drums start on ITV I am glued to my sofa for three weeks to watch the trials, tribulations and tiffs on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
When the new additions were added in last night's episode, I sat admiring Spencer Matthews' toned physique when he whipped his top off after the trial. I also clocked Ferne and Vicky's svelte, toned figures.
The pair of them looked incredible - normal, healthy, pretty girls. But something was wrong. The images plastered around in the media of the pair show them toned and tiny. Something that didn't come across as strong on television. Then this picture started doing the rounds and I got really cross.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Vicky and Ferne's bodies in the picture on the left. Nor on the right, other than the fact it has been airbrushed.
The problem with the culture we live in is that women feel like they have to strive for the bodies on the right. The bodies that even these two women, who have personal trainers coming out of their ears and the money to pay for all the sessions under the sun, don't really have.
These images were shared on the Daily Mail website ahead of Vicky's arrival into the jungle. They show her wearing the same bikini and the above collage, yet she looks noticeably slimmer, more toned, and airbrushed.
I get that the light isn't all too flattering in the photo of Ferne and Vicky, and the quality is a bit grainy, but there is a noticeable difference. And that is airbrushing. Which begs the question - WHY?! Especially when they look perfectly good as they are!
Airbrushing is naughty and has always grated on me. It's no wonder women, and men, have body confidence issues when we are fed these 'perfect' images. All seeing them does is make women feel bad that they don't look like that.
It encourages faddy diets and everyone to seek a quick fix. I should know, I've been there! I've tried all the quick fixes under the sun to try and lose some weight and look like those images on the right. And the closest I got? The picture on the left. Why? Because that's what is achievable and normal!
What is wrong with the world just accepting women for how they really look? Why should images be airbrushed to fit in with this 'perfect', unachievable image?
I also saw this comparison floating around social media recently, with people asking which 'looked better'.
I've no doubt there will have been some airbrushing that went into the Victoria's Secret poster, but from watching their famous fashion shows, most of the models don't look too different to that image.
Most of the Victoria's Secrets models, and models in general, are naturally like that - you have no idea how much it pains me to say that. Of course, there are those models who really are not well, but the majority are blessed with a slim, slender, model-like figure.
Kendall Jenner is a fine example. She is really slim and toned - yet eats loads. I've seen her on KUWTK chowing down on a burger, pizza, chocolate, cakes...
Some people are just lucky. Bastards.
But to airbrush a photo of someone and photoshop them to make them look 'better' is not right. And to ask people to 'rate' which body shape is 'better' or 'more attractive' is barbaric. We're not pieces of meat that you rate in the supermarket while deciding which one to buy.
Women should be proud of their bodies. Whether they are curvy, flat, thin, or fat. Whether they have wobbly bits, bony bits, a mole or a scar. Women should support each other and stop body shaming or competing with each other. We are who we are, and being mean to each other won't help us achieve that 'goal body' any quicker.
As that famous Mean Girls quote says: "Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier."
DAMN STRAIGHT.
And the media shouldn't encourage that to be commonplace by creating unrealistic images of what is 'perfect'.
I hope Ferne, Vicky, Jorgie and the rest of the women in the jungle continue to show off their bodies for all the women and young girls out there to see that is what these girls really look like. And to realise there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The images that are airbrushed are where the problem lies.
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