You too can help put an end to "bodysnarking"

Have you guys read the recent Wall Street Journal article, "The Rise of Bodysnarking?" Well luckily, I read the WSJ so you don't have to, and I can tell you the gist is that the time-honored tradition of hating on a woman's body for various infractions--such as weight gained or lost, the possession of "cankles" and or being just plain "fugly"--is on the increase, and both technology and the public's seemingly voracious appetite for cutting commentary is to blame. In the words of 2003 Miss America contestant turned healthy body image advocate Nancy Redd, a turning point in the rise of snark occurred "a few years ago when Google introduced its advertising program AdSense. 'The program allowed sites to track pages viewed and make ad revenue based on the number of visitors. [Blogger] Perez Hilton realized that nobody cared about his personal shopping trips; they cared when he posted pictures comparing Britney's private parts to a roast beef sandwich.' The masses had spoken: bodysnarking was now a revenue generator."

Okay, okay, so Perez isn't entirely to blame. And let's face it, people get a tiny twinge of satisfaction gawking at celeb flaws, proof positive that no one is perfect. However, the truly scary side effect of bodysnarking is how readily available social networking sites make images of real people available. When someone decides to pick on some poor girl and call her an ugly fat w---- or whatever, kids can pass this around via cell phone and laptop faster than you could pass a note in class. And what with so many bodysnarking media icons (isn't American Idol just a voicesnarking show!?), they're just being "cool" like those who have made a name for themselves by being well, really, really mean.

Jezebel editor-in-chief Anna Holmes points out that there is a marked rise in bodysnarking when it comes to modern media. This phenomenon has grown by leaps and bounds with the astonishing speed of a lynch mob. When I worked at Jane, we would have rather died than criticize a woman for her looks, and forward-thinking sites like Jezebel carry on this tradition of female empowerment rather than intimidation. After reading this article though, I wonder if I should quit calling out celebs who have scary plastic surgery. I mean, just because someone OD'd on Botox doesn't mean they deserve our condemnation, do they? I don't know...there's a fine line between harmless commentary and slamming bodysnarking, eh? I think the best way to protest it is to not support malicious content (viewing counts as support), and to speak out in other ways. Wouldn't it be so great if the next generation of women laughed in the face of cellulite and looked back on negative body analysis as a trashy, outdated "mistake" hiccup in evolution?

At any rate, read the article, see what you think, and tell me: how will you help put an end to bodysnarking?

--Erin

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