Margaret Cho is an Asian American stand up comedian and actress who has been in the entertainment industry since 1992. In her book, “I’m the One That I Want”, she talks about her struggles with being happy about herself and her self image. All she wanted was to enter into the entertainment business and become famous which ultimately led her to neglect her own health and image of herself.
Throughout her life, she has grown up watching American television which depicted women as skinny and thin. Due to this image engraved in her brain and her parent’s constant comments on her weight and image, Margaret began to diet and work out, unhealthily. Her obsession with losing weight ultimately affected her health, getting so sick to the point her kidneys collapsed. She didn’t care because she was too focused on becoming famous and “thought [her] life depended on [her] willingness to lose weight” (Cho, 112). In order to stay in the entertainment business and to be accepted by society, she had to stay “skeletal” so she looked into drugs and pills to quicken the process. It wasn’t just American television that affected her image but also in her own Korean culture. Koreans also have an ideal image of being thin and viewed Margaret as “too large for them to be comfortable [and] too large to be one of them” (Cho, 117). The entertainment industry focused immensely on image which causes many celebrities like Margaret Cho to go under serious weight loss plans to satisfy the audience. However this is not how they should approach their image, but rather to find a way to love themselves for who they are no matter what they look like.
In her book, Margaret describes what was “in” in the entertainment industry which was for women to be skeletal. Skeletal was exactly what the word meant: being so skinny and thin that you were basically skin and bones. Many American shows like Friends, composed of Hollywood actresses who were thin and that was considered hot and in. Margaret also defines what approval meant. Approval wasn’t defined by what you thought was right but what others and society defined was right. Instead of loving herself, she sought the approval and definition of her image from others. Only when society loves and approves of you then you can love yourself.
The Korean entertainment industry focuses heavily on looks and appearances. Similarly to Margaret’s intense diet and training to be thin, Korean celebrities have to go through vigorous training and boot camps to be able to look presentable in the business. Korean pop idols have to train for long periods of time in order to be able to sing and dance well and lose enough weight to be able to be on screen. Idols have to reach the ideal Korean body standards in order to be on camera and many lose about 17 to 20 pounds for promotions (Billboard). In order to lose weight fast, idols have to stay on extreme diets which may consist of only an apples and vegetables each day leading to health and psychological risks. Fans’ comments, critiques, and comparison only encourage these actions which is detrimental to the body. Entertainment business focuses primarily on image which has caused many celebrities to emphasize on their appearance.
References:
Benjamin, Jeff. “It Is Time to Cut K-Pop Idols Some Slack When It Comes to Body Image.” Billboard, Billboard, 17 Nov. 2017, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8030059/kpop-body-image-diets-eating-disorders-essay.
Margaret Cho. I’m the One That I Want. Chapters 11 & 12. Ballantine Books, 2001. (102-131).
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