*Trigger Warning: Themes of substance abuse
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction reach out to your university resources or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357)** **SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
This Women’s History month, I thought it pertinent to discuss some of the most vulnerable imagery of young female celebrities in the media; this time around we will be dissecting the image portrayed by social media and other forms of mass publications of young female addicts, a role in society, we have often chosen to either gawk at or ignore entirely when it is no longer deemed entertaining. Entertaining is decidedly the most troubling word to use for such a deep-seated issue, but is it not how these young starlets are marketed? Each time a Youtuber or Tik Tok creator is caught in public using any type of substance, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and every other social media platform has a field day delivering all the salacious details. (Anyone remembers the over-blown Malia Obama-Weed incident that tortured headlines for weeks?)
The lives of celebrities, young women especially, have long interested me. And no- not for the glamour- but rather, the inherent sadness present in a pedestalized existence for the masses. There are billion-dollar industries dedicated to the misogynistic portrayal of non-existent female ideation, and it is nearly abhorrent to imagine how detrimental the opinions of billions of people then affect these young celebrities and further contribute to the issue at hand. Before we dig in any further, many have a valid point in this discussion, off-handedly saying that this is what they sign up for in an industry dedicated to one’s own self-promotion, going as far to describe all celebrities as narcissistic and impulsive. Now, I do have my own thoughts about billionaires and the correct appropriation of funds per given career path, but I would have to disagree with this assumption based on challenging norms, in this instance. Why is it that we ardently accept the predatory behavior present in the performance industry, going as far as ignoring the detrimental mental health effects and subsequent substance abuse problems it has been shown to habitually repeat? Substance abuse is the symptom of a larger issue, typically, mental health disorder, or from genetic predisposition itself.
Perhaps, news outlets have a way of distributing spun stories and outlandish photos that make it impossible to ignore what we could call a train-wreck. Forgive the verbiage, I am only repeating what has been said about the likes of our ‘faves: Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Bella Thorne, Tana Mongeau, Whitney Houston…sadly, the list goes on. Where did this image come from, why is it normalized, and how does it differ from that of male celebrities that struggle with the same pressures and afflictions? Some theories have been proposed. Pierre Bremond, a journalist, and addictologist from France has some interesting thoughts on the socio-psychology of the matter,
“A woman who takes drugs or drinks “too much” is often seen as a failure, a bad mother and a bad wife. For society, a woman who uses drugs is no longer a “real woman” but a fallen woman. She forfeits both her feminine status and the image reflected by it – maternal, protective and caring.” (https://www.dianova.org/opinion/addiction-and-gender-stereotypes/)
To expand upon his point, I would like to examine how this media representation of the female celebrity struggling with a disease negatively impacts women on a community level. Representation matters, of course, additionally, when this representation is aided by proper education, the result is far more profound. It takes understanding to generate sympathy, and if you are unaware of how addiction affects the brain’s ability to process decisions and thus impulsivity, you are also unaware of the fact that this is not a choice anyone would make of their own accord. Tabloid media paints quite a different picture. Add in a genetic predisposition to the disease, a sprinkling of the rising opioid crisis that has been handled poorly by the United States government, and a dash of the school-prison pipeline and you have a recipe for, yes, a train-wreck. What’s worse is that addiction recovery centers have statistically been shown to have little effect on the rate of recovery of individuals suffering, that is, if one can even afford to check themselves in. This is due to a few factors: 1) lack of home-based support systems, 2) the out-of-pocket expenses necessary to stay clean, and 3) the inability to remove systemic poverty and bigotry from the equation. Addiction can be ugly, point blank; it is a disease, also, point-blank. However, it is perhaps the most stigmatized disease that exists, you do not often hear the words ‘Get well soon! You are so brave for battling addiction!” unless of course, you happen to find yourself in an AA meeting or recovery center.
To turn the focus back to the matter at hand, the way we represent female celebrities as ‘off-wagon, girls gone wild’ in direct comparison to the ‘tortured male artist’ (see Mac Miller, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Depp, The Weeknd, and Russel Brand for further details) is absolutely reprehensible, and yes, very damaging to individuals at the community level. Until we can gather a cohesive, educated perspective of the realities of those facing issues of addiction and actually help them, perhaps it would be best for society, as a whole, to stop glamorizing and capitalizing on the gritty details in the lowest moments of celebrities battling this disease. It begins on the individual level.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction reach out to your university resources or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357)** **SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.