Body Gossip, the UK's most powerful and influential body image campaign, is working hard to revolutionise the way we Brits see our bodies. In an exclusive at home interview, we speak to Body Gossip co-director Natasha Devon to find out more about this fantastic cause...
A beauty campaign with a difference, Body Gossip is run by former classmates Ruth Rogers and Natasha Devon who are passionate about promoting positive body image – no matter your shape, size or body issue, whatever your race, gender or age.
After personally experiencing the detrimental effect of society's obsession with body image, both Ruth and Natasha, an actress and journalist respectively, wanted to subvert rigid and unrealistic definitions of beauty and celebrate real bodies.
L - R: Ruth Rogers, Gok Wan and Natasha Devon
For Ruth, the pressure to look “perfect” while studying acting in New York made her determined to start a movement that challenged this battle for perfection and allowed real bodies to step into the limelight. In 2006, she set up the Body Gossip campaign.
Meanwhile, Natasha, who had just beaten a 10 year battle with bulimia, was launching her own body confidence campaign in schools. In 2008, their two movements joined forces, and the pair have since worked tirelessly to spread Body Gossip''s message around the nation.
The at home team think Body Gossip is a truly fabulous cause, and we wanted to find out more about it. That's why we've spoken to the campaign's co-director and Gossip School founder, Natasha, to tell us more about the wonderful work that Body Gossip does, and how you can get involved in their groundbreaking beauty campaign!
Hi Natasha! Can you tell us what is Body Gossip is all about?
"Body Gossip invites everyone in the UK to write something about their body and submit it to our website. A selection of the pieces we receive are then either performed live in one of our events, made into short films for our YouTube channel, or published in our Body Gossip book. The idea is that real people, with real bodies are empowered and given a voice. We don't tell people what to think, we ask, 'What's going on with you?'. This not only makes real people feel valued, in a society where we are often made to feel unworthy because we may not conform to a very narrow idea of beauty, it also gives us a snapshot of what is going on in Britain today, in the field of body image.
"An additional bonus is that this gives celebrities the opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the public on this issue – this is fantastic because celebrities are often unfairly blamed for body insecurities. We need to remember that celebs are subject to the exact same pressures that we are, and there are a lot of them that would also like to see a beauty revolution, just as we would."
What inspired you to set Body Gossip? What do you hope to achieve with your campaign?
"Ruth Rogers founded the campaign in 2006. She had been to New York to study at the Film Academy, and within about 10 minutes of moving into her new apartment,, her landlord told her that if she wanted to make it as an actress, she’d have to lose weight. To put this into context, Ruth is 5ft 10in and a size 10. We’re friends from school, so I can confirm that for as long as I’ve known her (since the age of 11) she’s always been a healthy weight, and had a healthy attitude to food and exercise. She’s also an incredible actress. Even after seeing her in the school play, 14 years ago, I remember all our classmates looking at each other and saying, “Wow”.
"The idea that this naturally slender, healthy, and amazing actress was being told she couldn’t do what she so obviously is designed to do without losing weight seems a bit daft, to say the least. It certainly got Ruth thinking seriously about body image issues for the first time. She heard about a project in New York (which never actually came to fruition) in which stories written by the public were performed by actors. Ruth applied this format to body image and Body Gossip was born!
"I came on board in 2008. I’d just recovered from an eating disorder that had essentially robbed me of eight years of my life and I wanted to go into schools to educate young people about body image and share my experience with them. I didn’t want it to be your run-of-the-mill “eating disorder awareness” lesson, though, I knew it had to be more. Ruth told me about Body Gossip and, since I was at the time working in PR, I started doing the PR for her campaign. My own little, nameless campaign also became the Body Gossip Education Programme, or what is today Gossip School. Today, Ruth and I run Body Gossip together, with the help of an extended team of brilliant and talented individuals.
"Our aim is to collect more stories, to make more films, to put on more performances and to publish more books. We want Body Gossip to be part of British consciousness. I also have a bit of a dream where the term Body Gossip enters the common vernacular – for example, you might be on the beach and have a realisation that EVERYONE has cellulite and say 'ooh, I just had a Body Gossip moment', or Tweet something body image related and say 'I just Body Gossiped!'".
L - R: Ruth Rogers, Nikki Grahame and Natasha Devon
What are some of the issues covered by Body Gossip? Could you describe some of the things that people write about in their stories?
"We receive stories about adolescence, ageing, pregnancy, illness, injury, disability, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self-harm, tattoos, piercings, hair, skin, feet (!) – pretty much anything and everything! If it is related to the body, then it can be sent into Body Gossip.
"The good news is that everyone has a body, so everyone can contribute to the campaign. The bad news is that it’s often a battle to convey this. There’s a misconception that Body Gossip is an eating disorder campaign and that it’s only aimed at young women. Whilst this covers an element of what we do, we ultimately want the stories we receive to be as diverse and far-reaching as possible. We LOVE getting stories from 'ordinary blokes', for example – simply because it’s such a novelty to hear them speak about body image.
"We’ve received stories which are hilarious, some which are heart-breaking and some which are thought-provoking. The best ones simply give an insight into how the writer speaks and thinks. You don’t have to be a technically amazing writer to contribute to Body Gossip, you just have to be authentic."
Why is it so important to campaign for positive body image?
"Body image bleeds into so many other areas. People put SO much time and effort into thinking about their bodies and body insecurity can affect all aspects of our life, from the jobs we apply for or the partner we choose to be with with. We have always said that the aim of Body Gossip is to make people think initially about their bodies more, so that ultimately they can think about them less. We’re trying to liberate people, to show them that they’re not alone and that they are good enough, just as they are, so they can channel their time and energies into the things that REALLY make life worthwhile."
What are some of the issues that you feel especially strongly about (for example, airbrushing) and what changes would you like to see?
"Ruth and I are often asked what we think about topical issues such as cosmetic surgery and airbrushing on radio and television. However, at Body Gossip we facilitate, we do not commentate – by this, we mean we ask people what they think, rather than telling them what they should think, so I should preface this by saying that the following is only my opinion.
"My own body image bugbear is the effect of advertising, an industry which creates and feeds off our insecurities. I’d love to see ‘lifestyle’ advertising banned because it magnifies people's lack of self-esteem – for example, a fragrance adverts suggest wearing a particular scent can make you popular, successful, wealthy or talented. Of course, we know this isn't possible – a fragrance only has the power to make you smell a certain way.
"The effect is so immediate and unconscious that we don’t even realise its happening. Most adverts that pop up on our computer or television screens, on billboards, or in magazines have the same fundamental message: YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, and that’s the exact message we’re trying to combat at Body Gossip."
What happens at a Body Gossip event?
"A Body Gossip event involves some of the pieces we have received at the campaign being performed, either by the people who wrote them, or by members of our celebrity cast. We also often have live music and artwork displayed.
"Usually, a Body Gossip event will feature the Body Gossip sofa. This is in fact Ruth’s living room sofa(!) which we put a white cover on, and ask attendees to write a sentence about their body on it. We currently have seven sofa covers, full of Body Gossip!"
Ruth Rogers with some of the campaign's celebrity cast
Who are some of your celebrity speakers? How are they involved with your campaign?
"Celebrities who have been involved with the campaign over the years include: Gok Wan, Jermaine Defoe, Alesha Dixon, Craig Revel-Horwood, HRH Duchess of Cornwall, Natalie Cassidy, Zaraah Abrahams, Nikki Grahame, Louisa Lytton and Cerrie Burnell.
"These people have either performed at a live event or in one of our videos (you can see a full list of our celebrity cast members on our website), or contributed to the Body Gossip book.
"Nikki, Zaraah, Cerrie and Natalie have been on board with the campaign and very supportive, pretty much since day one, and performed at our first ever live show. We know that a lot of restrictions are put on celebrities’ time and so we are immensely grateful for the time and energy they put into Body Gossip, which they all do entirely for free."
Tell us more about Gossip School – the Teens and Body Gossip campaign. How does it help young people?
"Gossip School is a one hour self-esteem class which is usually delivered into schools and colleges as part of their PSHE programme. It’s aimed at 13-18 year olds and to date we have worked with approximately 3,500 thousand teenagers from all over the UK.
"The lesson is all about self-belief. Everyone thinks certain things about themselves and carries those beliefs around with them. Usually, our beliefs are negative, for example 'my parents don’t like me', 'I’ll never pass my exams' or 'the other girls/boys are better looking than me'. These beliefs affect how we see the world, how other people see us, our behaviour and the decisions we make. The Gossip School lesson encourages students to identify their beliefs to see how they affect their lives. We then ask them to turn negative beliefs upside down and help them reach their true potential.
"An hour in an academic year isn’t enough to magically solve all self-esteem issues, but it is enough to get students thinking in a different way. The lesson has been shown to help with lack of confidence, bullying, self-harm and eating disorders."
For more information go to www.bodygossip.org/gossipschool.
You are currently compiling the first ever Body Gossip book – what's it all about?
"The book is a collection of real body stories, written for the nation, by the nation. The idea is that no matter what stage you are at in your life, or what you might be going through, you will be able to pick up the book and find a story that you can relate to. The book contains stories from hundreds of people of different backgrounds, ages and races and of both genders. There are also contributions from some of our celebrities, as well as a foreword by Gok Wan."
How can at home readers get involved with Body Gossip?
"Our campaign tagline is “Tell Everybody” and that’s the biggest and most important way people can get involved with Body Gossip. You cannot imagine how helpful it is if you simply tweet about us, or write something on Facebook, or share one of our videos, or just tell a friend about the campaign.
"Sarah Fullagar, one of our team members, introduces a different body image topic each month on our social networking sites, for our followers to discuss – just follow her at @BodyGossipSarah to get involved!"
Want to learn more about Body Gossip?
Twitter:
- @_BodyGossip – Official Body Gossip updates
- @BodyGossipRuth – Ruth Rogers
- @BodyGossipTash – Natasha Devon
- @BodyGossipTour – Body Gossip on tour in UK universities
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bodygossip
Youtube: www.youtube.com/bodygossip
Website: www.bodygossip.org
