*CW: Spoilers for Barbie
Caitlin Clifford
One year, and one Oscar, on from the Barbie movie’s cinematic release, the film’s discussion of society’s aversion to cellulite sadly remains just as relevant.
It is first addressed when Barbie (Margot Robbie), to her horror, develops cellulite in front of Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who has to explain what it is to her.
She is then thrown a “Bon voyage to reality and good luck restoring the membrane that separates our world from theirs, so you don’t get cellulite!” party, showing the rest of the Barbies also consider cellulite to be a bad thing, despite living in a Herland-like society which they believe is a liberated land, which is in fact designed according to Mattel’s patriarchal ideals (hence no cellulite).
However, by the end of the film, Barbie chooses to leave Barbieland and move to the real world, accepting her humanity and all that comes with it (which surely includes her cellulite – although never explicitly stated, which has become a criticism among some viewers).
What Is Cellulite And Why Do We Have It?
Cellulite is a common, harmless skin condition that causes the appearance of lumpy dimpled flesh on areas like thighs and hips.
According to research from the National Library of Medicine. 80-90 per cent of women are affected by it in contrast to about two per cent of men. Cellulite can affect people of all races and ethnicities. However, people of Caucasian descent are reportedly more likely to experience it than other groups. And while there is no specific age for when it develops, it is usually between the ages of 20 and 30.
Unlike what the media, or “helpful” influencers who claim to have the “cure” (which is in fact photoshop), try to tell you, cellulite is perfectly natural and not an indicator of being overweight. People of all body sizes are able to develop it.
In fact, while scientists acknowledge a research gap (which is unsurprising, considering that conditions that predominantly affect women have often undergone much less research than men’s), key factors tend to be identified as:
- Hormones: The female hormone, oestrogen, is a key player here, as it creates stores of fat in preparation for childbirth, hence many women develop cellulite during puberty and pregnancy. Reduction of collagen and elastin also increase cellulite.
- Skin Structure: Men’s skin is better at concealing the condition due to it tending to be thicker and differently structured than women’s. Those with relatives who have it are more likely to develop it themselves.
- Aging: Skin becomes thinner over time and so cellulite becomes more apparent.
- Lifestyle: Although it’s not an indicator of being overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle, eating unhealthily, low water intake, drinking and smoking increases the chance, and severity, of cellulite.
Society’s Obsession With Cellulite
Beauty standards affect everyone. However, women suffer disproportionately as a result of greater scrutiny from society. Don’t believe that? Look at any tabloid magazine.
With cellulite primarily affecting women, it is unsurprising it is depicted as negative. One of society’s favourite hobbies is to mandate women’s bodies and make them feel ashamed in an attempt to squeeze money from them. In fact, the average British woman will spend £100k on her appearance in her lifetime. This is on top of the gender pay gap already causing her to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Cellulite is yet another example of society feeling the need to infantilise us, constantly idealising the prepubertal girl body and making it something grown women ought to aspire to. No wonder child models struggle so much in puberty as the industry expects them to somehow stop their bodies changing.
Additionally, in our age of social media, photoshopping skin to look smoother is highly prevalent among both influencers and ordinary users. As a result, cellulite has become even more taboo.
During my research, I was overwhelmed with articles explaining the negatives of cellulite. It was actually very difficult to filter through and find the biological function behind it – clearly, society’s ridiculous beauty standards have infiltrated scientific publications too.
What Did The Barbie Movie Have To Say?
There have been mixed responses to the movie’s focus on cellulite. While many saw that the movie was attempting to normalise cellulite, and also criticise society’s attitude to it, not everyone agreed.
Common criticisms of the film include that Barbie was not shown to be as overtly embracing of her cellulite by the end as she was at embracing her flat feet. As there was a moment when she wore Birkenstocks rather than heels, there could also have been a moment where she wore a skirt or shorts that allowed her to show off her cellulite.
Another recurring criticism is that more people who were not aware of the societal attitudes towards it are now going to be ashamed of it.
It’s true that we are working towards a more body-positive society, but progress is slow, as it often just results in different beauty standards. For example, the 2000s standards were brutal, so we moved to the 2010s standards which we then decided were also brutal but in a different way, and the cycle continues.
War On Skin Texture
Since influencers, celebrities and regular people continue to photoshop their skin in pictures. In what can only be described as a war on skin texture, I’d say society is definitely not accepting of cellulite yet.
While Barbie dolls historically have smooth skin, in 2014, designer Nickolay Lamm created an Ordinary Barbie. This Barbie had dimensions of an average 19-year-old woman. He named it Lammily, in an attempt to “show that average is beautiful”. This was pretty much Gloria‘s (America Ferrera) whole message in the film.
Despite this, Barbie dolls have continued to have smooth skin, with model Ashley Graham – who has praised the film’s handling of cellulite – asking Mattel for the doll based on her to have it but being told it couldn’t happen back in 2016.
While some viewers either did not see the point of including it or disagreed with the film’s handling of it, many others were deeply appreciative.
Despite such criticisms, the Barbie movie was right to address society’s ridiculous obsession with cellulite, and it is time we all embrace it and stop engaging in the idea that there is anything wrong with it.
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Featured image courtesy of Julee Juu via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
