Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing.
Victoria Beckham has made a rare comment about her eating disorder as she candidly reflected on the criticism she's received regarding her weight.
Unfortunately, we live in a patriarchal society where a large amount of a woman's social currency is based on how 'attractive' she is and how much she appeals to the narrow definitions of beauty under the ever-present male gaze.
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And, because of this, women are socially conditioned to twist and contort themselves constantly to fit in such a box, and it's clear that female celebrities and public figures alike are of no exception - if anything, they experience the avalanche of body-checking and shaming comments the most of all!
And that's been exactly the case for Posh Spice icon Victoria, who bravely opened up about her lifelong eating disorder in her new self-titled three-part Netflix docuseries.
The celeb explained that she battled with the disorder since her teens. She was first triggered when she won a place at a prestigious theatre school, sharing: "I didn't look like a lot of the other girls.
"That's where I started getting a lot of criticism about my appearance, my weight."
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She explained her family was oblivious to her struggle as she worked hard to conceal the disorder, adding: "I was controlling [my weight] in an incredibly unhealthy way.
"When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying. And I was never honest about it with my parents."
The mother-of-four continued, as per FilmNews: "I never spoke about it publicly; it really affects you. When you're told constantly you're not good enough. And I suppose that's been with me my whole life."
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After being thrust into the spotlight as one fifth of girl band supergroup, the Spice Girls, Victoria found it hard to cope with relentless commentary about her appearance.
"I really started to doubt myself and not like myself, and because I let it affect me, I didn't know what I saw when I looked in the mirror," she shared. "Was I fat? Was I thin? I don't know, you lose all sense of reality.
"I was just very critical of myself. I didn't like what I saw. I have been everything from porky posh to skinny posh, I mean, it's been a lot and that's hard."
In the Netflix doc, which premiered today (9 October), Victoria explained that she was weighed on national television just six months after giving birth to her son, Brooklyn.
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"We laugh about it, we joked about it… But I was really, really young, and that hurts," she recalled.
For Victoria, who was just 25 years old at the time, she felt an immense pressure to uphold the '90s pop star body type, which clearly took a toll on her mental health as she got older.
"I really started to doubt myself and not like myself, because I let it affect me," the now 51-year-old shared. "I didn't know what I saw when I looked in the mirror - you lose all sense of reality. I was just very critical of myself. I didn't like what I saw.
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"I've been everything from Porky Posh to Skinny Posh. It's been a lot, and that's hard," she went on.
As we say, such scrutiny led her to develop an eating disorder, which she said she struggled with in silence.
And, to this day, Victoria shared that the feeling never seems to go away, adding: "I suppose that's been with me my whole life."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 3pm-8pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one webchat.
Topics: Documentaries, Food and Drink, Health, Mental Health, Netflix, TV And Film, Victoria Beckham, Spice Girls, Celebrity
Rhiannon Ingle