By Mia Turnbull
Being in the public eye means being subject to constant scrutiny. Female celebs in particular are constantly being judged by the media and the public – mostly for the way they look.
Living in Hollywood means being pressured to look a certain way. But why, in 2026, does discussion around women in the public eye mostly revolve around appearances?
From the Kardashians flaunting their numerous plastic surgery procedures to Victoria Beckham being weighed on live television to see if she had lost the baby weight shortly after giving birth to her oldest son, there is no inkling that our critical scrutiny of women is going away soon.
Last year, 22-year-old actor Millie Bobbie Brown (Stranger Things, Enola Holmes) was subject to an intense public backlash from “fans”, who didn’t like the way she presented her chronological age. Many comments were ageist and sexist, with mainstream publications commenting that she looked “well beyond her years”.
This type of discussion is nothing new. Both Marilyn Monroe and actor and civil right campaigner Audrey Hepburn, despite being beautiful, were still considered fair game for beauty critics. Each found it hard to escape being stereotyped for roles, with Monroe in particular often given “dumb blonde “ roles.
In response, the actor said: “I refuse to apologize for growing up.” Later, she said: “The fact adult writers are spending time dissecting my face my body and my choices is disturbing.”
Image by eugeniohansenofs from Pixabay
Monroe makes a good point. Bobbie Brown, who started acting aged only 11, faced critics constantly talking about her style, her body, and how she acted in public. She has evolved into a strong feminist women, who has been outspoken in speaking out about the differences between how male and female celebs are viewed – and judged.
This shows the attitude society has as whole to women ageing. If twenty-somethings such as Millie Bobbie Brown and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), who has recently had comments posted online regarding her appearance for simply growing up and not being a child anymore, than anybody can be made to feel insecure or criticised.
This also extends to women’s bodies. Stars like Kelly Clarkson and Lizzo have recently been publicly criticised for losing weight, accused of using Ozempic to achieve their goals, despite getting fatphobic comments while plus-sized. This shows how hypocritical society be when it comes to beauty standards. If women age naturally or use anti-ageing methods they will still be judged on how they look rather than their achievements. The same applies to whether they use Ozempic and if they don’t.
A lot of this stems from the ageism and sexism that are still extremely common in Hollywood. Actor Geena Davis, who founded the Geena Davis Institute found that characters over 50 make up just 20 percent of characters on screen, and that only a quarter of them are women. In an interview with Allison Kugel on the Allison Interviews podcast, she said that ageism in Hollywood is “very strange and so prevalent”. This means older womenin Hollywood have very few roles written for them.
Anne Hathaway (Ella Enchanted, The Devil Wears Prada) explains how she noticed a change as she has got older. “When I was in my early 20s, parts would be written for women in their 50s and I would get them. And now I’m in my early 30s and I’m like, ‘Why did that 24-year-old get that part?’” she told Time.com.
For some ordinary women, ageism has made them defiant in the face of patriarchal beauty standards. Di, who works at Go Nuts, a bubble tea shop in Holloway, said she focuses mainly on good skin care, stating: “I truly stand for natural beauty.“ Di, who didn’t want to give her surname, is in her early twenties.
Older women, however, often feel the pressure to not age – or at least to do so gracefully. Carol Glover, 56, works at a charity shop in Hammersmith, says ageing can make her feel insecure. She admits that she has felt pressure to change her appearance with procedures involving Ozempic, collagen and Botox.
Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay
“I use three different anti-ageing creams as well as drinking collagen,” Glover said. She added that “many” of her friends get Botox regularly, with statistics showing that 85 percent of Botox users are women.
As a society we have to get better at celebrating women for their achievements, Many female celebs win awards, write, sing, act, invent things , advocate and are successful in creating huge social, political and economical change, yet that still doesn’t seem to matter as much as their looks and their bodies.
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