I Am Tired Of Reading About What Other Women Eat

I loved Captain Marvel. I loved it for many reasons, but the main, overarching reason was that on a very basic level, I found it genuinely refreshing to see a woman performing what has heretofore been a role played by – and very much geared towards – men. As the hero, Brie Larson was permitted to be strong, fearless and a character with agency. She was not objectified, or valued only for her appearance and, as a result, I didn’t find that I was subconsciously comparing myself to the woman I saw on film.

I say this because, while I feel that I’m a pretty confident, self-assured person, I do find myself doing exactly that – comparing myself to on-screen actresses – more than I care to admit. With Avengers: Endgame, the climatic instalment of the Marvel franchise out this week – to much fanfare – there have been countless articles regarding fan theories, interviews with the cast and emotional speeches made by the actors. What’s been less enjoyable is the large amount of articles appearing on publications that are predominantly aimed at women, detailing the diet and workout routines of the female cast members.

Of course, given the physical requirements for a superhero role, most of the actors involved probably undertake a more rigorous training schedule than normal, regardless of gender. Chris Hemsworth, for example, clearly spends some time in the gym, while Brie Larson documented some of her workouts on her own Instagram profile, largely to show how strong she became to play the role of Captain Marvel. There was a video of her pushing a car, for example, that is undeniably impressive. And yet, there’s something that feels very insidious about a woman’s publication promoting stories of intense exercise and controlled diets, with headlines such as “Scarlett Johansson fasted for 12 hours a day and trained like an Olympic athlete for Avengers: Endgame”. It simply feels like another way to perpetuate the ongoing narrative that women should always aspire to look different, to improve themselves and to recognise food as almost synonymous with shame. Something to punish yourself with. Sure, the words ‘thin’ or ‘skinny’ aren’t used anymore, but they’re there – lurking just beneath the "harmless" description of a woman exercising more than you.

These sorts of articles also exist for men. There are several on the internet that have clearly been created to respond to Google search terms like ‘How do I get a body like Captain America’. And men are not exempt from body shaming, or from being made to feel inferior because of how they look. But men are also not scrutinised and objectified to the same level as women. Take the Avengers: Endgame premiere, as a prime example. Scarlett Johansson was ‘flaunting her toned pins’, Brie Larson looked ‘svelte and glowing’. Chris Evans? He wore a blue suit. Robert Downey Jr? He made people laugh on the red carpet, apparently.

Some people may genuinely want advice about exercise or general fitness, and that’s completely understandable. But most of the articles to which I refer are not, in any way, providing expert or medical advice. There is no acknowledgement that this specific diet is undertaken by women like Johansson in a heavily measured environment. A throwaway quote from her trainer, in these instances, simply doesn't cut it: still women's bodies are treated with too little responsibility. And still we continue to police women’s bodies. This time around, it’s just packaged differently.