'What the f*** am I meant to look like then?!' Vicky Pattison says 'women can't win' with body image

4 April 2023

Vicky Pattison says that "women can't win" when it comes to body image.

Vicky Pattison gets frustrated at the double standards surrounding body image

The 'Geordie Shore' legend, 35, explained that while she is "very content" being a woman, she is "frustrated" that when it comes to body image there is a "discrepancy" between the sexes, citing reactions to actor Christian Bale and reality superstar Kim Kardashian's respective weight losses as examples.

Speaking on the 'This Is Not What I Asked For' podcast, she told host Jonathan Andrew: "It often feels like women can't win. Not that I want to sound in any way ungrateful about my gender, like, I love being a woman. I think we're powerful beyond measure. I think we have this incredible mix of being able to be super strong but also really vulnerable and our support structure, our friends, our mothers or whatever, I think the way we talk and support one another and the way we are able to share our feelings is something men don't have.

"I'm very content in my gender but I will say that is the one discrepancy that frustrates me constantly. Christian Bale loses loads of weight for 'The Machinist', he is an actor, he is dedicated to his craft. He is incredible. Let's laud him, let's applaud him. However - and I know this is going to be controversial because of who she is - Kim Kardashian, her job is to look good on red carpets. Her job is to look good to influence people. Kim Kardashian loses weight to fit in a dress, that's problematic. And those are extremes. It's very unfair that we quite often get the raw end of the deal when it comes to our image. "

The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' winner went on to claim that women are fed contradictory messages when it comes to what their appearance should be and wondered what on earth she is "supposed" to look like.

She added: "We're encouraged to be healthy and strong but not too strong.

"You don't wanna look muscly, you'll put men off but don't get fat, boys won't like that either! So be health conscious but not too health conscious because then you'll get too skinny. And nobody wants you when you're too skinny because you won't look a woman. What the f*** am I meant to look like then?!"