There seems to be a disturbing kind of bullying going on amongst women of a certain age and, dare I say it, a certain class. Gym snobbery.
Yesterday I went to the sort of gym I cannot afford to be a member of as a guest. It was the sort of place frequented by women who have not yet reached the official age of retirement, but perhaps still 'play' at a job every once in a while until their husbands stop working.
In the changing rooms I noticed a woman, skinnier than me, but at least twice my age, who had been examining herself in the mirror for about 15 minutes. Though her ribs stuck out, her body was still a bit curvy lower down, as is largely the case for those over 50. Another woman breezed through. She was extremely tall and had the uncomfortable resemblance of someone having been stretched. She had just been to the gym.
"Julie!", she exclaimed to the slightly more human woman. "Good to see you. We're going to the gym again later. You should come. "I don't think I can", replied the other, meekly, looking weary with exhaustion from her recent session. The tall one said: "Oh, do you still go? You don't seem to.... well, are you not getting there anymore?" The other said nothing and looked at her feet. "I know it is hard. Do try to get to the gym" she crooned before sweeping off.

Child Genius

The follow up series to Child Genius once again provides a showcase for parental obsession. The parents of Peter the would-be chess champion, Georgia the prodigious toddler and Adam the academic, are worthy of a series dedicated to their own psychoanalysis. At best they are troubled, at times they are little short of scary. The common theme linking them all is a repeated demonstration that they see their child's gift both as an identity and valuable commodity.

Watching Lucy Brown forcing her two-year-old daughter to share in her own anxieties about the child's talents was painful. To excitedly dangle an envelope from a school containing Georgia's acceptance or rejection in front of her, before bursting into tears in disappointment just seemed cruel. Georgia may be outstandingly intelligent, but she is not an adult and, not surprisingly, did not appear to act like one. However advanced she is her manner was still that of a child - and for a child to be dragged along an adult emotional rollercoaster is surely not a situation to be condoned.

Adam, the child who started Prep School this week caused concern to his parents because they feared he wasn't different enough anymore. Were they embracing the stereotype of the gifted child who can't socialise with anyone of his own age? Their compulsion to formally test their second son, Samuel to check they weren't 'missing something' special highlighted their obsession with quantifying their children. Luckily this had a happy outcome - well, relatively - he was gifted but not as gifted as his brother.

As for Peter the chess-player who doesn't go to school, at least his saddening failure to win the junior chess championship encouraged his parents to put him in contact with other kids, all be it the scouts rather than school.

Body image and the media

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/16/france.law

Should the UK be considering similar measures?

It's hard to argue that the existence of 'pro-ana' sites is anything but dangerous. The websites offer advice to people who are already displaying concerns associated with extreme insecurity. It seems plausible to attribute some responsibility to the givers of advice for actions taken in response to it.

But the idea that this could apply to the media opens up a much wider debate - namely the press' responsibility for the way in which people, and not just young women, receive the images they promote. This doesn't just go for celebrity or dieting magazines, but for every journalist who is under pressure to find eye-pleasing case studies. Alice Wignall highlighted the predicament earlier this week in an article entitled 'Anyone here been abused and wears a size 10?'.

Where do we draw the line between noting an unrealistic portrayal of normality and actually holding the media responsible for the consequences when people internalise those images to destructive effect? What about all those 30 and 40 somethings who pursue plastic surgery to stay looking unnaturally young, obsessed with maintaining the body of a 22-year-old? It's not so blatant as anorexia, but it's hard to defend it as a completely healthy attitude to the body.

Twittering

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/04/12/dlclaud112.xml



The idea of commenting on events in real time undoubtedly has its merits. Humans are sociable creatures by nature and so sharing experiences is one of the most natural things we can do. We're also incredibly forgetful, so the idea of immediate recording means a lot of inspiring thoughts or amusing annecdotes are less likely to be lost or weakened in the time lag between an event and logging on (or picking up a pen if you're a traditionalist). But there would also seem to be an increasing danger of weakining the experience itself, particularly when the event is something designed to fill and absorb the witness for a set time period - such as in art. Going to a play and being able to discuss a scene with other audience members while sitting in the auditorium may heighten the sense of being at a shared theatrical event, a concept fundamental to many contemporary dramateurs, but the very act of communication breaks the circle of concentration into which the production aims to seduce its audience.



The magic spell, which enables punters to laugh or cry is easily broken by someone in the row behind unsubtly offering around toffee eclairs, let alone telling you she thinks the actor on the left has his wig on wonky. It's hard to feel real empathy with a character once you become aware of the artifice of production.

The time has come to begin a blog and stop demanding that the ears of my long-suffering friends play audience to my observations, musings and experiences. This is not to say they will no longer be called upon to absorb countless niblets of commentary - certainly I hope some will read and contribute to this blog - but I can at least try to create a more user-generated experience for them. More importantly, I hope to be able to discuss issues with a wider range of people, so the more responses to posts I can get the better it will be.