Monty Dimond
by MONTY DIAMOND
“Wow. Wow. Wow.”
That is the only word my brain could muster up while watching the first ten minutes of Being Lara Bingle. I have never succumbed to the ‘Bingle Bashing’ and I still intend not to. However last night’s episode was some of the most irresponsible telly I have seen in yonks.
If you missed it allow me to recap for you.
After pictures of Lara in her bikini with cellulite on her arse taken six month ago re-emerged (welcome to 25 Lara), a conversation between Lara and her mate Hermione took place about shedding some kilos. FIVE kilo’s to be exact. Seriously? Two beautiful healthy looking girls on national TV declaring they were going on a diet to lose FIVE kilos! Is it just me or is this NUTS??
I was waiting for the punch line but quickly realised there was none.
The sad reality set in that I just was watching Lara Bingle talk about “apple cider vinaigrette and dandelion tea.”
All they had to do was drink “juice and vegetable broth” and it magically halved their boob size.
Lara has chosen to be in the public eye and responsibilities come along with that choice. It’s beyond disappointing that she and the producers of her show allowed such ludicrous conversations about weight and dieting go to air.
Lara Bingle
Dieting is the greatest risk factor for developing an eating disorder. 68% of 15 year old Australian females are on a diet. This is a seriously scary percentage and its not getting lower. 1 in 20 women have admitted to having an eating disorder and one in four of us know someone who is suffering from one.
The scariest thing is that children as young as SEVEN are suffering from eating disorders. You are meant to be dancing in front of the mirror and picking your nose freely when you are seven – not worrying about the calories in a piece of chocolate cake.
The fact that dieting was one of the main topics on Being Lara Bingle last night is a serious issue. It’s not new to us that dieting and eating disorders are a big problem but this outlined that we still have a loooong way to go in this area.
This is an ongoing and exhausting problem. There are ways to slowly change this though.
Enough of the ridiculous and unrealistic air brushed images all around us, the dieting ‘tips’ in magazines, tiny celebrities complaining about their ‘fat’ bodies and the weight loss products on every shelf in the supermarket.
Seriously, enough is enough!
Lara Bingle outside the courtroom
Katie “Monty” Dimond is a broadcaster and media personality. She has appeared on Channel Ten, Channel Nine, and Nova FM. She is currently busy being a full time Mum and loving it!
Do you think that healthy reality stars talking about diets or weight loss has a negative impact on viewers? What message does this send to little girls? How old were you when body issues first came onto your radar?
Comments
197 Comments so far
everyone wont’s to look beautiful but i think everyone is perfect just the way they are b
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it is always bothers me when i hear about women declaring that unhealthy overweight women are healthy. Lara went from being a healthy fit model, to eating fatty foods, binge drinking and doing minimal exercise. SHE WAS NOT HEALTHY! “Curves” do not equate to health – curves are apart of our unique body structure and they are what make us individual, and set us apart from men – it is not the excess fat, it is in the genes. I think instead of endorsing and celebrating a ‘curvy’ woman, we should acknowledge the difference between women’s body shapes and educate teenagers (and adults) about food, and good food. Our bodies work as a system, you are what you eat! And in lara’s case, she ate high fatty processed foods, thus – not only added unnecessary and unhealthy fat to her beautifully healthy body she had before, but she also feels fat, and depressed by her weight. This is a reaction to the bad foods she is eating, and i think it is important that we show people how the really shitty mainstream food out there, harms us psychically and emotionally.
she wants to lose the weight – GREAT!!! and she did, and she did it by giving her body proper nutrients, and lets not deny it.. she looks great now! so perhaps, the women who feel threatened by the discussion of weight loss, should give the health kick a go – don’t be lazy, because we all know it comes from a darker place of insecurities about their own bodies, rather than eating disorders. being fat is also an eating disorder, just far worse than being skinny with one.
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Of course celebrities of all kinds affect us with these self hating attitudes. When we see someone that considered fit and sexy saying they’re fat and need to drop 5 kilos, we turn and look at ourselves in the mirror and wonder how many kilos we need to drop. My hatred started at about 14 and went through to early 20′s before i woke up and just changed my lifetime of eating habits. I now look to people like Beyonce, Scarlet Johannson and Kim Kardashian. You may not like any of them but they embrace their bodies and men find them god damn sexy!
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It’s better to have her saying what she eats and drinks to lose weight, than people guessing and assuming speed!!
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THE REALITY IS, THE NATION IS GETTING BIGGER
… ANOREXIA IS NOT EVEN THE BIG ISSUE, UNFORTUNATELY OBESITY IS
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I completely agree about the obesity factor. Maybe we should tackle obesity rather than attack women who are free to alter their body 10% less. Obesity is the real discussing truth about our nation, not Lara Bingle. What a joke.
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Extreme dieting usually causes more problems than it briefly seems to fix’.
Every woman I know (including myself) who’s lost lots of weight on a strict diet has lost their gall bladder…………….Within a couple of years a couple of us developed Diabetes 2.
After all of those acid foods & roughage and fruit juices I developed Crohns Disease and can no longer consume acid foods & roughage and fruit juices without courting a severe relapse.
We play around too much with our diets kidding ourselves that attractiveness is just a lettuce leaf away, and that other people care about how we look – they don’t……….really they don’t…….lol.
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what are you talking about? extreme dieting gave you and your friends type 2 diabetes? i don’t know what kind of extreme dieting you did, but you did it wrong obviously. you need to research, and educate yourself about healthy foods and a healthy diet. reaching a goal weight should be done through a realistic and healthy time frame – everyone knows that! so unless you were living off diet soft drinks and all the wrong diet foods, then that has nothing to do with healthy weight loss.. it’s just dumb.
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Are you serious? Really? this is the best you could do? your only way to stand up against this is to write an article that a) further highlights what the diet was about and b) complains about what is going on!! You talk about Lara having a responsibility well so do you! you have a following and a voice that people listen to. What I think is interesting is as a person in the health profession I was asked about the diet and was doing some research about it, so I typed into google “lara bingle diet” and this article came up so now as a result I have information on how to do it. Now my purpose was purely different as I have clients who “wanted to try” the diet (and yes I am constantly teaching them about healthy eating and the dangers of fad diets) but if I had of been a teen looking for how to do it, I could have got the information from you! saying things like at seven they should be dancing around and picking their nose is not going to attract any impressionable teen to follow your advice. If you want to make a change, then we need to ensure healthy is sexy, cool and attractive. The best way to influence a person is to first find out what influences them and use that.
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Dear all: Ladies please participate in my study on eating behaviours & disordered eating. You must be 18 years and over. Research is for a great cause!
http://opinio.online.swin.edu.au/s?s=12733
If you think you know anyone else who may be interested please pass the above link on. The survey is brief and all done online and you may just find it a bit interesting! Many thanks
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Oh dear. Here comes my Judgey McJudgey Pants.
I’m sorry but if you’re letting a child (boy or girl) under the age of 12 watch this drivel you only have yourself to blame for any negative outcomes.
What’s that dieting phrase? “Trash in, trash out”? Same goes for your mind. This show is completely inappropriate (for humanity, IMO) but particularly for children. This is not a LB bash – by the sound of her, this is the only career option she has. Good on her for being as dumb as a box of hammers and still scraping together a career. I’m sure she is fulfilling a need in someone – somewhere.
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Are we still talking about this??? Maybe it would help if you didn’t bring so much attention to the 30sec conversation that happened on the show! Actually I think it was a 10 second convo….
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Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about? Wake up to the real world! Heaven forbid television broadcasts THE TRUTH. This is where responsible parenting steps in 1) Don’t allow your children/teens to watch such a program 2) engage in a conversation with your child/teen about the issue of looking good at any cost and the health impacts of doing so 3) encourage a healthy diet 4) encourage a healthy self esteem. Hate to break it to you but every single day we’re exposed to “thin is better”, the important thing is to use it to your child/teens advantage. Education will always be the biggest tool against eating disorders etc and we need to see the negative side of it to understand the full picture. I’m disappointed that mammamia has tweeted this, what happened to standing up for all women? Why not write an article talking about how sad it is for women to feel like this and what we can all do? You did quote afterall that 68% of women are dieting, that’s a lot of women who need a positive reminder.
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If children too young to know the difference between how they should behave and how a tv-star model behaves, they shouldn’t be watching the show. If they are allowed to watch this show – well, bad parenting. There, I said it. If parents can’t see through the fun, boppy advertising and think that a show following a model and her many nude photo scandals is appropriate for their nine year old daughter, perhaps they should be blamed if their daughter wants to copy Lara and diet.
A reality TV show about a MODEL shows her DIETING? Get out of town! At least the shows depicts an element of reality to a model’s life – the necessity to keep thin for a career. A particularly unflattering bikini shot of Lara was on the front page of a magazine. What did everyone expect her reaction to be? ‘Oh well, I guess cellulite is just part of turning 25.’ Um, no. She needs to stay thin for her career, and such unflattering photos would not only embarrass her but compromise her career.
As soon as the topic of weight loss comes up with Lara, despite it being a given as part of her career, suddenly she’s a role model and has a responsibility to the vulnerable teenage girls who look up to her. There are many things in her show which wouldn’t dub her the ideal role-model. And that’s fine, because she never claimed to be one. The show is marketed at late teens / twenties, age groups which should certainly understand that models keep thin because they’re paid to do so, and often take extreme dieting measures as a result (even though Lara’s wasn’t that extreme).
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It really scares me how many people out there think that what Lara did was “crash dieting” and not healthy.
What they talked about was chlorophyll, supplements, eating more regular small portions a day and apple cider vinegar while they showed a huge pile of green vegetables and carrots.
They never said this is the ONLY things they’re eating, they were just the things that came up in that part of the conversation. Any young or otherwise girl who added those into their diet would benefit.
It’s bonkers.
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http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/will-these-ads-tackle-obesity-or-create-eating-disorders/
Everyone we are a fat nation! I don’t think Lara’s diet is going to harm anyone!
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They should have had her eliminating the unhealthy food from her diet and going to the gym. The sensible and healthy way to manage your weight.
As far as her needing to go on a ‘diet’ is concerned – I think if she felt she was putting on a lot of body fat and no longer felt comfortable in her own skin then she should do something about it. But not by going on some unhealthy crash diet. Gym and clean, healthy eating in a slight calorie deficit = slow and sustainable weight loss!
http://thefitandhappylife.blogspot.com.au/
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They did show her doing a gym boxing session
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Totally agree, what a ridiculous thing to air. Eating disorder culture is glamorised and has become so normal that we don’t normally even blink. On the one hand as a nation we need to lose some weight, but that doesn’t make it ok for a gorgeous young and slim role model to decide to lose 5 kilos by drinking juice.
As an ED sufferer myself, it is enormously triggering. You see this and that part of your brain automatically says – see, to be pretty and accepted you have to lose weight and diet, everyone KNOWS that. Geez.
Come on Lara, eat sensibly, exercise regularly and then embrace your body and do Aussie teenage girls a big favour.
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OMG REALLY!? They were talking about detoxing – which in actual medical fact has enormous benefits and is actually a very healthy way to maintain weight not to mention cleanse the body of toxins. The type of detoxing (juice detox) that Lara was talking about is very safe and in no means was she promoting starvation as a way of weightloss. Get real.
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No it doesn’t. Detoxing is not a medically recommended treatment for anything.
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enough with the Lara bashing…
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Just reading lots of the posts about kids watching the show, trying to get kids in bed by 8pm, frustration at Lara Bingle etc.
Here’s a suggestion.
TURN OFF YOUR TV.
Scary thought for some people, outrageous!
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since this show is clearly running on a soft script it would have been great to see lara go about her “weight issue” in a different way…. upping her exercise because it makes her feel better for one, talking to someone about the way she’s feeling…. lets face it, everyone has insecurities, shes human but since she is in the spotlight setting an example for young women, dealing with insecurities in a healthy way would have been great to see, i have to admit i turned it off pretty quick when all this came up, im sorry lara but i just don’t care about u being famous because u are pretty and nothing else, it doesn’t make for quality viewing!
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She did up her exercise. And made a point of emphasizing that.
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Great post. Thanks Monty. I thought the same thing watching last night. Thought it was just me.
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I love watching Lara Bingle.
Why?
Because she is always happy. She is friendly, down to earth and funny.
Why are we focusing on her negatives?
If I had a daughter I’d have no issue with her watching the show or aspiring to be like her.
As for her diet- I’ve seen friends do the same and myself do similar. 5kgs isn’t much but I’m sure most of us would also want to be 5kgs lighter.
If she did drugs, got stupidly drunk or was extremely violent then I think you have a right to say she’s not a good role model.
But she doesn’t. Get off your high horses people and see her for the good person she is.
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Bingle is a self obsessed, vain, inarticulate air head. She did not finish school or do any further study/training. What part of her would you approve of your daughter aspiring to be like?
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I bet she’s happier and feels more fulfilled than you do, grumpy.
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Clearly Lara didn’t need to finish Yr 12 or go to uni to be successful in her chosen field. A little jealous, perhaps?
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Rewarding this stereotypical Blonde, thin, tan girl with her own tv show and having issues such as a model is too fat and needs to lose weight is disgusting. Girls struggle with body-image everyday and the girls who watch this show are probably in the age group where body image is everything…this is irresponsible on behalf of channel 10 and Lara.
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its not just that though is it…. she is pretty… and thats it….. she is famous for being pretty.. she isnt interesting (to me) or bright or funny she is just pretty! hey all you teens out there…. all you have to do is be pretty and thats it we will make you a star!
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Oh lord we blame advertising, now we blame an adults reality programme for the issues our children have with food. Let’s start putting the blame on ourselves as parents. You are responsible for your child’s healthy weight range, you feed them, therefore you are 100% responsible. Secondly your young daughter should not be watching Lara. Be responsible and put your child to bed.
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It’s not just little kids we’re talking about. What about teenage girls – and boy now that I think about it – seeing a model talk about needing to lose weight and going on a crash diet?!?!?!?!
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All models are on diets, that is common knowledge. Young teenagers are always going to talk about diets and weight and exercise. I would be more concerned if they sat on their backside chomping on fast food and becoming obese.
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Totally agree Nat. I see more fat, overweight and pudgy children and teens more than skinny kids. Of the 2 big schools my kids go to I have never seen a child that is too slim. On the other hand every third to forth child can be seen as carrying extra weight. Why not have a go at tv advertisements that promote fast food? Makes more sense really when the eating problems in our nation tend more so to be that of obesity!
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OMG! can we block this person??! RIGHT NOW!
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YEP!! I agree 100% and actually tweeted Lara about this after LAST weeks episode where Cara and Josh were teasing her about gaining weight and she responded by going on a diet. I expressed how disappointed I was about her choices considering all her young female followers. She didn’t reply
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Oh move on. Yep she is a model. Yep she diets. Yep — so what! I dont think they went over it excessively and i have done a similar diet (apple cider, chlorophyll drinks and broth) as part of a treatment for dermatitis… i felt great afterwards. Stop taking every minute detail so seriously.
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Eating disorders ARE very serious and are women in the public eye have a responsibility to be careful about how they influence vulnerable young women. “If Lara who is clearly thin and a model needs to diet then I have to diet even more!”
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Don’t take it seriously? Tell that to some girl who develops anorexia or an eating disorder after going on that kind of crash diet.
Producers wouldn’t show Lara smoking. WHy is this different?
Go Monty!
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I’m no health expert but I’m pretty sure eating disorders such as anorexia are mental disorders. Something has to be wrong mentally for the eating disorder to occur not the other way around.
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Yes an eating disorder is a mental illness. However mental illnesses are triggered by something and that could be pressure to be thin and diet from seeing celebrities such as Lara Bingle talking about it.
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No. The responsibilty belongs to the parents.
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That’s ridiculous. Parents cannot stop their 16 year old daughters from watching Being Lara Bingle and feeling insecure or unhappy with their bodies.
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I’m assuming your comment is in reply to mine.
Parents should harden the f up and not let their children do things they don’t want them to do.
But I’m more for preventative action. If you raise your child well then he/she will have a healthier body image to a child of a parent who had body image issues of their own and conveyed this to their offspring.
Parents are old enough to know how society works but a child is not. Therefore a parent must raise their child to be as aware and as resilient as possible.
If your child wanted to watch a particular show then watch it with them and discuss any issues.
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Harden the f up? Parents can ban things all they want but there are such things as smart phones, internet cafes, laptops etc where teenagers can watch whatever they want.
Of course parents should try to nurture a sense of positive body image in their kids but parents cannot protect their kids from everything and I don’t see why celebrities in role model positions shouldn’t be held accountable.
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OK, here’s my issue…
Yesterday, you posted an article about how The Shire is nothing but harmless fun and that Sophie & Vernesa are just bimbos who arent hurting anyone.
The Shire is aimed at teenagers – I’d hazard a guess that young girls make up a significant chunk of their audience. If you find Lara’s detox offensive, how can you say that Sophie & Vernesa are harmless? They have been shown saying their “goal” is to make everyone “thinner, tanner, hotter.”
I’m not saying that Lara is an idea role model, however – She has said a couple of times on her show about how she doesn’t want to be stick thin, how she prefers being more womanly, and as previously mentioned by other commenters, she’s portrayed as a very active, sporty girl. She also seems surprisingly down to earth.
I just don’t get it. Bit of a mixed message MM.
Sigh. Rant over.
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Oh, and I wanted to add – LOVE Monty, and I totally get where she’s coming from. It’s moreso the attitude towards The Shire that irks me.
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Hey The DutchJess,
You will find lots of mixed messages on MM and that’s because we publish lots of different views from many different contributors.
So yesterday was Em Rusciano’s opinion and today is Monty’s.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there isn’t one single editorial policy or viewpoint on issues (except about vaccinations!)
M x
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The difference is Lara Bingle is a well know “celebrity” and is in the public eye. She already has many fans including many young women who look up to her. The Shire is a scripted ‘reality’ show which is obviously partly comedic and exaggerated. The characters in The Shire are unknown people are do not have the role model status that Lara does.
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Lara would not be an unhealthy weight if she was 5 kilos lighter, just as she wouldn’t be if she was 5 kilos heavier so I don’t think it’s harmful to mention it. I don’t recall her calling herself ‘fat’ at all and Hermione was eating the same way for support. It also seemed more focus on detox than weight loss?
P.S. I don’t think she was she was pointing out her ‘halved’ boobs as a good thing!
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How do you know she would be a healthy weight without even knowing how much she weighs? In the prior episode Cara and Josh were teasing Lara about her weight and saying she can’t turn into a ‘fatty’. They were talking about how she got fat after her engagement breakup. So Lara starts saying she has to loose weight and goes to the store and buys over $300 worth of products to help her do so.
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Why would a 7 year old even be watching this? Parents should be in charge and not allow it in the first place. It is just not suitable.
Lara and her friend are not the first girls to sit around and talk about diets/weight. Most of us just don’t do it on tv.
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The show is on at 8pm when many kids are still up. And it’s sold with a fun, catchy, cute theme song and all seems like a real life Barbie show.
It’s not surprising or unexpected that kids would be watching…..
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At 8pm a 7 year old should be tucked up in bed..
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‘Should’ be tucked up in bed. Should is the operative word!
COme round to my house and give me a hand some time?
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What about 13yos? Or 17yos? Or 21yos?
They’re not ALL in bed at 8pm.
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I think you’re missing the point – it is irrelevant what time kids go to bed or should go to bed. Just because a child is up does not mean they should be watching whatever they want on TV!!
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What is it with parents that EVERYTHING in the world suddenly revolves around their kids?
Lara Bingle’s show is a show aimed at 20 somethings. If a kid under 16 is watching it, that’s their parent’s fault for allowing them to do so.
The world does not need to become some perfect kiddy friendly playground just because you’ve had a child. when did everyone become so precious and shouty?
Lara is a bikini model, and socialite – let her enjoy her life and have her fun.
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Oh that is SO true! Well said.
Seriously, why should Lara Bingle be in charge of ‘teaching our girls’ about anything?
Perhaps that should be the role of ‘our girls’ mothers – rather than a bikini model / socialite??? Sheesh.
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Hey What The?
I think when Monty is talking about kids she’s referring to people who are young and particularly vulnerable when it comes to messages about body image.
Is it wrong that I refer to anyone under 25 as a kid?
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Nope! I’m 24 and definitely still feel like a kid, Mia
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What The?
I don’t have kids but I was a kid and I care about young girls and young women. I care about the crap they’re exposed to.
We all should.
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LARA BINGLE = FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.
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I think Lara teaches young girls the importance of always looking pretty, dressing well, looking well groomed, acting cute and funny. She is a great role models for young girls aspiring to be models or even Wags. My girls love her.
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Ah yes, aspiring to be WAGS. What year is this???????
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Anonymous – are you one of the cast of the Shire by any chance???
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Aim high!
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Are you serious? It’s people like you that are the problem!!
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Sounds like everyone is a teeny tiny bit jealous of Lara. Our family and my girls love her. Both my girls look very similar to her and would love to follow in her footsteps as a model/ambassador for Australia,
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Aim high? Am sure she has done better than all of you!
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You are having a lend of us.. right?
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I think it’s really pushing it far to say she’s an “ambasador”. She’s a model, simple. If my daughter wanted to model that would be ok – as long as she is fully aware of the harshness of the industry.
But I would really want her to get a good education and consider a more meaningful profession. I’m sorry, but modeling is so insular and incredibly light weight.
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Oh boy, I suppose that if one of my children wanted to be a model than I would encourage them to look toward media-savvy, strong, enterprising types such as Tyra Banks or Elle Macphearson who have longevity AND positive body image messages.
A quote from Elle:
“…I do know focusing on the exterior doesn’t make me happy. If I want peace and serenity, it won’t be reached by getting thinner or fatter.”
Having said this, however, it is not Lara’s job to teach our children. I am a highschool teacher and firmly believe that education is about teacheing children how to apply their ethics, morals and beliefs to the world around them. They should experience every type and then decide what is “healthy” and “right” by discussing these issues with the mentors they have in their lives.
p.s. I am intelligent, I know all about why Lara’s diet is wrong but that didn’t stop me from falling for those protein shake diets, at one stage until my digestive system started to go haywire.
p.p.s. Aim high, be ambitious, every single job can be performed at a high or a mediocre level.
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Give me strength….
Dunno about others, but why would I be jealous of Lara bingle? I’ve got 2 young girls too, one of whom is similar in coloring to her and very pretty, but I sincerely hope she follows her own path. I’ve also got a girl the same age as Lara,, also a pretty young woman, not that I’m biased and who has never aspired to be a WAG. She has a lovely partner and is also successful, just not on tv.
I just hope you’re trolling.
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Pesonally I’d prefer my daughters to be intelligent, articulate, well educated, comfortable in their own skin and HAPPY than cute and snappy dressers married to people whose fame will eventually fade. But…each to their own.
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what about all of thsose things. and shouldnt ppl be together because of love. not fame
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Oh my god.. Is that what we hope for our daughters to become these days?? WAGS? I mean how low can you go?!? Oh yes let’s just teach our kids to look pretty and skinny and wear heaps of make up so they can marry into RICH??
Wtf?
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Troll much? Get a life
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The fact that Lara (or any model) diets does not surprise me.
What did surprise me was that she let her colonic irrigation be filmed last episode.
That was an hilarious over share.
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Seriously – I’m intrigued, what DID Lara Bingle do to you guys at MM?
Why can’t you leave her alone?
The moral outrage in the above article is ridiculous – given the general diet/eating habits of most celebrities.
Well, at least we’re all assured that there’s no ‘Bingle Bashing’ in this piece… as in the next sentence she’s so sweetly ‘welcomed’ to 25, reference is made to her cellulite arse and then you throw a wobbly that a “celebrity” who’s been criticised by the media for putting on weight, DARES to use a detox method for speed to lose that weight.
For goodness sake – expect her to do anything else?
Give this girl a break MM – it’s really staggering the way you are attacking her. There is article after article about her and they all smack of school yard bully tactics.
For some reason, you are delighting in dishing it out to this girl for ANY reason that you can muster up with a negative spin.
I don’t watch her show and I think she’s a silly piece of work – but what you’re doing is quite frankly, odd. Really odd.
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ONdine’s Mum.
For someone who writes her off so casually as “a silly piece of work’ you sure feel strongly.
This was not a personal attack on Lara. Not in my opinion at all. It was a comment about the irresponsible way producers turned one girl’s body insecurity into a storyline.
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Hi Elizz
Been reading this site lately? Of course this was a personal attack – and the negative posts about this girl are endless – it’s really odd is all I’m saying. I don’t understand why MM is picking on her so much and clearly neither do a lot of other readers.
She’s a model for heavens sake – it’s her job to look good.
I just find these constant attacks on her really disconcerting – am pretty sure if she’d expressed in the show that she didn’t care about her weight, or tucked into a bag of Maccas she would be accused of promoting obesity in ‘our girls’.
She just can’t win with the MM team – and it’s weird.
If everyone dislikes her so much or disapproves of her so much – here’s a newsflash – ignore her – but the constant posts are really getting too much.
It’s is just getting so nasty – and yes, as I read it, seems very personal.
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I don’t think children should be watching the programme. I know it’s not on super late but there’s nothing in the content that would appeal to or be suitable forchildren-in my opinion
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Conversations like this happen all over the world every day – Shame on the Producers for putting that rubbish to air. I work with impressionable young (school) girls who hang on every word of weight obsessed Bingle – #FAIL
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I work with girls every day and I see two different responses:
1) her diet is ridiculous and it’s not normal
2) I’ve read about that elsewhere
I’m pretty sure Lara Bingle would have very little impact on girls. It is a parent’s responsibility to teach their children about healthy eating. For girls who want to diet, well they’ve probably spent hours researching methods anyway.
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Lara Bingle is nonsense and people should see it that way…my six year old daughter does..surely you can too Monty…but I hear what your saying ‘ Loud and Clear..
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Argh, ENOUGH with giving Lara Bingle crap. The poor girl has so much negativity thrown at her all the time. She went on a juice cleanse cause she wanted to lose some weight after a magazine put on the front cover with a massive heading screaming “FAT!”
Think about how that would make you feel? Not also forgetting that she is a swimsuit model and her livelihood is to look good in little to nothing. Real issues next article please!!!
I just don’t get why people think it’s cool to viciously bully this girl…. She’s not different from so many of the other model slash presenter (Erin McNaught, Laura Dunovic, Jesinta Campbell, just to name a few) and they don’t get a fraction of the hate that Lara receives.
It’s not cool at all. Stop.
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You’re missing the point of the article – yes lots of people feel ‘fat’ but she needs to be aware young girls will copy her every move.
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Young girls will copy her every move? And what are you basing this on? Please give young girls some credit, they are not as stupid as you make them out to be. It’s not that long ago that I was a young girl and I don’t remember copying every move of some C list celebrity.
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I’m sorry. If you do a reality show, you can’t expect not to be subject to critical thought. This is not a fan site, this is a website where issues are discussed. Intelligently.
THANK GOD. Great article Monty.
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She’s a gorgeous girl – she’s just young – she’s only 24 for god’s sake – lay off her guys – think back to when you were 24 – she’s doing OK I think for someone so young.
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Aaah, at 24 I was working as a doctor. It ain’t so young.
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Ditto what JM said… At 24 I’d been working as an engineer for 2 years already.
24 is old enough to know better than to behave like a vapid, 16yo bimbo.
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I agree at 24 I was teaching.
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I thought Lara is just a bag of fun.Please don’t take her so seriously, it was better than watching bang bang shows?
Kathleen
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I like your writings Monty but dont agree with this piece,
FIRSTLY, I think we should cut Lara Bloody Bingle a bit of slack. She is only human. not only does she have to see her ex fiance now married to a gorgeous brunette all over the media, ( when us other non famous types just have a facebook stalk) she is on the FRONT PAGE of a magazine labelled fat. a juice de tox is not uncommon or not neccessarily a bad thing, LET ALONE meaning that she has an eating disorder because next time shes photographed in a bikini, she doesnt want to see the words FAT next to her.
FINALLY being lara bingle is not a go to guide for raising little girls. its reality tv about a model slash whatever. lets call it for what it is and stop always looking at the negatives
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So agree with your comment av.
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Agreed. The bottom line is every girl has done silly diets like this is their time. Yes, Lara has invited cameras into her life, but at doesn’t mean she has to start acting like the bastion for good health and sensible eating.
Didn’t agree with this article at all. It seems like you didn’t have much to write about so thought this would be something that people would have a strong reaction to.
Girls are going to try health products and diets in their quest to look and feel better. I hazard a guess that you’ve done it in your lifetime.
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Every girl?
Incorrect!
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Noted Alyssa. Every girl was a sweeping statement. I would stand by MOST girls though.
A girl aspiring to lose 5 kilos (shock horror!!) is hardly mind-blowing stuff.
I disagree that, as Monty suggested, it was beyond disappointing that Lara and the producers of her show “allowed such ludicrous conversations about weight and dieting go to air.”
If that classifies as ludicrous then someone needs to send the memo to the health, lifestyle and alternative diet industries – who I’m sure don’t think their tidy profits are ludicrous.
That’s not to say they’re necessarily correct but it’s somewhat bonkers to suggest that Lara Bingle and her show’s producers should be the one’s to spark the revolution to change women’s body image. She IS a model after all!!
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Agreed.
What’s with all the negativity?
She’s a model and model diets. And I’ve seen worse super skinny model.
People should think that your words can hurt a person as much as physical abuse.
You don’t know this person, has never been what she’s been through, please don’t judge or hate or gossip!
I love good debate about interesting topics and talking about one particular person is just gossip !
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Love your work… and your words Monty!
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Would rather be on a diet , exercising, looking good than sitting on my arse being unhealthy fat frump.
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Thanks for the insight into your mind Troll
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Television is not to blame for children’s eating disorders. The parents are. Parents have created a world full of anxious/paranoid highly stressed out kids. This can lead to numerous issues one being eating disorders. if you look at most young girls that are normal and healthy they couldn’t care less what Lara bingle is putting in her mouth! Mothers be there for your kids. Don’t be a helicopter mother let them experience independence and resilience. Teach your child strategies in life to cope with situations. Give them confidence without too much praise. All this =healthy children who will not follow suit to babble that is happening on tv.
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I totally agree anon .Maybe also if parents were there for their children instead of placing them in full daycare since day dot then proceeding to slot them and in before and after school care for their primary years. Perhaps spending time with them, we would have more well adjusted children , children who have high self esteem, who are less likely to have eating disorders. It is nearly always a cry for attention. Typically those children who are deprived of enough attention from their parents. tend to go down this pathway. If you thought before you outsourced care the probability of your child heading down this way would be limited. There are always repercussions …
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Nat, if you’re going to draw that (frankly offensive) connection, please link to research that shows childcare is a causative element in the development of childhood eating disorders. Otherwise, preface your comment with an ‘I think’, & then we know it’s
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ARGH. Sorry, but you are so wrong when you say the parents are to blame for eating disorders. I would really really appreciate that comment removed as it is false!
Sure, some parents may not help the situation. But there are plenty of really good parents who have parents with eating disorders, which are actually very strongly linked to anxiety & personality types.
I really hope this isn’t the majority opinion.
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Sorry, I mean parents who have “children”, not parents! haha
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I ag
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To Nat, I don’t think you should be making such broad judgements and statements referring to daycare and school care, some mothers don’t have a choice financially and it’s a matter of survival. I grew up with no daycare and no school care and the 2 most loving parents and I still suffered from a chronic eating disorder for a number of years. Laying blame and judgement on morhers that I am sure are their own worst judge, is unfair and biased, you should never judge a person until you have walked in their shoes! Mel
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Nat, What a bizarre statement you are linking full time care to an eating disorder? I was never in child care for one single minute & had amazing parents. Yet I had an eating disorder purely of my own doing. Jodi
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Anonymous: Whilst you are correct in saying that children with anxious dispositions are at higher risk of developing an eating disorder, this is due to their genetic make up NOT their parents. Psychiatry has finally opened its eyes to the fact that parents are not in any way a sole cause of eating disorders; the illness comes about through a complex interplay of genetics, personality traits and environmental triggers.
And I agree, television does not solely cause eating disorders either but it, along with other forms of media, can be a trigger to a child that has a genetic predisposition to developing the condition.
Your advise re: letting children be independent and teaching them coping skills I agree with completely, but that won’t stop an eating disorder occuring in a child who is genetically ‘wired’ to develop one. I grew up as a very resilient, independent child and never paid any attention to movie stars or magazines; I prefered to kick a footy around and climb trees. I still ended up with a life threatening case of anorexia nervosa. Go figure.
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I think saying that parents are responsible for their children’s eating disorders is a sweeping statement, that is wrong. As a person who had suffered from an eating disorder in one way or another for the past 10 years, I speak for myself and many others whom Ive met along the way, that there is no single cause. Media and society plays a bigger part in a child’s/ teens developing psyche than parents, especially when in comes to something like body image. Otherwise why would I be the only one of 4 to have any sort of eating disorder?
I think Lara was irresponsible, or rather the producers/ directors. I cringed and felt triggered watching last nights episode.
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Gosh this post is annoying in so many ways.
Perhaps Monty would be happier to see Lara on her show eating Mcdonalds or hot chips down at the beach. No-one would ever say anything about that even though that is WAY more UNhealthy than what was discussed last night!
(Actually people probably would, they’d complain that she doesn’t look after herself) She can’t win. No-one can these days. Arghhh!
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Looking after yourself is fine. Ridiculous crash dieting when your’e not even overweight is not.
I agree with Monty.
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Looking after yourself IS doing things like drinking chlorophyll and taking supplements! If you knew anything about the many health benefits of these things you would know they aren’t a way to just drop a few kilos and “crash diet”.
If she was over her optimal weight (which she obviously felt like she was and we all know when we just don’t feel right, even if we “look right” to other people), probably from eating so-called normal, acceptable things (ie. mostly processed stuff) then just becoming healthier would have shed any excess kilos she had.
I can’t believe you consider what they discussed a “ridiculous crash diet”. To me that just implies that you’ve never really properly looked into nutrition.
What they talked about were chlorophyll, supplements, eating more regular small portions a day and apple cider vinegar while they showed a huge pile of green vegetables and carrots! HOW IN THE WORLD DOES ANYONE SEE THIS AS A BAD THING?!? Crazy.
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I found it more concerning that her friends and family all found it so hilarious when her brother went to court for assault. It was all a big joke to everyone.
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I’m a LB fan but I agree that it was handled poorly and didn’t paint the family in a positive light at all. It should have been acknowledged that it happened, Sharon should have said something about him learning his lesson and then they should have moved on!
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these people are total bogans, it is a mystery why the are still running this show. Is anybody still watching?!
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Agreed Monty!
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She is a model. She gets paid to look good. She put on a few kilos. She got called FAT BY MEDIA. So she sat back, looked at the photos and thought she should lose a couple of kilos so that she felt better whilst doing her job, which to recap, is TO LOOK GOOD!
There are a hundred other Australian & International Actresses/ models/ presenters that go on diets every week, and discuss them in various media outlets. Get off the Lara Bingle bashing bandwagon. Seriously.. every. single. thing!
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And another thing. IT WAS A DETOX. All the comments regarding how unhealthy juices & water is, that’s what you drink on a detox! SHE GOT IT FROM A HEALTH FOOD SHOP. IF YOU SAW LAST WEEK SHE SAID IT WAS FOR A WEEK. NOT A LIFETIME.
UGH.
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If someone is looking to lara bingle for any kind of life advice then they’re a lost cause.
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To be fair she also mentioned something about portion control in addition to vegetable broth, ACV and dandelion tea. Plus we will never get to see the entire extent of her context.
We view Lara in the context set by producers.
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