By Andy Simon

Channel Five's reality documentary "Body Freaks" is for me, a rare glimpse into what was originally perceived as an incredibly shallow world. I was wrong about that . . . almost.

To some living among us, the obsession with body image has now reached epidemic proportions. And until I watched this show, I didn't understand why.

Here's the thing; I was born with a hairlip and cleft palate.

And after years of surgery throughout my childhood, teenage years and finishing in my early 20's, I learned to live with the bullying, tormenting, teasing and all the typical stuff those of my generation could ever throw at me.

They'd call me names like "Fat Lip" or Galen (from Planet of the Apes) or "Monkey" or my favourite, John Merrick (Joseph Carey Merrick: The Elephant Man)

Personally I always liked that last one as it gave me a pleasurable kick that I was being mentioned in the same sentence along with such a wonderful great man.

And after watching last night's episode of Body Freaks, I realised that for some; enduring all what I had to endure would have been difficult if not impossible.

There are indeed some people out there who are very unhappy with their looks. So much so that they go to (some would say) extremes to change or erase completely that which they were born with.

For me; Body Freaks (unintentionally I suspect) revealed something that had very little to do with vanity or defects at birth but interestingly more to do with what was really going on within the individual's head.

For example there is Jordan, who wanted to look like Kim Kardashian (I can't imagine why) so he can feel like a celebrity. Now to me; that's vanity, and vanity as I perceive it is a very shallow and ugly thing.

Seeing Jordan before he changed everything via £100,000 of (I assume) hard earned cash, looked alright. By my standards; a really typical normal guy.

But in this pier pressured over glamourised air brushed world . . .
What's normal?

Then there's Heather, who clearly breaks her mother's heart by completely changing her face from what it originally was, to something that belongs in an episode of Star Trek. And again, from my perspective, seeing Heather's early photos, I saw a very pretty young girl. Am I missing something here?

Finally there is Star, for me; the most tragic of them all.

She spent fifty big one's so she could totally eradicate her childhood.
What an expensive way to get away from your past.

It seems to me that these people would have done better getting counciling instead of cosmetic surgery. And the really annoying thing about this whole business, is that the only ones who appear to be profiting from these people's anxiety, are the surgeons.

To me; Jordan, Heather & Star's problems were on the inside, not outside. They needed a shrink, not botox.

And one other thing this "Body Freaks" show completely failed to address, was Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) also known as Body Dysmorphia, Dysmorphic Syndrome, or Dysmorphophobia.

A rather common mental condition that effects roughly 2.5% of the population whereby, the individual who suffers from it, has some aspect of their appearance which to them, is severely flawed and takes measures often extreme ones to hide or fix what is perceived by the sufferer, as an immense defect.

There was no mention of this condition at all!

Although having said that; I did go for a pee two thirds into the show and since I didn't have "Live TV" engaged, I didn't press "Pause" so perhaps I missed it?

In summing up "Body Freaks" was simply that. It didn't focus on what should have been the real issues, obsessive body image brought about by tragic and/or traumatic circumstances in childhood and/or adolescence which can lead to BDD.

I also thought the portraying of the individuals who took part in the show was negative and for me; Body Freaks failed completely to show them in a good light considering these people's clear and ongoing issues with themselves.

Or did I get it all wrong?

I'm assuming Body Freaks will be available on Channel Five's catch up service. It's well worth a watch but for me, it failed to show an unbiased balanced view of what is considered by some to be a very serious issue of these modern times.

My good wishes and sincere respects to all
who bravely took part in this show.

Thanks for reading.

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