Halle and the not so humble celebrity biкini selfie
Are celebrities who publish images of themselves in biкinis promoting a good view of ageing and body image?
It’s August, which means ‘celebrities in swimsuits’ season has begun. This is a phenomenon that used to entail long lens cameras being trained on beaches frequented by the affluent and famous, with paparazzi photographing well-known names in all their swimwear splendour (or not).
A exceptionally good or truly bad photograph can, depressingly, make or kill a career; consider how Helen Mirren is still hailed for that 2008 photograph of her wearing a red biкini and looking absolutely amazing for a woman of 62.
We have arrived at a point in time when celebrities are reclaiming the biкini image narrative. They recognise the value of these photographs, but they are now putting their own on Instagram, stylized and sold to suit their own agenda.
There are several categories here, ranging from traditional ‘look out how brilliant my body is’ posts to ‘fun’ images with a more humble boast quality to versions that address the body image issues of broadcasting a photograph of your body to millions of people.
Halle Berry is this summer’s rookie queen of the biкini shot, having uploaded two viral photos of herself in biкinis in the last week, triggering headlines about how amazing she looks for 54.
