As per, this year's camp contains a handful of soap stars, a washed up 90s throwback (Sorry Carlton, we still love you), a few TV hosts, the required Glamour Model-esque female, a reality TV star... and an Olympic Gold Medalist?!
Stop the Press! You mean to say this year's camp mates contain a person who might just be worth her fame?
Groundbreaking, ITV, simply ground breaking.
There is no doubt that Rebecca Adlington is one of this countries greatest sweethearts, swimming her way in by winning us two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As a young, and completely un-athletic female, Becky Adlington is up there with Jessica Ennis, Dame Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe on my awe-scale. I can't commit to what I'm going to have for dinner, let alone to a single sport for more than half my life. To me, and to many others, these women are truly remarkable; they show determination, grit, poise, elegance and there is not one of them I wouldn't love to call my mate.
So I know I am not alone in saying that watching Ms Adlington break down over the fact that she feels she is not beautiful enough, broke my heart and struck so many chords.
This years Camp beauty is Amy Willerton, Miss Universe GB. Amy is many things young girls aspire to be, beautiful, bubbly and, to the surprise of so many, actually pretty intelligent. It was only a matter of time before the morality of beauty pageants and whether or not they are 'good' was brought up. Personally, I believe Beauty Pageants just, are what they are. Whilst I don't agree that women should be treated as objects they do seem to do some good, The Miss World Organisation has raised more that £250 million for children's charities since it begun and, it's true, the girls genuinely do chose to be up there. So in the same way that female dancers and glamour models and porn stars use what their Mumma's gave them, Beauty Queens should be allowed to, too.
However, I think there is something seriously, SERIOUSLY wrong if a women who dedicated her life to a discipline and won this country two GOLD MEDALS feels inferior to a Jordan Price castoff, Beauty Queen. I'm not saying that winning a beauty contest is easy, because it isn't and I would by no means win one, but I REFUSE to be told that it is anywhere near as hard as winning any Olympic medal.
So what if Becky Adlington hasn't got a perfect nose, or a size 8 waist?!
SHE'S A GOLD MEDALIST! Not to mention the fact that she's a genuinely lovely human being.
How many of you can call yourselves perfect?!
Didn't think so.
When you strip it down to the basics the fact that society's messed up idea of what a woman should be has affected her too should be ringing alarm bells to everyone. Few had heard of Amy Willerton before I'm a Celeb, but Rebecca Adlington has been a household name for years and yet I wonder who, upon leaving the Jungle, will be granted more page space and air time...?
It's sad, and disheartening and ever more true that it is high time we start valuing human beings on what they have achieved, not the size of their waists.
- xo
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