viral ‘family guy’ meme intensified body dysmorphia for chloë grace moretz
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chloe grace moretz in the documentary 'this changes everything'. merlin
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being made fun of is hurtful. and the feeling is amplified when the joke is everywhere on social media.
actor chloë grace moretz says the memes created about her have made her increasingly self-conscious about her appearance, adding to her struggle with anxiety and body dysmorphia, according to people magazine.
she was only 12 when her 2010 breakout film ‘kick-ass’ jetted her into the spotlight and put her in front of paparazzi.
in an interview with hunger magazine, moretz, 25, revealed that a photoshopped meme of her body that compared her to a character from the ‘family guy’ animated sitcom had a lasting affect her self-image.
the paparazzi photo showed moretz walking into a hotel with a pizza box in her hand, while her body was manipulated to depict a cartoon character with long legs and a short torso. the meme went viral.
“everyone was making fun of my body, and i brought it up with someone, and they were like, ‘oh, shut the f — up, it’s funny.’ and i just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke, and it’s something that i can’t change about who i am, and it is being posted all over instagram,” she told hunger magazine.
even now, the meme stirs up a lot of negative emotions for her — and she no longer enjoys the red carpet experience that fans love to watch. instead, she felt severely anxious with a racing heart rate and hyperventilating whenever she was being photographed.
moretz also says the hurtful memes and her body dysmorphia pushed her to become a recluse outside of her onscreen rolls in film and television, including ‘the miseducation of cameron post’ (2018) and ‘tom & jerry’ (2021). the covid-19 pandemic helped her to avoid any attention, entertainment weekly reports.
she explained to hunger magazine, “i just put a hat on, put a mask on and then put my hood up and would be able to get away with a lot more, like go to a concert or bite my lip or have undocumented pimples,” she says, thankful for the “time of introspection.”
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she calls the past two years transformative: “i’m a very different girl than i was. i feel like a woman now.” she told people that her five-year goal is to buy a farm so that she can spend more time in nature when she’s not working in los angeles.
body dysmorphia not just limited to celebrities
body dysmorphia is a mental disorder where people focus on what they see as physical flaws or lack of symmetry, so they may avoid social situations from shame and anxiety, according to the mayo clinic. some people develop anxiety and eating disorders, or pursue cosmetic surgery to “fix” the perceived flaws.
a meta-analysis of studies that linked body dysmorphia with self-esteem issues, published in bmc psychiatry in 2021, found that low self-esteem is an important hallmark of the disorder beyond symptoms of depression. the researchers say that negative self-evaluation in body dysmorphia is not limited to appearance, but also extends to more general feelings of unworthiness and other core beliefs. they highlight the importance of self-esteem interventions, especially during the turmoil of adolescence, to help prevent and treat the disorder.
an estimated 350,000 canadians experience this condition, with almost 60 per cent of whom also have suicidal thoughts, says the patient support group eli’s place.
signs of the disorder include an intense fear of being judged for imperfection and rituals to conceal perceived flaws like covering up with clothing and excessive makeup — along with avoidance of being photographed.
cognitive behavioural therapy is often the best course of treatment, where people learn to recognize and change thoughts that lead to the obsessive behaviours. therapy is sometimes combined with antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications.
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer.
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