Why do we gossip about women's health?
Why do we gossip about women's health?
The problem with Kate Middleton conspiracy theories.
Hi everyone! The Princess of Wales shocked the world on Friday when she announced that she is battling cancer. Weeks of speculation and conspiracy theories about her body have only added insult to injury.
But first, here’s what else people are talking about on Diem:
On January 17, Kensington Palace announced that Kate Middleton underwent a planned abdominal surgery. She then wasn’t seen again—officially, at least—until March 22, when she posted a video on Instagram: “The surgery was successful,” she shared. “However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”
This was a shock to millions of social media users, and not just because of the severity of the news. The video was as much an admonishment as it was an admission, because many of those watching it had spent the past nine weeks speculating wildly about the Princess’s absence, theorizing it was due to everything from an eating disorder to an abortion to, ludicrously, a BBL (Brazilian butt lift). Now, they’re eating their words.
I’m not immune to this. I had my own theories. But it became clear around British Mother’s Day, when the Palace posted an Instagram photo they later admitted was Photoshopped, that whatever was happening wasn’t going to have a happy ending. There was no reason one of the most powerful institutions in the western world shouldn’t have been able to contain this. If they couldn’t prove everything was fine, that meant it probably wasn’t.
And yet, the speculation continued—and not just any speculation, but invasive, unfounded, and humiliating speculation about the Princess’s intimate health details, that used her appearance in paparazzi photos to push theories, or cast doubt on the idea that she underwent any kind of surgery at all.
Diem has always been in support of gossip. It’s whisper networks and the sharing of information that’s helped women survive for centuries—which is why it’s so concerning to see this powerful tool weaponized against our best interests. All this achieved was sending the message that it’s okay for other people’s thoughts and opinions to be part of our healthcare choices. It erroneously affirmed that we owe society private details, that they can question our medical conditions, and that our health struggles are entertainment.
This narrative prevails because it’s been normalized. Most celebrity gossip about women, when tabloids aren’t rumor mongering about breakups, is about their health. Why isn’t she having kids? Did so and so get plastic surgery? Check out this singer’s dramatic weight loss! Any one of these headlines would violate HIPAA in a doctor’s office, but are totally okay splashed across grocery store checkout lines.
Women’s lack of ownership of their own bodies isn’t just a physical issue. It extends to the way people and publications feel entitled to talking about women’s bodies without any respect for the person inhabiting it. It’s so normalized that we women sometimes fall into the trap ourselves.
At least Kate Middleton’s post had the intended effect: The jokes have stopped, apologies have been issued, and the skepticism has, for the most part, faded. But how many more women will have to rip themselves open, to divulge information nobody is owed, to convince society to leave them alone?
ICYMI
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