Hair and beauty salons around the world are coming together in solidarity to ditch gossip magazines once and for all. The movement, which started in the wake of the tragic death of Caroline Flack earlier this year, takes a symbolic approach to combating the mental health problems that come with gossip and tabloid magazines.
Flack’s suicide sparked outrage across the U.K. toward the gossip magazines that criticized her up until her death.
Caroline Flack was a presenter on the popular U.K. reality TV show Love Island before she fell victim to suicide last month. Many attributed her death to bullying on social media, calling for gossip magazines and social media platforms to be held accountable in the impact they hold on people’s mental health.
For the entertainment industry, Flack’s death served as a stark reminder that mental health is more important than one’s image in the media. Celebrities like Lena Dunham and other notable figures in the entertainment industry began speaking up about how the media impacts their mental health. Now, a petition to create legislature to prevent such harassment is being sent to the U.K. parliament, in a country notorious for particularly nasty gossip tabloids.
While many of the salons taking part in the gossip magazine ban are in the United Kingdom, the movement will likely expand into the United States as more and more celebrities speak up about the impact that gossip magazines have on their mental health. While it may seem trivial—gossip is a price that celebrities pay for their success, money, and fame—many point out that the existence of these publications perpetuates a narrative that extends far deeper than its impact on any particular celebrity.
Beauty salons are holding consumers accountable for fueling the magazines.
“We have decided as a Salon to bin the Gossip Magazines and will no longer be offering you these whilst your at the salon,” wrote one salon on Facebook in the wake of Flack’s death. “With the devastating news about Caroline Flack we will not be promoting these magazines that slate people, put people down, advertise peoples personal problems, disrespect peoples outfits…..the list goes on,” it continued.
Gossip magazines and tabloids have long been criticized over their tendencies to sell stories that put others down, but until now there has seldom been consumer accountability in shifting the narrative portrayed in the media. Should the magazine ban on gossip magazines in salons become a widespread norm that brings more attention to the problem, the magazines will likely, finally, be held accountable.
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