The hot body issue: Weight and caption tone in celebrity gossip magazines

• Celebrity gossip magazines regularly comment on the bodies of male and female celebrities.
• 12.15% of content over a one-month period either praised or criticized celebrities’ weight.
• Female bodies were subject to greater scrutiny than male bodies.
• Underweight women and overweight men were criticized most frequently.
• Representation of non-White subjects is lacking in celebrity gossip magazines.

While representations of bodies and weight have been studied in regards to fashion and fitness magazines, little research exists that examines such representations in celebrity gossip magazines. Using data collected through content analysis of 262 photo-caption units published in June 2015 issues of American celebrity gossip magazines, this study examines representations of bodies within the genre and the relationship between the gender, race, and body size of pictured celebrities and the tone of accompanying captions. Results indicate that celebrity gossip magazines critique the bodies of both female and male subjects, but that women are more likely to be the subject of negative comments than men. Underweight women and overweight men are especially targeted for criticism. Latinos are praised more often than other racial groups. The implications of these representations are discussed.