Why Loose Women’s Denise was right to stand up to trolls!

Last week, actress and ITV’s Loose Women panellist Denise Welch made headlines when she hit back at those who criticised her for posting ‘unedited photos’ of herself wearing her swimsuit on social media. Fair play to her; she’s perfectly right to put the brakes on those snarky trolls.

I’m not a fan of Denise’s, nor am I a fan of Loose Women for that matter, finding the panel’s overthe-top drivel to be mind-numbingly boring; especially when they act like a pack of needy, attentionseeking toddlers, all shouting over each other, desperate to have their minute in the spotlight!

In fact, as someone who has worked in live TV, (and in programme development), I often wonder what kind of creative mind came up with this idle chit-chat format, and, even more baffling, who gave them the green light to run with it?

Anyhow, back to Ms Welch, and, by sticking up for women of a certain age, the former Coronation Street actress (64) didn’t hold back, saying she doesn’t care about the negative comments she received, adding she doesn’t use a filter ‘partly because I don’t know how to’.

I’m not in the habit of posting pics of myself wearing a swimsuit, however, if I did, I wouldn’t use a filter either; and not because I have a tight butt, toned legs and great boobs…I haven’t; nor is it because I don’t know how to edit photos…I do. However, while I believe many people would love to have whiter teeth, more symmetrical features and brighter, tighter bits and pieces, (me included), we all know that the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s about time we realised these social media ‘beauty filters’ are nothing more than editing tools using artificial intelligence to alter our features; and, while we’d all like to make ourselves look fresher, it’s my opinion that the further these ‘selfies’ get from how we really look, the worse we’re probably going to feel about ourselves in real life. Why? Because filters are distorting our natural body shape, our self-image and our self-esteem; and that’s worrying.

There’s a major misconception in society that women over a certain age, (and in Denise’s experience over 60), are uninteresting and uninspiring; in short, they’re meh! Not only are they perceived to have passed their ‘best before’ date, but they should be put out to pasture with a spinning wheel and a ball of wool in which to fashion their frumpy-chic cardies, spectacle chains and strings of pearls!

We’ve all been on the receiving end of toxic comments from someone who believes that, once a woman experiences a drop in her oestrogen levels, her best friend is no longer the illuminated flash of the close-up selfie; rather it’s the very forgiving flicker of a candle!

In short, instead of being hailed as experienced role models, women of a certain age are being savaged for daring to bare our cleavage and knee wrinkles, bingo wings and swollen ankles! Sadly, and disgracefully, when women reach menopause, instead of being hailed and celebrated for living and surviving through life’s highs and lows and learning from them, society tries to rob us of our cultural currency and our relevance.

However, when I look at Denise Welch defiantly posing in a swimsuit, I see a woman who’s not just in her prime; I also see a woman who’s confident enough to assess her personal body shape and image through her own prism of desirability. In short, she’s flipping that perfectly manicured finger at society – and fair play to her. Getting older and wiser should never be seen as a negative. Therefore, instead of us all falling victim to that dreadful disease I call filter dysmorphia, perhaps it’s time to latch onto Denise’s example of not only nurturing ourselves, but by going forth and being fabulous whilst doing it!