I was appalled when “Road Rules” reality “star” Rachel Robinson was chosen to speak about body image and eating disorders. Rachel was just as egotistical and flaunty in person as she is on camera.Rachel has a beautiful body and that is fine, I am not criticizing anybody for working hard to have an attractive body, but to have someone like Rachel speak to body-conscious college girls and guys who may be struggling or have struggled with an eating disorder is unjustifiable. The reality star herself said she had never had an eating disorder, so what would she know about the issue on a personal level? How she dressed was not very presentable for her topic of speech either. Rachel was up there speaking about eating disorders and body image and ignorantly bragging about not knowing people with eating disorders even existed and she had the nerve to wear hip-hugging jeans and a tiny tight shirt baring her perfectly formed stomachs and speak about girls that have to throw-up and starve themselves to achieve a body like hers? Not a very though out outfit of choice. If anything, Rachel’s appearance at Hofstra just made me more self-conscious about my own appearance and body image. Nothing Rachel said about body images was very plausible or encouraging. Her answer and thoughts on everything was a simple “I didn’t know people like that existed until I was on ‘road rules’,” so the real people up their speaking should have been the ones who have actually went through one of the many disorders that rise from viewing the false impressions teens get from magazines and TV rather than the model of perfection herself, who openly admits she has no idea what it is like to struggle with her own body image. I am a devoted viewer to MTV’s reality shows, so I did enjoy Rachel Robinson’s gossip and talk about the shows and fellow reality stars, but clearly she was a poor choice of a role-model to speak of topics such as eating disorders and body image to vulnerable teens, such as ourselves.
Sincerely, Tara Durning