Body image a heavy burden for women

IF ACTRESS Cate Blanchett, model Crystal Renn, and comedian Sarah Millican were to meet for coffee, they would probably have a common gripe.

All three have recently been subjected to society’s sense of entitlement to comment on, and criticise, what is most personal to a woman — her body.

Blanchett reportedly found it “a little bit rude” and “a bit annoying” when a cameraman filmed her from head to toe. Looking a woman “up and down like that” made her “feel like a piece of merchandise”.