Editorials

Your Face Or Mine: Problem?

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23 July 2017

By Bronwen

As the first season of Comedy Central’s Your Face Or Mine comes to an end, it’s time to question whether or not it’s problematic. The basic concept of the show, hosted by comedians Katherine Ryan and Jimmy Carr, is to find out whether the contestants care more about money or their romantic partner’s feelings by asking them to assess their own and their partner’s looks against other people. The first round is a bit of a warm-up; the contestants are shown two celebrities’ pictures and asked to vote on who they think is more attractive. To see if they are right, the audience votes and the hosts reveal what percentage of the audience voted which way. If the contestants guess correctly, they win money. The next round is all about assessing your own looks against members of the public. Four random people are brought in and the contestant goes through each person and says whether they think they’re better looking or not. The audience live votes on who they think is more attractive to see if the contestant placed themselves correctly. For the third and final round, the contestant has to judge whether their partner is better looking than some of the ‘mystery guests’ which has included parents, siblings, friends and exes. All of this combined with constant banter with the hosts makes for a great bit of trash-TV. But are such shallow and superficial shows safe in a world where when surveyed 40% of women and 20% of men said they would consider having cosmetic surgery in the future and 90% of girls aged 15-17 said they’d like to change at least one thing about their physical appearance? Is it okay to make a huge deal of trivial imperfections such as wonky noses and big chins when the viewers at home could be insecure or vulnerable? The answer is probably no but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Your Face Or Mine is harmful.

The contestants on the show are clearly comfortable enough with themselves and the strength of their relationships to be able to withstand rejection, insults and constant jibes from Jimmy Carr and Katherine Ryan, who – funnily enough – aren’t that attractive themselves, which probably softens the blow of finding out that your partner thinks their ex is hotter than you.

For all comparison of any sort (whether it be looks, lifestyle or money) is toxic and detrimental to one’s mental health, it’s very clear from the promos and description of the show that this isn’t something that people who suffer from any type of body dysphoria or esteem issue should be watching. Like the contestants who actually appear on the show, you have to have a degree of comfort in yourself to be able to watch it on TV.

The only real danger is that it conditions people into thinking that everybody has to be perfect and you have to have supermodel looks otherwise you’re not desirable. The hosts pick up on some really minor details of a person’s face which could lead viewers to believe that any flaw on themselves is a huge problem. Also, the issue of height is brought up a lot with with the male contestants and contributes to the idea that all men have to have tall, masculine bodies in order to be a real man. We have a huge problem with male mental health and anything that tells a man that they are inadequate for something as ridiculous and uncontrollable as height is unfair and dangerous. According to research from the University of the West of England, “4 in 5 men talk in ways that promote anxiety about their body image by referring to perceived flaws and imperfections compared with 75% of women. The findings tell us that men are concerned about body image just like women”. Rosi Prescott Chief Executive of the Central YMCA said, “This is symptomatic of a growing obsession with appearance”.

So no, Your Face Or Mine isn’t the nicest or safest of TV shows, but does that mean people will stop watching and enjoying a good bit of cheap and trashy television? Of course not. We are addicted to toxic attitudes and behaviour and it’s more than likely that Your Face Or Mine will return for a second series.

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