Kate Middleton's body has been analyzed, scrutinized, and picked apart in the media. Even her sister Pippa was the subject of royal wedding body talk.

As an Australian with an Irish husband, living in the U.S., and with friends all over the world, I was exposed to many various opinions about the recent royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Some of these opinions were quite emotional, drawn from the political history of the United Kingdom, some were just those who were interested “for the spectacle”, and some were completely uninterested.

As for me, I sit somewhere between the last two. Largely uninterested in the royal wedding, but still a little intrigued to see what everyone wore. I satisfied my curiosity a few hours after the wedding with some quick Google searches, and went about my day.

Now that the dust has settled on the feverishness of the day, I’ve been reflecting on the media coverage of the event, and in particular, the commentary around bodies.

In the lead-up to the wedding, there were many articles in the mainstream media about the wedding. These ranged from speculating about the wedding dress designer, to the menu at the reception, to the politics of taxpayer money and tourism.

After the wedding, the media was buzzing with photos of outfits and hats, commentary on the proceedings and anticipations of the newlyweds’ future.

But, throughout all of this, there was the ever-present thread of body talk. Continue reading →