Book Review: Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties by Sarah Ditum ★★★☆☆

Britney, Paris, Lindsay, Aaliyah, Janet, Amy, Kim, Chyna, Jen. Nine iconic women whose fame in the early internet years of the century came at a price. In Women, Fame and The Noughties, journalist Sarah Ditum describes how each of the women changed 'celebrity' forever, despite often falling victim to it, during what we now view as one of the most hostile eras in which to be female.Through Paris' ambivalent relationship with her blogger namesake Perez Hilton; to Britney's paternalistic governors; Jen's attempts to control her career and image; and Janet's betrayal at the Superbowl, these celebrities of The Noughties were presented with the riches of early social media and market opportunity, as long as they abided by the new rules of engagement. Some of these high-profile women were hypersexualised and 'upskirted' by the press; some were shamed by their advertising sponsors; others were contracted by shady management companies and industry figures such as Harvey Weinstein and R Kelly. Together they illuminate the culture of the early twenty-first century. Women, Fame and The Noughties is a wild ride through the millennial years.

Trying to read non-fiction this year, so I gave Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s a go. We have nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Linsday Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna and Jennifer Aniston, with backgrounds in pop music, acting, reality TV, and even WWE wrestling. Their stories reveal a common thread: when they faced a crisis, their pain and venerability made them popular and their achievements miniscule.

Toxic is about their lives during very weird and disturbing noughties. Social media was at its baby stage and critics like Perez Hilton and TMZ plastered celebrity stories like a constant refresh button in our feeds. The proliferation of celebrity sex tapes, and the fierce competition among tabloids fuelled by paparazzi who would stop at nothing to capture the perfect shot to fuel their rhetoric. It was a time when the internet was still the Wild West, and behaviours like slut-shaming, fat-shaming, and revenge porn were disturbingly normalized.

Journalist Sarah Ditum writes about the sexist and exploitative culture that surrounded these women during that era. These women were not just victims or conniving strategists, but as complex individuals navigating the treacherous waters of celebrity life, while constantly under attack from a relentless and rapidly evolving media landscape. Sadly, these themes are still at play in even with the evolved social media platform.

I didn’t want to but I skim-read this one because it felt like it was written quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Ditum did her reach into the women she discusses but she changed her focus on certain chapters. I was expecting more focus on the Aaliyah and Janet chapters, but Ditum shifted the narrative on R Kelly and Michael Powel. I guess these men did in a way change the womans’ fate, but it wasn’t adding anything new to the game. For a book about women, Ditum gave more spotlight to the men.

Some interesting but unsurprising points on how the press treated these women, paralleling the rise of smart phones and social media. When some fell victim to the pressure of stardom and died, (Amy and Chyna) others flipped the game and harnessed the power (Kim and Paris) and others are have lived long enough to understand how to adapt and continue in their industries (Lindsay, Britney and Jennifer). This could be said for Aaliyah if she hadn’t died. In Janet’s case, it was implied that her indecency in her music video went hand in hand with her Nipplegate scandal in the 2004 Superbowl.

The conclusion chapter of Toxic held my attention. The bitter truth is that the media will always make money out of the misery of others. Dissecting a woman’s looks or her virginity status are still hot topics that readers love getting into. There is no difference between what happened today or twenty years ago, media harassment and death by public opinion are still very much alive. As long as celebrities ‘fuck up’ in life, places like TMZ and gossip writers will always have monetised content.

So, in conclusion, I didn’t hate this book, nor did I love it. I went into this book thinking it would be emotive, but that is because I usually read fiction, so I will always have this non-fiction-books-are-dry concept in my head. Toxic was a good one-off read, that you can take away and see how the sexist narratives still apply to today’s celebrity culture. Although we have the MeToo movement and can call out celebrities, they would have got away with a lot more shit.

Rating: 3/5

Publishers: Fleet

Publication date: October 26th 2023

Genre: Non fiction, pop culture