A review by kieracaspall
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

2.0

Well… the main thing I take from this book is that I’m incredibly glad I wasn’t a teenage girl/young woman growing up in the late 90s/early 00s. The message this book sends out is so damaging and actually deeply uncomfortable to read at times (what do you mean 9st4 is on the terrifying slide to obesity’ ?!).

Bridget’s obsessive ramblings about her weight and the correlation this has to how men desire her is so TOXIC! Especially given that she isn’t overweight in the first place…

She has a personal vendetta against all those who are skinnier, prettier, or more successful than her and just doesn’t seem to be much of a girl’s girl. What kind of message was this sending out to those that were reading it? 

I can completely see why this was such a massive hit when it came out and why people adored it so much, because all of these elements that make it so unlikeable for a reader in 2024 were so fundamental to pop culture of that time. If anything, it is a book that serves as an important reminder as to how far we have come in actual female empowerment, acceptance, and inclusivity. Not as a standard to aspire to.