There are things Gen Z and X should be ashamed of from dieting to pouty lips – but there are Bridget Jones’s in both
JUST over two weeks to go until Bridget Jones hits UK cinemas and it is a date that has been in the diary for me and my friends for months.
But this time it won’t just be us Generation X mums going but some of our Gen Z daughters, too.
Some love Bridget, others think she is an out-of-date, shocking role model who had zero body confidence. They say she was neurotic and often awkward.
I agree.
But generations in glass houses really shouldn’t throw stones, should they?
Looking back at my 1997 diary I, like Bridget, kicked off with my resolutions — “Lose a stone, stop smoking, drink less, get a boyfriend.” Which is ridiculous, as I was barely 8st and just 24, so really not in spinster panic land.
Plus, by mid-January I attended a showbiz party and wrote: “17 cigs, five mini burgers, five chardonnay.” Goodbye resolutions.
Generation Z don’t have diaries, they “journal”.
They don’t want to be skinny, they are body confident.
But they do have their own obsessions — pouty lips, a curvy Kim Kardashian bottom and showing off gym routines on social media.
I can’t think of anything worse — but then they think we are idiots for our constant dieting.
Just like Bridget, Generation X loved going to the office. We shoved on heels and tight skirts and enjoyed banter — even the flirtatious kind.
Imagine Gen Z doing that. It is just gross, it is not the done thing, it is ridiculous.
And just as ridiculous as it would have been back then to imagine that one day you could swipe on a smartphone to find Mr Right.
But it worked for us. That is where we found our real-life Mark Darcys and our best friends.
After long days we would go to the pub. Dry January wasn’t a thing. Smoking inside was. We had little regard for our long-term health. On reflection, that aspect is terrifying.
There were no mobile phones on the bar. Nokia snakes weren’t worth scrolling through and there were no emails to deal with.
And if we wanted to take a photo we had to get it developed at Boots.
They talk about mental health – taboo for us
Now Gen Z can tinker with any selfie they like to make sure they look perfect.
And if they choose to put it on a dating app they will have the outer confidence to say exactly what they demand in a Mr Darcy before they even have the first date.
I admire that. And I admire their attitude and forthright opinion.
They have an ability to speak about their views and feelings in an in-depth way that is absolutely alien to many of the original Bridgets.
And they talk about their mental health — a subject that was taboo for us back then, and brushed under the carpet. It means they can talk about some of the challenges we luckily never faced.
They started on their careers in the pandemic and social media can be a double-edged sword.
There’s no chance of them getting 100 per cent mortgages to get on to the property ladder like we did.
When I meet at Cineworld on February 14 with my friends, many will head from home together with their daughters because they still live there.
Afterwards, we will undoubtedly drag the younger designated drivers to a bar so we can have a sauvignon blanc (chardonnay is so Nineties) and all discuss the film.
I hope we can agree that there are things both Generation Z and Generation X should be ashamed of.
But despite this we can all find elements of ourselves in Bridget.
LOVINGMAMA TO MIA
EMMERDALE star Sammy Winward’s daughter sounds like a horrible, entitled, selfish little brat.
Mia Winward-Dunn says her mum has fallen out with her because the actress is jealous of her huge OnlyFans career that saw her rake in £100k last month.
And the disrespectful 19-year-old says her mum is envious because she gave birth to her when she was just 18.
Mia says: “I think it’s crazy to have such anger towards me.”
No. It’s not crazy, Mia.
It proves Sammy is a loving parent who just wants the best for her daughter.
And the work Mia does is gross.
I applaud Sammy for standing up to her.
TALK about bad timing.
Gregg Wallace has unveiled a range of frozen microwave meals following his departure from the BBC over sex-pest claims.
After “stepping away” from MasterChef, he said he had time on his hands to develop the ready meals.
They’re available on his website.
Don’t all rush at once.
COFFEE POTTY
COFFEE on toast could become the new breakfast go-to.
A Swiss-based business, No Normal Coffee, has launched the spreadable “dark roast” paste made from arabica coffee beans which looks just like Marmite.
It can be also used the traditional way and added to water to make a cuppa.
You’re either going to love it or hate it.
You can’t buy class Lauren – even on Amazon
THE outfits at Donald Trump’s second inauguration were show- stopping.
Melania’s matching navy silk hat and coat, his pregnant daughter Tiffany’s 3in-heel Louboutin boots, and Ivanka wouldn’t have looked out of place at a royal wedding with her stylish Lady Dior bag.
And then you had the fiancée of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who had what can only be described as a wardrobe disaster.
Lauren Sanchez had her undies on display on purpose.
Some said she was wearing a corset, others a bralette, but whatever it was, it was skimpy, white, lacy and booby.
American critics have said that she “looked like a hooker”, which is harsh.
We’ve all worn the wrong thing to a bash before.
But it was actually her antics during the most important part of the proceedings when Trump had his hand in the air, that shocked me the most.
Every single guest was focused on the new President apart from Lauren, who was taking pictures as though she was at a Taylor Swift concert.
She may be with a man worth £200billion so can easily sack the stylist and get a new one without a care in the world.
But her camera-ready actions prove that even a heck of a lot of money obviously still can’t buy class.
GRACE NOT SO RASH
LOVE Island star Grace Jackson says one of the reasons she dumped Marcus Rashford was because they never went on dates.
She said: “It’s difficult because he can’t go out and just go on a normal date.
“He’d be like, ‘I wanna see you – just come to mine and chill with me’, but I’m like, ‘I don’t really wanna’.”
Good on her.
Dating when you’re that famous must be tricky but other players have managed to take their other half for a meal.
A relationship that only consists of endless booty calls isn’t a relationship at all.
JADE THIRLWALL may be a famous millionaire pop star but she’s still a Geordie lass at heart who clearly hasn’t forgotten her roots.
When she was feeling devastated over Jesy Nelson’s departure from Little Mix, her boyfriend bought her a Greggs pasty.
And in that moment she realised he was a keeper.
Greggs even did the catering for her birthday.
Now there’s an idea . . .
CRIME ONLINE
AFTER a local shop got burgled this week, it made me think about our online purchases.
The Good Life in Stockport is a small community store and the owner sobbed on Instagram and asked locals to check what they were buying because it may be from her store.
If we just presume the bargains we pick up online are unwanted gifts or surplus stock then maybe we should think again – because those purchases could be fuelled by theft.
And without knowing where they really came from, we could be just as guilty as the criminals doing the stealing.