Influencer Sheridan Mordew has defended her decision to travel to Dubai amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, claiming her visit is for 'essential work'
How To Cope With Seeing People Travel During The Pandemic
If the actions of others is leaving you feeling frustrated and fed up, know that you re not the only one.
This feature originally appeared in the May issue of STELLAR Magazine.
It has officially got to that point in the pandemic where I cannot remember what it’s like to leave the county, let alone the country. Watching people travel on telly is about the most foreign thing I’ve felt in over a year, and don’t even get me started on the little surprise noises I make every time I see a character do anything that seems even slightly Covid unfriendly. It doesn’t matter that the movie was made in 2010 and I’ve seen in a million times before, it will still baffle my mind when I see scenes featuring crowds of people at a concert or even them wandering around a shop mask free. Like, who ever suspected that’d be a thing, right?
In the last few months influencers have been at the forefront of national attention for travelling to Dubai to take bikini pictures whilst the rest of us struggle at home. They have been slandered on Twitter, torn apart in the opinion columns and even called out in the Commons by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Influencers often show how out of touch with reality they are – promoting weight loss plans whilst more people than ever are using food banks, claiming furlough for their companies whilst being worth millions and travelling to Dubai for “work” when all they appear to do is sit on a sun-lounger, drinking cocktails.
Despite Dubai backlash, brands carve out new role for influencers amid pandemic Influencers have drawn ire – and even death threats – for globe-trotting freely while most of us obey strict stay at home orders. However, a bunch of bad apples clearly hasn’t upset the entire cart, with brands finding new value in different kinds of influencer relationships amid the global health crisis.
Since the turn of the year, there’s been a raging debate as to why social media stars have been allowed to travel to luxury destinations when everyone else is told to stay at home during the deadliest pandemic in modern history.
“I passionately believe the filters are a huge contributing factor to the mental health issues of young girls – and anybody who wants to wear makeup. They’re looking at this face and comparing what they see in the mirror and thinking a) ‘Why doesn’t it [the product] work on me like that?’ and b) ‘Why do I look horrendous when they look so flawless?’”
Male influencer Rahi Chadda agrees with her campaign, telling the BBC this ruling is “a step in the right direction”. Little Mix star Jesy Nelson joined the crusade. Posting on her Instagram story she wrote “embrace that nose”, commenting, “I’m so confused why whoever makes these filters think that is what beauty is?” Others have expressed concern that filters largely conform to Eurocentric ideals.