The Jade Goody effect

Jade Goody rose to public fame after entering Channel 4's Big Brother house. She became famous (or perhaps that should be infamous) for outrageous behaviour whilst on that program and then later she took part in the Indian version of Big Brother.

She died on Mother's day, a more poignant date would be hard to imagine for this 27 year old mother. The final weeks and days of her life were lived out in a whirlwind of publicity that led towards the grim but inevitable conclusion of ever advancing cervical cancer.

As I sat in a garage cafe yesterday drinking a cup of coffee, I realised I was facing a rack of magazines and it seemed that each one featured a picture of Jade Goody on the cover. Something in her life has clearly moved many people to want to know more about her. The question is why?

By her own admission, Jade had little talent and yet lived her life through the lens of TV. What prompted people to watch and often ridicule her? And why, when her illness was diagnosed, did many people's view of her change from antagonism to sympathy?

Perhaps it is because it is so much easier for us to see what is wrong with another person's behaviour whilst being blind to our faults. We feel compelled to watch as things go wrong, just think about the 'rubbernecking effect' seen on motorways after a traffic accident. So when Jade was diagnosed with cervical cancer, some felt compelled to watch, it became a grim fascination with the impending death of another; a view into that last taboo.

Now we have a very real Jade Goody effect happening; the waiting time for a cervical smear in my local area is over a month. Women who have not had a smear test for years are now booking in to be tested. As women witnessed the heart rending path of Jade's life perhaps they came to realise that all of us are mortal no matter how famous or rich we may be.

A final thought; as Jade faced her own death head on and still shared her life with millions, somehow she became transformed from a loud mouthy TV personality to a brave mother doing anything it took to provide for her own children. Perhaps we can all be inspired by that transformation.