Posts Tagged ‘ body image ’

Allure, Disney Remind Us We’re Not Thin Enough

May 19, 2013
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Allure, Disney Remind Us We’re Not Thin Enough

Is it any wonder that in the United States approximately 20 million women suffer from an eating disorder at some time in their life? Or that “by age 6, girls especially start to express concerns about their own weight or shape.” Up to sixty percent of elementary school girls are concerned about becoming too fat. According to MissRepresentation.org, American teenagers spend more than 10 hours consuming media every day.  Girls between the ages of 11 and 14 see, on average, 500 ads a day. And what they see when they tune in are constant reminders that their value comes from how thin and pretty they are, and that you can never be thin or pretty enough. The latest reminders came from Allure magazine and Disney. On it’s June cover, Allure features Star Trek actress Zoe Saldana. The headline accompanying Ms. Saldana’s photo?  “Zoe Saldana: 115 Pounds of Grit and Heartache” On it’s Facebook page, Allure posted. “The girl is a powerhouse. And we were so impressed by what a tough, confident woman Saldana is (on-screen, in her action-movie roles, and off) that we wanted to capture that. Uh, huh. Perhaps then the headline could have read, ““Zoe Saldana: This Girl’s Got [...]

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The True Meaning of Groundhog Day

February 2, 2013
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The True Meaning of Groundhog Day

Sure, lots of people hate cold and snow. But that’s not why every February we watch grown men in big hats, in a town we can’t spell, pronounce or even locate, playing with a ferret named Phil. (I know, it’s technically a marmot, but it looks like a ferret.) We’re not vested in Groundhog Day because we’re anxious to see daffodils. We’re vested in Groundhog Day because it’s the day we find out just how far away bathing suit season is. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we’ve got six more weeks of happy on the couch – covered in sweaters, boots, and coats. If the little weasel (I know, it’s a marmot.) hangs out above ground, then damn! bathing suit season is right around the corner and we better run, because we can’t hide. I mean it when I say we should love our bodies for what they do, not how they look. But it’s the exceptional woman who likes going out in public in her underwear. And isn’t that pretty much what we do at the beach? Bathing suits are like underwear – we just pay extra for them. Phil didn’t see his shadow today. I bet the gyms will be [...]

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Today is Love Your Body Day

October 17, 2012
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Today is Love Your Body Day

STOP what you are doing and say something kind to your body right now. Here’s a whole list of words to choose from brought to you from the NOW Foundation. Today is Love Your Body Day. If praising your body seems to out of character, then go ahead and thank your body. Did your body take you to work today? Nurture a child? Give out a much needed hug? Tell it you appreciate it. If not you, then who? Certainly not the media. The media bombards us with messages that we aren’t thin enough or pretty enough. Intellectually we may know it’s not true but still it’s hard to focus on our accomplishments when it seems like the rest of the world is focused on our appearance. Start right now. And give your body a compliment. A simple thank you will suffice but a few words of praise are even better. Check out our Love Your Body Pinterest board.

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Is Minnie Mouse Too Fat for Fashion?

October 14, 2012
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Is Minnie Mouse Too Fat for Fashion?

Luxury retailer Barneys New York, and The Walt Disney Company, are collaborating on a holiday campaign called Electric Holiday which will center around Barneys’ store windows and incorporate a short animated film and light show. According to a press release, in Electric Holiday, “Minnie and Mickey are transported into a fantasy world where they are transformed from their traditional Disney form into dream-like fashion-forward runway models.” In other words, Minnie and friends, perhaps Disney’s most child-friendly characters, until now, get a drastic makeover. Women’s Wear Daily interviewed Barneys’ creative director Dennis Freedman about the campaign. “When we got to the moment when all Disney characters walk on the runway, there was a discussion,” Freedman recalled. “The standard Minnie Mouse will not look so good in a Lanvin dress.” And, “I said, ‘If we’re going to make this work, we have to have a 5-foot-11 Minnie,’ and (Disney) agreed.” Take a look at this video to see the transformation. A few years ago the Cartoon Network aired a new Scooby Doo series and redrew the characters. I was disgusted by the size of Daphne’s waist and wrote, “As the mother of a young girl, I am overwhelmed by how hard it is [...]

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Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Miss Rep, Real Housewives and Eyebrows

June 2, 2012
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Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Miss Rep, Real Housewives and Eyebrows

I thought I knew what I needed to know about media literacy and gender stereotypes and their relationship to self esteem, leadership and power. I thought I was equipped to raise healthy children who could parse dangerous marketing messages.  And then my daughter, only six years old, stopped wearing certain items of clothing lest they make her look fat. And I heard about first graders on diets. And I got scared. Children today consume on average  more than 10 hours of media a day including Youtube, Reality TV, “chick flicks”, gossip magazines, talk shows, sitcoms, and Superbowl commercials. Its no wonder managing the message is so hard. And its no wonder Miss Representation, a powerful documentary that examines the media’s impact on women and society,  is generating so much discussion Miss Representation goes beyond the groundbreaking work in the Killing Us Softly films and discusses how media affects women as leaders. Consider this: Women makeup only 17 percent of Congress despite representing 51 percent of the population. Eighty-four percent of guests on Sunday morning political tv talk shows and  85 percent of radio producers are men. Eighty percent of the op-ed pages are dominated by men. The number of women in senior management positions globally has gone from 24 percent [...]

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Have You Thanked Your Body Today?

October 19, 2011
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Have You Thanked Your Body Today?

I promised myself by the time I turned 40 I would run the Falmouth Road Race. I had watched it as a spectator for years and knew one day I wanted to experience it as a participant. Four years after my deadline, I did it – I ran seven hilly miles on a humid August day. A friend told a mutual acquaintance what I had done and the acquaintance responded, “So then she must have lost some weight.” I had just run seven miles. I had honored a commitment to myself. I had a great time doing it. And she wanted to know about a number on a scale? I started running to avoid taking a medication prescribed by my doctor. I thought my health was the motivation that helped me fit exercise into an already packed day, but when I crossed the finish line in Falmouth, I realized it was more than that. Growing up I never played sports, much less exercised. I was the kid picked last for teams. My nickname in elementary school was Big Foot, a joke about my inability to get on base during Friday afternoon kickball games.  My lack of athletic prowess only bothered [...]

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What’s Wrong with You?

November 19, 2009
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What’s Wrong with You?

Senator Harry Reid released the Senate Healthcare Bill last night. We are slogging through it and will have more to discuss later. While we read the bill, check out this article and video from the New York Daily News. Aren’t you just so relieved to know Heidi Klum has lost the baby weight? (I didn’t even know she was pregnant.) Once again the mainstream media is reminding us that not only should we all aspire to bounce back to our pre-pregnancy bodies, but it’s so easy to do.  Heidi Klum is a supermodel, and now she’s a supermom too. What’s. Wrong. With. You? Oh, and if you want to look like a supermodel, get your liposuction now before the Senate votes on healthcare reform. The Senate bill includes a “Botax” – a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery.      (Photo used with Creative Commons license)

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