Tag Archives: Body image

Keep It Real

28 Jun keepitreal

You’d have to live under a rock to not know that magazines and Photoshop go hand-in-hand. Advertisers constantly alter models’ bodies in some twisted attempt to create the “perfect” woman, or what they believe the “perfect” woman looks like. This can contribute to unrealistic body image standards and self-esteem issues among girls and women. Don’t believe me? Let the statistics speak for themselves:

TEN YEAR OLD GIRLS are dieting. I repeat: TEN YEAR OLDS.  Shouldn’t they be more preoccupied with mastering long division and running around the soccer field?! Perhaps they would be if they weren’t forcibly consuming unhealthy and unrealistic images of women’s bodies at every turn — in TV, movies and magazines, on billboards, and the Internet. Impressionable girls — and women, for that matter — are seeing images like this when they flip through magazines:

Um, sick.

The media industry needs a wake-up call, stat.  Thankfully, SPARKMovement.org, LoveSocial.org, IAmThatGirl.com, EndangeredBodies.org, and MissRepresentation.org have created a 3 day “Keep It Real” Challenge, calling upon magazines to pledge to use at least one un-Photoshopped image of a model per issue — a completely reasonable request. After all, girls should be focusing on having fun with their friends over summer break, not obsessing over squeezing into size-0 bathing suits they see on emaciated models!

What can you do as part of the Challenge? For starters, let your fingers do some wandering: Tweet at and Facebook magazines and editors, challenging them to change their ways. For a list of top magazine editors to target on Twitter, go here.  You can also blog about the issue and tell the world why Photoshop must go! Finally, take the #KeepItRealChallenge to Instagram with pictures of what real beauty means to you.

And be sure to download the Keep It Real Toolkit – in it, you’ll find more details about the challenge, plus images and statistics you can use.

LET’S KEEP IT REAL!!!!

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Happy Love Your Body Day!

19 Oct lybd

Today is national Love Your Body Day. Some may not see the value in selecting a day to celebrate our bodies, but when you consider that 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance, I think it’s a fabulous idea. Every woman should take a step back and appreciate what they’ve got — if not every day, then at the very least, on this particular day.

Women and girls are constantly bombarded with images and messages of what their bodies ought to look like — from Hollywood to the fashion and cosmetic industries, to print and TV ads. Images of thin, beautiful and “unblemished” (ahem, Photoshop) women crop up virtually everywhere, sending the subliminal — if not overt — message that our bodies, faces and hair need constant improvement.

Whatever happened to focusing on what your body can do instead of how it looks?

Like many women, for years I battled with a horrifically negative body image and an eating disorder. To this day, I still struggle with accepting my body. I’ve had to literally re-train my brain to focus on the positives, instead of comparing myself to Kim Kardashian’s figure (and berating myself for not looking like her). At 30 years old, my body sure isn’t what it was at 16. I don’t have a six pack and I don’t wear a size 3 anymore. But you know what? I’m awesome — curves and all!

So in the spirit of Love Your Body Day, here are a few reasons why I love my body: My body can bring life into this world and sustain it. My body can run a 5k and do squat jumps and push ups. My body has curves that my husband loves. My body is healthy. My body has art work that ten years later, I still love. My body has imperfections, but these imperfections tell a story — MY story.

It’s high time we start focusing on our positive attributes. And while we’re at it, let’s call out advertisers and the media that enforce unrealistic beauty standards, sexual ideals and gender stereotypes. To these ends, visit NOW-NYC’s blog, FIGUREatively Speaking and their #notcool page. And if you’re on Twitter, tweet why you love your body with the hash tag #LYBD.

What do you love about your body?

 

Note: This post is part of the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival

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Not ‘Fit’ Enough? Prepare for a Pay Cut.

31 Jan check

We all know that American culture is obsessed with fit men and skinny women. But how far into our everyday lives does that obsession seep? As it turns out, right into our bank accounts.

The Washington Post reports on a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, which found that both men’s and women’s pay is affected by how many pounds they’re packing:

The study found that thin women are paid significantly more than their average-size counterparts, while heavier women make less. Skinnier-than-average men, on the other hand, cash smaller paychecks than their average-weight peers.

In general…people have subconscious reactions to different body types. For a man, skinny says less-than-manly, clashing with our vision of a leader: tall, strong and emotionally unmoved. For women, an ultra-thin figure simply says success and makes for an attractive corporate image…

Being thin paid off in a big way for women, earning them about $16,000 more a year, on average. But thin men made about $8,000 less than their male co-workers.

The researchers, Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable, say that much of the problem is the result of subconscious decisions based on entrenched social stereotypes.

Geez, whatever happened to being judged by — and paid according to — your merits?!

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