I'm sure most of you have read about or seen television reports regarding these notable body image themed headlines by now, but just in case you haven't, I really, REALLY think they both have a lot to say. The first is regarding a young ballet dancer from Maine who managed to get Seventeen magazine to agree to keep from altering body shapes when using Photoshop via an online petition through Change.org. What I found most interesting is that I was sent two different articles about this triumph, and while both positive, one had a much more idealistic view of the "body peace treaty", and the other was anything but shy about continuing to put Seventeen and other similar magazines in the hot seat for failing to admit that they have, in fact, manipulated many images that have contributed to countless young women's obsessions with perfection, and by simply acknowledging that this "Photoshop Lite" approach, while very significant, is also quite small when looking honestly at how much needs to change about our culture's views on appearance and beauty. I've chosen to post a link to latter of the two articles because...well, I'm as willful as they come and I applaud these girls and women who refuse to stop until we all find a way to be at peace with our bodies. "Thank you" seems like an understatement.
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2012/0709/Seventeen-magazine-promises-to-stop-manipulating-photos-of-models
P.S. A very special thank you to Maile for passing these along to me and continuing to keep me hopeful and inspired. Stay tuned for Part Two....
One leading women's magazine has stopped using professional models some time ago, instead presenting "ordinary" women, giving their age and profession. It seems a progress, and certainly the body types are more varied. But I'm not sure it truly helps. For the very young women, perhaps, but for those struggling with job, partner and motherhood, the new question might be: "Why does she manage to look that good with all she's doing while I...
ReplyDeleteself-acceptance is a tough job, always.
Excellent point! From the view point of my younger self in the choking grip of anorexia, I see this as small but mighty progress, and I sincerely hope with everything in me that this type of progress keeps coming so that young girls and women have a chance to love and accept themselves in all ways and truly feel confident inside and out.
ReplyDeleteThat said, as a grown woman now firmly out of her 20's, I agree that it doesn't help me nearly as much. I've had less than perfect skin since puberty, but you'll never see a magazine featuring a pretty woman with adult acne unless it's telling you how to get rid of it. Even then, it would most likely be one lonely microscopic blemish. Also, there are no publications that make it acceptable for a woman past her 20's to be anything but a mother or a future "cougar". Women are made to feel ashamed if they are waiting to get married or have children till later in life, and this is very often portrayed in print ads and commercials, whether it's spelled out for the consumer or not.
I believe there SHOULD be something that speaks positively to ALL of us. And I hope that more conversations like this one can happen, so that some day there can be.
Thanks so much for your AWESOME feedback!
What is a "cougar"?
DeleteIn Germany, it is perfectly acceptable for a woman or couple to choose not to have children. In fact, many women did and do so because child care used to be very scarce and expensive. It was either children or a career. The government is now boosting child care and gives "back to your job" guarantees and money to young parents, in the hope that the low birth rate will rise again. So far (2 years), it has not helped.
I'm so glad to know that's not a universal term! At first a "cougar" meant an "older" woman who was single and chose to date younger men, usually at least in her 40's. It was popularized by American television. Oddly the age of the "older" woman has dropped and depending on where you live can mean any female who has never been married and is at least 30. It wouldn't be a big deal if I was still living in NYC, but here, people assume there's something wrong with you if you want a family and haven't started one yet. Everyone's path is different- which is really hard to remember when you feel like you're paying catch up every moment of your life - and I wish that women weren't judged so harshly because of having a life that isn't cookie cutter. The whole perfect appearance thing is difficult enough; we don't need to be made to feel ashamed of the hand we've been dealt as well.
DeleteAlso...I never did get around to posting "Newsworthy Part 2" , but ironically it was in the exact thought line as your comment! There was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model that a pro-anorexia site had called "fat" and "disgusting",etc. (Kate Upton) Well, long story short it was turned into a multi-week media circus, BUT it was all focusing on how horrible it was that this one model who didn't look bony was called fat. NO ONE seemed to care that a PRO anorexia site exists (one of many actually - though I will never, ever visit, even for research) and that these women and girls are so severely ill that they spend their days publicly scrutinizing every single body of which they catch a glimpse and encouraging each other to stay sick. There was a WONDERFUL editorial blog post on this very topic that was published amid the hoopla, but due to some potential triggers to any eating disordered readers, I chose not to post it. That said, I can certainly send it along privately to you or anyone else who might appreciate it without being triggered.
ReplyDelete