Showing posts with label Models anorexia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Models anorexia. Show all posts

Beauty: The Digitally Altered Ideal

War has been declared and the outcome does not appear to be a healthier self-esteem. In the quest for perfection our society is experiencing the erosion of positive self-image. Bombarded daily by the altered reality of beauty, women are finding themselves reaching for unattainable goals set by airbrushed and digitally enhanced photographic images of the ideal.

How is a woman to obtain the level of physical beauty portrayed when often the subject photographed isn't even capable of managing to look like herself? No longer is it simply the airbrushing of occasional skin eruptions, corrective lighting, or smoothing-out of uneven skin tone. Necks are being lengthened, eyes enlarged, breasts lifted, waistlines whittled, calves and thighs thinned, curves enhanced, wrinkles removed, pounds erased ... the list goes on and on. Has this practice of digitally altering a woman's appearance had an affect on our society? Has it influenced how others perceive us? Has it affected how we perceive ourselves? I can tell you my opinion based on what I have witnessed and experienced and the answer is yes. A loud, resounding yes.

Mother to a teenage daughter, I have found myself privy to teen conversations that are often frightening. Young girls are very concerned about their appearance, their bodies, and their weight. There seems to be a constant berating of self going on. I'm so fat! I hate my thighs. I wish I was as skinny as so and so. I wish I could look like her (pointing to a picture in a magazine). Unaware, the images they compare themselves to, the images they are gaging their own bodies by, are often not honest representations of reality.

The age range of those affected by eating disorders are widening in both directions; children as young as kindergarten to the elderly, with those concerned about their weight or considering themselves fat, growing in numbers. The definition of self-worth seems to be defined by physical beauty and extreme thinness these days instead of the inherent value every one of us possesses, bestowed upon us the moment of our creation. Self-esteem has taken a beating. We need to shift the current focus so that our daughters (our youth) learn to value themselves, appreciate themselves, and celebrate their uniqueness. We need to make a stand for not only them but for ourselves, as well. We need to make it clear to all concerned that though we may not be the waif thin, perfect bodied visions that have been spoon fed to society as examples of the norm, we are worthy.

We, just as we are ... with our so called imperfections, our individual features, and our varying body sizes ... are interesting, strong, unique, important, and beautiful women.

We are extraordinary. And, extraordinarily, we are the norm.


Related posts :
Building Self-Esteem
Self-Worth: The Unconditional Love of Self

See sidebar:
Tools for tests on Self-Esteem and Body Image.
Resources for hotlines, websites, and organizations


Picture: Girl at the mirror by Norman Rockwell

France May Make It Illegal To Promote Extreme Thinness

A bill was adopted today by the French parliament's lower house that would make it illegal for anyone to "publicly incite extreme thinness."
Article By: DEVORAH LAUTER, Associated Press Writer.
Paris- "The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks."
"Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards."
"The bill was the latest and strongest of measures proposed after the 2006 anorexia-linked death of a Brazilian model prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the repercussions of using ultra-thin models."
"Conservative lawmaker Valery Boyer, author of the law, argued that encouraging anorexia or severe weight loss should be punishable in court."
"Doctors and psychologists treating patients with anorexia nervoas — a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight — welcomed the government's efforts to fight self-inflicted starvation, but warned that its link with media images remains hazy."
"French lawmakers and fashion industry members signed a nonbinding charter last week on promoting healthier body images. Spain in 2007 banned ultra-thin models from catwalks."
"But Boyer said such measures did not go far enough."
Read the article in full here.For more information see Medusa's Post: France Tables New "Anorexia" Law
Special thanks to WildAngel6 for bringing the article to my attention.
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080415/ap_on_he_me/france_anorexia
picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/6260723020/