Being A Women In Today’s Society~Body Image, Media, And Eating Disorders

I am a mom of three girls and this unrealistic image that the media and outside influences are sending my daughters is utterly paralyzing to me. It scares me to death to think about the pressures they are going to face in the near future. My oldest daughter will be 11 soon and she is already facing some of these issues as we speak.

My youngest daughter, who is 4 and a half made a comment last night that made me cringe. We were watching this tv show and there were two girls dressed to go to a party. One was stick-thin while the other was plump. She looked up at my face with her big blue, innocent eyes and said that the thin girl was “much prettier”. I asked her if it was the dress that she liked better but her reply was “no, she is fat that’s why”. This broke my heart into a million pieces. Is this really the message that my precious little angel is getting from today’s society?

From a very early age, girls are introduced to Barbie. A blonde bombshell wearing all the latest fashions, driving convertibles, and living in a huge house with Ken, her perfect guy. Did you know that if Barbie was a real woman she would be 5 feet, 9 inches measuring 36-18-33!! Wow!!

Galia Slayen, a college student from Hamilton decided to build a real-life Barbie and this was the result;

“She likely would not menstruate… she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.”

she was shocked at the result – a freakish woman with pencil-thin legs, breasts that threatened to topple her over, and a body mass index (BMI) that would put her squarely in the anorexia camp

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20055694-10391704.html

Everyday we are bombarded with images of stick-thin, big-breasted women on everything from magazine covers to household products. We have become so accustomed to it that we rarely blink an eye anymore. It’s sad really.

How can we feel good about ourselves when are consistantly being reminded that we have to be a size 0 to be beautiful?

Eating Disorders and The Media

Being thin is glamourized in the media. However when a person gains weight you see unflattering pictures plastered all over the internet. Be thin at all costs. That is the ONLY thing that matters. Not the work you do, not what type of person you are on the inside, not the good you bring to the world, nothing matters but being thin and beautiful.

How many shows can you think of that show this beautiful thin mom paired with this chubby funny guy? That’s the norm. WE as women have to be skinny, look like we just walked off the pages of a magazine, while our husbands can let themselves go and still be looked at as normal.

When someone has an eating disorder, their weight is the prime focus of their life. Their all-consuming preoccupation with calories, grams of fat, exercise and weight allows them to displace the painful emotions or situations that are at the heart of the problem and gives them a false sense of being in control.

Did you know that there are even websites that you can join that give you tips and tricks on how to lose weight and actually BECOME Anorexic. They call themselves “Eating Disorder Communities and Support Forums” but in reality they give young women tips and tricks on how to get and STAY thin. This scares me to death.

I just had to get this off my chest. It has nothing to do with Free Stuff, coupons, etc. Just a general info session for some of you that are going through something similar.

If you or someone you know may be suffering from a eating disorder, get help.

http://www.edfofcanada.com/mission.php