Tag: body image

Not sick enough?

photo of Student Services Building

The media usually portrays what an eating disorder looks like by one image: an overly skinny girl. There are countless examples of this, like To the Bone, a Netflix movie that displays an underweight woman going through an eating disorder, and Starving in Suburbia, a movie about a dancer that obsesses about being thin. When television, movies, and the media portray an eating disorder as this, people may assume that to have an eating disorder, you must look a certain way—underweight. Women who are average weight or overweight might not get the help they need if others do not believe they are “sick enough.”

A plastic surgery app?

Students in a class

A new, alarming, set of electronic games is starting to take hold among young people. These new games, predominantly aimed at young girls, help children identify “problem areas,” such as wrinkles, skin imperfections, narrow eyes, or identify areas that are in “need” of some Botox. What messages does this send?

Let’s do away with “Spring break bods”

Students at Body Project peer facilitator trainings

Well. It’s about that time of year again. You’re going to start seeing the advertisements everywhere: “8 Weeks to a Better Spring Break Body!”; “The Ultimate 4-Week Spring Break Workout Plan!”; “Get Spring Break Ready in Two Weeks.”

Appreciating body diversity

Students at Body Project peer facilitator trainings

Whether it’s a family member commenting on how “she doesn’t have the body to be wearing that,” listening to a friend go on and on about her latest diet so she can lose weight to go on vacation, or the media encouraging us to get “bikini ready,” I’m tired of all of the body shaming and fat talk I hear on a daily basis.

A Presidential look?

Students at Body Project peer facilitator trainings

Presidential elect Donald Trump recently explained to ABC’S David Muir, “I just don’t think [Hillary Clinton] has a presidential look, and you need a presidential look.” What exactly is the presidential look? How does someone look presidential? Is it the way they dress? Perhaps it is the way they style their hair or do their make-up? Maybe the better question is, does one’s dress, hair, or makeup bear any consequence on one’s ability to run a country? Why is women’s appearance so important?