Posts filed under 'positive'
Take a look at this segment that aired on Good Morning America on June 15th. The piece is called “Young, Fat, and Fabulous,” and it seems to advocate for women to have a healthy self-image at any size, but the message may not be so clear…
Did you notice the uneven general tone of this segment? Is it positive or negative?
This segment seems to flip-flop between supporting women who are happy and healthy at any size and then in a negative tone also highlights all the dangers the show’s producers believe are associated with obesity. Although these women have a clear bill of health from their doctors, at the end of the segment, Diane Sawyer tries to emphasize that they will have health complications later on… but if you listen carefully, the response is that these health risks increase due to age, not due to weight.
The piece talks about yo-yo dieting while at the same time sending a yo-yo message.
The first half of this segment is dedicated to telling viewers that being fat is OK and that these particular women are happier and healthier than they’ve ever been. Then the last half sends the opposite message — that being overweight leads to deadly health problems. Yet then they go on to say that yo-yo dieting is bad because it can also lead to terrible health complications.
I think this is reflective of our society’s overall indecisiveness about weight and health, and represents the tension that exists between wanting to be thin and wanting to be healthy and happy and love ourselves as we are.
Is it OK to be fat and fabulous? Can you be overweight and be healthy?
According to the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), health is measured by many factors, including the right to be peaceful in one’s body. ASDAH has also done research that shows that the amount of fat on a body is a weak indicator of life expectancy and overall health.
Despite its mixed message, once you sort through the confusion, this piece does have some healthy points to take home:
Health comes in different sizes.
Acceptance of one’s body type can ultimately prove beneficial, especially when that acceptance is paired with a healthy lifestyle.
As Gabrielle mentions, the most important thing is to stay active, eat a balanced diet, and accept your weight where it stabilizes.
I think it’s fabulous that Marianne loves what she sees when she looks in the mirror. How many women of any weight and body type can actually say they love how they look? I hope that one day every woman will love herself as she is. No woman’s self worth should be determined by the scale or the size of her pants.
So I commend Marianne for telling the world that:
The good in accepting being large far outweighs the bad.
and
The only thing I’ve let go is the self-hatred that I felt.
Shouldn’t we all try to feel that way?
-Jaimie
[By the way, everyone, the fat activist movement is not a new grassroots movement. Fat activism has been alive and well for at least 15 years. Check out this site, Fat!So? for more. -Jennifer]
June 19th, 2009
Way back in August ‘08, I had the pleasure of catching this little indie film, “America the Beautiful,” as it showed briefly in San Francisco. I thought to myself “If About-Face made a film, this is the film it would make.” And I sure had a lot to say about it when I walked out of that theater, as evidenced here! From that blog entry:
There are just so many pertinent, poignant bits in this film, one being that the whole thing flows really well and nails the problem of our culture’s beauty obsession in a way that no somewhat-smart woman can deny.
Left to Right: Carol Normandi (co-founder of Beyond Hunger), Darryl Roberts, me, and Laurelee Roark (co-founder of Beyond Hunger)
Even more than the gratitude I felt in August that “America the Beautiful” had been produced at all, I wanted (no, needed) to help bring it back again to San Francisco so all of our About-Face supporters could also see it. So you know what? We did that on May 27 and 28. It took some instigation from a firebrand community member (Christa! Yay!) and her fellow yoga teacher Vajra (yay!). We added many planning hours and joined up with Beyond Hunger, another great org that helps women, teens, and men with severe eating disorders. Then we stirred it all up.
Two screenings followed — one in San Francisco and one in San Rafael (up in Marin County), and we had such an outpouring of support for the film, and for About-Face and Beyond Hunger. Our awesome founder, Kathy Bruin, took her rightful place as an About-Face schmoozer, all our supportive board members (Mara, Kelly, Kristen, Jennifer, and Vivian) supported us, and my wonderful friends came (Trish! Kim! Alison! Kendra!) too.
Our beautiful audience at the Clay Theatre.
The best part, really, was that 350 more people got to see “America the Beautiful” in our area.
Darryl Roberts, the filmmaker (a tall man with a heart of gold) did a Q&A session after each screening, and told some great stories (yes, Oprah was mentioned). Basically, everyone was just hanging on his every word.
I heard from so many friends, acquaintances, and strangers after the screenings, saying they’d never considered how much our culture damages young women with messages about “beauty.” I even ran into one friend on the street the day after she saw the film, and she was still thinking about it, and mulling over how to talk to her very young daughter about body image issues.
Get this film to your area! Click here to go to the site.
What’s that? You say you missed it this time? Or you’re not nearby? “America the Beautiful” is not on DVD as of this writing, but it will be soon. Here are some other ways to see and bring “America the Beautiful to your community:
- Head on over to the film’s web site and sign up to be alerted when the DVD is released
- When the DVD comes out in the fall, contact us, and we’ll help you throw the party so you can show friends the film at your home
- Go to the film’s web site and invite Darryl Roberts, the filmmaker, to speak to your group after a screening
And a little extra goodness: How fun would it be to have an “About-Face film series” in San Francisco or nearby, made up of some of the best media/body image/women’s self-esteem movies out there? (Jean Kilbourne’s “Killing Us Softly 3,” anyone? “Lovely and Amazing” anybody?) If you’re interested in attending or helping organize that, e-mail me directly and be sure to comment below to register your support!
- Jennifer Berger, About-Face’s Executive Director
June 10th, 2009
I have always been a fan of Nike commercials. There is something behind their unisex “just do it” slogan that is energizing and empowering. Curious to what Nike has been up to lately, I decided to Google their commercials. I came across this:
I was skeptical at first. Is it going to be sexist? Will it dampen my perception of the company? Of course, most of all I wanted to know: Who are they going to place as the winner of the challenge?
The commercial pins some of the great female and male athletes, such as tennis ace Rodger Federer, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe; hip-hop dancer Sofia Boutella; Fernando Torres; and NBA player Tony Parker and his wife Eva Longoria Parker.
To my delight, the commercial did not disappoint. In fact, I think it just added to Nike’s vast commercial idea: healthy competition. While the dividing line is apparent in the “Men vs. Women” title, I find it more inspiring rather than divisive or degrading to either sex.
First of all, there is no favoritism among the sexes in the commercial — both groups compete to their best abilities. Most importantly, however, it places the usual gender bias on an even keel, stating: anything you can do, I can do, for we are one.
Of course, this can be argued. The commercial starts off and ends showing the “pink bar,” which represents the female sex, as behind. Even in the end the female is a mere 13 kilometers behind. Are they implying that women are good, yet not THAT good; or is there a deeper meaning: even late in the competition a woman is still very likely to come close to surpassing a man’s achievement?
Although competitions are often about who is better, one should keep in mind that competitions are almost always between equals. You do not pit a champion NFL team against a high school football team, you do not allow a 150-pound person get into a fighting ring with a heavyweight, you will not challenge an Olympian sprinter to a running match (unless you have a really good sense of humor), and so on. By creating this “challenge,” Nike is implying that both sexes are champions; thus, they can compete easily against each other.
The idea behind women being the “weaker” sex is seemingly subsiding, although not as quickly as it should. While I deem the commercial inspiring, I do have to consider that it did put men as the winning sex throughout the commercial; it is hard to detect, but the little pink bar is lagging by a few kilometers.
So how do you feel about the ad: are you inspired by Nike’s creative competition or do you still find it sexist?
-OVK
June 3rd, 2009
2008 Grand Prize Winning Poster by Whitney Calvert
The National Organization for Women (NOW), is running the Love Your Body campaign. Each year, NOW hosts a poster contest that promotes healthy body image and “the grand-prize-winning poster will be used as part of a national campaign to challenge the media’s use of violent, drug-addicted, starved, surgically enhanced images of women and to fight against industries that profit from women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies.” Entries for the 2010 contest are being accepted now and are due by December 1, 2009. The poster contest has different categories: All, University Students, College Students and Middle & Elementary School Students. You can find out more about the contest by clicking here.
The NOW web site has a gallery of past poster contest winners and runners up dating back to 1999. Their beautiful pieces of artwork are also available to send as e-cards. Recently I sent the 2005 winner to a group of my favorite girlfriends and they loved it. Check out the past Elementary School winners. They are amazing and their artwork sends clear, healthy messages. It’s heart-warming to see children take action against the media’s harmful messages. I encourage all of you to take action and submit a poster.
-Sonnet
Sonnet Harrison is a preschool teacher and nanny who studied Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development at San Francisco State University. In her free time, she works on a web site, www.favoritenanny.com, with other San Francisco nannies and is setting up a professional development support group which matches nannies with families without going through agencies. Sonnet became interested in volunteering with About-Face after working with teenage girls in a group home.
April 21st, 2009
These days it often seems like it is a requirement to be good looking to be a good singer. Simon Cowell is known for his harsh words for singing contestants regarding, not just their singing, but their looks too. All of this changed when Susan Boyle came onto Britain’s Got Talent (the UK version of American Idol).
Susan Boyle is moving people world-round with her phenomenal voice. I think it is wonderful that this woman from Scotland is able to be recognized for her amazing talents. In addition to her talents, Boyle’s confidence in the faces of those who doubted and mocked her is inspiring.
In spite of the eye rolls from both the audience and the judges before her performance, she went on to move them all to standing ovations and tears with her magnificent voice. It’s heart-warming to watch the audience’s cynicism and judgment dissolve at the sound of Susan’s voice.
My favorite line in the video is when Amanda says:
I am so thrilled because I know that everybody was against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever. And I just want to say that it was a complete privilege listening to that.
Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
I wholeheartedly agree. The world needs this wake up call. We, as a culture, have become so focused on appearances that we can potentially limit ourselves from people’s talents that can move millions to tears. Hopefully Boyle’s story will help the world open its collective eye to a whole new slough of incredibly talented people that don’t look like Paris Hilton.
Susan Boyle has literally become famous overnight. Over 20.6 million people have seen Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent YouTube video. Since her performance, Susan has been given several offers for complete makeovers. Apparently now that she’s a star she has to look like a star! And apparently it’s the media that decides what a star looks like!
Susan Boyle At Her Home Piano
I’m inspired that Susan has not let the media get under her skin and make her feel un-pretty or insecure. Susan is comfortable with herself and her looks and she won’t let instant fame change who she is. In an interview on CNN’s American Morning on Friday Susan said:
I wouldn’t want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false. I want to receive people as the real me, a real person.
That’s a message that About-Face can endorse and everyone should take to heart.
You can live your dreams and be talented no matter what you look like, how old you are, or where you’re from. All it takes is confidence and determination. Don’t be afraid to show yourself. Don’t hide your talents out of insecurity. And definitely don’t believe anyone who rolls their eyes and says “you can’t.”
If you want to contact the people behind Britain’s Got Talent to let them know how you feel about the representation of Susan Boyle, you can email them at viewerservices@itv.com
-Jaimie and Ashley
April 17th, 2009
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