How Far Does the Thin Ideal Extend??

According to a recent study published, preschool aged girls- as young as 3!!- indicate a preference towards thinness. How is that even possible??! I was actually skeptical when I saw this headline! But as I read this study (here!), it all started sounding way too believable. I obviously get that media has an impact upon how we define beauty, and I also am all too familiar with the ways in which modeling can influence us. I'm not talking about supermodels walking the runway... but about behaviors and attitudes that we pick up on by observing those around us. Anyways, in this study, the researchers tried to determine the childrens attitudes about weight by watching them choose game pieces (for board games like Candyland- my favorite!) that they had specifically constructed- a thin girl, an average girl, and an overweight girl. They watched the girls choose the pieces and interact with them, and asked them about the pieces as well. While it is very difficult to study body issues and perceptions in 3 year olds, there were some pretty strong reactions among the children to the game pieces. Some of them were very reluctant to play the game using the overweight girl game piece, and the majority would have rather been the average girl if they could not be the thin girl. To read more of the findings regarding the study, follow the link above- or here!

So what can we do in the face of some discouraging news about innocent little girls picking up on the thin ideal at the age of 3 years old?! Well, I think that regardless of whether or not we have children, nieces/nephews, interact with children daily, etc.. there are things that we can do. First, emphasize health over weight. Helping children (and ourselves, really!) to place the focus on our bodies being strong and able to engage in activities that we enjoy takes the focus off of a number. Second, avoid fat talk! What is fat talk?? Anything that reinforces unhealthy beliefs and attitudes about our bodies. ("I look SO fat in this!" "Oh, wow, you look great, have you lost weight?" "I need to lose ten pounds" "She's too fat to be wearing that") I have written a lot about fat talk before- check out this link or this one for more info! Lastly, if you do have children or if you are ever around kids, encourage and affirm them for who they are- their personalities, their character traits, positive things that they have done, their interests- rather than how they look! This extends to us grown-ups as well:) I think that if we can start to redefine beauty (and the thin ideal) by focusing on beauty as more than just our looks (by focusing on our hearts, our minds, our faith), then we might begin to know our true worth and value.

Scouts Honor

I don't really have many regrets in my life- but one that I do have is that I was never a Girl Scout. Ok, that's kind of a joke- but I was a Campfire Girl :). Based on the name, you might have a good idea of what kind of group this was- an outdoorsy, camping group for young girls (similar to the Girl Scouts, just more focused on camping and outdoor activities). The funniest part about this is that I asked if I could be a Campfire Girl. For those of you who know me, this is pretty laughable. I love sunshine and being outside, but I'm not exactly the prototypical nature lover and I wasn't really what you would call an outdoorsy child. When the Campfire Girls used to have camping outings, I used to ask my parents to pick me up so I could go home and sleep in my own bed, and then drop me off back at the campsite in the morning so that I could sit around the bonfire in the morning with everyone else. How terrible is that?! Haha. Now that I look back, I'm thinking there was probably a better group for me. Perhaps the Girl Scouts? : )

The Girl Scouts have recently launched a new initiative to help boost girls' self-esteem. I have been so impressed with The Girl Scout organization- they have done SO much for young girls and have really invested a lot into nurturing the self-esteem and confidence of girls all across the US. Their mission: To build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Their new campaign, 'The Changing Face of Fashion' is based upon research that they conducted. They found that in spite of girls knowing that the fashion industry's ideals of beauty are unattainable and unrealistic, 89% of them still wanted to adhere to those standards!! As a result, the Girl Scouts hired four plus-size models and had them share their stories in a series of online videos about self-esteem and body image.

I really, really applaud the Girl Scout organization for using research and targeting a specific need of young women. I wonder though if there is a way for them to address this issue without the use of models? I wonder what it would be like for these young women to hear real women share their struggles with body image and self-esteem, and the impact that the fashion industry has had on them and how they have dealt with it and are dealing with it. I watched some of these videos (check them out here) and I wonder if these plus-size models (who are likely size 10's) do anything to help dispel these beliefs held by young women. I don't know that I have a better suggestion, but what I do know is that using the flawed modeling/fashion industry as a way to combat the irrational beliefs often perpetuated by the industry just seems a little confusing and backwards. I think at this point though, it is great just to get young girls to consider that beauty comes in all different sizes and shapes and colors. And it seems like that is what the Girl Scouts are doing! To check out more about the Girl Scouts and what they are doing, follow this link.

Update on EDC and Michelle Obama

Here is some encouraging and exciting news. If you didn't see my last post, scroll down real quick and skim it- it's pretty short. But I just wanted to follow up because Michelle Obama has listened to the concerns that people have had about her focus on childhood obesity and acknowledged that "The flip side to obesity can be eating disorders and we certainly don't want to enforce the reverse trend," she said. "The campaign 'Let's Move' is not about how our kids look. It's really about how our kids feel and our health." This is good news for all of us. Health and how we all feel is important, and I am glad that she is taking that into consideration as she moves forward with her Let's Move Campaign. She also encouraged parents not to focus on weight, or to talk about weight loss, but rather to focus on the overall picture of health. It is great to see that there has been a bit of a shift in her message. And, it also provides us with a reminder that speaking up can make a difference! To see how you can make a difference, follow this link.

Michelle Obama's Campaign to Fight Childhood Obesity

I have seen a lot in the news this past week about Michelle Obama's campaign to fight childhood obesity. And I have really been wanting to write something about this because I have had some thoughts that I want to share-- but I think I have been slow to do so because I never want my blog to sound like a diatribe against society or pop culture or the media or different individuals or (fill-in-the-blank). Yes, I like to think critically; and yes, there are things from time to time that need to be called out. But the purpose of my blog is not to point these things out that I observe or read from day to day for the sake of being critical. I am MUCH more interested in raising peoples awareness and encouraging others to think about the ways that we view ourselves, our bodies, beauty and eating disorders- and that is why I blog! When I read statistics about women, young girls and even men- really everyone!- I am always surprised to find out just how far people will go to lose weight or to look 'good'. While I get that we all want to look and feel good, it just seems so unreal and sad that things have been taken to such extremes. The fact that more than 2/3 of women ages 18-25 would rather be labeled mean or stupid instead of fat, and over 50% would rather be hit by a truck than be labeled fat is pretty outrageous (Martin, 2007). I also want to be clear (again) about the fact that when it comes to eating disorders, they are a serious mental illness- not simply a lifestyle choice, like many people believe.

So, with that being said, I am going to go back to the First Lady's new pet project- childhood obesity. I think it is wonderful that she is targeting children's health, but when I read on CNN.com that President Obama was calling his daughter Sasha "chubby" and that Michelle had mentioned things were "off balance" with her daughters weight wise, it made me cringe on the inside. While I loudly applaud her efforts to approach this issue nationally (because it is an issue), using her daughters as an example draws unnecessary attention to their weight at an age when they are vulnerable and sensitive to developing body image issues, not to mention eating disorders. While she has been significantly criticized in the wake of her comments, I think the focus, rather than chastising her for making the comments, should be on approaching this issue from a supportive and healthy standpoint for the sake of the children involved. Dr. Albers who has written books about mindful eating, wrote a great article for the Huffington Post that you may want to check out. Her point is that weight is not always the best indicator of health, and that we need to focus on the big picture rather than on dieting (which we know does not work!). Follow this link to read her article. And follow this link to read another great article called Dads, Daughters and Diets: Obama's Mistake.

In light of this recent controversy, CNN.com has listed some helpful suggestions for parents about talking to their children/teens about being healthy. Some of the suggestions that they encourage parents to consider include focusing on health and not pounds (or a number on the scale), being open to discuss any issues related to health or otherwise with their children, ending fat talk, and avoiding diet mentalities with 'good' foods and 'bad' foods. For more, follow this link. Whether you are a child or not, these tips are helpful for people of all ages to help maintain a healthy approach and attitude towards health, food and our bodies.

Operation Beautiful

A lot of girls play dress-up when they're little. It's fun to dress up and pretend to be glamourous. I know when I was little, getting the chance to play around with make-up, high heels and princess dresses was definitely a special thing. However, I don't really remember looking up to anyone in the media and idolizing them. I know that I watched TV, and I wasn't a completely sheltered kid. But I don't remember having the kinds of 'role models' today that many young girls do (like Hannah Montana, etc). For example, I was at Target the other day, checking out, and there were two five year old looking girls with one of their mothers. They were looking at all of the magazines on display and kept screaming, "Ooohh Taylor Swift, I love her, she is so pretty. She is so lucky that she is dating [so-and-so]." All I kept thinking was- how do they know this stuff? Haha. I mean, I watch TV and read up on celebrity gossip from time to time but it just seemed weird to me that they knew so much about Taylor Swift. It just dawned on me how different things are for children who are growing up now, and how much more intense, accessible and available media is for people of all ages.

I guess the concerning thing to me is that when girls this young are exposed to an ideal standard of beauty as dictated by Hollywood, they are shaped from this young age to view beauty as what they see on the covers of magazines. The issue is not that young girls should not think Taylor Swift is beautiful, or that magazines are horrible. I actually love Taylor Swift and think she is a good role model for young girls- she appears to be gracious, hard working, and humble- all things that make one beautiful. The issue to me is that if young girls (as well as women of all ages) are not seeing people of all shapes, sizes and colors, etc, in the media that are regarded as beautiful, then it is likely they will view beauty very narrowly. And, beauty is not just about looks! How many times have you met someone that is physically attractive or beautiful, and then they spoke or acted in such a way that made them unattractive to you? As much as it is a cliche, beauty (in Hollywood) is only skin deep! In a world where already 'beautiful' people are getting plastic surgery to enhance their image, the messages that are sent to women about beauty are not necessarily healthy or positive.

Someone recently shared with me about a really amazing movement going on that is called Operation Beautiful, which aims to help people embrace their beauty. The mission of Operation Beautiful is to end fat talk, which involves talking about weight, lamenting over the width of our thighs (or any other body parts), and comparing ourselves to others! The tag-line on their website is "Ending Fat Talk One Anonymous Post-It At A Time." They encourage people to leave positive, encouraging, anonymous notes in random places- public restroom mirrors in schools, restaurants, etc- to be seen by random people. (An example from their site: When the world says 'give in', stay strong! You are a fighter. You are beautiful. Have a great day!) They encourage people to leave the website address on the note so people can go to the site and find out more about Operation Beautiful. The site is awesome in that people share personal stories about how they have been impacted by an anonymous note, as well as the impact that leaving notes around for people has on them. This is such a great pro-active way to encourage people and to end fat talk. The person who told me about Operation Beautiful leaves anonymous post-it notes in the diet/health section at Barnes and Noble. What a great idea!! The reason I love this so much is that so often it is difficult to know how to do little things that positively impact people in a significant way- and this is an example of something that is super easy to do but that makes a big difference.

For more information on Operation Beautiful, follow this link. And view this video below for more information and to be inspired by what they are doing!