Self made thinness
An interesting article popped up on Junkfood Science’s blog. Self Magazine has released the results of a study that asks women about their dieting/eating/exercising lifestyle. Not only does the magazine show that women are indeed killing themselves more and more through disordered eating habits, but the magazine published the study results next to articles about how to eat less and lose weight. There’s something terribly wrong in America today in regards to women’s bodies and the media.
Bonus: Look at the categories that I’ve filed this post under, and think about why I picked each category.
May 4th, 2008 in
Activism, Advertising, Body Image, Business, Consumerism, Gender Roles, Media Effects, Politics, Society, Stereotypes | tags: Body Image, eating disorders, self magazine
Wow, really next to a how to guide for losing weight. America is struggling with weight and how to get thin fast. In our society today there are hundreds of pills, diet plans and exercise DVDs out on the market to capitalize on the fad. It seems like you can not pick up a magazine or watch TV and not see a thin model. Dove has stepped up and used real women in America to advertise their products. These women really show the faces of our society and or communities. These are the women we see on a daily basis and these women are the mothers and sisters of each of us.
But back to the point there it’s not that hard to believe but it’s hard to take in. Why would this magazine publish these articles next to each other are they promoting being thin? I personally think the magazine was not edited very well because this was just over looked. But this is the types of article found in a large part of woman’s magazines. You won’t find this type of article in a men’s magazine but it feeds on the fact that women need to be thin. Thin is in is the idea implanted in the minds of some women but most importantly there are teenage girls reading these magazines and having the idea they need to be thin to fit in, in society. This bothers me because I fell into that idea I graduated high school weighing no more than 112 and at that weight I wasn’t happy. It wasn’t until I started college I realized there are more important things than body image and I stopped caring. I was also used to dressing up for school every day but college changed that for me. But the fad of being thin has been around for a while and it doesn’t seem like its going anywhere any time soon. The articles side by side prove my point.