This really is a major issue among women of all ages, and I agree with Tina that it seems especially prevalent among women in middle age. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 24 million Americans are battling an eating disorder. This is staggering. More needs to be done to look at the causes.
Just yesterday I was flipping through the latest issue of Women's Health magazine, and my 11-year-old daughter was looking over my shoulder. She commented on how unhealthy the models looked. She asked me why the magazine is called "Women's Health." It hadn't really occurred to me how anorexic the women in the photos looked. I guess I'm so used to the images of women that we're barraged with every day in the media.
My daughter really made me think: it is so not acceptable for a so-called "health" magazine to support images like this, especially on their cover. We need to speak out and let them know this. I also must say that I'm really proud of my daughter -- that she has not gone over to "the dark side" and has an extremely healthy body image concept and feels good in her own skin. Sadly, I was not like this at her age. I was all too aware of looks and the societal expectations that young girls face. I wanted to look like Barbie -- nothing else was acceptable.
I can only hope that my daughter can hold onto this healthy perspective as she goes through adolescence and begins to feel the pressure from her peers to conform to the unrealistic expectations thrown out there in the media.
Are there things that other moms do to teach their daughters how to retain a healthy body image?
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This really is a major issue among women of all ages, and I agree with Tina that it seems especially prevalent among women in middle age. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 24 million Americans are battling an eating disorder. This is staggering. More needs to be done to look at the causes.
Just yesterday I was flipping through the latest issue of Women's Health magazine, and my 11-year-old daughter was looking over my shoulder. She commented on how unhealthy the models looked. She asked me why the magazine is called "Women's Health." It hadn't really occurred to me how anorexic the women in the photos looked. I guess I'm so used to the images of women that we're barraged with every day in the media.
My daughter really made me think: it is so not acceptable for a so-called "health" magazine to support images like this, especially on their cover. We need to speak out and let them know this. I also must say that I'm really proud of my daughter -- that she has not gone over to "the dark side" and has an extremely healthy body image concept and feels good in her own skin. Sadly, I was not like this at her age. I was all too aware of looks and the societal expectations that young girls face. I wanted to look like Barbie -- nothing else was acceptable.
I can only hope that my daughter can hold onto this healthy perspective as she goes through adolescence and begins to feel the pressure from her peers to conform to the unrealistic expectations thrown out there in the media.
Are there things that other moms do to teach their daughters how to retain a healthy body image?
Kristin
February 27, 2008 - 9:59amhttp://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com
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