Book Review: Good Girls Don’t Get Fat
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading, Size Acceptance
Good Girls Don’t Get Fat by Robyn Silverman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is absolutely amazing, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.
Yes, I said everyone. If you are a human being who is reading this post/review, you live in a first-world society and you interact with females. You will benefit from a greater understanding of what modern social standards do to young females and how they shape us for the rest of our lives, how they twist us into disordered thinking that touches absolutely everything we do, from how we think about ourselves to our personal and business relationships, our spirituality, our health — everything. And you will have an opportunity to change how you interact with females, particularly girls, so that you are more of a positive influence rather than yet another person who is pulling her down and holding her back.
I was already familiar with some of the research regarding the media and unrealistic portrayals of women. I knew that every magazine cover is Photoshopped and airbrushed, that “normal” models represent only 1–2% of real women, etc. I didn’t know that 5% of American high school girls have turned to taking anabolic steroids in order to get a more toned, slim look, according to the CDC’s 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, and that one out of every 14 girls in American middle schools have tried steroids for the same purpose. I had heard that the popularity of cosmetic surgery for young people was rising, but I had no idea that it was as prevalent as it is. I can’t remember exactly how high, but it was frightening.
If there is a young lady in your life, stop for a moment and think — are you a positive influence on her? When young women in college were asked about what they recall their parents saying about their bodies as they grew up, 80% of the responses were of negative remarks. What will the girl in your life remember you saying? If you’ve ever wondered whether or not you should talk to her about losing a little weight, don’t. Believe me — the rest of the world has already beaten that into her, and will go on doing so every minute of every day. There’s no way she doesn’t know that her body is unacceptable, whether she’s still carrying a little baby fat, is morbidly obese, or simply has a slightly round face.
One of the things I admire most about Good Girls Don’t Get Fat is that it doesn’t just talk about how bad things are, it gives concrete suggestions for improvement! That’s what we need.
The book is available in any format you can imagine. Pick it up. It’s an easy read, and wonderful.
Tags: children, eating disorders, fat, Parenting, Robyn Silverman
Europeans Continue Coming to Their Senses
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Health, Size Acceptance
About models and the effects of the media on body image in their populations, at least. Following Spain’s move last year that banned ultra-thin models from catwalks, France is acting. The “French parliament’s lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness.”
British researchers are also recommending action. “With constant images of stick-thin, size-zero models, tiny-waisted pop princesses and actresses is putting young girls’ health at risk and fueling the rise in eating disorders, according to Professor Janet Treasure of the Eating Disorders Research Unit at Kings College London.”
It’s a relief to know that, somewhere in the world, people are paying attention to this stuff. It’s tiresome to hear the constant folderol about the “obesity epidemic” here in the U.S., with almost no balancing coverage.
Tags: body image, eating disorders, fashion, Health, women
Spain bans unhealthily thin models
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Feminism, News, Size Acceptance
In a very unpopular move, Spain has banned appearances by fashion models who’s body mass index is too low.
Italy is considering following suit. The language in the legislation makes it clear that the purpose of the ban is to encourage healthier media images, due to the growing incidence of eating disorders diagnosed every year.
Frankly, I can’t begin to imagine the U.S. government even considering that kind of legislation. We do have a freer press here (on the surface, at least), but that doesn’t explain all the differences.
Tags: BMI, body image, eating disorders, fashion, Feminism, girls, healthier media images, Italy, models, self-esteem, Spain, U.S. government, women