ROTW - Weight and the Beauty Myth

[barefoot_boy]

Comments

[brokenbeany]

I don't know how to stop, always for the smaller :(

[barefoot_boy]

Arrh hun, you're beautiful the way you are. You should know that. x

[apiphile]

Amen. A-fucking-men. This was really, really good, well-elucidated and clear. :)

[barefoot_boy]

Thanks :-)

Been meaning to get that one off my chest for a while now.

[apiphile]

Definitely worth doing, do you mind if I link to this?

[barefoot_boy]

No, I don't mind at all. :-)

[uv_lue]

it's interesting that you picked this topic the same week that i had a lecture about eating disorders as part of my 'psychology of mental health' unit. it's disturbing that roughly 85% of british women are dieting at any one time and that instances of bulimia and anorexia are becoming more common and more frequent amongst girls as young as 6 years old. 6 YEARS OLD!!! i don't even remember what it was like to be six. it's frightening to think that the media reaches it's tendrils this far into the young

[barefoot_boy]

Agreed. I can't think of anything more horrific then being trapped in such a mindset. And yet the media does nothing about it...and in fact, most of the time refuses to acknowledge the problem. I remember seeing this program recently, think it was on channel 4, in which some woman was getting her around about six-year-old daughter to wear makeup and diet. It made me want to cry.

To be fair to them some magazines, namely Heat magazine, are trying to rectify some of the damage it's done by running feature like one they called 'the skinny backlash', which basically features celebrities having put on weight from being morbidly emaciated (yes I made that term up, but whatever) and looking far better for it, with before and after pictures. But then they often go and dispel all that by running features on dieting or accusing Beyonce of 'falling out' of her skirt at some awards ceremony.

Personally I've always found curves sexy! And don't even get me started on how much I like food. x

[brokenbeany]

I started this shit when I was 14, think it was about the same time as I discovered boys, thus the drive to be accepted and thin. It is in my mind all the time. An obsession.

[uv_lue]

this is probably a stupid question, but have you been given any cognitive behavioural therapy? it's been proven to work extremely well with those who have difficulties with binge eating and/or bulimia.

[sproutymouse]

Really interesting read :) unfortuantly my head to is too foggy right now to comment as this is a subject of interest to me so shall do at a later date :)

And the advert at the bottom of the page was WHY IS YOUR STOMACH FAT! www.stomachfatisugly.net LOL!

[barefoot_boy]

O dear gods it is not! Fucking LJ. I might have to get a paid account just to stop adverts like that appearing. Well...ok maybe not, I'm not made of money, but still...fucking LJ.

[sproutymouse]

It did actually amuse me, but then I do have quite a sick sense of humor. :)

[barefoot_boy]

It amused me in an ironic way. I bet the gremlins that run LJ put it there on purpose. Damn LJ gremlins. *Shakes fist*

[barefoot_boy]

Thank you. It pleases me immensely to know there are other people who think like this too.

[barefoot_boy]

That's ok. I am actually a quite infrequent LJ user, but I am trying to post once a week or so just to practise my writing if nothing else. I generally add anyone who is nice and has similar interests. Don't worry you don't have to entertain me or anything ;-)

I agree with you about how difficult it is to separate the media image from your own self image. We are programmed from such a young age that sometimes it's hard to distinguish between ideology and our own subjective thoughts. Identifying it from other people is much much easier. Makes it hard not to be a complete hypocrite at times.