Pamela Mason's List: Thin is In

• The Thin Ideal is the concept of the idyllically slim female body.^[1] The common perception of this ideal is that of a slender, feminine physique with a small waist and little body fat.^[1] The size of the thin ideal is decreasing while the rate of female obesity is simultaneously increasing, making this iconic body difficult for women to maintain
• Many theorists believe that the ultra-thin images in the media play a significant part in the influence of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and internalization of the thin ideal.^[4][11] A correlational study by Stice et al. (2004) suggests that a larger magnitude of media exposure may be linked to a greater risk of body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal, and development of eating disorders symptoms.^[6]
• According to the sociocultural model of bulimia, eating disorders are a product of the increasing pressures for women in our society to achieve an ultra-slender body.^[13] There are two components to the social comparison theory: Downward social comparison, comparison to others perceived to be less fortunate than ourselves, and usually serves to enhance mood or self-worth; upward social comparison, comparison to others we perceive as socially better than ourselves, which usually leads to negative moods and self-evaluation.^[14
• Sociocultural theory maintains that current societal standards for beauty emphasize the desirability of thinness, and thinness at a level impossible for many women to achieve by healthy means.

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• Effects of teen advertising on body image
• The effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, ranging from psychologists to professors of Marketing.
• Researchers, such as Mary Martin and James Gentry, have found that teen advertising negatively impacts teenagers’ self-esteem by setting unrealistic expectations for them about their physical appearances through the use of idealized models.^[1] Other researchers, such as Heidi Posavac, acknowledge this, but believe that this only applies to teenagers who already possess low self-esteem or a poor self-images.^[2]
• In contrast, researchers, including Terry Bristol, have found teenagers to be generally unaffected by these advertisements due to the idea that repeat exposure can create an immunity to images and messages in advertisements.^[3] Moreover, some researchers, such as Paul Humphreys, have concluded that exposure to such advertisements can actually create higher self-esteem in teenagers.^[5][6]
• A study by A. Chris Downs and Sheila Harrison from Sex Roles: A Journal of Research found that one out of every 3.8 television commercials has a message about attractiveness in it. They determined that viewers receive roughly 5,260 advertisements related to attractiveness per year (or at least 14 per day). Of these messages, 1,850 of them are specifically about beauty.^[4]
• Today's models weigh 23 percent less than the average woman, while the average model two decades ago weighed eight percent less than the average woman.^[9]
• Academic researchers Philip Myers Jr. and Frank Biocca concluded, in their study published in the Journal of Communication, that a woman's self-perceived body image can change after watching a half-an-hour of television programming and advertising.^[6] Researchers Yoku Yamamiya and Thomas F. Cash concluded through their study that "Even a 5 minute exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images results in a more negative body image state than does exposure to images of neutral object."^[11]
• Low self-esteem that stems from teenage advertising can have detrimental effects on teenagers. Seventy-five percent of young women with low self-esteem report engaging in negative activities such as "cutting, bullying, smoking, or drinking when feeling badly about themselves."
• Effects on young men

  • Another area to research. Never thought about this gender. Why shouldn't they be included? How much media are they exposed to? Why not pressure, if not same, on males as females?

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• Thin is in. Ads on television and in magazines are either celebrating the thin physique or telling you how you can achieve thinness by taking a miracle pill.
• Can you imagine a table full of fourth grade girls discussing fat, calories and dieting?
• is what most every teenage girl aspires to be -- popular, a great student, friendly and well liked, the Prom Queen, and most of all, she is thin. Lara's world begins to change when she suddenly starts putting on weight,
• is what most every teenage girl aspires to be -- popular, a great student, friendly and well liked, the Prom Queen, and most of all, she is thin.
• does not take the weight gain lying down, but diets, exercises, and even visits doctors,
• WHAT of weight, and not the WHY,"
• what" revolves around her changing world. She is faced with people looking at her differently, losing people she thought were friends, her family's embarrassment, and not liking herself anymore. She finds herself on the other side of the fence, and does not like it. As the story progresses, Lara grows and learns some valuable lessons about life, though she still longs to lose the weight.
• The result is that girls start to think about dieting when they are 6 or 7 years old because dieting is so much a part of American culture."
• The idea of a mother encouraging her young daughter to not eat and diet seems almost unreal, but it's not. In the book, Lara has to deal with her mom -- ex-Prom Queen, owner of a successful business, and a 'thin is in' advocate. Being perfect is pushed on Lara daily. She is questioned about what she eats and pushed to diet to rid herself of the pounds. Bennett encourages mothers of young girls to look at how they perceive their own bodies
• "It doesn't do any good to a girl who is a size 12 for us to say to her, 'Oh sweetie, you're perfect just the way you are,' and then one minute later have her overhear us telling our best friends how disgusted we are that we can't fit into the same clothes we wore last year. Girls are really smart."
• Instead of encouraging her daughter, she makes Lara feel even worse about herself. "The mom's disgust and shame at Lara's weight gain makes Lara feel exactly the same way: shamed and disgusted with herself,"
• fat teens face a living hell much of the time on the school yard. They don't need to face it at home. And girls in that size 12 to 24 range desperately need mothers and fathers who truly believe that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes -- believe in it so much, in fact, that they believe it about themselves."
• Bennett hopes girls walk away from reading this book and realize that obsessing about weight is taking away from other things they could be doing. But, she wants girls to know there are definitely issues out there regarding weight. "I want them to realize some weight issues are dangerous:

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• As a preteen, Aronson recalls, her stepfather circled her thighs with a magic marker and drew on her stomach to show her where he thought she needed to lose weight. “I remember feeling ashamed and totally defective," says Aronson, the founder of women's online forum EmmeNation. "I knew that my stepfather was crossing boundaries, and yet I wanted to be accepted."
• Studies conducted by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists show that almost 54 percent of American girls and women ages 12 to 23 years are unhappy with their bodies. When do these feelings start? Surprisingly, a lot earlier than most of us would think.
• "Even preschool girls start to realize the ‘fat is bad and skinny is good’ message. They pick it up early on, and although they may not know why or what it’s about, they understand that there is a reaction when it comes to weight,” says Dr. Robyn Silverman, a child and teen development specialist, and author of the book Good Girls Don’t Get Fat. "They might overhear their teacher remark to another teacher about how her jeans are fitting that day, and those things are absorbed by kids as young as 3 to 5: Thin is good, fat is bad.”
• As mothers, we might be trying hard not to pass our insecurities on to our daughters, but “even that grimace that you make when you are looking at your body in the mirror speaks volumes to a young girl,” says Silverman. "This is especially sad because you are dealing with young people who are supposed to be gaining weight.”
• Fathers also have a profound impact on a daughter’s self-esteem,
• “The father is the first male figure in a young woman’s life, and he is the template for how men should treat her," Silverman says. “Girls often look to their father to find out if they are worthy, if they are beautiful. Dad may exclaim, ‘Look at these chubby legs’ with affection, but what the girl then does is start a laundry list of things that are wrong with her.”

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• Researchers have found that ongoing exposure to certain ideas can shape and distort our perceptions of reality.
• female bodies that just happen to be airbrushed and plastic-surgery-enhanced. It’s not surprising that in our media-driven culture, our views of what women should look like are warped.
• Before the mass media existed, our ideas of beauty were limited to our own communities. Until the advent of photography in 1839, people were not exposed to real-life images of faces and bodies. Most people did not even own mirrors.²⁰
• Most of the women we see in the media are young and white. Hollywood movies rarely feature women over forty, and the older women we do see represented in the media, from movie stars to news anchors and even politicians, look much younger, thanks to plastic surgery. As a result, those of us who choose to age naturally, without the aid of plastic surgery, are sometimes seen as "letting ourselves go."
• The image of "perfection" we see in the media excludes women with disabilities.
•   

  Living with a physical disability, I have learned from the dominant messages in society that I am not like other women. In fact, for the most part, I’m actually not considered a woman at all.

• The small percentage of women of color represented in the media usually conforms closely to the white beauty ideal. As one woman wrote,

   

   

    

  As a teenager, I was obsessed with achieving the “white girl” look: slim hips, perky breasts, flat stomach. I hated that I didn’t look like white models in my magazines.
• Although advertising, the most powerful arm of the mass media, is all around us, many of us believe we are immune from its effects. This mistaken belief is one of the reasons it is so effective. The average American sees three thousand ads per day.²¹ Almost all commercial media aimed at women are supported by advertising revenue from the fashion, beauty, diet, and food industries, and their survival depends on their ability to please their sponsors.
• making us think we have "problems"
• Every part of the female body is picked apart and scrutinized, with most articles telling us outright which products we should buy to fix--or at least camouflage--our numerous "flaws."
• The media’s gaze is essentially a male gaze.²² We are so accustomed to seeing things through the dominant male perspective that we might not even notice the dynamics at play.
• Many of us begin to objectify ourselves.

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• While it might be nearly impossible to shield our children from the mass media, including advertising, television, movies, magazines and the Internet, the messages girls receive at home can have a big impact on them.
• Make your home a safe haven
• Tell your daughter she’s beautiful on a regular basis, while also focusing on attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance. It is especially important for father figures to make positive comments about their daughter’s appearance and abilities.
• Ask your neighborhood schools to teach media literacy, including how the media contributes to looksism, racism, ableism, homophobia and ageism.
• exploiting our insecurities
• Expose her to accomplished women who are successful for their achievements.
• most role models available to girls are pop stars, actresses and models—women who have become famous at least partly because of their looks.
• Prioritize meals in your home. Try and eat at least one meal a day together as a family, without the television.
• Prioritize daily exercise, emphasizing physical activity as essential to good health, not as a vehicle to look thin.
  
• Be cognizant of what you say to boys versus girls.
• Teach her to view the media with a critical eye and stress activities other than media in your home.

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  The inner voices of anorexia and bulimia whisper that you'll never be happy until you lose weight, that your worth is measured by how you look. But the truth is that happiness and self-esteem come from loving yourself for who you truly are–and that's only possible with recovery.
• The road to eating disorder recovery starts with admitting you have a problem.
• This admission can be tough, especially if you’re still clinging to the belief–even in the back of your mind–that weight loss is the key to happiness, confidence, and success.
• overcoming an eating disorder is about more than giving up unhealthy eating behaviors. It is also about rediscovering who you are beyond your eating habits, weight, and body image.

• True recovery from anorexia and bulimia involves learning to:

   
   
  • Listen to your body.
   
  • Listen to your feelings.
   
  • Trust yourself.
   
  • Accept yourself.
   
  • Love yourself.
   
  • Enjoy life again.

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• teenage girl’s social group plays more of a role than social media, television and the big screen on influencing body image.

• • The National   Institute of Mental Health estimates that eating disorders affect more   than 5 million Americans each year. 
   
  • An estimated   one thousand women die each year of anorexia nervosa. As many as one   in ten college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating   disorder, including 5.1% who suffer from bulimia nervosa.
   
  • Approximately   five percent of adolescent and adult women and one percent of men have   anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder.
   
  • Fifteen   percent of young women have substantially disordered eating attitudes   and behaviors.