A Dangerous Obsession (Part 1)

     (This is the first part of a paper I wrote for school on the impact that images of beauty in the media have on women. I was stunned by some of the things I discovered as I did the research. This first part is a bit depressing (Sorry), but I promise the second part is a little more positive.)

The Media's Influence on our Perception of Beauty
     Are you beautiful? A study by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty of over 3,000 women in 10 different countries discovered that 98% of women would answer no to this question (Etcoff et al. 4). Beautiful is a word most, if not all, women would love to use to describe themselves. The desire to be beautiful is almost inherent in our nature. Yet many women feel average at best and ugly at worst. Much of the way we perceive beauty has been shaped by our modern media. The media perpetuates a narrow view of what is beautiful and feeds a dangerous obsession with the superficial, but the battle for real beauty, that which begins with a beautiful heart, is one that is well worth fighting.



     Women today are bombarded on every side by images of perfect women. The average American is exposed to at least three thousand ads every day (Kilbourne 58). In the majority of these ads, women are portrayed as thin with perfect skin, hair, and bodies. Their symmetrical faces smile happily or pout prettily. These perfect women tell us that perfection is possible, even normal. If these ads are to be believed, with physical perfection comes success in career, romance, friendships, and family. 81% of women in the US strongly agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can never achieve” (Etcoff et al. 28). According to a study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the desire of many girls to lose weight was connected to the frequency with which they read magazines. While only 29% of the girls were actually overweight, nearly half said magazine pictures made them want to lose weight (Kilbourne 132).


     Just how different are the bodies of fashion models from those of real women? Many models are 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11, average 120 to 124 pounds, and wear a size 2 or 4 (Hellmich). Today, the average American woman is 5-foot-4, weighs between 140-150 pounds, and wears a size 12 or 14 (Peeke). Not only is the average woman 20 to 25 pounds heavier, she is also 6 or 7 inches shorter than most models.


     “Media images, [Nancy] Etcoff notes in an e-mail, are often so rarefied that "they change our ideas about what people look like and what normal looks like … Our brains did not evolve with media, and many people see more media images of women than actual women. The contrast effect makes even the most beautiful non-model look less attractive; it produces a new 'normal'" (qtd. in Postrel). It’s like women are the victims of a huge brainwashing scheme that’s working all too well. We know, consciously, that these images are most likely photoshopped and airbrushed so much that they bear little resemblance to reality, but our subconscious mind absorbs them over and over and soon they become our standard of normal. This new standard becomes the one by which we measure ourselves. One wants to ask, “Who are they to tell me what is beautiful?” What or who gives the media the authority to determine what beautiful looks like? After all, ads are all about selling something. If the media can control what is beautiful, if they can convince a woman that she must have flawless skin or shining hair to be beautiful, then they can sell her products that promise to accomplish these things. “They [advertisers] are just doing their job, which is to sell a product, but the consequences, usually unintended, are often destructive to individuals, to cultures, and to the planet” (Kilbourne, 75). We allow people who are trying to sell makeup and diet products to persuade us that we need these things to be beautiful and by extension, happy and fulfilled.


     This drive for physical beauty becomes all-important. In fact, in a 1985 survey of thirty-three thousand women, it was discovered that women would choose, if they could, losing ten to fifteen pounds over success in love or work (Wolf 185). 45% of women believe that beautiful women have greater opportunities in life and 59% believe that men value beautiful women more than the average woman (Etcoff et al. 25). It is no wonder then, that many would choose weight-loss over success, since they believe weight-loss will lead to a better life. It is as if women have been convinced that the only obstacles to an amazing life are ten or fifteen pounds.


     This fixation on physical appearance does damage in more ways than one. Women diet, exfoliate, pluck, style, and paint their bodies in an attempt to achieve the ideal beauty set forth in the media. In extreme cases, women even throw up, starve themselves, take dangerous drugs, or have plastic surgery in their pursuit of this new “normal.” Not only do women wreak havoc on their bodies with dangerous diet regimens, but this preoccupation is also damaging to one’s mental health. One study of 350 men and women found that the “tendency to view one‘s body from the outside in,” giving precedence to physical appearance instead of to health or fitness, can lead not only to eating disorders, but also to anxiety, depression, and even lower mental performance (Kilbourne, 132).


 (I'll post part 2 in a few days. It focuses more on what can be done about this drive to look like supermodels)

Works Cited

Etcoff, Nancy, Susie Orbach, Jennifer Scott, and Heidi D'Agostino. "The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report." Dove. Sept. 2004. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

Hellmich, Nancy. "Do Thin Models Warp Girls' Body Image?" USA Today. USA Today, 26 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. .

Kilbourne, Jean. Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising. New York, NY: Free, 1999. Print.

Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, Pamela. "Just What IS an Average Woman’s Size Anymore? « Everyday Fitness." WebMD. 25 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. .

Postrel, Virginia. "The Truth About Beauty." Atlantic Monthly Mar. 2007: 125-27. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. .

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print.

Things I love about Ava

1. I love that she is independent. She always want to do things herself without help.

2. I love that if you ask her name her answer is Ava Broot(Brooke) YOder, with extra emphasis on the YO.

3. I love that she loves hats of any kind.

4. I love that her first question to me after she says "Hi" is usually "Read a boot(book)?"  I love when children love books!
5. I love that she will unconciously sign words as she's talking. She doesn't even seem to know that when she says candy her little finger is digging into her cheek or that she rubs her chest whenever she says please.

6. I love that when we go on walks, she picks up everything(dead and crumpled leaves, stones, sticks) and claims them as treasures to take home with her.
7. I love that she repeats words she hears around her. For example, one day I said something usually did something and the next thing I knew, she used usually in a sentence, too.  For a while her phrase was, "Oh Wow" which I think she gets from her grandma.

8. I love that she has a mind of her own.

We're going Chinese!

A few weeks ago, some friends & I went out to Huanglongxi. It's a town set up to look old with a man-made river running through it. We did some shopping and just walked around and looked at everything.  The highlight of the day was when we decided to dress in old Chinese clothes and get our pictures taken.

First, we picked out our clothes. I wanted to dress like a ninja, but unfortunately this shop had no ninja clothes. After we picked out our fancy clothes, the shop girls started on our hair. We got so much fake hair, both big black rolls and lots of little braids.

After they pinned the fake hair on, they started shoving flowers, pins, and combs and anything with rhinestones into our hair. It didn't matter if it matched or not. The more, the better.

This is the dress I chose when I realized I couldn't dress like a ninja. I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't get to be a ninja! And check out the hair: flowers, berries, pins, loopy braids, and that huge gold thing.  I'm just glad I didn't live when this was in fashion. Wait, was it ever in fashion?!

The always gorgeous Missy tried out a Chinese pose. Oh wait, she's got fur in her hair.

Missy, Bev, & Ali   Seriously, the hair astounds me every time I look at it.

Jo & Ali, As Jo says, this picture is romantic. I think they kinda look like they're dancing.

Ali, looking super sweet with red flowers in her hair, shades her lovely fair skin with a perfect pink parasol.

Gorgeous Jo striking another Chinese pose, tugging a leaf from the tree.

All 5 of us in our finery.  All in all, it was totally fun and totally worth the 10 kuai we paid to do it.

Mckinzie Rayne

Ok, I realized how lame I was at taking pictures of the little darling while I was there. I fully intended to set up a photo shoot one day and take a bazillion pictures but somehow that never happened. So I just picked 3 pictures from her very first hours to share with you. The first one was moments after she was born. The original shows just how red and splotchy she was right after birth, but I changed it to black and white and now it's one of my favorite pictures of her.  It makes me want to tell her that really, the world's much nicer than her first impression of it, there are flowers and sunshine and mountains and oceans and so many totally amazing things for her to see. And once she gets used to it, she'll be just fine.  What do you think, do you like the black and white or the soft colored version best?

These were taken when she was a few hours old and looking a lot more peaceful. By this time she's had a million hugs and kisses and is on the brink of a nap. I think she's adorable!

 I miss her like crazy! By the time I see her again, she'll be around 4 months old!


Coming up next, pictures of our girls day out to Huanglongxi, where we dressed in ancient Chinese clothing.

VBS

I spent 3 lovely weeks at home in Virginia. The very first week, I spent every evening at VBS.  Can I just say how much I LOVE VBS?  I have missed the kids. I love their crazy energy, their lingo, their passion. So here are some snapshots of that week.

To start it all off, here's one of my gorgeous niece. I adore this face!

Monday night, some Karen kids from Thailand came while their parents went to English class. They made me feel right at home. I even got to practice my Chinese with one of the Karen guys. (And just to keep some of you from being too confused, No, they don't speak Chinese in Thailand, they speak Thai. But this guy knew a little Chinese. I think I knew more than he did. But it gave me a chance to remember what it feels like to have those tones rolling off my tongue.)

Why is it that the naughtiest kids are always the cutest? This is Henry. I took more pictures of him than any other kid, I think. He's so ornery. Why do I always like the bad kids most?! :-)

A few of my favorites of kids whose name I don't remember:

Every single picture I have of the kid with the hot dog is just like that. He's stuffing hot dogs or cupcakes or something in his mouth like he only gets one bite of whatever it is.

Chunky, yes that's what everyone calls him. He's still little enough not to care. Love him to death. And yes, the silly band phase is alive and well among these kids.

 The next 3 are brothers & sister. The two youngest are twins. They are from Iraq and are so amazingly gorgeous. I think people from the Middle East are seriously the best-looking people I've ever seen.  I mean seriously, black eyes, curly hair, and olive skin, what a combination! Is it weird that I consider Middle Eastern people the most beautiful people?

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more pics of my time at home, especially of my adorable nieces & nephews, including the brand-new-to-the-world Mckinzie Rayne.

By the way, you should now be able to post comments, if you so desire, even if you don't have an account. You can comment anonymously or you can post using the name/URL option, which allows you to give your name and/or website address. Or, if you wish, you can just check one of the reaction boxes at the end of the post to let me know what you thought without even having to write a single word. You have soooo many options! ;-)

Baby Anna Joy

Wow, I never thought taking pictures of a baby would be so difficult. I see such adorable pictures of babies, perched in such odd places, on trunks, in baskets, on the arms of couches, even wrapped in cloth and hanging from branches like the stork just delivered them. But this little girl did NOT like different postions. Whenever I laid her on her stomach, I got a face like this one.

After she threw up a few times(she had just eaten), I gave up on any super cute poses and just laid her on her back on the bed and opened the curtains wide for better light.

She really is a good baby. She barely cried at all. And when she did, I realized that she was still hungry. I had interrupted her meal and didn't realize it. I think her mom thought I had to take pictures NOW and couldn't wait. Anyway, we took a break and Amy fed her and then she was quite happy.

Isn't there something incredibly adorable about tiny feet? She had a black & blue mark from her shots and I just felt so sorry for her even though it didn't seem to bother her at all.

About halfway through our shoot a friend came who wanted to show Amy how to bathe a baby. I didn't shoot any pictures because they required my help to bathe Anna. It's hard for me to imagine having a baby when you've barely ever even held one.

I wanted a few pictures of the mom & baby. I don't think Amy was really prepared to have her picture taken. I really should not have assumed she would know. I thought it was a given. But she was more than willing to pose for a few pictures.

And I'll leave you with another feet picture. Baby feet just give me warm fuzzies.

Amy

Amy is a lovely Tibetan girl who works at Leanna's Bakery.  A few months ago, we found out she was pregnant. She's not married and has almost no family. Her boyfriend wanted her to have an abortion. We prayed like crazy and were so thankful when she decided to keep the baby.  These pictures were taken about a week before the baby was born.

I look at these pictures and realize how difficult it must be for her to be alone(Her boyfriend left her when she decided to keep the baby. He's back now that she's had it.) She looks so tired. And life isn't going to get easier for her. It takes a lot of courage to make the decision she made and I admire her for it.

Coming soon: Pictures of Amy's sweet baby girl, Anna Joy.