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Flawed logic behind images made to comfort the average woman

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David Libra

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Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:16 pm
Post subject: Flawed logic behind images made to comfort the average womanReply with quote

A friend pointed me in the direction of this excellent article this afternoon:

http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/flawed-logic-behind-images-made-to-comfort-the-average-woman-20100108-lyt3.html

Lisa Pryor wrote:
Getting your kit off has many merits. Nudity is cooling and thrifty, not to mention perfect for enlivening a party or a game of volleyball. But is one of those merits improving the problem of negative body image among women?

For some time now, women's mags and toiletries manufacturers have sought to boost self-esteem by convincing women of all sorts, ranging all the way from gorgeous to average, to shed their smalls, baste themselves with a thick marinade of fake tan and pose for the camera.

The photographs are then published, typically in a magazine, typically with the women lovingly pointing out their flaws in the accompanying text.

This pop culture remedy for negative body image reached its nadir this week with the publication of the latest edition of marie claire magazine, in which supermodel Jennifer Hawkins appears on the cover without benefit of clothing or airbrush, in a move that only coincidentally provides onanistic inspiration to men everywhere.

"Jennifer's like everyone else," marie claire's editor, Jackie Frank, told Ten News. "Jennifer's not flawless and I think it still took courage for her to get out there; there's, you know, a few lumps, a few bumps."

Julie Parker of the Butterfly Foundation, the eating-disorder organisation set to benefit from a planned auction of the image, weighed in after criticism of the magazine. She went on radio defending the cover, explaining why a cover with an ordinary woman on it would have missed the point.

This is all so screwed up I hardly know where to begin.

Women already invest physical appearance with too much meaning.

Anorexia, the most deadly psychiatric illness, which disproportionately affects women, exemplifies this in that it involves annexing the territory of physical appearance to fight all kinds of separate psychological battles over perfectionism, anxiety, control and family dynamics.

Encouraging the idea that bodily flaws are a universal female concern, uniting everyone from Hawkins down in the Holy Sisterhood of the Troublesome Saddlebags seems to be a misguided way to improve the way women feel about themselves. It's still all about self-worth achieved through how you feel about how you look. It misses the point when it comes to negative body image: the focus on image is as much the problem as the word negative.

The damage that initiatives such as the Hawkins cover could potentially do to young women is suggested by a study considering whether body image education can be harmful to teenage girls.

The study, conducted by the University of Sydney dietician Dr Jenny O'Dea and reported in The Journal of Treatment and Prevention in 2002, considered the effects of an educational poster designed to combat negative body image.

The poster, produced by the NSW Department of Heath in 1997, featured a line-up of five attractive and healthy teenage girls. Each one had a complaint about some aspect of her body. "She wants to be thinner" the poster says of one girl. "She wants bigger breasts" it says of another.

Despite the slogan "It isn't your body you need to change, it's your mind" not all the girls surveyed took away a positive message.

Comments from teenagers viewing the poster included "makes me feel fat and ugly", "gives me bad ideas about myself" and "there is nothing wrong with these girls, so I must be really bad".

If exposing women to flawed female body parts really was effective in combating self-esteem problems, the body confidence of the average woman would be sky-high, given the in-depth coverage of celebrity cellulite, celebrity weight blow-outs and celebrity plastic surgery disasters by the gossip mags.

Perhaps the better way to better mental health among young women is to shift the focus away from the image of the body, negative or otherwise, towards thinking more about the capacities and sensations of the body - achievements through sport; the pleasure of touch; the potential for reproduction; achievements of the mind.

The most important work on improving the self-esteem of young women will never happen inside magazines designed to make women feel insecure so they will buy stuff. Such compromised publications should not be mistaken for champions of the psychological health of young women.

Perhaps we should not expect more from a publication such as marie claire. But still, you have to wonder, what is the Butterfly Foundation doing, lending credibility to such a flawed and publicity-seeking initiative?


The second-last paragraph says it all, imho. The concessions these magazines make towards 'positive body image' are ultimately redundant -they're too rotten at the core to actually achieve anything worthwhile.

For me, the fact that airbrushing even exists in the first place is utterly revolting, and the fact that Marie Claire have deigned to spare Jennifer Hawkins (an unusually fit and 'attractive' woman as she is) from their standard airbrushing treatment is about as socially beneficial as, say, Al Queda offering panadols to their victims before removing their heads.

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Pied Piper Aries



Joined: 20 May 2003
Location: Pig City

PostPosted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:24 pm
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That's a slightly strained metaphor, David, but I agree it's an excellent article Smile
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David Libra

I dare you to try


Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:40 am
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I know, but it's all I could think of. Razz
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BlackAndWhiteSince87 Aries



Joined: 26 Nov 2008


PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:04 am
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Problem is,it's true Sad
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jack_spain Aries



Joined: 03 May 2008


PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:32 pm
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Love your new avatar David. Laughing

Can we get the photo in 3D?
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David Libra

I dare you to try


Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:39 pm
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Ask James Cameron, I'm sure he has another $237 million to waste. Evil or Very Mad
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JacJacJacqui Scorpio



Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Location: B-town represent

PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:08 pm
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The thing that annoys me is that the public just eats up everything the media says. If that picture is "untouched" then I'm the queen of England. Jackie Frank is after boosted sales and Jennifer Hawkins is after publicity (again). And don't even get me started on the Butterfly Foundation! That would be the same foundation that accepts donations from Dove (who promotes a healthy body image) which is owned by Unilever which also owns Lynx (which uses thin and sexualised images to sell its product). Bunch of hypocrits. Must say though, I wasn't at all offended by the pictures (in fact, I accidentally flipped past them because they were so uninteresting - must have had my "just another naked blond" blinkers on). Personally, I would keep my body over hers any day of the week.

I'm sick of all this "natural" talk. She's not natural! If you want to see what she really looks like do a google image search for "Jennifer Hawkins Secretary" or "Jennifer Hawkins Cheerleader" and you'll feel heaps better about yourself. All it takes to be "perfect" these days is peroxide, cosmetic surgery, makeup and an unhealthy sprayed-on Oompa Loompa glow. Eeeeww..

Oh and Lisa Pryor - Jennifer Hawkins is not a 'supermodel', she's a former Miss Universe - BIG DIFFERENCE.

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BlackAndWhiteSince87 Aries



Joined: 26 Nov 2008


PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:21 pm
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I just Googled photos of her as a cheerleader...OMFG...she is nearly unrecogniseable!!!

I feel ALOT better about myself,you're right JJJ!
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JacJacJacqui Scorpio



Joined: 13 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:23 pm
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Just doin what I can! Smile

She's was unbelievably average. She still is to me. I'm won't be fooled my her fake tan and tattood eyebrows..

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stui magpie Gemini

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Joined: 03 May 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:38 pm
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Took me a while to sort through David's ream of contributions to find this thread, which I think is the most appropriate place to put this article,



Quote:
JOURNALIST Tracey Spicer has taken a stand for women the world over at this week's TEDx conference in Brisbane.
In a talk entitled "The lady stripped bare", Spicer, 46, urges women to reassess the amount of time they spend on their appearance, instead going au naturale and using their time for better things.


http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/tedx-my-name-is-tracey-spicer-and-i-am-a-vain-fool/story-fnjcnzwg-1226809158515

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think positive Libra

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Joined: 30 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:28 pm
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hmm I googled it too, and I reckon she was alright then and has just improved WITH AGE

that happens to everyone.

she actually comes across as a nice down to earth Aussie, (as down to earth as anyone with that much cash and profile can be) sheesh, the land of tall poppies lives on. that's about the worse aussie trait IMO, live and let live, I reckon.

how about googling Jennifer Hawkins charity instead? how about appreciating she is using her good looks and profile to help those less fortunate?

but then why look for the good in people, when its more fun to look for the bad?

oh my what a sin, fake tan!! that will only cover so much.

Jen, you rock!

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David Libra

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Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:45 pm
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stui magpie wrote:
Took me a while to sort through David's ream of contributions to find this thread, which I think is the most appropriate place to put this article,



Quote:
JOURNALIST Tracey Spicer has taken a stand for women the world over at this week's TEDx conference in Brisbane.
In a talk entitled "The lady stripped bare", Spicer, 46, urges women to reassess the amount of time they spend on their appearance, instead going au naturale and using their time for better things.


http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/tedx-my-name-is-tracey-spicer-and-i-am-a-vain-fool/story-fnjcnzwg-1226809158515


I hope most women don't spend nearly that long on appearance, but if the average is even in the ballpark then that's pretty appalling. I don't get how some people—even some feminists—don't see the social expectations faced by women as a significant form of inequality. If you can't be comfortable leaving your house, meeting friends or going to work without spending $x on 'beauty' products and spending x amount of hours a week applying them, then something's going wrong.

I'm glad to see that more people are exposing the 'beauty' industry for the con it is.

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think positive Libra

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:01 pm
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I notice she keeps her heels on, elongates the leg, shows off those beautiful (yes they are) hard earned muscles.

She's right of course, but still is that natural blonde hair? Who fricken cares?

Me I'm too lazy for makeup, but I often look at woman and think , shit she does her makeup well, wish I could do that but I done begrudge her the time.

Guys woman don't Preen for you. It's for themselves and other women.

All that bath prep, it's fun! That's why health spas make a mint. We like to have time to spoil ourselves. Shit I wish I could do the whole slough of the deadskin thing everyday, it makes me feel alive, and, dare I say it, sexy!

Sure some do it because they feel they have too, but plenty because they choose to.

Now excuse me while I go rinse the colour out my hair! Yes really! I just spent 2 episodes of the walking dead in the gym, and later, I hope to hit the spa, complete with face mask etc etc. because I want to. Because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to hit someone, or even my own expectation of what a woman is.

Cheers

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partypie 



Joined: 01 Oct 2010


PostPosted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:15 pm
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There are probably lots of people who would like to have a bit of spare time to spend on their appearance
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think positive Libra

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:30 pm
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I'd like spare time to wrap up warm, sit on the couch, and do nothing, oh wait, I know what's missing whinnnnne
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