From the day we are born, girls are put into 2 categories, skinny or fat. At age 1 and 2 the dolls look like babies and girls are shown an image of what a normal baby girl should look like, very soft and cuddly. But all too soon the next upgrade at age 3 is a Barbie doll. This tall, tiny wasted, big boobed plastic “doll” is the image being internalized by our pre-school and grade-schooler girls. Why not provide real life dolls that real life girls can relate to. An Emme doll was launched by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) as an average size 16* to promote a more positive body image for girls. Unfortunately, it is a collector’s item now. Mattel manages to sell a Barbie doll every ½ second of the day throughout the world1. A study done in the United States showed that 99% of all girls aged 3-10 own a Barbie doll, with an average of 8 dolls per child. If only these were replaced with the size 16 Emme doll, I wonder how many fewer cases of eating disorders would show up in teenage girls. If Barbie was real, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of an anorexic patient. Her body weight is so low that she would not be able to menstruate.
Unfortunately as age progresses we move into Bratz dolls and then onto teen TV shows. Coupling this with the fashion magazines that 83% of adolescent girls read on average of 4 hours per week only helps to ingrain in a girl’s mind of what their “ideal” body image should look like to be deemed beautiful. It is not a surprise that the number one wish in a survey done of 11-17-year-olds was to lose weight and keep it off. Add to this the peer factor that has a huge impact on what girls choose to do or eat. Teenage girls have one of the biggest dropout rates in sport. With a lack of physical activity, an issue of weight gain can arise, which in turn leads to a loss of confidence and self-esteem which signals that inner voice we all have to tell us how ‘fat’ we are becoming. By the time, girls reach age 20 they have a firm idea of what the ideal body image is fixed in their head, at least ‘according to society’.
One thing that women do unbelievably well is put themselves down. If someone spoke to a friend in the way we let that ‘inner’ voice speak to ourselves, we would be appalled and putting them in their place. How many of us are guilty of looking in the mirror and saying ‘Wow, I have a serious pair of thunder thighs in these pants, time to change the diet’. Another favourite of mine is ‘Whew these jeans make my butt look big; I need to run my fat ass around the block’. Can you image standing and listening to a friend be spoken to like that? Most friends would be telling them politely where they could stick it. However, time and time again we allow that voice to dictate to ourselves how we look and feel about our bodies. Feeding the guilt and indulging that voice only leads to more negative feelings. So what if you went out on Saturday night and had a big meal and few glasses of wine with friends or in some cases, sitting down with your kids and knocking out a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. Draw a line under it and move forward. Don’t continually berate yourself for the past. A great philosophy to have is,
"Everything in moderation, including moderation".
Speaking from a women’s perspective, I am a married, 39-year-old mother of 2 boisterous boys (3 counting my husband), who only started to get into shape post babies at age 33. After 6 years of training, I can still walk daily by a mirror and point out my flaws. In fact more often than not, I am focusing on imperfections versus attainments. If only my legs were slimmer or more muscular. If my tummy was more toned I could start wearing my old tops. Why have I kept clothes that don’t fit? In hopes of one day fitting into something I wore ten years ago. By the time that happens, they will be hopelessly outdated. So instead of motivation, we look in our closets and focus on the items we still can’t fit into. Which in turn is a constant reminder of the negative things about ourselves that we have yet to fix, making us focus on what we ate that day or shouldn’t have eaten as the case may be and giving ourselves a guilt trip in the process. Thus, once again reinforcing the image that has been driven into our minds from day one of what our ideal body image should be. Why can’t we women accept our bodies for what they are? By no means am I advocating an unhealthy lifestyle, far from it. I believe in healthy eating, exercise and meditation of the mind. However, just because I do those things, does not mean I can physically change my body type. So I am pear shaped. That will always be true and cannot be altered no matter how much exercise I do. So why not chuck the ideal body image we’ve had since age 3, concentrate on being healthy and embrace ourselves for the beauties we already are. I will never be a long legged Barbie, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a beautiful and sexy pear. |