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While I think that the campaign against certain types of images in advertising and entertainment is well intended and well placed, I find the bottom line message to be a bit skewed. This, like so many campaigns of its type, rails against skinny girls, mentioning several times that "women come in all shapes and sizes." Well, yes, that's true, and it isn't well represented in advertising outside of a few campaigns like Dove. But why does "Love Your Body" always come down to "Hate Skinny Chicks"?

I think if we really want to move away from this culture were 80% of women are unhappy with their physical appearance, we need to focus on loving ourselves for ourselves, *without* comparing ourselves to other women. I'm 5'2". I've worked with women who are 5'11". Neither is better or worse, it's just different (though I wouldn't mind being able to reach the top of the fridge ;) ). If we can accept that height is just a natural difference, why can't we accept all our other natural differences?

What is the basis of comparing ourselves to other women? If another woman looks "better" than I do, what's the basis for that judgement? We're judging on what we think men want. "She has better legs than I do, she has better lips" -- I'm extrapolating from what society tells us men want, and judging my *self worth* on that standard. Changing what society finds "beautiful" is not going to solve this problem. Having young girls binging on Twinkies so that they can get the large hips and round stomach that society finds beautiful isn't a solution.

The solution, IMO, is to teach girls to: 1. Stop caring about what guys think of them. Their worth is NOT defined by what kind of boyfriend/husband/sugardaddy they can land. And 2. Stop comparing themselves with other people at all. There will always be people better and worse at whatever than you, whether we're talking about waist size or math scores. Comparing yourself to *anyone* will put your on a roller coaster of "that means I'm great!" and "that means I'm horrible!", leading to poor self-esteem, or at best, volatile self-esteem. And of course, these things apply just as much to grown women as they do to young girls.

The other major issue that jumped out at me while reading through the NOW coverage is that "love yourself" seems to be a euphemism for "accept that you're fat and don't do anything to change that." I STRONGLY reject that statement. Loving your body should mean treating it as you would treat someone that you love -- with respect, honor, dignity, gentleness, care, and concern. How is being overweight loving your body? I'm not talking about supermodel standards here, I'm talking about being healthy, about not letting your muscles atrophy, and about loving yourself as a person enough to put some effort into feeling good beyond the next bite of cake.

It isn't about crash diets or long gym workouts or having a flat stomach. Those things are nearly always driven by our perception of what society says we have to look like to be worthwhile. It's about discovering all the amazing things your body can do. It's about pushing your limits and learning something new, not about punishing yourself. Be gentle with yourself, but also care enough about yourself to strive for life-long health.

I'm glad this topic is being talked about at all, but I feel that far too often the bottom line is "society shouldn't think that that girl is pretty, they should think that I'm pretty!" What the standard is doesn't matter, and will change over time. What matters is how we react to it, and how we teach the next generation to react to it. Advertising isn't going away anytime soon, and "sex sells" isn't going to change. We can change our attitudes, how we react to glamorized images. And we can learn to truly love ourselves, to care for and nurture these amazing bodies we have, rather than constantly wondering if we measure up.

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Originally posted by NVGhostRider: I suck at social situations.

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Originally posted by freelancertex:
we try ^_^

here's a ponder: what's a good way to get back at a boss who did something *very* annoying? XD something that won't end in like a letter of reprimand or something

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Originally posted by LeopardFlan:
No me gusta nada tiempo libre!

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Originally posted by LeopardFlan: use double negatives en espanol simply because "that's what makes it mexican".

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Originally posted by MSB:
.. people will learn to tread carefully now:)

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Originally posted by Hell's Kitten:

-HCK (Hell's California Kitten) XD

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Originally posted by Kelkhil:
OMG Proof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have proof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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