IMAGE-IMAGE-IMAGE

PART ONE:

Weight + Image:

America’s fall into the world of all this

Superficial + Unhealthy

America, home of the thin and superficial

America, home of the super-thin and materialistic

Amerca, home of the obese and extremely self-conscious

Sooo, whats up with American women feeling like they don’t measure up when it comes to weight and image? Could it be because the average American woman is 5’4’’ and weighs 140 pounds? It could be. It could also be because plastered on billboards, in magazines, and on TV are super-thin and mostly Caucasian women who look nothing like the everyday woman. Could it be because the average American model is 5’11’’ and weighs 117 pounds? Could be.

In the movie Shallow Hal, the main character, Jack Black, views overweight women as beautiful and thin. He views their “inner beauty”. He is deemed an outcast by his friends and thought to be crazy to be attracted to a woman who wasn’t 110lbs.

Society urges women to try this diet pill and try that. From hip-hop abs to nutrisystem, it seems like society cannot get away from the thin-craze. In one magazine I was reading I found 6 ads for ‘magic’ diet pills. And even saw an ad for plastic surgery. Clearly these ads wouldn’t have been created if there weren’t overweight people. Knowing that is that case, why feature stick then makeup packed women who look nothing like the everyday women?

 The Dove Campaign for real beauty caused a lot of outrage worldwide. Why are those kind of women now on billboards? They’re not attractive, they’re not pretty! News flash: those women dressed in white bras and panties, well they’re you’re wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters.

Dove began the campaign because they like many women in society felt that beauty had a narrow and unchanged view. Their goal was to redefine what beauty is so it accepts all women and challenges them to accept and love every inch, roll, and curve.

Another organization encouraging women to accept who they are is the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). Started in 1969 the NAAFA strives to banish discrimination based solely on body size. The NAAFA seeks to empower women through membership, education, and advocacy. It’s important to state that their goal isn’t to necessarily lose weight, but to get to a point where you are healthy and feel good about yourself.

When did image start becoming survival of the thinnest?

In a culture built on fast cars and sex appeal where does the average women fit in?