Why do they go to such lengths to make us feel “less than?” The answer is quite simple - pure economics. The media machine is economically driven as billions are spent on items such as cosmetics, new diets and clothes. This “beautifying” empire is dependent on our disempowerment. They count on us buying into their myths and misrepresentations: “we will never fit it, we can never be happy, thus we can never end the pursuit.” Alas, the pursuit is endless, the products are endless, the damage to our self-esteem is endless, and the body hatred created is devastating. The assault is unrelenting! The images everywhere. How could it all happen, right under our noses? It is a subtle, continuous bombardment of images of beauty, images defined by profiteers, images that are not real, not authentic, and not attainable.
The impact that these images have on women is profound. The financial, social and psychological and physical damages of a woman's lifetime pursuit of thinness are impossible to measure. Depression, despair, depletion of self-esteem, the withering and wasting away of physical, psychological and financial resources are unbelievable. How can we begin to make changes? How can we assess our damage report? We must all take a personal inventory of how our lives have been impacted by these images and how we have fallen victim to these lies and misrepresentations of beauty. By examining how these images have impacted your life you are better equip to avoid falling victim to these myths. You will learn to measure yourself by intrinsic qualities that are of far greater value and are far more beautiful than any image manufactured on a movie screen.
I was a victim of these attacks on esteem, on women's power, on our self-worth. I was a prisoner and almost a casualty of this war. If I did not wake-up and take a personal inventory and examine my value system I could have easily sunken into the prison of repeat diets, repeat failure and lifelong contempt for my body. As a prisoner I had to ask myself some tough questions: when did I start to hate my body so much? When did I begin to measure my self-worth by numbers on a scale? When did I fall prey to the idea that beauty is external and success is measured by factors that have little to do with personal strength and spirit? We must be aware of the images presented to us and unmask these images for what they truly are – destructive, superficial and unattainable images. These images do not value our uniqueness, they do not honor our wisdom and our spirit, and they do not measure us.
We must reclaim and redefine our bodies as ours.
Dying to Fit In -- Eating Disorders
By: EDReferral (View Profile)
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Comments
I think people look at ana's and bul's like monsters. you people talk about them like what they are doing is somehow their fault, or blame it on media. can people be how they want to or look how they want to without judgement? I can remember getting looked at like some freak, and the naturally skinny kids would ask me if i was sick or had a disease. really ups your esteem more, huh? sorry if im coming across as rude, but know what the people are going though before you go and type about it. i used to go read about it at sites that would give me tips on how to hide stuff, and there was an article that was describing what "normal" people thought about people like how i used to be. i almost cried. instead i tried harder. and im only 14 1/2 :] just try not to talk about people when they can hear you. they are skinny, not deaf, blind, and feelingless.
I agree with the fact that though media obviously plays a huge role in the lowering of many people's self esteem, we have to begin building the self esteem at an earlier age so it will be less susceptible to disintegration later. Make sure your children know how beautiful, intelligent, worthwhile and amazing they are. If they will listen to the words on a billboard before the words coming out of their family's mouths then there's something wrong!
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