The Now Foundation and their Women's Health Project have declared today " Love Your Body Day".This is the thirteenth year that this event has occurred. In 1998, then NOW Foundation President Patricia Ireland declared, "We are sounding the alarm that advertising can be hazardous to women's health." "On Love Your Body Day, women across the country will celebrate our bodies and reject unhealthy stereotypes. We will also put advertisers on notice: Stop profiting from campaigns and products that are bad for women," Ireland said.
As with women's poverty issues, a subject I wrote about recently, I see very little change. In fact, it appears the situation is getting worse.
According to Elizabeth McGee, NOW Foundation Special Projects Director, fashion models also send a dangerous message to young people. According to the California Department of Health Services, the average weight of a model is 23 percent lower than that of an average woman; 20 years ago the differential was only 8 percent. The constant bombardment of images of emaciated women on billboards and television and in magazines sells products at a terrible price to our communities. Findings show the diet industry is booming and thousands of young women suffer from eating disorders; it is estimated that 20 percent of college women battle bulimia.
Please take time today to think about your own image. Love your body, and your mind. Treat them both with respect, and have the courage to resist the temptation to do things that are not positive to your self-esteem.
But most importantly, be a role model for younger females who have never had a more opportune time to make a difference in the world.
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