So, 2 weeks from Monday I'll officially be a Londoner....well, sort of. Well actually not really at all but I like to think of myself that way b/c it's slightly more exotic than my current status of Dartmouthian. It's going to be fun, stressful I'm sure with lots of work and I can't wait! It will not only be fulfilling a long held dream of mine but it will also be the first time living on my own. I mean it's only for a month and it's in a dorm but still!
That should be interesting and a good crash course for (hopefully!) this time next year...It's gotten me thinking though about this year and all the changes involved...I feel like life is really coming into another chapter...that I've really matured and will continue to a lot over the next year or so. First of all, two of my close friends will be moving to Europe themselves, effectively breaking up our little group a little bit...I'll be finishing my PR degree before Christmas (if all goes as planned) and consequently looking for a "real" job and (again, hopefully) moving out! Of course you never know what can happen but that's a lot of changes in a short period of time. I feel like the next year will be a defining time in my life.
I will finally feel like a grownup - living on my own and working, hopefully finding someone to share that with. I feel like this is the start of the rest of my life to use a horrible cliche (hey, it suits the situation).It's scary but also exciting and liberating. It will remain to be seen if things turn out at least close to my expectations (and it's been my experience that life never usually does) but I'm confident that I'll be carving out a great spot for myself in life and society - finding my niche.
FYI you can follow this carving process (or at least the start of it...the chipping if you will) on this blog as I'll be posting my daily (or at least every few daysy) experiences along with photos (if I can figure out the technicalities of posting them by then...haven't had good experience there so far). I won't be taking my cherished laptop so we'll see how well these updates actually go but feel free to write your comments and read to your heart's content - or don't. May 14th to June 16th will be the time to tune in and who knows maybe you'll witness some stunning revelations. Though more than likely there will be nothing more than drunken stories and funny tourist mishaps...but hey, those are the important things in life anyway....the adventures ;)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Collaborative Communication in Contemporary Organizations: "To Blog or Not to Blog?" The pros and cons of using a company blog
Everyone who’s anyone is blogging. Authors, executives, politicians, computer geeks in their mothers’ basements, the list goes on. They have spawned an entire industry; hundreds of books, conferences, companies, and groups discuss, monitor, host, and develop blogs. People all over the world get paid to follow and write for them. Blogs are devoted to everything from Dilbert and the Dallas Mavericks to grammar and Rosie O’Donnell. A google search of the word “blog” yields over 1 billion hits. Canadian Idol even provides blogs to all potential contestants.
This new verb (blogging) is not just being put into action by individuals, but also companies. In fact, some of the largest companies in North America are jumping on the “blog-wagon”, including McDonalds, GM, Sun Microsystems, Hill & Knowlton, not to mention Canadian institutions such as Roots and the CBC. It’s catching on in Atlantic Canada as well; Sobeys has incorporated a blog into its intranet, and Tradewinds Realty, based on the south shore of Nova Scotia, has a blog discussing Nova Scotia real estate. Organizations of many sizes and scopes all over the country are getting involved in this new media trend.
Blogs, wikis and other similar Web 2.0 technologies are becoming a regular part of the business communications mix.Why are so many companies joining the “blog universe”? The fact is we live in a world driven more and more by technology and companies need to come up with new ways to communicate messages and meet their goals. According to Stephen Baker in Business Week, there are some 40,000 new blogs showing up every day. Companies cannot afford to ignore the fact that more and more of their employees and customers are online sharing their opinions, positively negative, about business practices and their corporate environment.
Technorati, the leading blog search engine, states that the number of active blogs has tripled in the last year alone to over 27 million.In today’s competitive market, companies have to constantly keep up to date on the latest trends and technologies, not to mention stay in touch with what their customers and employees are saying. No one can deny the influence of blogs on collaborative communication in contemporary organizations. Blogs are slowly are “democratizing” the workplace and replacing static and complicated intranet systems and other internal communication tools.
In this technologically driven society, the older print and face to face communication tools are simply losing popularity.As Dan James from the PEI web-based company, SilverOrange, says, “Companies don’t blog, people do”. There is a difference between having a blog within your company acting as a communication vehicle for employees and a company employee taking it upon themselves to blog privately on their own time. However, there are pros and cons to associating a blog with your company, whether it’s used as a regulated employee communication tool or not.
On the pro side, blogs are extremely cheap and simple to set up. They only take a few minutes to set up and there are hundreds of hosts online to take advantage of. They’re ready to use almost instantly. Blogs are very easy to update and provide tremendous freedom. In most cases, there are no tight restrictions controlling the content, length or subject of entries and many people can contribute to discussions. Communicating this way is very easy and desirable to many modern employees. The content is raw and real, qualities which are often more encouraged online than in face to face interaction. As Frank Gilbane states in InfoWorld, blogs provide “direct interaction with readers…people don’t want to interact with press releases, and if they don’t feel the content is real, they’ll simply stop reading”.
In his book, “Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers”, Robert Scoble says that the general public, “don’t trust big companies… there’s a general perception that large companies are run by slick lawyers and book-fixing accountants who oversee armies of obedient, drone-like employees. Companies are perceived as monoliths without souls. In short, we see no humanity”. By posting company information and internal goings-on in a blog, a company could be seen as having more of this “humanity” and “soul”. This could possibly improve the company’s position in the minds of their publics. Transparency, or at least the appearance of it, is the key for today’s corporations. Microsoft has greatly improved its image over the last few years, and according to Scoble, this is partly because of their decision to allow their employees to “show a human face by blogging”. Rich Marcello, senior VP at Hewlett-Packard, says that his blog is a way to promote a new style of management, one that ultimately creates better relationships between employees and senior management.
Creating a sense of openness is one of the most important things a company blog can do, because “people don’t want (senior executives) sitting in an ivory tower”.As with any type of technological communication, messages posted on blogs can be sent and received much faster by much larger groups of people. The format of most blogs allows for quick updates and easy access to information and this is beneficial for both the audience and the company. A company can avoid a lot of criticism from the media and publics by getting its messages out quickly. Employees, customers, and investors can learn about organizational changes almost instantly. Not only that, but blogs can provide the opportunity for these groups to give feedback and commentary on these changes, feedback which often goes to senior executives via a much more direct channel. Employees gain a greater sense of trust for company executives, and a more positive affiliation with the company knowing that their opinions are valued and that they can have an influence on organizational decision-making.
With all the advantages of using a company blog as part of internal communications, there are many disadvantages and ethical concerns associated with this still fairly new technology. Probably one of the biggest problems is that once a company opens itself up to the honest opinions and comments of its employees and customers, these sometimes negative musings are difficult to ignore. A company must be willing to change according to suggestions from these groups, and they may not like what they hear. Eli Singer, of Cundari SFP Social Media in Toronto, says that starting a business blog “can be compared to opening Pandora’s Box…the truths learned may uncomfortably challenge operating assumptions and practices. A company may learn how out of sync it is…and may have to make some painful changes”.
Another very serious problem that companies should consider is the regulation and editing of content, or lack thereof. Many companies struggle to balance giving employees creative freedom with postings to encourage the most open communication possible, with controlling what information is being put out there about their business. It is extremely hard to strike this balance, and sometimes to regulate what is written on any given blog. Employees are people, and sometimes people do irresponsible things without thinking. There is always a possibility that a disgruntled employee will blog about the inadequacies of management or even spill internal secrets or financial information that could ruin a company if released publicly. There isn’t much that can be done to stop them, and your company may not be able to recover in the aftermath of a negative information leak.
David Meerman Scott, an American content marketing consultant, uses this metaphor to describe the issue: “Blogs….are like chewing gum in your hair – they’re easy to get into an enterprise, but impossible to remove without some ill-fated hair pulling”. According to Scott, information posted on blogs could lead to lawsuits against companies charging libel, copyright infringement or trademark violations. Dennis Kennedy, a St. Louis lawyer specializing in technology points out that, “companies often…treat emerging Web 2.0 technologies like ‘isolated new phenomena’ that aren't directly tied to corporate operations” and that these companies “need to look at what employees are doing ... in the context of (their) communications policy”.
Even though blogs are easy and cheap to set up, they can take a lot of time and effort to maintain and require the support of all employees. Singer says that company blogs require “strategic thinking about how your brand lives and communicates your value in the blogosphere…the quality of the voice (is important)…this demands both skill and elbow grease”. Tim Bray of Sun Microsystems has laid out a corporate blogging policy for all employees that could be useful for other executives to follow when setting up employee blogs. He suggests, “"It's perfectly OK to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it's not OK to publish the recipe for one of our secret sauces....talking about revenue, future product ship dates, road maps, or our share price is apt to get you, or the company, or both, into legal trouble.... using your Weblog to trash or embarrass the company, our customers, or your co-workers is not only dangerous but stupid.”Blogs can be a very useful tool if they are implemented correctly and not abused by members of your company.
Suggestions come from every corner of the industry about how to implement a successful business blog. In “The Enterprise Blogosphere”, Michelle Delio offers hints such as encouraging honest and open voices, outlining what information employees can and can’t post (similar to Tim Bray’s guidelines just mentioned) and supporting successful blogs. Many industry insiders emphasize the importance of senior executives getting involved in the blog movement. Some of the largest company blogs are headed up by senior executives, such as GM and McDonalds. If there is opportunity for employees and customers to provide feedback on an executive blog, it is important that employee’s feel reassured their postings are going to be read and addressed. This is also important for employees doing the blogging about the company themselves; otherwise the whole idea behind the blog page could be lost. It could be useful for company executives to hire or delegate blog updating to one employee, or group of employees, to ensure organization and consistency.
Unfortunately, much of the business world in Atlantic Canada is lagging behind other areas of the country in the race to join the blogosphere. However, more and more large companies are realizing the usefulness of this tool in their internal communication strategies. As the business world in this region expands and continues to attract innovative minds, I think we will only see this tool grow more popular with Atlantic Canadian executives in the future.There are pros and cons to having an employee blog, but the fact is that information is power. Companies everywhere today cannot afford to ignore the blog phenomenon, or others like it, if they wish to expand, keep up with competitors, and maintain positive relationships with their customers and investors. Good or bad, blogs aren’t going anywhere.
Stephen Baker and Heather Green explain it best in “Blogs will change your business” with the following description: “Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them; because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself…they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite.”
This new verb (blogging) is not just being put into action by individuals, but also companies. In fact, some of the largest companies in North America are jumping on the “blog-wagon”, including McDonalds, GM, Sun Microsystems, Hill & Knowlton, not to mention Canadian institutions such as Roots and the CBC. It’s catching on in Atlantic Canada as well; Sobeys has incorporated a blog into its intranet, and Tradewinds Realty, based on the south shore of Nova Scotia, has a blog discussing Nova Scotia real estate. Organizations of many sizes and scopes all over the country are getting involved in this new media trend.
Blogs, wikis and other similar Web 2.0 technologies are becoming a regular part of the business communications mix.Why are so many companies joining the “blog universe”? The fact is we live in a world driven more and more by technology and companies need to come up with new ways to communicate messages and meet their goals. According to Stephen Baker in Business Week, there are some 40,000 new blogs showing up every day. Companies cannot afford to ignore the fact that more and more of their employees and customers are online sharing their opinions, positively negative, about business practices and their corporate environment.
Technorati, the leading blog search engine, states that the number of active blogs has tripled in the last year alone to over 27 million.In today’s competitive market, companies have to constantly keep up to date on the latest trends and technologies, not to mention stay in touch with what their customers and employees are saying. No one can deny the influence of blogs on collaborative communication in contemporary organizations. Blogs are slowly are “democratizing” the workplace and replacing static and complicated intranet systems and other internal communication tools.
In this technologically driven society, the older print and face to face communication tools are simply losing popularity.As Dan James from the PEI web-based company, SilverOrange, says, “Companies don’t blog, people do”. There is a difference between having a blog within your company acting as a communication vehicle for employees and a company employee taking it upon themselves to blog privately on their own time. However, there are pros and cons to associating a blog with your company, whether it’s used as a regulated employee communication tool or not.
On the pro side, blogs are extremely cheap and simple to set up. They only take a few minutes to set up and there are hundreds of hosts online to take advantage of. They’re ready to use almost instantly. Blogs are very easy to update and provide tremendous freedom. In most cases, there are no tight restrictions controlling the content, length or subject of entries and many people can contribute to discussions. Communicating this way is very easy and desirable to many modern employees. The content is raw and real, qualities which are often more encouraged online than in face to face interaction. As Frank Gilbane states in InfoWorld, blogs provide “direct interaction with readers…people don’t want to interact with press releases, and if they don’t feel the content is real, they’ll simply stop reading”.
In his book, “Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers”, Robert Scoble says that the general public, “don’t trust big companies… there’s a general perception that large companies are run by slick lawyers and book-fixing accountants who oversee armies of obedient, drone-like employees. Companies are perceived as monoliths without souls. In short, we see no humanity”. By posting company information and internal goings-on in a blog, a company could be seen as having more of this “humanity” and “soul”. This could possibly improve the company’s position in the minds of their publics. Transparency, or at least the appearance of it, is the key for today’s corporations. Microsoft has greatly improved its image over the last few years, and according to Scoble, this is partly because of their decision to allow their employees to “show a human face by blogging”. Rich Marcello, senior VP at Hewlett-Packard, says that his blog is a way to promote a new style of management, one that ultimately creates better relationships between employees and senior management.
Creating a sense of openness is one of the most important things a company blog can do, because “people don’t want (senior executives) sitting in an ivory tower”.As with any type of technological communication, messages posted on blogs can be sent and received much faster by much larger groups of people. The format of most blogs allows for quick updates and easy access to information and this is beneficial for both the audience and the company. A company can avoid a lot of criticism from the media and publics by getting its messages out quickly. Employees, customers, and investors can learn about organizational changes almost instantly. Not only that, but blogs can provide the opportunity for these groups to give feedback and commentary on these changes, feedback which often goes to senior executives via a much more direct channel. Employees gain a greater sense of trust for company executives, and a more positive affiliation with the company knowing that their opinions are valued and that they can have an influence on organizational decision-making.
With all the advantages of using a company blog as part of internal communications, there are many disadvantages and ethical concerns associated with this still fairly new technology. Probably one of the biggest problems is that once a company opens itself up to the honest opinions and comments of its employees and customers, these sometimes negative musings are difficult to ignore. A company must be willing to change according to suggestions from these groups, and they may not like what they hear. Eli Singer, of Cundari SFP Social Media in Toronto, says that starting a business blog “can be compared to opening Pandora’s Box…the truths learned may uncomfortably challenge operating assumptions and practices. A company may learn how out of sync it is…and may have to make some painful changes”.
Another very serious problem that companies should consider is the regulation and editing of content, or lack thereof. Many companies struggle to balance giving employees creative freedom with postings to encourage the most open communication possible, with controlling what information is being put out there about their business. It is extremely hard to strike this balance, and sometimes to regulate what is written on any given blog. Employees are people, and sometimes people do irresponsible things without thinking. There is always a possibility that a disgruntled employee will blog about the inadequacies of management or even spill internal secrets or financial information that could ruin a company if released publicly. There isn’t much that can be done to stop them, and your company may not be able to recover in the aftermath of a negative information leak.
David Meerman Scott, an American content marketing consultant, uses this metaphor to describe the issue: “Blogs….are like chewing gum in your hair – they’re easy to get into an enterprise, but impossible to remove without some ill-fated hair pulling”. According to Scott, information posted on blogs could lead to lawsuits against companies charging libel, copyright infringement or trademark violations. Dennis Kennedy, a St. Louis lawyer specializing in technology points out that, “companies often…treat emerging Web 2.0 technologies like ‘isolated new phenomena’ that aren't directly tied to corporate operations” and that these companies “need to look at what employees are doing ... in the context of (their) communications policy”.
Even though blogs are easy and cheap to set up, they can take a lot of time and effort to maintain and require the support of all employees. Singer says that company blogs require “strategic thinking about how your brand lives and communicates your value in the blogosphere…the quality of the voice (is important)…this demands both skill and elbow grease”. Tim Bray of Sun Microsystems has laid out a corporate blogging policy for all employees that could be useful for other executives to follow when setting up employee blogs. He suggests, “"It's perfectly OK to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it's not OK to publish the recipe for one of our secret sauces....talking about revenue, future product ship dates, road maps, or our share price is apt to get you, or the company, or both, into legal trouble.... using your Weblog to trash or embarrass the company, our customers, or your co-workers is not only dangerous but stupid.”Blogs can be a very useful tool if they are implemented correctly and not abused by members of your company.
Suggestions come from every corner of the industry about how to implement a successful business blog. In “The Enterprise Blogosphere”, Michelle Delio offers hints such as encouraging honest and open voices, outlining what information employees can and can’t post (similar to Tim Bray’s guidelines just mentioned) and supporting successful blogs. Many industry insiders emphasize the importance of senior executives getting involved in the blog movement. Some of the largest company blogs are headed up by senior executives, such as GM and McDonalds. If there is opportunity for employees and customers to provide feedback on an executive blog, it is important that employee’s feel reassured their postings are going to be read and addressed. This is also important for employees doing the blogging about the company themselves; otherwise the whole idea behind the blog page could be lost. It could be useful for company executives to hire or delegate blog updating to one employee, or group of employees, to ensure organization and consistency.
Unfortunately, much of the business world in Atlantic Canada is lagging behind other areas of the country in the race to join the blogosphere. However, more and more large companies are realizing the usefulness of this tool in their internal communication strategies. As the business world in this region expands and continues to attract innovative minds, I think we will only see this tool grow more popular with Atlantic Canadian executives in the future.There are pros and cons to having an employee blog, but the fact is that information is power. Companies everywhere today cannot afford to ignore the blog phenomenon, or others like it, if they wish to expand, keep up with competitors, and maintain positive relationships with their customers and investors. Good or bad, blogs aren’t going anywhere.
Stephen Baker and Heather Green explain it best in “Blogs will change your business” with the following description: “Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them; because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself…they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite.”
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Image Epidemic: The problem of poor body image and self-esteem among young women
(Feature) On January 12, 2007, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced strict new requirements for models, which included requiring professional help for models with eating disorders. Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association applauded these efforts but also pointed out that more needed to be done. “Simply making a suggestion is a band-aid on a much larger wound. Our concern is who is going to monitor this program? What are the next steps? Eating disorders kill.”
Eating disorders are just the tip of the iceberg; a huge iceberg that no number of industry guidelines will shrink. Our young women are in crisis. They are growing up with an unhealthy body image and poor self esteem. Too many of them are attempting to fit into ideals that are not realistic.Poor body image and self esteem are the most negative issues affecting young women in today’s society Poor body image is characterized by feeling or thinking about your body and the way it looks in a negative, critical way. This negative view results in poor self esteem, and self-destructive behaviour such as binging, purging, cutting, unnecessary plastic surgery, and even suicide.
As a young woman who has struggled with weight and poor self esteem, I know what it is like to not feel “normal”. It is hard to go through life at five feet tall and 160lbs when it seems like most of my peers are five ten and 120lb. I don’t deprive myself but I look in the mirror and feel fat, I get frustrated when I try on clothes that aren’t proportioned for my size, and I look at tall thin girls walking down the street with envious eyes. I am not alone - this is the reality for most girls my age, and younger.
In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35% of girls aged six to 12 years old have been on at least one diet and that 50-70% of normal weight girls believes they are overweight. How did we get here? The blame cannot be placed on any one factor, but we can’t deny that there are industries that are major contributors to this problem, and continue to perpetuate it to their advantage.
The fashion industry: “Thin is in”
Judging by the CFDA guidelines I mentioned above, as well as charitable work in other areas, it is clear the fashion industry has a conscience. However, much of the activities of this industry are contradictory. Models featured in fashion spreads are all tall and slim with perfect complexions and features. As Geneen Roth points out in Prevention magazine: “Even fashion models don't look like their images. Their sags, blemishes, and cellulite magically disappear with a few clicks of a mouse wielded by a talented photo retoucher.”
Average women are not featured prominently on runways or in magazines, except for the occasional special issue, and size 2 is the average designer sample size when the average woman in North America is a size eight to twelve. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman, which is ironic considering average women are the ones buying the clothes models strut down the runway. According to Kate Fox of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, UK, fashion magazines are banned in most eating disorder clinics because of their “known negative effect on patients' body-image”.
The selection of larger sizes in most fashion retail stores is severely lacking and many stores, such as the Gap, only have plus-sizes available online. Much of the clothing featured in “14 +” stores is not on trend, and does not always take into account what flatters a larger woman. Most clothing seems to be cut straight and slim, not for curvy physiques. Not to mention, as one 20-year-old college student pointed out to me: “It doesn’t help having stores called Addition Elle with large sizes because I feel embarrassed walking into one of those stores…it makes us feel even worse about ourselves”. Most of us do not need a reminder that we are not the skinniest of girls every time we go shopping.
I am disappointed that most fashion magazines and designers pay lip service to the issue of the thin ideal in fashion, while not actually making any substantial changes or acknowledging their role in the problem. This is appalling for an industry whose foundation is built on creativity, innovation, and consciousness. I was excited when I received my latest issue of Vogue and saw that it was the “Shape Issue”. I was proud that there was an article devoted to discussing the “too thin debate”, the usual clothing spread showing how to wear the latest couture for every shape and size, and even a “fashion diary” of Ashley Graham, a size 16 model! However, my pleasure slowly dissipated as I combed through page after page of designer ads with the usual skeletal models, and read the article on cover girl, Scarlett Johansson who was described as “curvy”. Clearly, the fashion industry standard of a curvy body is frighteningly out of step with reality.
I agree with Editor Anna Wintour’s statement that “the main safeguard against developing an abnormal relationship to food is to have a healthy self-image” but I was disappointed that the magazine contained very little to help foster this healthy self-image amongst readers.
The cult of celebrity: “Poor role models”
The 2005 British Journal of Health Psychology article, “Intense personal celebrity-worship and body image” states the following: “One of the most important psychological influences of media, particularly during adolescence, is the formation of para-social relationships with media figures. These may take the form of intense attachments to celebrities where the values of the celebrity are highly influential, providing young people with attitudinal and behavioural exemplars. During adolescence, these figures may begin to usurp the role accorded to parents in earlier periods as teenagers become increasingly independent.”
The article discusses the case of 14 year-old “Kara”, who “amid some domestic unrest, latched on to fashion model Kate Moss (‘so cool, I wanted to be like her, under control’). By dieting, she strove to emulate Moss’s figure, but as with many developing girls it was not possible to remain healthy on such a diet and she was eventually diagnosed as anorexic.”Unfortunately there are countless girls like “Kara” that starve themselves in order to look like their favourite celebrity. Celebrity obsession has reached new heights and with some parents being increasingly absent and oblivious, young girls often have no better role models then Lindsay Lohan and Mary Kate Olsen (who entered rehab to treat anorexia just last year). And why wouldn’t teenage girls look up to them? They are beautiful, rich, popular, and travel the world; they seem to have it all.
Everywhere you look there are celebrities; commercials, television shows, magazine covers, billboards, websites, advertisements, videos, etc. It is impossible to escape or ignore them. You don’t even need to have talent, integrity, or intelligence to be famous anymore. You can be famous for having famous friends and rich parents, or for partying at the hottest clubs.This is especially true for young female celebrities. Not only are these young women constantly grabbing headlines, they are painfully thin. They are not only thin; they are getting breast implants, taking drugs, and starving themselves. They are drunks, drug addicts, and anorexics that are constantly in and out of rehab centres. The April 5th episode of Access Hollywood even talked about the frightening new trend of “rehab as ‘spa’” and the fact that it seems to be a “right of passage” and a way to pick up headlines for the young Hollywood beautiful.
They are not only paparazzi targets; they also sell diet products, fitness equipment, skin care products, make-up, hair dye, and model skimpy clothing on their ultra-thin frames.Young, naïve, impressionable, vulnerable women are trying desperately to measure up and are killing themselves in the process. Over 5 million girls and women in North America suffer from anorexia (of which 5-10% will die from the disease), and over 11,000 girls under 18 got breast implants in 2003 (triple the number from 2002). As Dr. Susan Sabin of the Renfrew Centre in Philadelphia says: “These glamorous teen celebrities seem to have it made…it appears that their lives are trouble-free, happy, and constantly entertaining – and the vehicle to all that is a perfect, skinny body.”What average young women don’t see is that their idols have personal trainers, make up artists and plastic surgeons on speed dial. Young female celebrities also work in an incredibly competitive and fickle industry and despite their careless behaviour, are human with the same fears and insecurities that “average” girls have. It’s too bad they have been elevated beyond human status and as such are the perfect foil for the projected anxieties of their young fans.
The image epidemic: What can we do?
Although there are many things that aren’t being done, there is a movement attempting to make positive changes and to give young girls the tools they need to develop strong self esteem.
The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” is one of the pioneers of this movement. Their advertisements feature real, average women of all shapes, sizes, and ages and develop products that help women look and feel beautiful in their own skin. Campaignforrealbeauty.com states that the goal of the campaign is to “provoke discussion and encourage debate about the nature of beauty. Dove hopes to change the way women perceive their bodies, and their beauty, by widening the definition of what it means to be beautiful. The brand is using images of real women with real bodies and real curves to accomplish this goal.” The website also includes various tools that women and their daughters can take advantage of including a self esteem fund, beauty e-cards, films, and discussion boards.
Television shows like Ugly Betty, plus-size magazines like “Radiance”, “web rings” like Bibri.com for eating disorder sufferers, regulations like the CFDA ones mentioned above, and programs devoted to the empowerment of young girls, like the Girl Scouts are all helping to improve the body image and self esteem of young girls.
One can only hope that one day we will live in a world where young women can feel good about themselves, no matter their size, shape or appearance. There is progress being made, but we have a long way to go. To get there we all need to do our part and make small changes. For example, did you tell your daughter, sister, mother, friend, or coworker that she is beautiful today? Have you ever done this? If not, you should. It may seem like a small thing but you’d be surprised. It could make a difference not just in her day, but her life.
Eating disorders are just the tip of the iceberg; a huge iceberg that no number of industry guidelines will shrink. Our young women are in crisis. They are growing up with an unhealthy body image and poor self esteem. Too many of them are attempting to fit into ideals that are not realistic.Poor body image and self esteem are the most negative issues affecting young women in today’s society Poor body image is characterized by feeling or thinking about your body and the way it looks in a negative, critical way. This negative view results in poor self esteem, and self-destructive behaviour such as binging, purging, cutting, unnecessary plastic surgery, and even suicide.
As a young woman who has struggled with weight and poor self esteem, I know what it is like to not feel “normal”. It is hard to go through life at five feet tall and 160lbs when it seems like most of my peers are five ten and 120lb. I don’t deprive myself but I look in the mirror and feel fat, I get frustrated when I try on clothes that aren’t proportioned for my size, and I look at tall thin girls walking down the street with envious eyes. I am not alone - this is the reality for most girls my age, and younger.
In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35% of girls aged six to 12 years old have been on at least one diet and that 50-70% of normal weight girls believes they are overweight. How did we get here? The blame cannot be placed on any one factor, but we can’t deny that there are industries that are major contributors to this problem, and continue to perpetuate it to their advantage.
The fashion industry: “Thin is in”
Judging by the CFDA guidelines I mentioned above, as well as charitable work in other areas, it is clear the fashion industry has a conscience. However, much of the activities of this industry are contradictory. Models featured in fashion spreads are all tall and slim with perfect complexions and features. As Geneen Roth points out in Prevention magazine: “Even fashion models don't look like their images. Their sags, blemishes, and cellulite magically disappear with a few clicks of a mouse wielded by a talented photo retoucher.”
Average women are not featured prominently on runways or in magazines, except for the occasional special issue, and size 2 is the average designer sample size when the average woman in North America is a size eight to twelve. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman, which is ironic considering average women are the ones buying the clothes models strut down the runway. According to Kate Fox of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, UK, fashion magazines are banned in most eating disorder clinics because of their “known negative effect on patients' body-image”.
The selection of larger sizes in most fashion retail stores is severely lacking and many stores, such as the Gap, only have plus-sizes available online. Much of the clothing featured in “14 +” stores is not on trend, and does not always take into account what flatters a larger woman. Most clothing seems to be cut straight and slim, not for curvy physiques. Not to mention, as one 20-year-old college student pointed out to me: “It doesn’t help having stores called Addition Elle with large sizes because I feel embarrassed walking into one of those stores…it makes us feel even worse about ourselves”. Most of us do not need a reminder that we are not the skinniest of girls every time we go shopping.
I am disappointed that most fashion magazines and designers pay lip service to the issue of the thin ideal in fashion, while not actually making any substantial changes or acknowledging their role in the problem. This is appalling for an industry whose foundation is built on creativity, innovation, and consciousness. I was excited when I received my latest issue of Vogue and saw that it was the “Shape Issue”. I was proud that there was an article devoted to discussing the “too thin debate”, the usual clothing spread showing how to wear the latest couture for every shape and size, and even a “fashion diary” of Ashley Graham, a size 16 model! However, my pleasure slowly dissipated as I combed through page after page of designer ads with the usual skeletal models, and read the article on cover girl, Scarlett Johansson who was described as “curvy”. Clearly, the fashion industry standard of a curvy body is frighteningly out of step with reality.
I agree with Editor Anna Wintour’s statement that “the main safeguard against developing an abnormal relationship to food is to have a healthy self-image” but I was disappointed that the magazine contained very little to help foster this healthy self-image amongst readers.
The cult of celebrity: “Poor role models”
The 2005 British Journal of Health Psychology article, “Intense personal celebrity-worship and body image” states the following: “One of the most important psychological influences of media, particularly during adolescence, is the formation of para-social relationships with media figures. These may take the form of intense attachments to celebrities where the values of the celebrity are highly influential, providing young people with attitudinal and behavioural exemplars. During adolescence, these figures may begin to usurp the role accorded to parents in earlier periods as teenagers become increasingly independent.”
The article discusses the case of 14 year-old “Kara”, who “amid some domestic unrest, latched on to fashion model Kate Moss (‘so cool, I wanted to be like her, under control’). By dieting, she strove to emulate Moss’s figure, but as with many developing girls it was not possible to remain healthy on such a diet and she was eventually diagnosed as anorexic.”Unfortunately there are countless girls like “Kara” that starve themselves in order to look like their favourite celebrity. Celebrity obsession has reached new heights and with some parents being increasingly absent and oblivious, young girls often have no better role models then Lindsay Lohan and Mary Kate Olsen (who entered rehab to treat anorexia just last year). And why wouldn’t teenage girls look up to them? They are beautiful, rich, popular, and travel the world; they seem to have it all.
Everywhere you look there are celebrities; commercials, television shows, magazine covers, billboards, websites, advertisements, videos, etc. It is impossible to escape or ignore them. You don’t even need to have talent, integrity, or intelligence to be famous anymore. You can be famous for having famous friends and rich parents, or for partying at the hottest clubs.This is especially true for young female celebrities. Not only are these young women constantly grabbing headlines, they are painfully thin. They are not only thin; they are getting breast implants, taking drugs, and starving themselves. They are drunks, drug addicts, and anorexics that are constantly in and out of rehab centres. The April 5th episode of Access Hollywood even talked about the frightening new trend of “rehab as ‘spa’” and the fact that it seems to be a “right of passage” and a way to pick up headlines for the young Hollywood beautiful.
They are not only paparazzi targets; they also sell diet products, fitness equipment, skin care products, make-up, hair dye, and model skimpy clothing on their ultra-thin frames.Young, naïve, impressionable, vulnerable women are trying desperately to measure up and are killing themselves in the process. Over 5 million girls and women in North America suffer from anorexia (of which 5-10% will die from the disease), and over 11,000 girls under 18 got breast implants in 2003 (triple the number from 2002). As Dr. Susan Sabin of the Renfrew Centre in Philadelphia says: “These glamorous teen celebrities seem to have it made…it appears that their lives are trouble-free, happy, and constantly entertaining – and the vehicle to all that is a perfect, skinny body.”What average young women don’t see is that their idols have personal trainers, make up artists and plastic surgeons on speed dial. Young female celebrities also work in an incredibly competitive and fickle industry and despite their careless behaviour, are human with the same fears and insecurities that “average” girls have. It’s too bad they have been elevated beyond human status and as such are the perfect foil for the projected anxieties of their young fans.
The image epidemic: What can we do?
Although there are many things that aren’t being done, there is a movement attempting to make positive changes and to give young girls the tools they need to develop strong self esteem.
The Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” is one of the pioneers of this movement. Their advertisements feature real, average women of all shapes, sizes, and ages and develop products that help women look and feel beautiful in their own skin. Campaignforrealbeauty.com states that the goal of the campaign is to “provoke discussion and encourage debate about the nature of beauty. Dove hopes to change the way women perceive their bodies, and their beauty, by widening the definition of what it means to be beautiful. The brand is using images of real women with real bodies and real curves to accomplish this goal.” The website also includes various tools that women and their daughters can take advantage of including a self esteem fund, beauty e-cards, films, and discussion boards.
Television shows like Ugly Betty, plus-size magazines like “Radiance”, “web rings” like Bibri.com for eating disorder sufferers, regulations like the CFDA ones mentioned above, and programs devoted to the empowerment of young girls, like the Girl Scouts are all helping to improve the body image and self esteem of young girls.
One can only hope that one day we will live in a world where young women can feel good about themselves, no matter their size, shape or appearance. There is progress being made, but we have a long way to go. To get there we all need to do our part and make small changes. For example, did you tell your daughter, sister, mother, friend, or coworker that she is beautiful today? Have you ever done this? If not, you should. It may seem like a small thing but you’d be surprised. It could make a difference not just in her day, but her life.
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