Body Image: How the media distorts reality:

The camera never lies . . . (not)
Every picture tells a story . . .

 

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Miss Representation: how the Media presents women

The following film was recommended by an American delegate at the GSA Conference. It is a thought-provoking and powerful presentation that challenges the way in which the media present women. It is sure to provoke discussion in the home and schools alike.

http://missrepresentation.org

Body Image - it's all about perception

Young people have always been concerned about their appearance, but this generation is under greater pressure to look good than ever before. On average British children are spending between six and eight hours a day looking at screens, during much of which they are being bombarded with images of the "beautiful". Men's and women's magazines present distorted images of human perfection. At present the average model weighs 23% less than the average British woman, so it is no surprise that at any one time 1 in 4 women in this country are dieting and that the UK has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery in Europe.

Poor body image is not just an issue for adults. It is now an acute problem, not only for teenagers, but also for children. Age 9 to 10 is a crucial time for developing poor body image. By age of 10, 1 in 3 British girls say they want to be thinner: by 13 half have a dissatisfaction in body image. And it is not just an issue for girls, boys are increasingly feeling pressure to look good. A recent survey found that 22% of boys are concerned about their body image. 

So how are parents and schools to respond to this challenge? Parents and schools need to equip young people to develop a strong sense of self-esteem and self-worth that enables them to resist the social and media pressures that they face.

Reflections based in a presentation by Nicky Hutchinson and Chris Calland, authors of Body Image and the Primary School, at the GSA Annual Conference. www.notjustbehaviour.co.uk

Campaign for Real Beauty

Good for the Liberal Democrats who have proposed that airbrushing of adverts for teenagers should be banned.

For full Daily Telegraph article, click here

See previous blogpost "Thank Gok"

Thank Gok!

Gok is amazing! I am a fan.

Over the past year I have managed to catch a couple of programmes in recent series of How to Look Good Naked and Gok's Fashion Fix. Gok has run a one-man campaign to prove to the British public that, regardless of body-type or budget, we can all look good - if only we know how. And Gok knows how. In Fashion Fix, Gok with his high street products goes head-to-head with the designer labels on the catwalk and the public cannot tell the difference. It is always great to see an expert at work and these programmes don't disappoint.

How to Look Good Naked and Gok's Fashion Fix come from the "Dove Campaign for Real Beauty" school of thought - a view that is grounded in reality rather than in the air-brushed world of flawless models that grace our glossy magazines. What is most impressive about these programmes is the way in which Gok builds self-esteem and confidence in those whom he advises. Gok rejects the need to change the body shape through surgery - he works with people as they are. He transforms lives, not through pressure to be something that that people are not - but encouragement to make the most of what people have got. Above all, he makes people feel great about themselves and to be happy with the image that looks back from the mirror.

Self-image and self-esteem are some of the most important issues that face young people today - particularly girls - parents and schools need to keep them firmly on their agenda.



Catch-up on Gok's Fashion Fix Series Two on 4oD