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An In Touch article, printed at the height of Kardashian’s pregnancy, was entitled something like: I’ll Never be Sexy again; Even my Armpits are Fat! Let me say for the record that I do not care about Kim Kardashian’s weight gain and I don’t care which celeb’s beach butt cellulite it is under the cutesy “Guess Who?” label.
In part 1 of this blog, the bad and ugly side of the Instagram-body image debate was explored, and the main issue addressed was the recent trend of pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia support groups emerging among Instagram users. This is a problem because these users are reinforcing each other’s harmful behaviors through “likes” and comments on “thinspiration” pictures and in doing this they are normalizing disordered eating.
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This February will mark over 250 days and 1000 extra hours that the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) helpline has been active, thanks to a generous donation from Bell Let’s Talk – in addition to the 2000 regular business hours that our helpline is live every year.
James S. Bell Junior Middle School in Toronto has banned “junk food” from lunches. Students who bring items such as candy or even granola bars will be asked to take the items back home. The reasoning behind this decision is that the school styles itself as a “sports and wellness academy”. They further reinforce these values by sending kids back to the cafeteria line if they do not have enough vegetables on their plate. Although the general population may perceive these initiatives as positive and healthy – they do not sit well with me.
The NEDIC team has been deeply affected by the comments in both criticism and support of our most recent awareness campaign ad. We recognize that the ad has stirred deep feelings and strong reactions from many of you.
In objection to the ad, some have said:
Last week, I was surprised to come across two articles discussing whether Toronto schools will soon be weighing students, determining whether they are within a ‘healthy’ weight range – and sending the results to parents. When asked what they thought about this, the majority of parents surveyed in a Toronto Star poll reported that they would not allow their children to participate in BMI testing if it was brought to their school. Why? Could it be that parents understand that BMI is not a good measure of health and wellbeing? That measuring BMI in schools continues a flawed panic – using a flawed measuring tool – about size rather than health?
Would you pose in your underwear to illustrate what a perfectly imperfect natural female silhouette looks like? We did, and we’re inviting you to join the effort to help change the fashion industry’s take on how to design clothes to perfection!
What do Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan and Amy Winehouse have in common?
Fame, fortune and the essence of gossip- sure you could say that, but right now the media is trying drunkorexia on them for size.
While at first a catchy term for online sources with images of “skeletal celebrities who appear to live only off of Grey Goose and cigarettes” (Mohammad) the name has stuck so well that it now gets coined along with similar slang terms like pregorexia and orthorexia as well as serious illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia.
The new children’s book, Maggie Goes on a Diet (Kramer, 2011), has received negative press for its blatant promotion of dieting, in addition to suggesting that weight-loss among kids can lead to increased popularity and athleticism. While the content of Kramer’s book may send a potentially dangerous message, the controversy surrounding its publication has lead to a positive outcome: parents and teachers are finally asking themselves, “what lessons are books teaching our children?”
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