No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted - video

crisanderson27

As the father of a little girl, I think this is a great topic. I read an article recently stating that the average size of a woman in women's magazines is size 0. That is just disturbing. In the same article, it pointed out that the average size of a woman in men's magazines is size 8. I really think that it falls on women to just stop supporting people who portray such a distorted view of feminine beauty. You vote with your money, and by giving money to companies that perpetuate these images of "beauty" you are holding that unhealthy (mostly) size 0 up as the standard that all women should be judged by. Simply put, advertisers and magazine editors have determined that the size 0 woman is what women want to see, and what they will pay money to see. Until that changes, our societal image of what female beauty is will reflect that.

I like this, and this is an excellent way to fight back that I...being caught up in my rant on parenting lol...wasn't considering.

And as a funny side note...I was told by a young lesbian lady on these forums that it's a common sentiment in the gay community that the reason the fashion industry pushes what they do on society, is that it's virtually run by homosexual men...who impart their own extreme, complicated, and androgynous preferences on that industry. I immediately asked every one of my gay, male friends about it (I have a number...which may come as a surprise to some of you), and they agreed completely.

Again, just an interesting side note there. It would be similar to the porn industry in a way, which is driven in large part by hetero men. Pretty interesting difference in the image and body type maintained by the typical porn star, and the typical fashion model.

katydid25

I was told by a young lesbian lady on these forums that it's a common sentiment in the gay community that the reason the fashion industry pushes what they do on society, is that it's virtually run by homosexual men...who impart their own extreme, complicated, and androgynous preferences on that industry. I immediately asked every one of my gay, male friends about it (I have a number...which may come as a surprise to some of you), and they agreed completely.

I've never heard/thought of this before but it makes a lot of sense! It's really pretty eye opening.

Fit_Canuck

One of my friends went to LA one day and saw Mario Lopez in person doing a camera shoot on the street, yes he's in shape but the funniest part of what he say was this,

When you looked at Mario's back they had actually used clothespins to pull his shirt as tight as they could so he would look as buff as possible before and then spent 30mins doing makeup before the shoot ever began, it's amazing what's done to a person just to look good in the media.

crisanderson27

One of my friends went to LA one day and saw Mario Lopez in person doing a camera shoot on the street, yes he's in shape but the funniest part of what he say was this,

When you looked at Mario's back they had actually used clothespins to pull his shirt as tight as they could so he would look as buff as possible before and then spent 30mins doing makeup before the shoot ever began, it's amazing what's done to a person just to look good in the media.

That's kind of weird...one would think they'd just have had a better fitted shirt to begin with. It's not like they lack for funding or preparation to do so. Part of me is thinking those clips were for a mic wire.

overfences

Look, I'm in the ad industry. If advertising didn't work, no one would be doing it. If ads didn't make people desire what they see (no matter how unrealistic or truly impossible it may be) then companies wouldn't pour billions into it.

You ARE affected, whether you admit it or not. It's there, in your brain, in your subconscious. There are countless studies that prove this. Of course individual sensitivity to these messages will vary, but the fact is, we live in our culture and our ideals are shaped by that culture.

If you have children you have to actively work to counteract the messages. I think the best way is to limit exposure as much as possible. In my family, we try to give our children a healthy outlook by reducing exposure to the media that pushes materialism -- television, catalogs, malls, etc. and spending more time among real people in real life enjoying active, social activities. KWIM?

ZugTheMegasaurus

On point though...the part in bold...again, could be effectively eliminated by more strategic, and active parenting. I still 100% fully believe that instilling in your child, from an early age...the ability to objectively make decisions is one of the keys to not only successful parenting, but giving your child the best chance for happiness in a world that is going to attack them relentlessly from the moment they enter kindergarden (or pre-school for that matter), until death. This is just one facet of that. Changing the world directly is a grand scheme, and I wish all the activists trying to enforce positivity in this circumstance...and all others for that matter...goot luck, but the fact remains that the true changes must come from parents, along with any true defense for your child. You cannot take away a companies rights to advertise in ways that sell their product, unless they are violating direct ethical standards. Making something appear 'more slender' or 'bigger' than reality, or anything else for that matter, is no violation of ethics. It's appealing to people's tastes in the best way they know how. Subliminal advertising is a violation of ethics, and this is certainly not the same thing.

It depends entirely on how you define "unethical." What is the distinction you're finding that puts these ads in one category but subliminal ones in another? To me, if the effect is negative for consumers (even if positive for the advertiser), then there is an ethical question. And in my personal opinion, a company shouldn't have "rights" to advertise in any way they want to; a business is not entitled to rights in the same way an individual person is. The public welfare far outweighs any corporate interest.

The part in italics...I agree with, and as I mentioned above I apologize if my first post put too much emphasis on 'bad' parenting, rather than active and effective parenting. Most children today are the recipients of a sort of 'benign neglect'...rather than true parenting. Think of the above young lady, or even the friends of my daughter we both mentioned. If their parents in fact took a more active role in their lives (assuming as you said that they have this knowledge to begin with....which I really can't imagine them not having, everyone knows half the ads on TV and elsewhere are edited, if not overtly fake...to one degree or another), they would very likely not be having the issues they've had.

I would disagree that most parents have that knowledge. Where are they learning it? If they grow up believing those images are realistic and still live their lives as though that's true, then having a kid doesn't suddenly allow them to see that they were wrong. Look around these boards for a while and you'll find no shortage of people who have no clue what their bodies are supposed to look like or capable of looking like, and a lot of those people have kids. They teach their kids what they know to the best of their ability, even if that's wrong.

Besides that, parents aren't the end-all and be-all of a child's perception. I remember being teased mercilessly as a kid for having "fat legs." I wasn't remotely overweight, but rather have always had a very muscle-heavy build (as do all the other women on my mom's side of the family). My parents told me over and over that I wasn't fat, but instead that I was strong. They told me that someday people would be jealous of those muscles instead of making fun of me. They even had my pediatrician talk to me about it and tell me that I would "never be stick-skinny like that." But I didn't believe them, not for a second. In my mind, they were just trying to make me feel better while the outside world was telling me the truth. It wasn't until adulthood that I finally realized they'd been right.

Advertisers play a role in this. They color the perception of the population on the whole. If all of a child's friends believe the ads and agree on one view, then that child's parents are fighting an uphill battle in which they are grossly outnumbered. Of course they should do whatever they can, but they can't be expected to succeed in every case.

And please...I know that sounds like criticism of her parenting methods! It's sooooo not!! Parents today face challenges that their own parents couldn't have imagined...and that their grandparents couldn't have even come close to conceiving of in a million years. Adapting to those changes is critical, and not always possible in an effective time frame. But the fact remains, that holding an ad company accountable for trying to make their products more beautiful, more saleable, more attractive...that denies some fundamental rights our country is built on. Unless they are doing so in a way that is absolutely impossible to defend against (again, true subliminal advertising)...it's simply not their fault.

Again, there is no reason we shouldn't regulate how companies advertise. We already do, in fact; cigarettes can't be advertised on TV, supplements and diet pills require all sorts of disclaimers, ad price must accurately reflect in-store price, for a few examples. By and large, scientific studies support the idea that people--particularly children--are far more affected by ads than they realize or would like to admit. Retail profits are worthless compared to consumer health and welfare. Further, this country's philosophy supports the rights of individuals, not corporate entities. Despite what some politicians might have to say about it, businesses are not people too.

I guess my point is that trying to instill a conscience in 'society'...is almost always going to be doomed to failure...as 'society' has no singularity, no ability to 'comprehend', or make self aware changes. Also...what you, or I perceive to be 'society'...or its motives or intentions...may be completely different. It's a fluid thing, and because of that...almost impossible to affect in any real; direct manner. Yes, we definitely should fight these things, with parental awareness campains leading that fight. But to hinge hopes on the outcome of that battle, is very shortsighted in my opinion. Fight your own fight at home, make yourself a better parent every day of your life...and you'll have done far, far more to affect society in the long run, than any activist protesting the actions of a private company ever could.

I don't agree that it's pointless to try to change society; society is not some strange external force that affects us without our input, but rather the amalgamation of ideas, values, and experiences of people. We are the only ones responsible for "instilling a conscience" in society and it is by no means impossible. We have decided that we value many things that we didn't in the past and have changed our society accordingly: slavery, minority/women's rights, food safety, to name just a few. People actively worked to change it. They could have just sat back and taught their kids at home that they disagreed, but somehow I doubt that ever would have led to any meaningful change.

wackyfunster

As the father of a little girl, I think this is a great topic. I read an article recently stating that the average size of a woman in women's magazines is size 0. That is just disturbing. In the same article, it pointed out that the average size of a woman in men's magazines is size 8. I really think that it falls on women to just stop supporting people who portray such a distorted view of feminine beauty. You vote with your money, and by giving money to companies that perpetuate these images of "beauty" you are holding that unhealthy (mostly) size 0 up as the standard that all women should be judged by. Simply put, advertisers and magazine editors have determined that the size 0 woman is what women want to see, and what they will pay money to see. Until that changes, our societal image of what female beauty is will reflect that.

I like this, and this is an excellent way to fight back that I...being caught up in my rant on parenting lol...wasn't considering.

And as a funny side note...I was told by a young lesbian lady on these forums that it's a common sentiment in the gay community that the reason the fashion industry pushes what they do on society, is that it's virtually run by homosexual men...who impart their own extreme, complicated, and androgynous preferences on that industry. I immediately asked every one of my gay, male friends about it (I have a number...which may come as a surprise to some of you), and they agreed completely.

Again, just an interesting side note there. It would be similar to the porn industry in a way, which is driven in large part by hetero men. Pretty interesting difference in the image and body type maintained by the typical porn star, and the typical fashion model.

Yeah, I have heard the same thing. That, and something like 90% of the casting industry is female, and it seems like women think that men want to see androgynous sticks as well (hint: we don't)

jessgrey2

And times have changed!

NocturnalGirl

I don't blame the media but neither would I blame the parents. I have kept my goals very secretive from anyone so it's hard for anyone to help me get a better understanding of a healthy body image. On the inside, I stress about weight and calories every single minute of the day. I want to lose weight so that I can see my bones and feel good about myself. It's hard not to starve myself or purge and I constantly call myself fat every day. Of course, I'm much better now and helping myself where I can, but I just have to say that I don't blame my parents at all.

Here is the thing...and it may be that the way my words came out didn't convey my message. I meant that the answer is parenting. Your parents may very well be quite wonderful...but if they had started at an early age...and instilled that positive sense of self from the beginning, I don't think your problem would be nearly as drastic, if you still had a problem at all. As was mentioned above...this may not be the 'fault' of your prents, but had they been better armed (not necessarily more aware), it may have been prevented.

And for the record...I'm a very, very picky man when it comes to attractiveness, and rarely hand out compliments of beauty without being prompted, and yet...as I've said before, I think you're beautiful.

Something to take with you I guess.

I completely understand what you are saying but knowing how stubborn I was being on behalf of my attitudes to starvation/purging, it would be hard for anyone to reach out to me or even speak to me. Maybe it could have been prevented but it's a self-inflicted problem influenced by outside factors. Everything you're saying is true and I want to make sure that in the future, if I have any kids, they do not go through what I have experienced and am still experiencing. I still struggle to eat properly and resist the urge to purge but I am definitely more aware of the things occuring.
And thank you I don't think I'm unattractive but feeling/being fat makes me feel that way.