I Think We Should Support This

[jakeblu]

Yes. I agree with you completely. But in writing on this forum, I'm less concerned about the fat-people-and-thin-people debate than I am about photography - it bothers me that photographic artists are apparently saddled with the responsibility for social ills while society itself works so hard to deny the importance of individual free will and self-respect. Enough. It's always someone else's fault in this country. If you commit an act of violence, it's because of a movie or a computer game - ban it. If you shoot someone, it's the gun that did it - ban them all. If somebody doesn't look after their dog properly and it bites someone, ban the whole breed. Then if someone creates an image of a slender female and this causes some other female to go on a reckless starvation diet, ban the image, smash the cameras and prohibit airbrushing. That'll solve the problem, won't it???

I thought you only got this cr@p on the Daily Mail website.

Steve

 

[ladysue]

Some very puerile and misogynistic posts on this thread.

<sarcasm>Course its nothing to do with media at all they have no influence whatsoever in lifestyle choices especially on impressionable young people. Wonder why most companies have a multi-million pound advertising budget, such a waste of money :shrug: </sarcasm>

Its easy to say its personal choice, helps us wash our hands of any responsibility. Personally I struggle to see the attraction of an illness that may very well kill you for no other reason other than lifestyle choice. It beggars belief that some seemingly intelligent posters can peddle that twaddle.

If it was all about personal choice then tell me why is it almost exclusively a disease that effect females, very few males suffer anorexia or bulimia. In fact most girls who suffer from eating disorders tend to be from middle class homes and are university educated. Hmm makes you wonder why that might be, go on stretch your brain and think about it before you go spouting the 'personal choice' cr@p

Steve

 

[Splog]

<snip>
Its easy to say its personal choice, helps us wash our hands of any responsibility. Personally I struggle to see the attraction of an illness that may very well kill you for no other reason other than lifestyle choice. It beggars belief that some seemingly intelligent posters can peddle that twaddle.

If it was all about personal choice then tell me why is it almost exclusively a disease that effect females, very few males suffer anorexia or bulimia. In fact most girls who suffer from eating disorders tend to be from middle class homes and are university educated.</snip>

Steve

It may be an 'illness' but I feel you confused your argument by saying

almost exclusively a disease that effect females, very few males suffer anorexia or bulimia

Are you saying that a female is not intelligent enough to see beyond the media hype .... Please clarify

Good parenting has nothing to do with 'class' or 'university education'! It is to do with common sense, the real world and what people do, what people don't do, what is right, what is wrong, what to believe, what not to believe and most importantly what is right and what is wrong!

I agree it's not a 'lifestyle choice' but it is bad parenting and bad education!

 

[counterculture]

Totally agree! However, I also agree that even if it were possible to police such a ban or get the media to agree to it, there is still the issue of where a line would be drawn. I was listening to the Wright Stuff yesterday where they were discussing a 'proud to be fat' type magazine that has just gone from internet only to being available on shelves in newsagents - it was argued that this is equally detrimental to health and possibly so but the point I am slowly getting to is that someone on the show mentioned that in Germany, the glossy magazines have now started featuring a mix of women from right across the spectrum, from super models super airbrushed, to absolutely normal, size 12-24 women in their fashion and editorial features - because the readership demanded it. Perhaps THATS what we should be campaigning for, inclusivity for all shapes, sizes and colours showing them as normal and able to wear fashionable clothes, make up etc, instead of banning air brushing on a few high earning models.

So for that reason I wont be signing the petition, because whilst I can understand the sentiment, I think its misplaced.

seems pointless they would put the magazine in shops, given the effort that's required to go to the shop, surely increasing online advertising and bringing in subscription and delivery would be the better option, economically and would keep in with the proud-to-be-fat ethic

 

[Byker28i]

A quick comment about the magazines teenage girls read.

Most offer little more than exhaustive lists of how to become cuter/hotter/thinner/fitter/healthier/more popular etc.

However, there must be a demand else the magazines wouldn't sell, same goes with the argument about paparazzi photographers and celebrity magazines.

So is it a chicken and egg situation? The media and advertising fuel high expectations from an early age, but then so do the shops with the grown up cloths, bikini's etc for very young girls. Ultimately that's the responsibility of the parents buying those items, but again, do they buy them because society thinks it's acceptable and because other girls that age wear them.

There was the program Dawn Porter gets naked. The blurb says:
Dawn Porter bares all in order to reveal how our idea of perfection has been perverted to fit the demands of the beauty industry. In a bid to get to grips with her naked self, Dawn is propelled into all manner of uncompromising situations - from hanging out with naturists to learning a valuable lesson in morality from a stripper. Spurred on to try and change attitudes and expectations of the female form, Dawn sets about organising what she hopes will become the ultimate female Flashmob.

Ok so that's TV gold with the promise of naked women, but the part I found really interesting was where she went for the photoshoot. She was so taken in by the changes they made to her head and shoulders shot that she allowed them to do a full body shoot and adjust. Needless to say she liked the after shots.

There's a girl running the seventeen magazine project, where she's attempting to live a month according to the rules of seventeen magazine.

Rules: http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com/2010/05/im-buying-this-for-research.html

Blog/project: http://www.theseventeenmagazineproject.com/


I think you need to applaud the intentions of the Girl Guides, just not the method.

 

[jakeblu]

Are you saying that a female is not intelligent enough to see beyond the media hype .... Please clarify

No, thats not what I am saying. If it was a personal choice that eating disorder sufferers have then why is it not spread evenly gender wise it is almost exclusively a female illness. The point I was trying to make is that because it effects only one gender then that may imply a social connection, unless of course a genetic one is shown, but that has not happened yet. So with the absence of a genetic cause in my opinion would suggest a social disease. That argument can be reinforced by the way femininity and beauty are social constructs. The ideal woman has significantly changed over the centuries, compare todays images of woman to renaissance nudes, or even the last few decades, google 1950's nudes and you will see what I mean.

I would also take fault with your parenting argument, most suffers tend to be from well balanced families in the higher income quantile groups. Of course being wealthy does not guarantee good parenting but it hardly corresponds to the stereotypical view of poor parenting. Many teenagers are more influenced by their peer groups and this is likely to have more bearing on eating habits than parental guidance. Couple that with the immense pressure we place on young people then it is little wonder that some are confused to the point of a modern self flagellation when they are unable to live up to these, very often media constructed, ideals.

Steve

 

[Auwyn]

Some very puerile and misogynistic posts on this thread.

<sarcasm>Course its nothing to do with media at all they have no influence whatsoever in lifestyle choices especially on impressionable young people. Wonder why most companies have a multi-million pound advertising budget, such a waste of money </sarcasm>

Its easy to say its personal choice, helps us wash our hands of any responsibility. Personally I struggle to see the attraction of an illness that may very well kill you for no other reason other than lifestyle choice. It beggars belief that some seemingly intelligent posters can peddle that twaddle.

If it was all about personal choice then tell me why is it almost exclusively a disease that effect females, very few males suffer anorexia or bulimia. In fact most girls who suffer from eating disorders tend to be from middle class homes and are university educated. Hmm makes you wonder why that might be, go on stretch your brain and think about it before you go spouting the 'personal choice' cr@p

Steve

+1

 

[STOWITBELOW]

Let's start a petition so people with mental illness don't see anything that may exasperate their condition. We can start banning airbrushing, then ban the models, then oblige everyone to eat more. Oh no I think I've lost sight of the fact these people are in a minority & although these images may not help, as pointed out we'd be better trying to help the overweight.