Posts Tagged ‘beauty myth’

*Cross posted with permission from Jennifer W. Shewmaker, Ph.D.*

The old and new Strawberry Shortcake, one of many old school children's characters getting sexier, thinner makeovers.

In a study published in 2010, Dr. Jennifer Harriger, a colleague at Pepperdine University, looked at how much girls aged 3-5 had internalized the thin ideal (the idea that beauty in females = thinness) and how they attributed stereotypes to others because of their weight (fat=lazy, stupid, has no friends while thin=nice, sweet, has friends).

Yes, you read that right, 3-5 year olds! You may be thinking, “Oh come on, kids that young don’t think about things like that.” But, according to Dr. Harriger’s research, there is a very strong research base out there that tells us that children as young as 3 years of age are already beginning to buy into the idea that for females, thinness is equal to goodness.

So what did she find? The little girls that were studied showed evidence of having already begun to internalize the thin ideal and to stereotype others based solely on their weight. What was interesting about this study is that they had girls choose from several different game pieces (like those in Candy Land) which were identical except for their weight. The kids chose pieces that represented themselves and a best friend. Up until now, research studies have shown that kids don’t tend to distinguish that much between thin and average weights. However, in this study, the girls more often chose thin game pieces over the average sized ones. Dr. Harriger thinks this may be due to the fact that in recent years, the thin ideal has been presented to very young children more strongly through products and entertainment.

For example, consider this photo below, which was commented upon on Feminist Fatale.com, comparing a Barbie doll from the 1990s to one manufactured today. As you can see, the proportions of the doll, while always ridiculous, have changed even more to emphasize the thin mid-section and curvaceous breast and behind.  There have been many recent make-overs of several well-loved children’s characters, such as that of Strawberry Shortcake, to give them shapes and appearances more in line with the thin ideal. This change in the characterization of positive characters is likely connected to the change in young children’s opinion of thin-vs-average weight.

Barbie may have changed over the years, but her body now looks like a Victoria Secrets model.

One of the saddest and most startling findings in this study had to do with the things that the little girls said about the different game pieces. For example, they said about the fatter piece “I hate her because she has a fat stomach” or “I don’t want to be her, she’s fat and ugly.” What’s worrying is that we also see girls as young as ages 5 and 6 talking about dieting and wanting to be thinner. It’s time to stop and think about the messages our young children are getting about body shape and value. It’s time for all of us to stand together and show our children that being healthy and good isn’t about being “thin,” but about so much more than that. Instead of focusing on thinness, let’s focus on strength, both of body and character.

Harriger, J.A., Calogero, R.M., Witherington, D.C., & Smith J.E. (2010). Body size stereotyping and internalization of the thin-ideal in preschool-age girls. Sex Roles, 63, 609-620. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9868-1

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Jennifer W. Shewmaker, Ph.D., is Director of the School Psychology Training and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Abilene Christian University. She often writes on the media, sexualization, and parenting issues.

My five year old had a little Valentine’s Day party in her Pre-K class this week, and she was uber excited to pass out her cards to her 15 classmates. She had worked hard the night before writing her name 15 times. She had done a great job picking out a red wrap dress and turtle neck to wear, topping the outfit off with stripey tights. We’ve lucked out with a class full of really sweet kids, and I love how freaking cute all the kids in her class are. It is a good group of buddies for her to learn and grow with.

When she got home from school, we sat down to go through her cards. I needed to help her read them while she tore through all of her candy. She cared very little about the actual valentine, and more about the candy. I, of course, was immediately analyzing the cards.

The images our kids see, the messages they are exposed to, and the depictions of beauty as value all matter. They matter a lot. So I pay attention.

The images our kids see matter. The visual cues of gender, gender roles, beauty, and body image all impact our kids.

Here they are…..and I saved the best for last:

The gender neutral cards. Amelia's is in this bunch.

The cards from girls...accentuating the Beauty Myth, Thin Ideal, and Princess Culture.

The cards from boys...focusing on power, force, war, and overweight ogres.

The only card of 16 with a child depicted, and looking anything like the actual preschoolers handing out the cards. Bonus points for being bilingual.

Where do I even start? And the poodle is creeping me out.

Amelia and her 8 week old eyebrows.

Someone’s comment on our facebook page just brought back a major flashback for me. And I’m getting angry about it all over again!

When Amelia was about 2 months old, I went to a salon to get mah hair did. I was excited to show off Amelia to the girls at the salon, especially since we had not found out her gender before her birth.

I knew they’d all fuss and be excited over a girl. I dressed Amelia in a super cute little outfit just for the occasion.

Then I got a little surprise….

 A stylist walked past, peeked into the infant carrier at my gorgeous dark haired Irish-Lebanese newborn girl, and the first thing she said was…..

 ”Whoa, someone is going to need an eyebrow wax when she gets older.”

She said something else that made everyone giggle, but I didnt’ hear it.

Everyone laughed. At me and my baby. My perfect, gorgeous, healthy, amazing infant girl. They laughed at how she looked.

I was shocked and offended. How could someone look at a baby and apply beauty standards to her in less than 10 seconds?

Was this clown seriously making plans for how my baby needed to change herself in order to look beautiful?

Hello. Look at this kid, she IS BEAUTIFUL, dammit.  

The giggles quieted, and my stylist could tell I was fuming. Then the rude woman asked to hold her. My reply was extremely unpolite, and since my mother reads this blog I won’t share it, but part of it rhymes with “lucky you”.

I stood up, picked up my girl, and walked out.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of something rude about your child’s appearance? How did you handle it? Looking back, would you change how you handled it?

Photo from Parents Magazine

There is an epidemic going around, not to be an alarmist or anything. But have you noticed how many women’s conversations are dominated by weight? This insane notion that our biggest issue in life and chief concern is the number on the scale or the number on the tag in our jeans. Really? I mean, really?

-70% of young women say they want to look like a character from TV. 69% of TV characters are underweight.

-Celebrity workouts average anywhere from 90 mintues to six hours.

-The average fashion model weighs 23% less than the average American woman. (20yrs ago this was only 8% less)

-54% of women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat. 67% of women would rather be mean or stupid than be fat.

-10 yrs ago we heard tricklings in elementary school of girls saying they are “on a diet” or “need to watch their carbs”. It has now trickled down into kindergarten.

-74% of women choose an ideal body shape that is 10-20% underweight

-90% of all women ages 15-64 (worldwide) would change one aspect of their physical appearance, body weight ranking the highest

-65% of women 15-64yo withdraw from life engaging activities due to feeling badly about their looks.

WHAT!?

WHAT?! Withdraw from life because your healthy, functioning, glorious body doesn’t fit the Beauty Myth ideals sold to us by the fashion and beauty industries?

Ladies, I ain’t buying it.

 COME ON, Girls! 

You’ll hear me say this a lot, but we are the MOST educated, MOST well traveled, MOST accomplished group of women to EVER have walked on this planet, and yet the majority of us spend our days dreaming of lipo and scheming ways to lose that next x number of pounds. Which is why I cannot say we are the ’most empowered’. We are chaining ourselves to the beauty myth, Ladies. We are giving permission to others, others we don’t even know, to tell us how to think about our bodies.

I say this very lovingly, but COME ON.

Dr. Robyn Silverman’s new book, “Good Girls Don’t Get Fat: How Weight Obsession Is Messing Up Our Girls And How We Can Help Them Thrive Despite It” is excellent, and available here. You’ll be hearing more from Dr. Robyn about her new book next week!

Fat Talk Free Week, sponsored by Delta Delta Delta sorority, runs October 18th-22nd and is an international five day campaign to draw attention to the body image issues and the damaging impact of the ‘thin ideal’ on women. Find out more here. We’ll be sharing more with you about this during Fat Talk Free Week.

(our stats above came from TriDelts’s Reflections program.)

"I'm the fairest of the mall"

Snow White is clutching no less than five shopping bags, and her animal friends are no where to be seen. Her base reads, “I’m the fairest of the mall!” I thought the Wicked Queen was supposed to be the competitive, vain one, but I guess one of the most important message to Disney can instill in a young girl is that the ability to spend money and accumulate objects equates to worth, that of the self and of others. Beauty magazines and commercials can perpetuate this for future “princesses” later in life.

"He loves me, he loves me not..."

Belle stands holding the Beast’s cursed rose, pulling petals off of it in the old game of “He loves me, he loves me not.” No doubt, she is pining for the day when Beast’s abusive tendencies will be magically transformed into true love! Who cares about being forced to eat with a violent and unpredictable monster or going hungry? (Possible new inscription: “He starves me, he starves me not…”) Far from her family and village, and Belle has a fun new delusion that furniture and cleaning supplies can be her new best friends! Escape? No, she’d rather daydream with this pretty flower and wait to be rescued, thank you.

"I could have danced all night..."

Cinderella soaks her feet, her eyes closed in relief. Her base reads. “I could’ve danced all night… but my feet were killing me!” Oh well, beauty is pain, right ladies? One’s own enjoyment is a small sacrifice in the name of attracting that Prince. Surely he will rescue her from her life of emotional abuse and isolation – as long as she looks fabulous, worthy, deserving, and knows when she’s caused herself enough physical pain to go home, still looking picture perfect, that is!

"Accessories make life fun!"

Ariel thrusts her sea-shell covered bosom forward to show off her… fancy, new bracelets and tiara naturally. Her line? “Accessories make life fun!” I miss Ariel from before she fell in “love-at-first-sight” with a total stranger and traded her voice for a vagina. “Adventuring and exploration make life fun!” would have made for a much more interesting and positive figure. Not this Princess. One day she meets a Prince, the record skippity-screeches to a halt, and Mindless Automaton Ariel likes looking pretty, jewelry, making out, and being really quiet.

"Okay, I'm here....now what are your other two wishes..."

Jasmine is here to please you. No, really. She is striking a seductive belly dancing pose with her hips pushed forward, her strangely sculpted and unrealistic bosom tilted upwards, above an impossibly tiny waist, “Okay, I’m here. Now what are your other two wishes?” it reads. Ewww! Who was this one even made for? I clearly remember Jasmine shouting defiantly at her father that she wasn’t a prize to be won.

“Who am I kidding... I'm fabulous!”

Another Jasmine collectible shows her sitting at her golden vanity, gesturing towards a small golden pot of makeup or perfume in her other hand as if scoffing at it. “Who am I kidding… I’m fabulous!” This would almost be a step in a better direction if she weren’t already wearing makeup, gold jewelry, and wearing her usual mid-drift baring blue outfit with her breasts once again, thrust forward, hips pushed back, with a an expression between cheekiness and haughtiness on her face. This is not a positive affirmation of her natural beauty, intelligence, and character as a whole, but the same old marriage of arrogance, material wealth, and preoccupation with superficial beauty in women.