Today in class we watched a couple of Dove commercials on how all the pictures in the media that we see are fake and digitally changed. It was crazy how much they changed these girls into the way that people wanted to see them. It's really sad how younger girls and even teens try to change themselves into being like these girls in the magazines which is completely impossible and they don't even know it. My sister is completely affected by this because she always reads the magazines and watches MTV and only being 13 she falls for it all. The sad thing is she thinks she's fat when she isn't at all. My mom and i have to talk to her about it and convince her that she's not. If this can happen with my little sister and just one person that i know just imagine how many other people in the world have this same type of view. More girls die from eating disorders than you would know and the numbers only grow each year.
I agree with you that a lot of younger girls don't even realize the extent to which the images in magazines are photoshopped. It is really sad to think that so many teens look up to this and strive to be like these "non-existent" people. I think awareness is the first step in fixing this problem, so I think its important for parents to talk to kids about this.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up on her! And don't be afraid to set an example for her in your own life. Show her that it's okay to not conform to all of those BS standards that the media shows and you can look and feel good anyway! Send her that Dove commercial:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dove.us/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=7049579]and checkout the website - there's lots of resources for moms, sisters and friends to deal with the issue:
http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/