“Don’t judge me, I barely ate anything today.”
“I’m getting ice cream because I worked out today!”
“Don’t judge for my plate of warm cookies!”
Too often, while chowing down in the DH, I hear these phrases come out of girl’s mouths, as if eating for the love of food is something to be ashamed of. Plates of warm cookies, that extra piece of pizza, and an ice cream cone all must be validated, defended, and justified on borderline ridiculous levels.
Last week, I had the opportunity to see Dr. Jean Kilbourne lecture at Notre Dame, part of the university’s Love Your Body Week. The lecture, “The Naked Truth: Advertisings Image of Gender” was joint-sponsored by Saint Mary’s College Department of Gender and Women Studies. Dr. Kilbourne is perhaps best known for her award-winning documentary, “Killing Us Softly 4.”
She has received the award for Lecturer of the Year from the National Association for Campus Activities, has made appearances on the Today Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show, and was named by the New York Times as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses.
Dr. Kilbourne did not disappoint. She discussed the “toxic cultural environment” that advertising and the media have created for women and young girls. Interestingly, she stated that though everyone feels personally exempt from this environment, claiming it has no impact on their personal psyche, virtually everyone is affected. Everyday, we are surrounded by an image of ideal beauty. The media has created an image of beauty so perfect, that achieving it is literally impossible, making failure inevitable. That’s right, it’s literally impossible to achieve that pore-less, fat free, skinny-yet-curvy body type that we all seem to be going for.
Dr. Kilbourne continued on to highlight the effect such a toxic environment has on self-esteem. Indeed, the majority of advertising and the media are not helping girls to love their bodies or accept themselves as is. According to Dr. Kilbourne, 65% of girls experience some type of disordered eating.
“Eating has become a morale object.” And so, Kilbourne addressed the issue I so often notice, not just here at Saint Mary’s, but anytime I’m eating with girls. Girls seem to be ashamed to eat and admit to enjoying food! Dr. Kilbourne also offered a solution. She called for a cultural transformation in how we eat and how we exercise—a pretty big challenge if you ask me.
Luckily, Saint Mary’s is already taking on the issue of body image in its own way! This week is Love Your Body Week here on campus. The week will be full of events designed to promote positive confidence and a healthy lifestyle.
For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the Saint Mary’s College Love Your Body Week 2014 Facebook page.
I urge everyone to watch Dr. Jean Kilbourne’s documentary, Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women. It is truly an eye-opening experience. Dr. Kilbourne has succeeded in bringing to our conscious an issue that subconsciously affects all of us. It’s time to stand up and fight. After all, how can we be our beautiful selves while hating the body we live in?
Photos provided by the author