Cultivate an atmosphere of appreciation around different body sizes with a focus on health that is
not dependent on weight or numbers.
Practice being kind to yourself just like you would speak to a best friend.
Remember…you are not a just a body…there are a zillion things to discover and like about who
you uniquely are as a whole person. Outer appearance is only one slice of the pie!
WE-BE: Is there some special information that you share exclusively with teens when working with
that age group with regard to body image?
DD: Yes! Most teens think peers are constantly judging them when most teens are often more busy
judging themselves. It is a time when people clique up and really want to belong. This can get all
mixed up with negative body talk. Many people are more attracted to people who come into confidence in their bodies rather than folks who worry about them all the time; even if bodies are imperfect
(and bodies are all imperfectly perfectly unique.).
We are trained to worry about our bodies all the time by the media (to sell us stuff) and a society that
has pretty much gone bonkers about weight and body image.
Teen bodies also hormonally get bigger (to prepare for childbearing years) at very same time messages from the outside world tell teens to be smaller! (It’s just mean and wrong on so many levels.) Then
teens think they are supposed to diet when dieting is actually a terrible idea. Dieting starts a vicious
cycle (for most who do it) that can harm the body and ultimately lead to a life of struggle with eating
and even lead some into dangerous eating disorders. Eating disorders are the leading cause of death
out of all mental illness. Taking time and energy now to invest in loving your body in adolescence,
will likely pack that love up with you for the trip of adulthood!
WE-BE: Would you share with us some of your thoughts, based on your experiences, wisdom and
knowledge about the impact that media has on youth with regard to body image?
DD: My undergrad degree is in mass communications and I was taught to use media to get attention
and sell product; so I know what they are up to. I have a colleague who lost her daughter to bulimia
and went with her husband to interview editors in top selling magazine headquarters for her book.
(“Andrea’s Voice”) The publishers were upfront about the
goal to primarily accept article copy designed to make readers feel worse about themselves so the magazines could
increase advertiser product sales. It is a business and they
want your attention so they can gain your money for their
market share. I personally no longer even watch TV or read
magazines that idealize one body type because I like to create an oasis from that part of culture as much as I can.
When I can’t help but see images, I remind myself that I
don’t need to be thin like that to be loved, happy or belong.
Most people feel worse about themselves after viewing idealized images. (They are everywhere!)