 In an effort to determine just how the media is affecting women's body image,Sam, Claire, and I set out to interview women hoping to include as diverse a background as possible, including race, sexual preference, class,religion, and age. Our first excursion landed us in Northampton, MA, a bustling city of college students, families,and young professionals. I was apprehensive at first, approaching complete strangers and asking them to share their views on body image and media. Their willingness to not only participate, but really open up to us, was encouraging and an eye opening experience. When selecting our next "candidate" for the documentary, I found myself examining all of the women on the street; mothers, old women, schoolgirls. Each was caught up in their daily lives and not doing anything particular interesting that I would have otherwise paid them notice. But after our fist interview, I wanted to know how all of these women felt, what their views were on feminism, themselves as women and how they felt media and the politics of media affected those feelings. I wanted to ask mothers what their fears were for their daughters. I wanted to ask daughters what pressures they felt from others as their bodies were changing? I wanted to ask grandmothers what is was like to live life before the women's movement and after it. Every woman has a story and I wanted to hear them all. In making this documentary, I discovered that more women than not, are rejecting this single image of beauty that the media has upheld, and instead constructing their own definition. They all admitted that is a daily struggle and requires the support of friends and family and a good foundation of self-esteem to not try and conform and compare themselves to the thin white models in magazines. But with age, all have agreed that they had begun the slow process of self acceptance, which no diet, make-up product, or hair tonic, could promise. Making this documentary allowed to me to talk with women whom otherwise I would not have had the opportunity. Their candidness was moving and I hope it opened their own eyes to being an active woman as it did mine
This article contributed by Laura Hearn.
|
|
|  |
 |  |
There has always been a question as to whether the media reflects the views and ideals of the general public or shapes them. One aspect of media that has been under increasing criticism is the medias portrayal of beauty. Whether through print advertisements, TV characters, movie roles, or magazine models, all of these modes of media have managed to uphold and maintain one standard of beauty that few people are able to maintain. One of the problems that have erupted from these brainwashing images is the affect it is having on women and young girls. Because they are bombarded by this usually unattainable physical ideal, they suffer from a poor body image. Eating disorders are one symptom of this dissatisfaction, where women wind up fighting a daily battle between realistic weight goals and near starvation. The white, tall, blond, blue-eyed, large breasted, heterosexual, waif that is drilled into our subconscious as perfection, can have detrimental affects on our women. In filming this documentary and talking with women of all backgrounds and ages, we made the interesting conclusion that while women agree to the notion that body image is definitely affected by body image, they are beginning to reject these false ideals and striving to develop their own definition of what is beautiful.
This article contributed by Laura Hearn. |
|
 |  |
|
|
|
