Tuesday, March 11, 2008

So, alot of the topics we've discussed (on this blog and in person) come back to how we percieve ourselves and how the media alters our self image. I found a book, I think is really great in helping promote a positive self image. Body Drama takes a really interesting approach to making women and girls feel comfortable in our own skin, answering questions about our body and promoting all types of people. It eliminates myths and shows us real women. I think it's worth reading "You’d think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish I’d had as a teen and in college—an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how women’s bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) you’ll find medical pictures of things you need to be able to recognize, true confessions by yours truly, and the encouragement you need to appreciate the uniqueness, strength, and beauty of your body. What are you waiting for?"—Nancy Redd " What do you think about this kind of media?

5 comments:

Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner said...

I am going to get this book! At 37 I feel like I'm starting to "outgrow" many of my body issues, but certainly not all of them. And I find that I am unconsciously more aware of my seven-year-old daughter's body development than I am of my son's. I feel very protective of her in terms of helping her be comfortable with who and how she is, but I also find myself wanting her to fit some sort of stereotype of cute or pretty or sassy or cooly indifferent so that she doesn't have the same insecurities I had as a tween and teen.

Make sense?

Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner said...

Oops...forgot that I was going to answer the question of what I think of this type of media. Not having read it yet, I can say that generally I think people telling their own personal, human stories through radio, books, film and other media help media consumers recognize that we are not alone in our experiences of feeling different, outside, separate, weird, confused, angry, etc. Popular media tends to create a sense that even the folks portrayed as outsiders fit some sort of "perfection" mold and in the end others come to see that and accept them just as they are and everyone is happy. That's just not edgy enough or true enough for me!

Kirsten;; said...

i think it is definately a good thing to promote open expressions of real emotions and experiences. The only problem is it IS one ONE persons experience, and though some of it is general, and should be common knowledge [but isn't usually....] some of it really does apply to just one person, or maybe a couple people... or even worse, a majority of people!!!
because those who dont feel or act or think the way that the person writing the book does thinks that there is something wrong with them, especially at young ages.

this hasn't happened to me, but i have several friends who wont read these types of books because they just dont usually fit into what they are talking about.


THAT BEING SAID!!!

there needs to be more real-deal, non-artificial, answers without agenda directed towards young girls/ teens, and i find that from the perspective you are talking about, its a new and refreshing way of talking these things and exposing that sort of information to the people who really need it in an easy-to-access and PRIVATE format.

=D

yea.. IM OUT. night,

Maddy said...

I think this kind of thing is really helpful, because it allows people to explore sensitive issues in a private way before they go and try to ask other people about it or discuss it. They can develop their own opinions because there are more than one person who write these books, so a variety of opinions are available.

HaNNaH said...

Kirsten, i agree with you, but the cool thing about this book is that although some of the stories are just from this one author they have 100+ pages of pictures with every type of women... I didn't fit with everything they talked about, but I did feel somethings were relly personal! :)