BlogHer - Body Image, Dieting, and Your New Year's Resolution - Comments

Sephora...You have got to be kidding me? Diet lip-gloss?

Catherine Morgan — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:56:11 -0600

Sephora is clearly taking advantage of women's insecurities over body image for profit...and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

patronizing, indeed

5resolutions — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:54:11 -0600

And also completely irresponsible, considering their customer base. As Alyssa pointed out, so many women struggle or have struggled with disordered eating and poor body image. I also wonder how many teens got that email. I believe it went out to everyone who is part of the Sephora Beauty Insider program, which is open to any customer who gives them an email address.

5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries

I'm so glad you wrote to them

5resolutions — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:27:28 -0600

I also sent them a letter (as soon as I picked my jaw up from off the floor!). I can't believe how off the mark they were with that email. I hope others call them on it, too.

5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries

Here's my note to Sephora

alyssaroyse — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:10:21 -0600

Slenderizing lip gloss? Are you kidding me? As someone who has spent loads of money in your store, I have always been pleased with the artistry and whimsy behind your beauty messaging. But to receive an email this morning that I can and should lose weight (a dangerous message to MANY women, and probably a large portion of your constituency,) and that I can and should do it with LIP GLOSS is so shallow and insulting that I can hardly fathom it.

Beauty cannot be about body shape alone. It is not healthy to our minds, souls or bodies to perpetuate that myth. Shame on you.

If you want to promote a fruity lip gloss, you should have had a resolution like "Eat More Fruit, it's healthy for that hot bod of yours. But when you can't grab an apple, grab a tube of...."

As someone with an amply rewarded career in PR and Marketing, who left it to make a difference in the world, I am perpetually stunned that companies such as yours make these rookie mistakes.

If nothing else, you'll get more customers by making them feel GOOD about themselves, not worse. Honey, not vinegar.

I look forward to seeing how you rectify this terrible messaging. Yes, losing weight is a common New Years Resolution, but there are a lot of skinny people who are going to unhealthy measures to be skinnier because people like you - the authority on beauty - are telling them they need to.

Please become part of the chorus encouraging health and happiness. Try again.
___________
Alyssa Royse
JUST CAUSE
make some good news!
www.JustCauseIt.com

I cannot believe that Claire

Lisa Stone — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:51:13 -0600

It's so patronizing! I just finished a survey of women writing about new year's resolutions and this is definitely counter to thwe way we want to treat each other and to be treated...

Great list, thank you.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Our 5 Resolutions

5resolutions — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:12:18 -0600

Thanks for this great post. Our blog is about making resolutions to promote healthy beauty. It's amazing to me how omnipresent these weight loss messages are, and at this time of year, the pressure is off the charts. Just this morning, I got a "Top 7 Beauty Resolutions" email from Sephora, telling me that one of my resolutions should be to lose weight...with lip gloss! If diet lip gloss isn't a wake-up call, I don't know what is.

Claire
5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries

Body Image

drjon — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:20:04 -0600

I was fascinated to read these comments on this blog!

I have to admit up front that I am neither a female nor overweight. However, as a Massage Therapist who does lots of emotional release work and as a teacher of Massage Therapists (90+% of whom are females) I work VERY HARD at convincing my student/therapist/friends that their body does not define them. Rather, their heart, their personhood, their ability to accept and love themselves, their ability to connect with their clients is what makes them real and beautiful and feminine. As one of you said above, while we all probably could stand to lose some weight (I recently lost 10# and 20" of extra weight/girth) we (even we guys) need to get past the cultural image making and manipulation and see ourselves as who we are: spirit, emotion, human, connecting, loving, helping.

As the doctor I understand there are physical issues with weight and that most weight loss programs don't start with the main issue which is ridding of toxins that hold fat. I can go there and talk about that. However, what is inside is still the most important.

Keep up the encouragement for each other found here!!

Blessings,

Dr Jon
The Renegade Doctor, The Medical Heretic
To Thine Own Self Be True!
http://www.beingwork.com
http://www.threebrothersbooks.com
http://www.goodheartgroupinc.com/blog

body image and the holidays

laurie toby edison — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:33:34 -0600

Debbie and I just posted "Body Impolitic's Annual Guide to Sane Holidays", and number two in the guide seems appropriate to this conversation.

"Eat what _you enjoy_. Desserts are not sinful, they're just desserts. If other people want to tell you what to eat or not to eat, that's their problem."

And then there's number six.

"Plan your responses to inevitable comments beforehand. For example, if you know that your mother will overfeed you and then, just as dessert is being cleared off the table, say "You look like you've gained weight," try, 'That was really a fabulous meal. Excuse me, I haven't had a minute to talk with Aunt Catherine.' "

Best for sane holidays!

Not to sound cliche

IAAdmin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:01:29 -0600

But, beauty starts on the inside. It's not about what you look like but how you feel, think, act, talk, and carry yourself. Losing weight won't make you happy unless you start on the inside first...............:)

Lisa
Iowa Avenue

Love Yourself Exactly As You Are.

Catherine Morgan — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:05:31 -0600

Thanks JoLynn. I agree with you 100%.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

I'm Not Making a New Year's Resolution to Lose Weight

jb108 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:55:42 -0600

Hi Catherine!

"Can you be at ease with your body, and still resolve to lose weight?" - absolutely!! I believe that you can love yourself exactly as you are now, drop the criticizm, and move on to healthy weight loss......not to get skinny but to have an abundance of energy, increase muscle strength through strength training, and lose weight by eating whole foods and doing regular cardio, walking being the easiest thing to do.

I'm not making a New Year's Resolution to lose weight because January 1st is just another day. This doesn't meant that I'm not working on my motivation and a healthier lifestyle, but I don't believe in dieting, and I don't believe in quick fixes. Love yourself as you are now and if you need to lose weight and gain a healthier body then love yourself through the process. Your life doesn't start when you reach a certain number on the scale!

JoLynn from The Fit Shack

I agree Melissa.

Catherine Morgan — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:43:05 -0600

I agree with you. Thanks for commenting.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

Real change and real

MelissaMcCreery — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:08:33 -0600

Real change and real self-care come from the inside out--not from a magazine or a diet or a vision of what we think we should look like. I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of messages of what we "should" eat and do that come at the beginning of every year--and that actually leave women feeling worse about themselves. A much kinder intention would be to start the year with the goal of getting better at listening to ourselves--that's how we really learn to feed ourselves in the best possible way--and, ultimately, that's where enduring good health and even weight loss begin.

Live Your Best Version of Your Life
my blog: http://www.endingemotionaleating.blogspot.com
my website: http://www.enduringchange.com

Dieting and Losing Weight

kadiprescott — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:03:34 -0600

From the Farmer of Seven Seeds

Wow! Dieting and the obsession with being skinny is just sick. Why don't women realize that it's about being healthy, not being thin? Trust me on this one, being thin does not necessarily mean you're healthy! I think that we should all make a resolution to be healthier in 2008. Ditch those fad diets and strive for good overall health. Yes, watch your intake, eat more colors and get moving. But love who you are on the inside, first and foremost. Our outer appearance, despite what media would lead us to believe, is NOT what counts. Be healthy, be happy, be YOU!! You are beautiful...it's time you start saying it and believing it!~ Kadi

A beautiful weight is a healthy weight.

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:37:01 -0600

Thanks for your comment, it is sooo true.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

Body Image, Dieting, and Your New Year's Resolution

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:20:31 -0600

For many of us, in the next few weeks we will be thinking about one thing, and one thing only. Dieting. The holiday parties will be over, and it will be time to make that inevitable New Year's Resolution, many of us will resolve to lose weight.

But why? Why will we be so consumed with dieting and losing weight?

Don't get me wrong, some of us really do need to lose some weight (me included). And we read study after study showing the health risks associated with being overweight. But, let's get "real" here for a minute...When we say "diet", we usually mean that we want to get back into our "skinny jeans". We don't like how we look, or we think others are judging us for how we look. Yes, we have a poor body image.

Is there not a woman among us who has not struggled with this issue at some point or another? It seems that loving, much less even liking our bodies raises issues. We postpone that love by saying, “I’ll love my body when…” When I lose ten pounds, when I get the face-lift, when I start working out, when the kids are older. But someday never comes, and many of us live in perpetual disregard of our earthly body temples. -- read full post

We think that if we can just get down to [enter magic number here] then we will be happy. And the "happy" part is a vicious circle. When we feel we look bad, it makes us sad (even depressed)...Then we run right on over to our "feel good" foods (usually also the fattening foods)...And the cycle continues.

This is from Karly...

I started First Ourselvesafter awakening from years of depression, body bashing, and Mommy martrydom. I saw how my quest for the perfect body, my inability to care for myself, and my self-abuse (I was an expert at beating myself up) kept me stuck: it kept me from being the wife, mother, friend---woman---I wanted to be. I couldn't share my light, or my gifts with others---I was snuffing them out. Learning to deeply and completely love and accept myself has allowed me to share my light, and speak to my truest passions. My ambition is to help other women do the same.

We know all about how our body images are being manipulated by the media, we know we have unrealistic ideas of what beautiful is...But, we will also still jump down the rabbit hole on January 2nd.

Now, this post isn't going to try to convince you not to do that. Because in all honesty, I'm jumping right down that dieting rabbit hole with you. I'm just going to ask you to consider a few things first.

So what would it look like to be beautiful today? That’s a hard question for most girls and women. The quick response would usually entail taller, thinner, blonder, straighter teeth, wider eyes, smaller nose, or a myriad of other physical features.

What if you looked in a mirror and saw the words “this is what beautiful looks like” right above your reflection? -- read full post here

This is from Big Fat Deal...

Big Fat Deal was born: a blog to help navigate those murky waters of body image, size, healthiness, hottyness, and Star Jones. In the comments here, we try to define who we are: a body positivity blog that is inclusive to people losing weight and people happy to be whatever weight they happen to be.

With her two collaborators, anne and Weetabix, mo pie tries to keep tabs on issues of weight in the media, pop culture, and society. Big Fat Deal is, first and foremost, a community. The thoughtful people who read, comment, and send in tips keep this site going. Here’s a place for you to introduce yourself, if you’d care to. And here is our Flickr photo group–you’re beautiful, you know. Please add your picture. We hope you like it here, you gorgeous thing, you.