I cannot believe that it is almost Halloween. Fall seems to be flying by. My children announced to me today what characters they are going to be to go out trick or treating. My 2 year old wants to be Superman, my 4 year old is going to be Buzz Lightyear and my 7 year old is going to be a Power Ranger.
Power Ranger? Are they even still around? I thought that was ancient history, so I inquired further why he would want to be a Power Ranger this year. I was surprised at his answer. You see, the Blue Power Ranger has “built in” muscles in the costume. My son, fully aware that there are a few girls at school that have a crush on him, wants to have muscles.
Ever since the new initiative in schools to keep kids healthy and fit across the US, I’ve noticed my two older sons wanting to exercise more and eat, “Sports Candy.” For those of you who are not familiar with the fitness superhero on Nickelodeon keenly named “Sportacus,” Sports Candy is fruits and vegetables. The school no longer allows parents to send any type of junk food in with their child for snack, the lunch menu is a healthy one and all children are required to run 26 miles before the end of the school year.
With all of these new programs in place to get kids back on the right track of being healthy and fit and carrying that over into the teens years and through adulthood, one would begin to wonder why beauty and fashion magazines still continue to create flawless superficial images of fit bodies and beautiful faces in their pages. Why continue to create this image of beauty that is unattainable (and sometimes the reason behind many eating disorders)? Some companies are catching on and understanding the issue.
The new commercial being seen in Canada by Dove is a real eye opener. I surely hope that it will be seen here for all teen and pre-teens to see. I've been noticing more and more commercials by Dove with their Campaign for Real Beauty to show not just underweight beauty queens, but real normal average women. Have you noticed this, as well?
While I fully support the new school initiative in my school district to get kids healthy and fit, I hope that beauty and fashion magazines can put Photoshop to rest, showing us that a true healthy and fit person of beauty needs no airbrushing. I realize that this may never go away, but certainly it would be nice to tone it down a bit. In fact, in their October and November issue, Marie Claire has an article called Beauty Road Show. It's where they photograph women of all ages and races, cross-country, and ask them what they love about themself. The photo's are fabulous, representing real women everywhere.
What are your thoughts on body image and the media and the new healthy schools initiative?
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