Talking about our weight, the circumference of our thighs or our disastrous double chin is as natural (and hard to resist) as comparing ourselves to others, which is as natural (and hard to resist) as blinking. And apparently, it brings us together. According to one study, we bond over fat talk. When everyone’s doing it, it can be tough not to join in.
“Because women feel pressured to follow the fat talk norm, they are more likely to engage in fat talk with other females,” Martz [co-author of the study] told LiveScience. “Hence, women normalize their own body dissatisfaction with one another. If there are women out there who feel neutrally or even positively about their bodies, I bet we never hear this from them for fear of social sanction and rejection,” she said.
And the fat talk cycle continues. Surely, these sound familiar: “I won’t wear that until I lose 5 pounds.” “My stomach is so flabby.” “Her legs look huge in those shorts.” “I can’t believe I just ate that entire piece of cake.” “If I have another bite, I’m going to have to be rolled out of here.”
That’s where Fat Talk Free Week, which kicked off this week, comes in. Organized by the Tri Delta sorority, this international campaign aims to raise awareness about the negative effects of the thin ideal and poor body image.
So, what’s the big deal about engaging in fat talk?
According to the website:
We all lose when 50% of our population is distracted from more meaningful and fulfilling pursuits that make life full and worth living. And when 50% of our population is raised to hate their bodies, we all lose because research shows that body dissatisfaction is associated with poor health behaviors.
Boosting Body Image
Here’s how you can improve your body image, according to the Eating Recovery Center in Denver.
- Educate yourself and others. Increased awareness of eating disorders and body image concerns can help people understand why body image discrepancies arise and how to battle them. The models in the magazines weren’t born that way; airbrushing and photo editing programs promote the unattainable.
- Teach children healthy body behaviors. Parents and authority figures are the biggest role models in a child’s developing body image. Offer children constructive verbal messages; this can help build their self-esteem and enhance a positive body image.
- Be aware of your thoughts. Replacing negative thinking patterns with more positive ones can help rectify a poor body image. Think about what your body allows you to do, rather than how it looks. This can help redirect your focus toward appreciation of your body.
- Eliminate self-destructive behaviors. Self-destructive behaviors, such as overly critical comments about weight, can cause individuals to focus solely on their body’s negative aspects. Take a look in the mirror. Affirm positives and practice relaxation activities such as yoga or meditation to fully connect with your body.
See here for top tips from Julie Holland, an eating disorder specialist and the Center’s chief marketing officer.
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Links to This Article
Day 21: Oops, I did it again! « See Sarah Eat (10/21/2009)
From Psych Central's website:
Building a Better Body Image with a Daily Dose of Inspiration | Weightless (2/2/2010)
4 Comments to
“Fat Talk Free Week”
I think this mission is significant because it’s one of the first mainstream movements I’ve seen (that is, not from an explicitly feminist group–I’m a feminist but must acknowledge that many people are scared by the F-word, and on a topic like this semantics need to fall by the wayside) AND it has nothing to do with selling a product like the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. I wrote more about my thoughts here:
http://velvet-steamroller.blogspot.com/2009/10/delta-delta-delta-may-just-help-ya-help.html
I believe that this is a great event because it really helps show how distorted our views are and how as a society it is really hard for us to break this mold of what is perceived as beauty. Without everyone’s help this unachievable goal of thinness will never change.
Thin is no longer just about how you look; it seems to have got muddled up with notions of success in a whole host of other, completely unrelated, things.
When the dress size of singers starts being more important than their singing or the latest diet of an actress is higher up in the headlines than their acting, then we’re really getting the message worryingly wrong –
At the impressionable age of 11, when adult insecurities and expectations are starting to kick in, I developed anorexia bulimia. It has taken me 18 years to get rid of it. As my experience taught me, eating disorders are intimately bound up with social expectations (girl power), psychological characteristics’ (perfectionism, intelligence),cultural trends (24 hours food) and the age old struggle to find your identity.
We need to start changing the message about the relationship between outer appearance and inner person in order to help people through this process, rather than watching an increasing number of young people lose their teenage years – and, in some cases, their life – to eating disorders….
Oh yes…and female comparisons and competitions – part of human nature – but it’s nice to move beyond this point -
Very important points to deal with a difficult situation People stop doing their normal activities due to this. Culturally their needs to be much work to help us with this issue.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 20 Oct 2009
