Body Image

In a strange turn of events today, a magazine article from the spring 2008 edition of Ms. Magazine ended up on my desk. The title of the article, "Out-of-body image" by Caroline Heldman, PH.D, a professor at Occidental College, is a fascinating and frightening look at the cost of girls' and womens' preoccupation with body image.

The article, argues that as women's bodies are more and more objectified in the media, and consequently by men, their overall abilities, including cognitive function and political efficacy go way down: "women and girls who self objectify are more prone to depression and low self-esteem and have less faith in their own capabilities, which can lead to diminished success in life. They are more likely to engage in "habitual body monitoring"- constantly thinking about how their bodies appear to the outside world."

"self objectification has also been repeatedly shown to sap cognitive functioning, because of all the attention devoted to body monitoring."

"girls are taught to view their bodies as 'projects' that need work before they can attract others, whereas boys are likely to learn to view their bodies as tools to use to master the environment."

"Kristen Harrison recently discovered that self-objectification actually impedes girls' motor skills. Their study of 202 girls, ages 10 to 17, found that self objectification impeded girls' ability to throw a softball, even after differences in age and prior experience were factored out."

"One of the more stunning effects of self-objectification is its impact on sex. Nudity can cause great anxiety among self-objectifiers, who then become preoccupied with how their bodies look in sexual positions."

I thought the following was especially interesting,
"My research with college-age women indicates that the less they consume media, the less they self-objectify, particularly if they avoid fashion magazines."

While in high school and college, I was very aware of my own body. Because I had developed early in middle school and have always been very athletic (and muscular), I was painfully aware of not being thin or waif-like. I count myself lucky though, that I was always surrounded by people who had a healthy concept of their own bodies and the importance of eating a well-balanced diet. As I fretted about my chest being too big or my legs looking too "thick", I did also see my body as a tool to conquer my environment. My friends were often people I played sports with or had lots of adventures with. Activities that didn't depend on us being "pretty" or "thin" but rather engaged in what we were doing.

I think I was lucky that I wasn't surrounded by people who read Vogue, were constantly "dieting" and trying to be thinner than the next girl, or who obsessed about how boys saw them. Instead, while I was still growing up and was self-conscious, I had pretty healthy surroundings. I shudder to think about how I might be different, more self-objectifying, if I hadn't had good friends and a solid foundation of self-respect. This article reminded me that that is not true for everyone, especially in an age when it is hard to escape the influences of the media.

Coming soon: mental break!

Both Friday and Saturday, for the first time in several months, I didn't do work on any homework or thesis writing. It was blissful, exciting, and the mundane was really, really fun.

On Friday, once I got work out of the way, I met friend LLC at the gym for a indoor run and chatty walk. I rushed home and baby A from down the block came over for evening babysitting. Friend LEH joined me for babysitting, conversation in between baby management, and for a late dinner thrown together. After baby A went to sleep, husband and I worked on packing details for our upcoming European adventure.

Saturday I brought my car in for new tires, husband and I went to book stores to buy a few travel books we had decided on and then to half-price books for books we can discard as we travel. I rushed to meet LLC and fellow BM for bridesmaid dress shopping for an hour (pretty darn successful!) before heading to a spring frisbee game (brrr!). Spent time with friends A&B last night and had yummy pizza.

Today, I was back at thesis writing but with some breaks. This morning I submitted one of my final papers and tonight I will send my rough drafted thesis to my graduate adviser. After Tuesday when I present my thesis to the staff at work and present with my action research project to my Tuesday night class, I am home free! Although I know I have to come back from European vacation ready to write, I am very ready for a break.

This is why I love kids:

Today we were walking home from our frisbee game and we passed a little boy and his dad getting out of their car. We exchange hellos and the boy yells "wait!" as he climbs to stick his head (and most of his body) outside the window of the car.
The boy says, "Do you know my name?"
John says, "No, I don't, what is it?"
"Elliot"
"Hi Elliot"
Me: "Hi Elliot, do you live in this house?"
"NO, I live in Elliot's house."

Dear Friends, Thank You.

I feel like I talk about this all the time, but here goes again: having a sense of community is so important to me. I feel so lucky to have this lately both in big and small ways.

I think about it often because it is one of main themes of the work I do: the importance of relationships, of partnerships, and community building through citizen engagement. (I'll be honest I am also doing research around it in a way for my thesis.)

But I also think about it often because it is a huge value to me in terms of quality of life. I like people, I naturally connect with others. I like to talk, I like to hear what other people have to say. I like knowing people and really value being able to be myself. Out of this slowly develops a web- a community of people that love, like, and support you.

Recently, while husband and I have been spending time with friends, I have heard this theme come up often and in various ways. Finding ways to live in the same neighborhood, knowing and spending time with people on your block, sharing CSA shares, learning skills, collaborating to get things done, or simply talking through complex decisions about life, marriage, or money have all been topics of conversation lately. As we get older, and thoughts about family, lifestyle, and maintaining 'adult' relationships are more present in our minds- it is community that we are making decisions about- sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously.

So while I had been thinking about all of this last week, Jff emails friends to ask for help painting our basement. It is my nature to initially feel a bit embarrassed about this- I hate to impose on people. And then the emails started pouring in... and I was reminded that if I treasure community so much it is important to give people the chance to show their support as much as I like the opportunities to do this for other people.

This last weekend, for a measly offer of lunch, we had SEVEN friends volunteer to come paint our basement. Within a few hours our basement was transformed from white walls into a beautiful collection of rooms. People worked so hard to make OUR basement look nice it was clear how much they cared. I was so touched... and so aware of what a tremendous community husband and I are lucky to have.

So thank you friends, both for the conversation and for the actions you take in making our lives better.

Update: Nerd Television Watching

In attempt to illustrate that I am still alive, I decided I should write a little something.

Tonight in a drastic departure from the last three weeks, I declined to freak out about my thesis. Instead, I guiltily took part in watching a part of an episode of the series, The Impressionists. This series is based off of the true stories of the Impressionist painters in France during the late 1800's. It is historically accurate, it shows many of the paintings by Manet, Monet, Renoir, and other contemporaries by title and in what context they were painted in, all the course of a fascinating story. It is a good brush up on historical details prior to our impending visit to my favorite museum in Paris, the Musee d'Orsay.

The only other television I have watched in the last month is an hour of Unnatural Causes, a series on what is really making us sick in this country. The findings will shock you and make you think a lot more about the country that we live in and the price that we pay for the lives that we lead. Check it out on PBS in the next weeks.

The other television watching I might do soon is a DVD that I requested from the library, Rick Steve's Germany and Scandinavia 2000-2007. Husband has turned into a big fan and I like his movies when I have seen them on PBS. Plus, it is intriguing to see what he chooses to show, I am hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the sites we are still deciding on. I will let you know how it is if I have time to watch any of it.