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Let’s Hear It for the Boys: How Men Help Fight Our Body Image Battles
0Our dad is cool. Like really cool. He knows everything there is to know about cars. He knows somebody everywhere we go. He can find a Maverik gas station — by pure instinct — anywhere they exist. He doesn’t get scared. Ever. Babies and …
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To the Mom Who Taught Me Everything: A Body Image Breakthrough
The mother-daughter relationship can be either incredibly helpful or dangerously harmful to a daughter’s body image. We stress the message that we are all more powerful than we realize and our influences matter. When a mother, grandma, sister, friend, or teacher speaks negatively about …
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Mind the (Thigh) Gap
Ever heard the phrase “Mind the gap?” It’s a warning to train passengers to take caution while crossing the gap between the train door and the station platform that began in London. Today, it’s time to use that phrase as a warning of a different …
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If You Must Think About Your Weight, Think These 10 Things
Another day, another opportunity to think about how much space you, as a woman, take up. That’s how it feels when you can’t throw a fat-burning supplement without hitting a visual about the losing of the weight or the gaining of the weight, and …
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Body Shame on You
“Shame on you!” Just the sound of that phrase feels awful, right? When someone says that phrase to you, it’s hard to ignore. But too many girls and women live in a constant state of shame that feels completely normal today — what scholars …
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The Case of the Disappearing Women Over 40: Anti-Aging and Symbolic Annihilation
If you lived on another planet and everything you knew about humans came from mainstream media, you’d be absolutely shocked to find out a couple of facts: 1) Female humans do not die or crawl into caves to disappear at age 40 while male humans …
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Cleanse Your Mind, The Rest Will Follow: Transform Your Health With a Media Fast
Have you tried the latest health cleanse? It’s SO great. It’ll help you feel better about your body inside and out, and jump-start your healthy choices so you’ll have the motivation to be active and feel A-MA-ZING. THIS cleanse is brand new. None of …
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The Ugly Side of Tanning: How That “Healthy Glow” Hurts Women
There are lots of causes we could argue are worth dying for: saving a life, freedom, maybe even religious martyrdom or something epic like that. Having “bronzed, sun-kissed” skin is not one of them. Not even Coco Chanel would argue with that, though she is …
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If Beauty Hurts, We’re Doing it Wrong
The pursuit of “beauty” causes an enormous amount of hurt today. Whether that’s the emotional and pyschological burden of feeling inadequate and disgusted with your appearance or the physical pain of starvation, cosmetic surgery, hair removal, purging or countless other acts of “beauty work,” it …
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Victoria’s Dirty Little Secret
You’ve probably heard VS rolled out a line of lingerie for teens called “Bright Young Things.”As part of the PINK brand for all the teenaged “things” across the world, these undies feature polka-dot hipsters with “Feeling Lucky?” printed on them, a lacey thong with the words, …
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Sex Sells, But We’re Buying More Than We Bargained For
In a world where advertising-fueled media has become all but inescapable, where the pornography industry has secretly and seductively infiltrated all aspects of pop culture, and sexualized female bodies sell everything from children’s toys to deodorant, it’s easy to feel like sex appeal is …
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Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History. Let’s Misbehave!
Well-behaved women seldom make history. Do you recognize this statement? We’ll give you the background in a bit, but for now, just think about this statement. And believe it. Many big industries want us to behave. They want us to be live “stylishly ever after,” they …
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Our Issue with Swimsuits (or lack thereof) in Sports Illustrated
On February 12, the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hit the mailboxes of 70 million SI subscribers, every newsstand and media outlet, and hundreds of millions will view the thousands of digitally manipulated, nude and near-nude images online. Since it’s unlikely you will …
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Shedding for the Wedding? Shed the Lies Instead!
“The big day.” Every bride gets one, and she is constantly reminded it’s all hers. But instead of setting apart one day to celebrate a happy new relationship, major industries have collided to make sure the bride-to-be knows she must resort to any and …
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Media Ideals: The Real True Hollywood Story
Note: This is an updated post from Feb. 2011 that is still, unfortunately, ridiculously relevant. After Lindsay’s post on the sketchiness of the BMI, lots of people seem to have breathed a sigh of relief. As an incredibly unreliable method for judging weight, the BMI …
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