I love being part of an amazing community of parenting bloggers - I think we all have one very main interest and that's our children; to keep them safe, make them happy and hopefully help them grow into all round good people *fingers crossed huh*. I really believe in the Be Real Body Image Pledge that Dove are supporting.
"8 in 10 (80%) UK women and girls wish the media did a better job of portraying women with diverse physical appearance, and of varying age, race, shape and size"
I wish that the media did portray women with a wider range of beauty, different shapes, ages and races. I think it's just getting worse and one thing that worries me so much - even more so now that I've got a daughter of my own, that'll be growing up in this current world is that we as a whole are so obsessed with how we look. It's not just my little girl that I worry about either, I genuinely worry that my son will be affected by this too. He could have his own body issues because of how men are represented in the media or he could look at women in the media and judge women he meets in his life upon them.
I don't want that.
I want my children to understand what is real, I remember that what I saw in the media did have an affect on the way I thought as a teenager and to be honest sometimes now I still have to remind myself that the people we see in magazines are edited they are not showing their real imperfections causing us to think they look perfect and we don't. You may have seen my earlier post about Bullying where I often got called fat at school - REALLY? Please, those legs were not fat. But I believed I was fat, I knew I was bigger than those I saw on TV or in magazines and I didn't like that.Man, I would love those skinnier legs now! Or to go back and tell my younger self to just wear the shorts! One day they just won't fit over both of your legs...
I love that by having a blog I can easily get what I think out there quickly, I love the idea that something - anything could one day potentially help someone with an issue in their own life. Lets not be stupid, life can be really hard at times. And the thing is you never know what someone else is truly feeling on the inside. I will use my experience of being
a young woman as an example here... Seeing people so perfect in the media can leave you feeling insecure about yourself, often people don't realise how much work goes into creating that perfect photoshopped image - sometimes they are even made thinner. I didn't realise that sometimes 'normal' every day people edited their photos in such a way too until I was about 18years old and a friend at the time, started editing a photo of herself before anyone saw it... if she was editing herself - I wanted to be edited in that photo too so she made my arms smaller, the thigh gap was bigger... But why? Why did we feel as young women that that's what we needed to do before posting a photo on to social media? She even made our teeth whiter. Did she think people wouldn't notice that she was so different in person?
Why can't the media just show 'imperfections'... Show someone who doesn't have perfectly clear skin or crystal white teeth? Show someone who is a bigger size than model average? I grew up in the Kate Moss era - skinny.. now it's Kim K I would have fitted in a little better with my curves but still is this how we want our younger generation to think? Continuously trying to 'fit in' with what the media says is beauty. Real women are around us so why not promote them and promote happier brains of our younger generation.
Why doesn't the media show women and men who are natural beauties, lets show the imperfections because everyone has them and I want my children to know that it's normal to be different, its normal to not like certain bits about you too but what's really sad is when we feel we need to change them. We don't need to change anything.
The Be Real Body Image Pledge is a set of core principles for promoting real diversity in
advertising, fashion, music and the media. It calls for businesses, publishers, editors and
advertisers to act responsibly by positively promoting different body shapes and sizes,
people with and without disabilities, and all ages, genders and ethnicities. Organisations that sign up pledge to reflect diversity, reflect reality, promote health and wellbeing and promote the Pledge and its values.
The Pledge marks the latest step in Dove’s commitment to helping women and girls feel positive about the way they look. In 2004, Dove created the Dove Self-Esteem Project to help the next generation of women see beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety. To date, Dove has positively impacted the lives of more than 19 million young people around the world, and has reached over two million lives in the UK.
Go to www.Dove.com for more information.
This campaign urges real mums, aunties, sisters, grandmas like you & me to speak up and #PledgeToBeReal encouraging us all to support the launch of the Be Real Body Image Pledge. See @DoveUK and @BeReal_Campaign on twitter.
They had a competition to win an all-expenses paid trip to a leading blogging conference in Orlando (YES America!) but I don't think I'll be lucky enough to win - I didn't want that 'oh, I'll never win that' thought stop me from entering anyway because if Mumsnet Blogfest has taught me one thing it's to say what I am thinking and stand up for what I believe in. And #PledgeToBeReal is something I really agree with.
“I created this post as a competition entry in support of Dove and the Be Real Body Image Pledge.”
Why doesn't the media show women and men who are natural beauties, lets show the imperfections because everyone has them and I want my children to know that it's normal to be different, its normal to not like certain bits about you too but what's really sad is when we feel we need to change them. We don't need to change anything.
advertising, fashion, music and the media. It calls for businesses, publishers, editors and
advertisers to act responsibly by positively promoting different body shapes and sizes,
people with and without disabilities, and all ages, genders and ethnicities. Organisations that sign up pledge to reflect diversity, reflect reality, promote health and wellbeing and promote the Pledge and its values.
The Pledge marks the latest step in Dove’s commitment to helping women and girls feel positive about the way they look. In 2004, Dove created the Dove Self-Esteem Project to help the next generation of women see beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety. To date, Dove has positively impacted the lives of more than 19 million young people around the world, and has reached over two million lives in the UK.
Go to www.Dove.com for more information.
This campaign urges real mums, aunties, sisters, grandmas like you & me to speak up and #PledgeToBeReal encouraging us all to support the launch of the Be Real Body Image Pledge. See @DoveUK and @BeReal_Campaign on twitter.
They had a competition to win an all-expenses paid trip to a leading blogging conference in Orlando (YES America!) but I don't think I'll be lucky enough to win - I didn't want that 'oh, I'll never win that' thought stop me from entering anyway because if Mumsnet Blogfest has taught me one thing it's to say what I am thinking and stand up for what I believe in. And #PledgeToBeReal is something I really agree with.
“I created this post as a competition entry in support of Dove and the Be Real Body Image Pledge.”
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