I've been reminded several times lately about a particular sickness in our marketing culture and figured it was time for a post.
Ad Age recently picked up on a study of college-age women that showed that ads showing skinny models gave them "more negative feelings about their sexual attractiveness, weight and physical condition than before". Nevertheless the participants said they were more likely to buy the products advertised with the thin models than products advertised with more realistic-looking women.
It's clear that making someone feel bad about themselves, and then implying that they will feel better about themselves if they simply purchase this item, is an effective way to sell. But it's gross, isn't it?
Research has shown that more than half of teenage girls think they should be on a diet, and "more than ten percent of adolescent girls and three percent of
boys binge eat or purge at least once a week, according to a study
published in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. (June 2008)" (http://www.anred.com/stats.html).
As more companies market clothing and bodycare products to men, body insecurities aren't limited to women anymore. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System showed that eating disorders among high school boys increased dramatically from 1995 to 2005 (http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/teen-boys-at-growing-risk-for-eating-disorders/hd-610226).
Our media's messages are unbelievably messed up about this topic. At a relative's house over the weekend, I saw a so-called "women's" magazine cover displaying a close-up shot of a tantalizing dessert for a feature story on summer recipes. The largest print on the cover, though, was the classic headline, "lose weight without dieting." With mixed messages like that in our faces, we wonder why women binge and purge?
At the end of the weekend, I was thumbing through a hand-me down copy of Vogue and discovered that the only actual "article" in the magazine was a story about one woman's dissatisfaction with the skin in front of her armpits, and her search for a plastic surgeon who would either operate or prescribe firming lotions to fix her "problem".
I guess I just wish we could figure out a better way to earn and spend our money. The talented Claire Mysko, former SmartGirl star editor in chief, director of the American Anorexia/Bulimia Association, and founder of Inside Beauty, certainly has. She just published "You're Amazing! A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self", a book to help girls navigate adolescence. Check out her book reading at Books of Wonder, 18 w. 18th St. in NYC, 6 pm on 8/6.
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