Credit: Natalia Kiss, Serbia
Today is Love Your Body Day in America, an annual occasion sponsored by the National Organization for Women to draw attention to the damaging beauty standards imposed on women through mainstream media and advertising.
NOW has been running LYB Day events for 16 years, including an annual poster contest (that’s this year’s winning entry above) and educational materials that help explain the corrosive effect of media representations on young women’s self-image. This year, it’s also hosting a Google Plus hangout where women can share their personal stories.
Earlier this year, NOW published results of a survey that asked women what really bugs them — and inspires them — about how they are portrayed in the media. The results were revealing, though not surprising. Here’s a sample:
Worst Body-Image Incident/Trend From The Past Year
Most Inspiring Incident/Trend
Changes We’d Like To See
You can see the full survey results here.
While I cannot disagree with any of the concerns registered I am dismayed about the “low ranking” of plus size models of color. The media clearly play a very large role in our perceptions of virtually everything, from politics to beauty. Sad that in 2013 we are still having to fight for greater representation of real women and that includes women of color. That truly includes hispanics and asians as well as other women of color. We still have a long way to go ladies.