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I have long held that body image is tied to something that art has been making an effort to point out. The media. However, I think it's even more perverse than that because it's really a vicious circle - the media only has to effect a small group of people and they spread the message like the plague to others. And it all begins around puberty.
Studies have been done (scientific studies, unlike this one) that show that up until around the onset of puberty males and females run a pretty equal course in self-esteem and in body image (a subsection of self-esteem really).
Enter puberty.
Naturally, it's a time of discomfort for both sexes - changes occur causing consciousness of things that were never considered before.
Still, look at the immediate messages received with this new consciousness. Girls become conscious of their breasts, only to be bombarded with messages in the media about bigger=better, etc. Nevermind the real world doesn't actually work that way or think that way. With the consciousness of their weight comes bombardment of a hollywood culture where only the most attractive - and least real or realistic - people are successful.
This is a serious problem. I only wish I knew a solution, but I fear perhaps were so far along the damage is permanent. The damage to feminine self-image cannot and should not be "fixed" as they get older and are forced to cope, but, rather, a way must be found to stop these messages from getting through in the developmental years in the first place.
As of now, the only way I know of to even begin doing that is very, very careful parenting.
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Le temps détruit tout
"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling
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