When it comes to body image, society is full of contradictions. On the one hand, we’re told we should all strive for that skinny supermodel body or those rock-hard six-pack abs.
But another viewpoint rebukes the idea of that branded attractiveness. Nicole Clark, a former model who visited ASU Tuesday for Body Pride Week, is one who subscribes to this alternate idea.
“I wasn’t proud to be a model because I was part of the problem,” Clark told The State Press.
There is a lot of truth to that statement.
Models are characterized as the ideal for ages ranging from middle school to beyond college. Skinny waists and hourglass figures — that’s what we see looking back at us from magazine covers in supermarket checkout lines. Men don’t escape it either. Magazines like GQ also tend to have men that are in outstanding shape.
Is this the image of popular culture: an hourglass figure and biceps the size of basketballs? We refuse to accept this, and people like Nicole Clark and First Lady Michelle Obama give us hope.
Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative encourages healthy eating and fitness. Instead of promoting a certain body type or image, the program just encourages an active lifestyle and making smart choices when we sit down at the dinner table. In a country that faces a constant battle between the two extremes of body images — obesity and skeletal skinniness — Obama’s approach is worthy of praise.
Clark has also taken her cause to the public. Once she quit modeling, Clark became a filmmaker. Her documentary, “Cover Girl Culture: Awakening the Media Generation,” unearths the attitudes and culture of the modeling world. A large part of the film is dedicated to the sexualization of younger girls — girls that have barely reached puberty.
Not only is this shocking and a tragic waste of childhood, it sets the stage for a life filled with lowered self-confidence and acceptance of their body. If young girls are completely immersed in the “cover girl culture,” body image problems are sure to follow if they cannot meet the thin-as-a-rail requirement popular culture has set as the standard.
This negative connotation of beauty manifests itself in ugly ways. In San Antonio, a teenager who won a beauty pageant might be stripped of her title. One of the reasons? She gained weight.
Does that mean there is a blanket definition for attractiveness? It all depends on what beliefs you subscribe to. We hope that through events like ASU’s Body Pride Week, Clark’s documentary and Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, a positive message will reach men and women, both young and old.
These programs promote body-image confidence and a healthy lifestyle. The confidence that comes with acceptance and the health that comes with exercising and eating right cannot be matched. It’s not about that stick-thin waist or the chiseled body. It’s about being comfortable in your own skin.
