Girls In Crisis: Low Self-esteem In Girls A Rising Epidemic

This is a short article about young girls' low self esteem and body image. Unhealthy body image contributes to girls' low self esteem since they are young like age 8.

Nov 19, 2008 – Girls worldwide feel that they don’t have what it takes to be beautiful, confident people. They aren’t comfortable with themselves and don’t like what they see when they look in the mirror. Girls as young as 8 years old are having issues with their looks and their body image. They are discussing with their friends the characteristics they don’t like about themselves. They want to go on diets. And it only gets worse over time. The peak age of low self-esteem is 13 years old; the transition year from tween, ages 8-12, to teen, ages 13-18. These findings come from months of research, statistic watching, talking with girls and ongoing discussions at the website GirlEvolution.com. According to GirlEvolution.com Owner Chrishawn Simpson-MacLeod, most girls are in a bad, insecure place right now. Something needs to change so that these girls know that they are unique, special, beautiful individuals that can live good lives, become who ever they want to be and have healthy, positive relationships. A 16-year old Southern girl from Arkansas said, ”I’m fat, I’m ugly and I just don’t feel good about myself.” Another 9-year old Midwestern girl from Chicago stated, “I want to be pretty just like the models. I need to go on a diet because I’ve gained a few pounds and I don’t want to get fat!” And shockingly, a 17-year old girl from the UK stated, “I have dealt with years of eating disorders, cutting and depression all coming from years of feeling like I wasn’t good enough due to some childhood traumas.” It’s an epidemic. And the problem is worldwide. “We HAVE to change our definition of beauty,” says Simpson-MacLeod. “We have to educate, empower, encourage and inspire girls when they are young so that when they become women they have the confidence they need to be confident, to be great, to be themselves and to be beautiful.”

Dysmorphia

I decided to post my reflection paper where I wrote about dysmorphic disorder. It took a lot of thought because it's a very personal subject to me, but also very important. If you don't know what dysmorphia is please read the article that is featured in my paper. It's an important disorder that not enough people know about.

Body Image

I went to the New York Times website and put the term “body image” in the search box. After a couple unrelated articles were listed, I found one titled “When Ugliness is in Patient’s Eye, Body Image Can Reflect Mental Disorder” http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DF1331F931A35753C1A967958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1. Although not the most compassionate title, it caught my eye so I decided I would read it.

The article was about dysmorphic disorder, and how it’s a relatively new formal diagnosis, and recognized mental disorder. It is rarely diagnosed, only when people have such severely critical images of some aspect of their body that it impedes their ability to do their daily activities. It also talked about how people’s self-perception of their body has gotten increasingly worse over the years and even mentioned how 31% of ten-year-olds at an elementary school “felt fat”. I thought that was heart-breaking. Children should not have to deal with that kind of negative thinking and pressure. The article also mentioned the media and how women compare themselves to models and “unattainable standards” so they are more likely to be unhappy with their bodies.

I had a very easy time relating to this article because I was diagnosed with dysmorphia when I was in high school. I had an eating disorder for a little while, although not an extreme case, and still have issues with food and some pretty bad body image problems. I thought it was normal for girls to feel bad about some aspect of their bodies, but mine got so bad that I wore baggy clothes all the time and a bandana to cover my hair because I was so self-conscious. I tried to play it off as “I wanted to be comfortable” and that I didn’t want to wear clothes that would be uncomfortable to sit in class in, but I knew that wasn’t true. I actually still won’t wear shorts, and get extremely uncomfortable in a bathing suit but I have a very supportive boyfriend who tries to get me to realize that I’m “beautiful”.

I think the body image problem is an example of oppression with a defined norm. The models on TV and in magazines and the guys in movies with six-pack abs and perfectly symmetrical faces are the norm in this case. Everyone else is either judged, or judges themselves in relation to this unobtainable ideal, which makes for a lot of unsatisfied people. It is a lot of pressure to try and live up to the norms and standards that are set for us by the media, and it’s quite exhausting.

Sex and the Problem of Self-Esteem

I thought this was a really interesting article. I've always been interested in how teenagers (and people in general) try to feel better about themselves through promiscuity and unhealthy relationships.

Sex and the Problem of Self-Esteem

by Eric Francis Coppolino, April 29, 2008

Though it may be difficult to see, we have a serious self-esteem problem in our society. We are, in short, either taught that we don’t exist, taught to hate ourselves, or some combination of the two. Most people you see walking around on the street don’t feel worthy of love. And this seems to be a matter of self-love, or the lack thereof.

If we are lacking self-esteem—a problem so pervasive as to be invisible—we are going to have a lot of problems in relationships. This can account for much of our stuff around jealousy. For example, if we need a relationship to know that we exist, then we will naturally feel that our existence is threatened if our partner so much as smiles at someone else.

If much of our trip in relationships is designed to cover up a lack of real self-awareness, we are adding several dense layers of complication to finding out who we really are. It would seem that the real solution to our relationship stuff, our jealousy, our loneliness, and many other factors, is to figure out who we are, enter a conscious relationship with that person, and then take that into our relationships with others.

In other words, we need to get to the place where the most honest relationship we have in the world is with ourselves, and then let that overflow into our encounters with the people around us—not forgetting in what order these things happen. Unfortunately, we are taught to have relationships with ourselves that are based specifically on denying and deceiving ourselves. This is a sad state of humanity, but one that could be easily addressed—if we were somehow relieved of the fear to look within.

And a lot of other kinds of fear. When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, during his first season in office, he hired the Heritage Foundation to lobby Congress for something called abstinence-only sex “education.” This is a program, taught in public schools and elsewhere, that indoctrinates kids to remain abstinent until heterosexual marriage. Kids are taught that birth control does not work. Masturbation and homosexuality are not mentioned. It is direct-denial sex education. You pay to have this taught in public schools.

The Imagery of Gender

I thought I would share my reflection paper with everyone. The music video I chose to analyze for gender stereotypes is titled About You Now. It is by the Sugababes. Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPPgHlh1PVI
The most apparent pattern of behavior I saw in this video was the activity level for characters of each gender. The males in the video were much more active in their environment than the women. The main guy throughout the video was walking through the city, overcoming various obstacles. He climbed over traffic barriers and construction zone signs. He scaled dumpsters and dump trucks. Even one of the extras, a man throwing out the trash, was being more physically active than the women in the video. The main girl in the storyline of the video was walking through the same city, but when she came to the construction signs, she walked around them. The entire time, she was looking at her phone, trying to call the guy or waiting for him to call. Another woman on crutches was walking slowly and served only as another obstacle for the guy to get past. Even the three singers were not too active. They did not dance, so much as they moved from one stance to another along with the music. All of this imagery plays to the gender stereotype that men are active, conquerors of their environment and women are more passive, avoiding obstacles.
The lyrics of the song are basically an apology from one character to another. The couple had an argument, but one or possibly both of them have realized they said things they did not mean or did not think through. Now they are out on the town searching for each other. The way I interpreted the video after a couple of viewings, the apologetic lyrics fit both the male and the female. And both were searching for each other. However, the first time I watched it, I assumed the singers were acting as the voice for the female character in the video, simply because they were all women. If one does not analyze the lyrics, they can easily make these assumptions without giving it any more thought. The initial interpretation made me think the song was saying that the couple broke up because the girl overreacted about something, but now she was sorry. Unfortunately, it can end up sounding like a story about how girls are too emotional and responsible for any relationship troubles.
The intended message in the video is drawn from what I discovered after several viewings. The lyrics can be applied to either of the characters and many real-life people. Anybody is capable of overreacting or misconstruing a situation, male or female. And anybody is also capable of recognizing their mistake and apologizing for it or repairing the damage. The message is that we cannot “bring yesterday back around.” We must rectify our errors and then move on, instead of having too much pride to apologize. Also, it can be taken to mean that we should let the little things go. It is unfortunate that some couples fight about some of the most insignificant things as if they were the foundation of their relationship. Not only should we make amends for past arguments, but we should try to relax more. Do not worry about your boyfriend’s unhealthy eating habits or your girlfriend constantly texting or getting phone calls from her friends. Let go of things that are not important and remember your love for each other.
Other than the males being more active in the video than the females, it does not speak to any issues of power differences between men and women. Both characters seemed like relatable people. Other than my initial misinterpretation of the lyrics, there does not seem to be any unintentional messages in this video.
Let me know what you think.

Girls' Self Image Survives Press Of Glossy Ads

This is another article about girls self image from The New York Times

(Also, i wonder if I can talk about another topic. I am interested in teenage pregnancy as well.)

Flip through any magazine for teen-age girls and the message is hard to miss: beauty equals long, shapely legs, perfectly coiffed hair and, above all, the half-starved look of someone who subsists solely on arugula and bean sprouts.
Studies have shown that, at least in a laboratory setting, exposure to such ultra-thin images encourages excessive dieting and a negative body image in young girls. But few psychologists have tested this theory outside the laboratory, or investigated whether the effects of media exposure last over time.
Now a new study, being presented this week at the American Psychological Association meeting, suggests that in the real world, most children absorb the images purveyed by advertisers and fashion editors with no ill effects. But for a subset of girls -- those who already are dissatisfied with their bodies, who have little support from family and friends, or who feel pressure from peers or parents to be thin -- exposure to the media ideal does take a toll.
Dr. Eric Stice, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues, Dr. Diane Spangler of Brigham Young University and Dr. W. Stewart Agras of Stanford University, studied 219 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 over a 20-month period. Half of the subjects received a 15-month subscription to Seventeen, the magazine with the largest readership among adolescent girls, and they agreed to read it for at least 30 minutes each month. The other half did not receive the subscription.
At the end of the study period, the researchers found, most of the girls were unaffected by the magazine's images of ultra-thin models. Only girls who were already vulnerable showed more dieting, body dissatisfaction, anxiety and bulimic symptoms like binging and purging.
The results, Dr. Stice said, indicate that ''providing a supportive, nurturing environment for developing youth seems to buffer them against a whole variety of mental and physical health problems, including eating disorders.''

Dr. Gupta's Blog

Check out this link to Dr. Gupta's blog on CNN.com where he addresses the frightening topic of body image issues in girls as young as eight.  He offers advice to parents who are facing  preteens who declare that they're too fat.  Instead of a "No you're not!" he recommends asking them why they feel that way because there are often times underlying issues.  Also, for any dads out there, Dr. Gupta warns you may be more influential on your daughter's body image than you thought.  Don't dismiss warning signs or concerns raised by your wife, and don't tell your little girl she looks great.  Instead, tell her she IS great.  According to Dr. Gupta, parents need to avoid comments like "I feel fat," and above all - children who are at a normal weight should NOT be dieting.

Long-Term Consequences

Sorry for the tech problems. I am still in the process of trying to upload a video ad for my church's Women's Day.

It was a big day where all the women got together to speak out about various issues they dealt with. The picture is one of the invitations. The questions on the dress were some of the issues discussed.

They had a female writer as a guest speaker, but a lot of the positive feedback I got about Women's Day was about the speakers from church. These were normal girls and women speaking about self-esteem and body image, issues of disability, relationship concerns and other stressful issues. I was not entirely surprised to hear that women of all ages are facing self-esteem issues in one form or another. But I was interested in how the older women all agreed that it is when girls are young that they are most vulnerable to these problems. Also, there was general agreement that how a young woman deals with these issues tends to stay with her later in life.

Feel free to respond to my comments.

Gender Bias in Medicine

This NY Times article delves into the way doctors take women's health concerns less seriously than men's. When only the physical symptoms of a patient are given to doctors, they are likely to diagnose men and women the same. Whenever stress was added to the picture, it created a gender bias. Men were diagnosed the same, for the most part. Doctors were more likely to conclude that the women were more stressed out and so were exaggerating their symptoms. Discrimination is always bad, but this is particularly dangerous given that it's a medical setting. Women with legitimate medical issues are more likely to be written off. Doctors do not refer them to specialists or prescribe medication as often as they do for men, putting their female patient's health at even greater risk. I think more people need to be aware of the possibility that medical professionals may not take you as seriously if you are a woman. And more doctors, male and female, need to be more self-conscious about the treatment they prescribe to their patients, male or female.

By Tara Parker
Published: Oct. 13, 2008

Women’s Heart Symptoms Often Blamed on Stress
Signs of heart disease are more likely to be blamed on stress when the patient is a woman, new research shows.
In two studies, 230 family doctors and internists were shown sample cases of a 47-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman. The ages of the patients reflect an equal risk for heart disease. Half the vignettes included sentences indicating the patient had recently experienced a stressful life event or appeared anxious. The doctors read the case and offered a diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
When the case study involved standard heart symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and irregular heart beat, there was no difference in the doctor’s advice for the man or the woman. However, when stress was included as a symptom, gender differences emerged. The presence of stress changed the way doctors interpreted a woman’s symptoms, prompting them to suggest psychological factors rather than physical causes. But the presence of stress didn’t change the way men were assessed.
When stress was listed as a symptom, only 15 percent of the doctors diagnosed heart disease in women, compared to 56 percent for men. Only 30 percent of the doctors referred the women to a cardiologist, compared to 62 percent for men, and 13 percent suggested medication for women, compared to 47 percent for men.
The findings, presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium, could help explain why there is often a delay in the assessment of women with heart disease, said Dr. Alexandra J. Lansky, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.