My tween daughter and I watched, A Girl’s Life, a PBS documentary tracking four teenaged girls and contemporary issues. Since I had seen a screening already, I had to quality for my daughter that some of the situations would seem extreme and the language shocking, but if she had any questions we’d pause the DVD. Why the caveats? Well, I was following my own mantra of “Do No Harm” and I did not want to introduce ideas or behaviors that could someday be modeled, like the cyber-bullying and female gang violence vividly portrayed in the program.
But, alas, the part that her 12- year-old brain took in was
feeling sorry for the 15-year-old Analuz – a large size girl, buying a dress in
Macy’s. She had hard time finding
a gown that fit. That my daughter
had empathy was one step, that she got it that the retailers and media make it
difficult for girls to feel good about their bodies, was the other. Now if she can carry that sensibility
as she grows taller and gains weight is a hope. (Girls sprout up to 8 more
inches and up to 40 pounds during puberty.)
Any woman knows that the odds are stacked against girls. But as we wizen up, research shows that body acceptance goes up over time, but body dissatisfaction pretty much stays in the trenches.
Coincidentally, there had been a news story about the American ski champion, Lindsey Vonn, who had to deal with the press. The issue was over a European Alpine ski coach (who had never seen her) quip about her heaviness being her athletic advantage. Taken out of context, apparently, the remark on her weight (as in overweight) caused a media ruckus. Lindsey Vonn is stealth 5'10, 160 pound athlete. When you look a photo of her, you think: she’s not fat, she’s fit! My daughter sees her as a role model.
Also across my screen was a New York Times fashion article, The Triumph of the Size 12s. Certainly worth the read. It may be welcomed news that the fashion world is now embracing the average sized women, but that these women are considered fat within the industry still is a cause for outrage. The fashion world seems to be exploiting the natural female curves on these normal size women as appealing (which they are) but sees this in response to a “fat fetish” trend (as in men prefer it).
So what’s the translation here? “Fat” is the new normal?
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