Dear Friend,
How are you? I hope this email finds you very well in every way. For those of us in the
United States, summer is slowly beginning to move in the direction of Autumn.
Fortunately for those of us in the San Diego area, the weather change won't be
too dramatic, or at least this is what I am hoping! :)
This week's article builds off of a recent interview I did with Good Morning America.
Does air brushing images in magazines negatively impact body image?
I would love to hear
your opinion on the matter. Let me know what you think by commenting on the post below
on my blog -
www.BreakFreeBeauty.com/blog.
I thoroughly enjoy reading every entry - thank you to everyone who has commented so far!
Another important question that I have not had time to delve into here is what about
children. As adults, we can make conscious choices, but as children, we rely on our
parents to make conscious choices when we are unable to do so ourselves. Does the
onslaught of airbrushed images distort children's views of themselves? I will tackle
this in a later e-zine, but please share your thoughts on the topic as well!
Also, please check out what is below the article - I came across a great book that
I wanted to recommend. Also, I am going to be speaking at a
3-Day Virtual Summit
(i.e. you can listen from anywhere in the world), so check out the details on
that below as well.
To your experience of your boundless self as the Source of all that is, was,
and ever will be,
Peace, Love, and Beauty,
Sarah Maria
|
Does air brushing images in magazines negatively impact body image?
The week before last, I left my morning yoga class and got into the car to drive
back to my house to shower and begin the work day. I had left my Blackberry in my car
while at yoga, and quickly checked my emails when I got back in the car. There was an
email from a producer at Good Morning America asking me if I wanted to comment on the
recent Kelly Clarkson airbrushing scandal.
Here is the story: Kelly Clarkson was on the cover of
Self magazine and had been
airbrushed to appear noticeably thinner than in real life. Kelly has always been
outspoken about her acceptance of her body. The media has pointed out that her body
weight fluctuates (like every other normal human being), and Kelly is just fine
with that.
So why did Self airbrush her on the cover of their magazine? Well, according
to the editor, they didn't airbrush her to look thinner, but just taller.
(I am still not convinced there is any difference in this case.) The magazine
said the additional height was required to make the image "pop" on newsstands
so that people would buy it. Interestingly, one of the headlines on the magazine
was how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, or something to that effect, so one has to
wonder whether Kelly Clarkson needed to be taller to sell the magazine, or
thinner to sell the magazine, or both.
In any event, it was clear that Kelly Clarkson was just not quite enough of
something, or maybe a little too much of something, to adequately sell magazines
as the cover girl.
So Good Morning America asked me to talk about whether or not airbrushing
should be allowed, and whether or not it had a negative effect on people's
body image. Of course this topic is way too complex to cover adequately in a
5 minute TV segment, and I will get into why in this ezine, but given the
great publicity opportunity, I said, certainly, I would be happy to comment.
I spoke with the GMA producer in New York at 9 am Pacific time. By 12 pm she had
a camera crew at my house to tape the segment. She was on the phone, asking me
questions, while I responded, and the camera crew videotaped my answers. The
tape was then sent via satellite to New York, where it was edited into the
existing piece and was broadcast nationally at 7:30 am the next morning.
Pretty amazing! They ended up just using one line from the interview in the
piece, but it is valuable nonetheless.
Watch the full story.
One of the challenges with TV is that everything is in very short segments
and it is difficult to give adequate treatment to a subject in such a limited
about of time. Does airbrushing help sell magazines? Probably. Does airbrushing
have a negative effect on many people's body image? Certainly. However,
there are no absolutes.
Some people can look at an airbrushed image and know it is not real. They can
view it as artwork if they want, or gross commercialism if they prefer, but
they do not think it is something real that they should try to achieve, whether
that means looking like someone on the cover of the magazine or dating someone
on the cover of the magazine. When you have this distance from the object of
your perception, meaning you don't identify with it and interpret it to somehow
be a reflection of yourself and how you should look, you can be free from it
having any effect on you. In this case, whether there is airbrushing or not
is irrelevant because you know that it has nothing to do with you, your beauty,
your self-worth, etc.
Trouble occurs, however, when you identify on any level
with the airbrushed
images of beauty. There is a human tendency to identify with the objects of our
desire.
This means that if you look at an airbrushed image that you consider beautiful,
the next thought often becomes, "I wish I looked like that." With this thought
comes the belief, "I would be better if I looked like that", which is followed
by "I am not quite good enough the way I am".
As soon as we identify with an airbrushed image as being a reflection of how
we should look or what we should look like, a whole cascade of tyranny begins,
and before you know it you can end up feeling like an unattractive, worthless
blob who needs to go change something in order to feel presentable.
On the other hand, when you realize that the airbrushed image has absolutely
nothing to do with you and is in no way a reflection of you, your beauty, or
your value, it ceases to affect you. You can view it, or you can ignore it;
you can fight for eliminating airbrushing or argue that it constitutes artwork
and should be allowed as such. Whatever you decide, you can do it from a place
of authenticity within yourself, knowing that you are free from the whole
charade because you do not take it personally, since it never was and never
will be about you anyway.
So the question - does airbrushing affect body image? The answer is it depends.
It depends on what airbrushing means to you, how you interpret and internalize
what you perceive.
As eastern wisdom teaches, there is no reality external to you. As you perceive,
so becomes the world. If you want to change the world, your only option is to
change yourself. When you change, the world changes. There can be no other way
because the world is not separate from you.
Fortunately, when you discover this, change becomes effortless. There is no need
to worry about what anyone else is doing, whether they are airbrushing or botoxing,
slicing, dicing, or tucking. Your only work becomes the internal work of changing
your own self and your own response to what you perceive. Your only work is to
become free so that you are not controlled by what you perceive. In this state
of freedom, you will be able to have maximum impact in whatever area you desire
because you are no longer in a state of reactivity.
If you find yourself struggling, believing that you should somehow be different
from how you are, whether that comes from airbrushed images or something someone
has said to you or about you, here are some simple steps to help you find the
freedom you deserve:
1. Become conscious about what you are allowing into your awareness.
As adults, we usually have a choice about what we will allow into our awareness.
We can choose which magazines to look at, which television shows to watch, which
products to purchase, and which movies to observe. If you find that you start
feeling bad about your body and yourself when you view certain shows or certain
magazines, stop consuming them. It sounds simple, but sometimes we will find
ourselves feeling down and don't make the connection that we just watched a
movie and then started berating ourselves for being inadequate in some way.
Become aware of how what you consume through your senses impacts your well-being.
This is the first step in making choices that will move you in the direction of
freedom.
2. Remind yourself that you have the power to decide what messages you will
listen to.
Whenever we let something else impact us, we are giving it power. Realize
that you are the giver of power. Nothing has power over you except that which
you give power over you. You are imbuing everything you experience with
meaning, so make the choice to create a meaning that affirms your inherent
goodness, beauty, strength, and lovability.
3. Spend time in silence.
Silence is an incredibly valuable tool in helping you find freedom. In silence,
you create the space where you can begin to separate yourself from your
interpretations. You can begin to create space between stimulus and your
habitual reaction to it. Over time you will come to know yourself as the
very Source of reality, the artist and the artwork, the movie and the cinema
screen. Silence is the place where freedom resides.
4. Make a conscious choice about how to proceed.
Once you have become aware of what you are consuming and how you are responding
to it, make a conscious choice about how you will proceed. Will you limit what
magazines you look at? Is it enough to simply know that you can assign whatever
meaning is most beneficial for you? No one can know the appropriate response but
you. Once you remove yourself from the reactive mode and spend time in silence,
the correct intuitive response will naturally and spontaneously arise. You will
know the best way for you to proceed.
|
Sarah Maria is a body-image expert and teacher who can help you
discover the beauty that you already are so that you can create a
body and a life that you truly love. Her first book, Love Your
Body, Love Your Life, is being published by Adams Media and
will be available for purchase in November '09. She combines ancient
spiritual wisdom with modern science and shows you, step-by-step,
how to pacify your mind, heal your heart, befriend your body, and
transform your life.
SheShe has studied with the leading experts in health, spirituality,
personal development, and success, including Deepak Chopra,
physician Dr. David Simon (co-founder of the Chopra Center for
Well-being in Carlsbad, CA), Dr. Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield, renowned
Ayurvedic physician Vasant Lad, and many others. She is a lover of
eastern philosophy and spiritual wisdom and passionately shares
these teachings that have so transformed her own life.
Before founding Break Free Beauty, Sarah Maria received her law
degree from Stanford University and her Master's in International
Affairs from Columbia University in NYC. She has lived and traveled
throughout Latin America, and has also visited many countries around
the world. Her greatest passion is helping people discover the
beauty and the greatness that resides inside so they can live from
this place of grandeur, transforming themselves and the world. />
|
I was recently given a book that I want to recommend.
Did I Get Your Attention?