By Pepper Parr
January 6th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
At the beginning of a year people make resolutions.
Losing weight is one that is at the top of many resolution lists.
We care about the way we look.
Some people care much more than others and go to great lengths to change their natural appearance
Emily Lauren Dick, Burlington author, graduated from Wilfred Laurier University where her focus was on Women’s Studies. She began to learn about the intense focus on what women should look like.
The fashion world set the tone, the media picks it up and men were persuaded that THIS is what an attractive woman looks like.
Billions of dollars were poured into the marketing of what women had to look like – the pressure on young women – girls actually, is intense.
For many young people it was not a pretty picture.
Anorexia was prevalent as early as the middle years of school.
Emily’s book, Body Positive, is made up of a lot of pictures and interviews she did with more than 75 women who came in all shapes and sizes.
It’s not easy being a girl today. We live in a culture in which Average Girls feel bad about themselves for being unable to achieve society’s ideal standards of beauty. The media makes it nearly impossible for girls to develop a positive body image. Many of you may feel alone in your struggle with your body image. But you should know that your experience is . . . well, average.
Some of the quotes from the interviews actually hurt:
“The media pressures girls of all ages to be perfect and cool-looking, from having the newest Barbie when they’re young to having the perfect everything when they [are] elementary-school age and older. It’s ridiculous because people get teased . . . about their appearance— not even their personality, but their appearance—and it’s so hard not to get wrapped into it. People usually do. I know I do.”
—Madeleine
“The media is the biggest reason for my being anorexic.”
—Alli
“Perfect skin, long eyelashes, big eyes, pink lips . . . I don’t know, I just think it’s pretty. That’s always shown in films and in magazines and stuff. I just love the look I can’t do. I’m just ugly, and I can’t be [bothered] to do makeup—don’t have much money for makeup anyway.”
The book tends to focus on younger women – because Emily feels that is where the most help is needed. “This is the age most impacted by anorexia”, she said.
The objective is to teach people to be who they are and that who they really are is perfectly alright.
This is a book you work with – the pictures themselves say a lot about different sizes and shapes – it is the comments and the questions that are out to readers that makes it worth the time and effort for those who question what they look like and go to some length to change that look.
You can order online anywhere that sells books – specifically Amazon Canada, Chapters Indigo, Amazon US, Bookshop, Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, Workman!