 Photo Illustration by Holt Menzies
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by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Lifestyles Reporter
The image looking back at her doesn’t lie.
She sees something ugly, imperfect and hideous, but what really lies beneath her blonde hair, blue eyes and 5-foot 2-inch frame is broken self-confidence.
Trying to bulk up, he swallows the anadrol pill.
He’s waited months to see the results of his obsessive weight lifting and steroid use.
October has been dubbed “a month to celebrate you” by Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson.
The
declaration claims, “…body image…is an important aspect of a healthy
community” and “self-acceptance is acquired through positive
self-esteem."
Because of
her proclamation, Appalachian State University and Boone created a
self-esteem awareness campaign and will offer classes and events
focusing on body image issues.
“I believe we have to accept who we are, that…perfection comes from within,” Clawson said.
Clawson believes self-esteem plays a large part in self-acceptance.
For her, growing up was easier than that of a college student in the current generation.
“We didn’t have the peer pressure [they] have today,” Clawson said. “[This] generation has a lot to deal with.”
“Beauty Mark,” a film playing in Farthing Auditorium at 7 p.m. tonight, will kick off the campaign.
The film’s producer and psychotherapist Diane Israel will be available to answer questions afterward.
During the
month, the Counseling Center will offer free group therapy sessions,
including an “Understanding Self and Others” class and a “Women, Image
and Self-Esteem” program.
“The Body
Project” will take place Oct. 7 in the Table Rock Room of Plemmons
Student Union and “Hula Hooping for Self Care” will take place Oct. 8
in the Wellness Center.
Fans can attend the women’s volleyball game free of charge Oct. 11 by mentioning October is “a month to celebrate you.”
“Don’t be a Sloppy Joe” will take place in McRae Peak in the student union Oct. 20.
The event is free for men.
“We, as
humans, have a positive bias of ourselves, until we start to study body
image in females,” Dr. Denise M. Martz, professor of psychology and
graduate programs said.
Martz focuses much of her research on “fat-talk” – the critical way in which people refer to one another as “fat.”
“It’s the
pervasiveness of “fat-talk,” Denise M. Lovin, Coordinator of Eating
Concerns Programs and Outreach Programming said. “Teachers, coaches,
parents, media, siblings all…send the message that you need to be a
certain way, but [they] are so far beyond realistic perceptions.”
Martz said women feel pressured to talk about their bodies with other women.
“In general, men feel more comfortable in their skin,” she said. “Men get in trouble [when] they want to be more muscular.”
Ninety
percent of people who have eating disorders are women between the ages
of 12 and 25, and an estimated 10 to 15 percent of those with anorexia
or bulimia are male, according to eatingdisorderinfo.org.
“I am hoping
[October] will challenge people to think of themselves in a more
positive way,” Lovin said. “We are so used to celebrating others.
[Let’s] treat ourselves.”
For more event dates and times, contact Mary Sheryl Horine at the Institute for Health and Human Services at 828-262-7557.
Photo Illustration by Holt Menzies | Chief Photographer
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