Let’s be honest: the media is not kind to female psyche. We are surrounded by images that promote perfect models of females. We are pressured to fit some sort of archetype that most women could never dream of fitting. Our dining options, where the only healthy options are pretty much the salad bar, don’t appeal to a major foodie like myself (I think I’ve gotten a salad twice in my years at this school). Being in Rochester, where the weather will make me question even going to class, much less the gym, doesn’t help either. As college women, where our lives are in an academic filled bubble and our personal health takes a back burner, the scantily clad vixens of the media is just another stress that we don’t really need.
However, I’ve been noticing that slowly, healthier and different models of living are making their ways into prominence. Melissa McCarthy, fabulously full figured, has been having an incredibly successful year, what with her Emmy win and the success of the movie Bridesmaids. Adele, a beautiful, talented and full-figured woman, graces the most recent cover of Cosmopolitan. Hope Solo, US national soccer goalie, was recently photographed nude for Sports Illustrated, showing off her body, which is incredibly athletic, but also not devoid of body fat. Jennifer Lopez recently spoke out on how she fired a manager of hers that told her she should lose 10 pounds. Kudos, Jen. I find it absolutely astounding anyone would tell her of all people to lose weight. While Jennifer Lopez has a body I think a majority of our population would consider ideal, it’s nice to see how comfortable these women are in their own skin.
I also recently saw an article about a woman who decided to attempt a month of Kim Kardashian’s “boot-camp” work out, in an effort to see if they actually work in reshaping her body. When I first saw the article title, I was honestly a bit disappointed. It seemed to me an even wider media message that we, as women, should strive to change our bodies into something they weren’t meant to be. However, upon actually reading the article, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the author was a similar skeptic, and was only doing it to prove that these workouts don’t make miracles. At the end of the month, while she didn’t gain Kardashian’s major curves and tiny waist, she did gain an overall better stamina and athletic toning, and was satisfied in the results. It sends a message of being happy with your body, despite it not being the exact celebrity copy, and I applaud that.
Other national organizations have shown to embrace something besides model thin women. Dove’s national campaign, using “real” models, sends a great message. Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Fitness, Self, and other women’s magazines, use women of varying body types, from thin to athletic to curvy, as their models. Esquire, a men’s magazine, named the famously curvy Christina Hendricks the sexiest woman of 2010.
My point? Maybe the media is slowly taking steps in being kinder to women. We all know it’s ok to be of any shape and size, but it’s nice to have the reinforcement that we are beautiful just the way we are (also, thank you Bruno Mars.)