BODY WARS
Making Peace with Women’s Bodies
Margo Maine, Ph.D.
Real Women Have Bellies…
…so why do we try to hide them?
Dr. Margo Maine is angry. Angry about the unrelenting pressures on
you to value your body more than the contribution you make to your
family, workplace, and community. She calls these pressures “Body
Wars.”
The Body Wars keep women “in their place,” they are systematic,
institutionally sanctioned, and economically driven. If you’re
obsessing about your appearance, weight, or cellulite- you’re not
going to have the energy to write congress- or run for it!
In the U.S. an estimated eight million girls and women and one
million boys and men have an eating disorder. To help heal them and
arm the rest of us, Margo Maine, Ph.D. has written, Body Wars:
Making Peace with Women’s Bodies, subtitled, An Activist’s
Guide. Dr. Maine, a clinical psychologist who has been treating
eating disorders for over 20 years, shows women and men how to break
free from the messages around them. In Body Wars, she separates
reality from hype, and science from myth to clearly explain the
impact of a cultural and economic system that undermines self-worth,
self-acceptance and self-control.
The Politically Correct form of Prejudice:
Weightism
Dr. Maine challenges common perceptions that
pass as reality. Dr. Maine notes that “obesity is still considered
sinful, a rejection of the highly valued ethics of self-denial and
self-control, particularly for women.” She reminds us, too, “in the
mass media, large women generally appear only as objects of
ridicule.” Ultimately, she says, “the message is, to be more, a
female is expected to weigh less. But that message is wrong and must
be combated.
Strategies for Change: Start with Yourself
For each battleground in the Body Wars, Dr.
Maine offers ways to bring about change, which begins with you, for
example:
* Take a personal inventory of your own weightism. Recognize the
messages you pass along to children, especially if you are a parent
or teacher or both.
* Pay attention to how companies, the media, and other institutions
treat fat people.
* Ask yourself if you think negatively about a women “who doesn’t
keep herself up” or distrust a woman whom you see as too attractive?
* Learn as much as you can about your body and what you can do to
keep it healthy, no matter what your size.
* Educate yourself about the facts of obesity and teach others.
Challenge the physician who focuses on weight tables.
Once you begin to understand what drives
your attitudes and behavior, you can reach out to the larger
community. The Body Wars are fought in other areas, including
plastic surgery, sports, ballet, education, women’s health issues,
and violence against women. Dr. Maine addresses the challenge
activists’ face in each area and strategies they can follow to win
the war.
Body Wars: Men Enter the Fray
The battlefield that has long engaged women
is ever increasingly drawing in men. Dr. Maine estimates that today
one million men have been diagnosed with an eating disorder. More
men than ever dislike some part of their bodies, and they’re taking
drastic measures to feel better about it. In the 1990’s, the number
of men undergoing lyposuction tripled and face lifts doubled. The
most telling evidence that men are seriously hurt by body
insecurity, Dr. Maine notes, is the gradual increase in anorexia and
bulimia: from an estimated 1 in 20 cases about 10 years ago to as
many as 1 in 12 today
Body Wars: Victory Ahead?
The most radical act you can take is liking
yourself. Dr. Maine’s message is clear: we each need to assess how
body images around us affect our relationships with others. Once we
understand the impact of Body Wars in our lives, we can begin to
help others turn this long, painful war into a peace that celebrates
the individuality and gifts of each person.
Following is a list of the chapters in
Body Wars:
- The Challenge: Respecting Women’s Bodies
- Weightism: The “Politically Correct” Form
of Prejudice
- Obesity: Fact or Fiction?
- Dieting: Deceit, Danger and Death
- The Pursuit of Beauty: Empowering or
Disempowering?
- Advertising: Guerilla Warfare
- Magazines: Propaganda Machines
- Fashion: Real Women Have Bellies
- Models and Beauty Pageants: Ugly Business
- Plastic Surgery: Self-Improvement or
Self-Harm?
- Violence Against Women: The Deadliest
Body War
- Ageism: When Beauty, Wisdom, and
Experience Get Old
- Women’s Health Care: An Oxymoron?
- Kids on Diets: An Early Start for Body
Wars
- Barbie Dolls & Body Image: Toys Are Us
- Schools: A Problem or Solution?
- Sports: Just Another War Zone?
- Ballet: The Olympics of Body Wars
- Men: Targets and Teammates
Body Wars contains many
practical but thought-provoking resources like:
- 25 Ways to Love Your Body
- What Really Happens When We Diet
- Active Advertising Acknowledgement
- 10 Ideas to Fight Fashionism
- How Does Violence Against Women Affect
You
- Ten Tactics for Healthy Eating
- Twelve Strategies to Make Your Home a
Refuge From Body Wars
- When Exercise is Excess-ercise
- Mom and Pop Sports Attitude Quiz
- “Ten Shoulds” for Dance Teachers
- Questions for Men Wanting to Make Peace
with Their Bodies
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