ChickSpeak

“I’ve sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women’s bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I’m not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.

A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful.”

These words from  Jennifer Love Hewitt’s personal blog about the recent frenzy over beach photos taken of her while vacationing struck a cord in me. She’s been a hot topic in the blog world and now even on mainstream news, including the Today Show, for photographs that show off her curves. These photos have lead to a bold debate on what many feel is truly “beautiful.” 

On the positive side, the recent buzz has also brought some more light to our need as women to throw out the airbrushed images of “perfection,” and learn to embrace our REAL bodies. Jennifer Love Hewitt is a strong, successful and, yes, drop-dead-gorgeous woman. Her curves (and seriously, let’s remember that she’s petite and trim by any realistic standards) are a result of nourishing her body, taking care of herself and loving the body she’s in. With this, I must reference Dove’s campagine for Real Beauty  in association with Seventeen magazine’s efforts and applaud them for taking a proactive and balanced approach to this topic.

Jennifer and the above mentioned companies offer a great reminder to me that I have one body and have a duty to that body. I have to feed it with healthful foods, give it enough rest and exercise, and, yes, love it. Ultimately, I will be so much happier for it!

 Alicia Wade, a writer for the Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s college paper, The Daily Egyptian, further voiced her take on body image:

It seems as though Hollywood is all about the extremes.

From super-short skirts to ultra-tanned bombshells and uber-thin actresses, Hollywood can’t seem to get enough radical behavior and appearances.

It’s easy to get lost in the appearance and feel like maybe that’s what it takes to be the best you - fakery and drastic measures to look just like the A-listers.

But one publication is flipping these extremes and encouraging youth to be comfortable in their own skins, and thankfully, Hollywood is participating.

Seventeen magazine, which according to the New York Times circulates to more than 2 million readers, has created the Seventeen Body Peace Treatyto combat the ill-effects of entertainment extremes. The petition - signed by actresses and singers including “Hairspray” star Brittany Snow, pop singers Pink and Fergie, as well as infamous “Heroes” cheerleader Hayden Panettiere - contains positive writing on body images and allows visitors to Seventeen’s Web site to sign it.

Some of the pledges in the petition include, “Respect my body by feeding it well, working up a sweat when it needs it, and knowing when to give it a break,” and “Remind myself that what you see isn’t always what you get on TV and in ads - it takes a lot of airbrushing, dieting, money and work to look like that.”

This is a wonderful movement for those in Hollywood to participate. While eating disorders and body images are not solely products of entertainment media, the notion we are bombarded by perceptions and representations of perfection and beauty from infancy is true.

With that idea in mind, entertainment media has at least some bearing on how we perceive ourselves and whether we find ourselves to measure up to these images.

Read more from the Daily Egyptian HERE.