42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.[1] Girls in the United States wish to be thin due to what they see on TV, in ads and magazines. The effect of the media on body image affects many girls in the U.S. because it puts a certain image that one must obtain in order to be considered beautiful. A group called About-Face decided to stand up against the media's view on what's beautiful. This group of women, and one men, decided to start a protest called Operation Real Bodies Real Love: About-Face Action of Body Acceptance and Self-Love. According to sources, this group stripped down to their underwear and bras and held a sign saying, “I pledge to love my body.”[2] People and companies across the country have decided to change what people usually see in the media and make it Real. Dove launched a new campaign called, The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report in 2004. The campaign was started due to, “... the need for a wider definition of beauty after the study proved the hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become limiting and unattainable.”[3] Seeing changes like the ones Dove and About-Face made in your country has a bigger impact on people rather than seeing change happening around the world. It still impacts us but hearing about it happening near you gives people hope and confidence that amazing things are bound to happen.
[1] Collins, M. E. (1991). Body figure perceptions and preferences among pre-adolescent children.International Journal of Eating Disorders. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-facts-eating-disorders
[2] Victoria's Secret Protest In Bras Outside California Store Demands Body Diversity. (2013, June 17). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/victorias-secret-protest-bras_n_3454063.html
[3] The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dove.us/social-mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx
[1] Collins, M. E. (1991). Body figure perceptions and preferences among pre-adolescent children.International Journal of Eating Disorders. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-facts-eating-disorders
[2] Victoria's Secret Protest In Bras Outside California Store Demands Body Diversity. (2013, June 17). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/victorias-secret-protest-bras_n_3454063.html
[3] The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dove.us/social-mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx