Ban or disclaim "Photoshopping" in the media [body image laws]

[MissionMan]

As someone who grew up with body issues, I know all about it. I was on the other end of the spectrum as a scrawny underweight youngster no matter what I ate.

The reality was that most of my body issues didn't stem from advertising, it stemmed from people and that is the same issue you have with females. You can get plus sized models into every advert and it still won't change the perceptions within youth. That's like blaming violence on video games. Video games may desensitize people to violence, but it doesn't change the influence that the parents have on it.

As an example, in the interest in protecting people's feelings we now have one of the most obese nations in the world and one of the fastest growing obesity problems outside of the US. They are now comfortable about their bodies but they're obese. That does not solve the problem. It creates a whole new problem when they start dying at the age of thirty from heart disease, but hey, at least they are dying happy and comfortable about their bodies. The US has had to create new categories of obesity to cater for the changes.

For starters, we should be teaching us kids to be healthy, not thin. We should be teaching our kids that fat/thin has nothing to do with whether you are healthy, healthy has to do with diet and exercise, not diet pills or short cuts. And that's the part that most parents battle with because to do that, we actually have to lead by example and we've become a junk food culture that sits in front of the TV and our kids learn from their parents.


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[ricktas]

As someone who grew up with body issues, I know all about it. I was on the other end of the spectrum as a scrawny underweight youngster no matter what I ate.

The reality was that most of my body issues didn't stem from advertising, it stemmed from people and that is the same issue you have with females. You can get plus sized models into every advert and it still won't change the perceptions within youth. That's like blaming violence on video games. Video games may desensitize people to violence, but it doesn't change the influence that the parents have on it.

As an example, in the interest in protecting people's feelings we now have one of the most obese nations in the world and one of the fastest growing obesity problems outside of the US. They are now comfortable about their bodies but they're obese. That does not solve the problem. It creates a whole new problem when they start dying at the age of thirty from heart disease, but hey, at least they are dying happy and comfortable about their bodies. The US has had to create new categories of obesity to cater for the changes.

For starters, we should be teaching us kids to be healthy, not thin. We should be teaching our kids that fat/thin has nothing to do with whether you are healthy, healthy has to do with diet and exercise, not diet pills or short cuts. And that's the part that most parents battle with because to do that, we actually have to lead by example and we've become a junk food culture that sits in front of the TV and our kids learn from their parents.


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One could argue that the only reason overweight people, smokers etc are being told that what they are doing is bad for them, is that when they die younger, the global marketing, advertising, revenue creating capitalists are missing out on an opportunity to sell stuff to these people over a longer period. That really they do not care if we are overweight etc, at all. It is about getting us to live longer, so we earn more, spend more and keep their multi-national profits up. I don't think our governments etc really give a damn about individuals, they just don't want one of their numbers dying young, cause it means no more tax, spending etc from that human. We are all just a statistic, not a person, to governments, corporations etc. And dying younger is not good for their business.

But then I could argue on the side of health, and that they all do really care about each and everyone of us, and that body image issues etc are cared about by advertising companies, etc.

I wonder how many times people tell their kids how gorgeous they are, or how special they are, or how beautiful they look in some item of clothing. They grow up thinking they are gorgeous and special, or that what they look like and wear impacts on how people see them. Till someone treats them like they are not (and it will happen) and they have no idea how to deal with that. Rather than tell kids they are cute, gorgeous, special... tell them that you love them, that is what you mean anyway. And your kid is no more special than anyone else's.

It is not just advertising, it is everyone, as has been said above, but often we contribute to it all, with simple phrases like 'how cute are you".

[WhoDo]

One could argue that the only reason overweight people, smokers etc are being told that what they are doing is bad for them, is that when they die younger, the global marketing, advertising, revenue creating capitalists are missing out on an opportunity to sell stuff to these people over a longer period. That really they do not care if we are overweight etc, at all. It is about getting us to live longer, so we earn more, spend more and keep their multi-national profits up. I don't think our governments etc really give a damn about individuals, they just don't want one of their numbers dying young, cause it means no more tax, spending etc from that human. We are all just a statistic, not a person, to governments, corporations etc. And dying younger is not good for their business.

When I was a whole heap younger, I used to travel to work in Sydney by train. Every morning we'd go under an overpass that had this printed on the side (politically aware graffiti?) - "Consume. Be Silent. Die." I think that about sums things up, Rick, and don't get me started on funeral ads all day during the day. Surely we don't have to die just to get away from the bluddy things!