ASU women are stereotyped as being hot, blonde and skinny. Although some may think that’s not that bad, it’s worse than it seems. Where’s the substance in this description? Where’s the character trait and outstanding qualities that make ASU women more than just hot and skinny?
As far as I can tell, there aren't any.
However, that’s going to change because of the new initiative being brought to ASU by Marisol Perez, an ASU health psychologist. Perez has created a unique version of the Body Project, a program created by ASU alumnus Eric Stice, to help ASU women deny the pressure being created by the beauty and media industry and instead accept themselves in full form.
According to statistics presented by the Massachusetts Eating Disorders Association, 40 percent of female college students have eating disorders and 91 percent of college women try to control their weight by dieting. It’s an unfortunate set of numbers, and I firmly believe it’s due to the pressure put on by beauty and media industries, not to mention celebrities.
Advertising agencies and beauty companies rely on false perfection to promote and sell their products, ranging from airbrushing, slimming waists and photoshopping. Although many of the existing advertisements are false in nature, many young individuals don’t recognize that and instead aspire to look like the airbrushed individuals they see on magazine covers.
However, hopefully the Body Project will help not only alter the ASU women stereotype from not just “hot” and “skinny,” to intelligent and other qualities containing substance, but also help women change their mindset concerning body image.
It’s a great initiative being taken by ASU, and I believe it will benefit the community in a number of ways. It’s time for the female student population to realize that being healthy is more important than being tall and slim, that beauty isn’t just looks but everything within as well.
The Body Project is only offering two-hour sessions to sorority members to discuss their experiences concerning body dissatisfaction and how to overcome it. The effort will initially be provided to sorority members and then offered in the 2014 fall to freshman females living on campus.
An effort like the Body Project is extremely great in nature and will assist many females who are struggling with issues concerning body image. At some point in every individual's life, they look in the mirror and truly decide if they like what they see.
However, what is most unfortunate is the only thing they compare themselves to often are the photoshopped models we see in clothing catalogs.
Reach the columnist at Brooke.Ramos@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @brookesramos
Editor’s note: The opinion presented in this column is the author’s and does not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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