"We also believe in the 'what is beautiful is good' stereotype - an irrational but deep-seated belief that physically attractive people possess other desirable characteristics such as intelligence, competence, social skills, confidence - even moral virtue. (The good fairy/princess is always beautiful; the wicked stepmother is always ugly)"
http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html

Body image – a whole can of worms.

I have brought this topic up before but it is a major problem to so many.

I watched the programme about the fat beauty contest, yesterday was it? It left me with a whole heap of mixed feelings.

I have had a hang-up about my body image all my adult life since I was told by my grandmother that I was stout when I was in my late teens. I was a blossoming size 10 at the time. However having had two children has kept me in a constant battle with my weight ever since and size 10 is a very distant memory.

I watched the programme with curious interest really and to be honest I applauded the idea of trying to challenge society’s perception of beauty but we are still only looking at these girls’ outward aspect. I am all for the ‘empowerment of women’, for these big girls, but……

Women are already empowered anyway aren’t they?

In all honesty the idea of parading big girls around in a beauty pageant for plus sizes is as vacuous and mindless as plastering our magazines with ridiculous airbrushed pictures of painfully thin celebrities. Creating unrealistic ideals for a younger generation. We are drawing some very dangerous pictures for our children here. On the one hand we have the skinnies who for many young girls represent an impossible model to emulate. Cue some eating disorders. Now are were going to put the idea to them on the other hand that they can be beautiful because they are seriously overweight? Obesity is only too prevalent in our society now and a contributory factor to many life shortening conditions.

A whole big can of worms as I said!