Articles 2009
December 209 - Age Before Beauty
“The world doesn’t do old and ugly"
The recent ITV Tonight program ‘Age before beauty’ filled me with sadness.  The programs aim was to shed light on the body image and self esteem levels of the average mature women living in celebrity obsessed Britain.
Full Article
 
November 2009 - Body Image Interview
Interviewee:  A 41 year old married mother of three.
Question:  What would you think if I said 'body image'?
Answer:  Mine is very negative, I don’t like the way I look. I’m plain. I’ve gained weight and I feel frumpy. Full Article
 
October 2009 - The Beauty of  Imperfection
Glamour magazines publication of the image of 20-year model Lizzie Miller last month was, consciously or otherwise,  a  PR triumph that undoubtedly caused much excitement and controversy.  The image, depicted the almost nude (tasteful profile), laughing,  attractive, confident, plus size model,  complete with a noticeable stomach paunch.  Full Article
 
September 09 - Should happiness be taught in schools?
An interesting education focused debate took place earlier this year. The discussion was on whether or not ‘happiness’ should be taught in our educational institutions. We found the debate interesting because self/body acceptance and happiness are strongly promoted by our site. Full Article
August 09 - The Link Between Obese Children and Parents
A study of 226 families by Plymouth's Peninsula Medical School found that:-
1 Obese mothers are 10 times more likely to have obese daughters
2 Overweight fathers are six times more likely to have obese sons. Full Article
 
July 09 - Bodies by Susie Orbach
“The notion of the empowered consumer along with the workings of the diet, pharmaceutical, food cosmetic surgery, and style industries have made us view or bodies as something we can and should perfect. ... Something new is happening ... The body is turning from a means of production to the product itself” (Bodies © Susie Orbach)”  Full Article
 
June 09 - Body Image and False Expectations
Buddhists claim that all suffering stems from false expectations. Extrapolating this statement, we can surmise that setting unrealistic expectations of our physical appearance, expectation which are invariably based on media images and social norms, will result in failure and suffering. Full Article
 
May 09 - Judging Others by Their Appearance
Episode one of this years Britain’s Got Talent catapulted hitherto unknown scot Susan Boyle into the public spotlight. When Susan,  looking undistinguished, middle aged and plain with unfashionable hair, dowdy dress and bushy eyebrows, stepped onto the stage, it was easy to see that the public and judges alike had decided there was zero chance of her having any talent. Judging her purely on appearance, they found her dreams to be like Elaine Page laughable. Full Article
 
April 09 - The Media and Subliminal Child Sexualisation
During the last ten years, the media has changed beyond recognition, from what it was when I was a child.  The majority of the innocence , particularly when broadcasted to the very young, has all but disappeared.  Full Article
 
March 09 - Ten Years Younger Gets Younger
At the end of last year it was reported that 37 year old Nicky Hambleton-Jones had left the program 10 Years Younger “to pursue other interests." Shortly after the announcement, we learned from Nicky herself that she had actually been dismissed in favour of Myleene Klass. Myleene is 7 years her junior and lacks Nicky's wealth of experience of the beauty and fashion industries.  Full Article
 
February 2009 - Obama's Physique
On January 20th Barack Obama became the 44th US president. In this article we will not be looking at the historic event that saw the first black president enter the White House. Nor will we discuss the dire economical crises that he and other world leaders are trying to alleviate.  Instead, we will look at the growing media obsession with Obama's physique. Full Article
 
January 2009 - Wish List.
It’s the time of year when everyone mentally says goodbye to 2008 and start speculating on what the year ahead may bring.  Here is our Wish List for 2009. Full Article