The Real Image

Dear Reader,

I hope that my messages have shed light on the serious repercussions of Us Weekly's portrayal of beauty and body. Like I said from the beginning, this is all about image, whether it is body image, self-image, or the disturbing images of bone-thin actresses that we see every day.

There is one more image I want to mention - the image of a society that has no consciousness of weight or body, only of health. This society could challenge many of our current beliefs. Would men be happier with they way their female partners look? Would recent mothers focus more of their attention on recuperation than on a flat stomach? Would young girls stop criticizing themselves for not being a size 0 or having a six-pack? Would they stop starving themselves to look "perfect?"

That image cannot exist while Us Weekly's images do. Remember, the media tells us what is normal and accepted, which means we learn that emaciated or ultra-fit women are normal and that excessive dieting and exercise are the solution.

Michael Steele, you might be nervous that removing articles about how to get the perfect celebrity body from your magazine will lower sales, and you may be right. However, doing so is your moral obligation. You are the media. You have a say over how we feel about ourselves. As a member of society and as a human being, you have a duty to stop telling us that we need to look a certain way.

Finally, to the readers, the real people, I sincerely hope that you have gained some insight or clarification from my messages. I hope that next time you flip through Us Weekly, you are able to fight the influence of the images you see. Understand that you do not need to live up to the unrealistic standards of the media, for those standards should not even be our points of reference in the first place.

The Real Relationship Killer

Dear Reader,

This is not an issue only for women. In fact, society’s portrayal of the ideal female body greatly affects how males view their partners, which can lead to dissatisfaction for both the male and female. Since 26% of Us Weekly readers are men, we can’t pretend that they aren’t influenced just a little.

Mister Poll has an interesting survey about what men and women value about the female body shape. Check it out (even take it) here, or just look at some of the most relevant results below:

*The majority of men, 26%, said if they could change the “culturally pushed ideal” of female body shape, they would prefer the “fitness” model—low body fat and highly muscled.

*Only 5% of men would prefer an “average” female body with normal body fat and normal musle.

Meanwhile,

*The majority, 34%, of women said if they could change the “culturally pushed ideal” of female body shape, they would prefer the “average” body—normal body fat and normal muscle.

*Only 15% said they would prefer the “fitness” model.

*By a great majority of 52%, men said if they could improve their partner’s/ideal partner’s body, they would like her to have “massive muscles.” (Not to share my own opinion, but, ew?)

Finally,

*The majority, 29%, of men said that in general, other women’s bodies are thinner than their partner.

All in all, the poll shows that men prefer women to be thin and to have lots of muscle, even when women want to change society’s ideal of body shape to be normal. Could this have anything to do with the images males see in magazines like Us?

The men may be in relationships with the normal gals, but if they truly prefer super-fit bodies underneath it all, is the male or female in the relationship 100% happy?

The Real Youth

Dear Reader,

Youthnoise.com allows our youth to speak out on whatever they want, really. One of the "causes" is eating disorders, and from there you can look at a blog that has posts by kids. Here is what one of them said:

Dump Us Weekly
I'll admit it, I love celebrity gossip. But I have to stop reading Us Weekly and Star because they're making me depressed! If I see one more picture glorifying a 100-lb. actress, I'm going to go crazy!

Michael Steele, is the influence you have over people and their self-image apparent yet?

The UnReal Celeb Mom

Dear Reader,

I was looking through Us Weekly's Web site and found an article entitled, "Kate Gosselin Flaunts Bikini Bod." It included this lovely image of Kate and mentioned that she had a free tummy tuck after having 8 kids, thanks to her show on TLC.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Kate Gosselin's body, but does the average mother have the money to get a tummy tuck? Probably not. However, seeing images like this tells the average mother what makes a post-baby body beautiful.

If Kate Gosselin's "bikini bod" is given attention, it becomes something to strive for. For real moms, this is an unrealistic expectation. Bring on the self-doubt and body dissatisfaction.

The Real Moms

Dear Reader,

Remember when I told you that the emphasis on celebrity weight in the media (in this case, in Us Weekly), is an issue that affects everyone? Another group it specifically affects is young mothers. Since 74% of Us readers are female, and 33% of readers are ages 25-34, Us has the ability to reach lots of women of typical child-bearing age.

We all know women gain weight during pregnancy, but the weight loss issue is something very unique to each new mom. Most Web sites I searched say it takes about 6 months to get back to your pre-baby weight, give or take 3 months. Mind you, that is pre-baby weight, not pre-baby figure. Breastfeeding and a healthy diet can help moms lose weight, but they certainly will not give new mothers their old six-packs back, nor should they. The News Health Guru says that crash dieting and excessive exercise after giving birth are unhealthy for the mother and the baby because the body is required to heal and to give certain nutrients to infants via breastfeeding.

Celebrity moms seem to lose baby weight and tone up at the drop of a hat, and Us Weekly could not be happier to tell us how they do it. Check out the cover of Trista Sutter and her post-pregnancy body. Do you think most moms are able to look like this after only 5 months? Do you think most women look like this ever?

The problem is that celebrity moms have personal chefs, trainers, and dietitians. They also work in an industry that requires them to look good all the time. While Us doesn't deny these facts, it still talks about the path to a better "body after baby" pretty extensively.

Normal moms don't have personal chefs and trainers, but they do have magazines telling them what is beautiful. While they lack the resources to lose weight so quickly after giving birth, do you think they lack the willpower? I don't. I think the desire to lose weight immediately after having a baby can lead to unhealthy habits, such as crash dieting, or negative body image. In fact, a Deakin University study found that 25% of women are "usually or always dissatisfied" with their post-baby body.

Sad, isn't it? Sad that the most exciting time in a woman's life may be tainted by the immense pressure to look like someone who has never given birth.

Us Weekly, do you think these images are helping or harming those women who already struggle with the changes in their body due to pregnancy?

The Real Inconsistency

Dear Reader,

After reading about Stephanie Pratt's struggle with an eating disorder, you may feel a little pessimistic. Is there really no conclusion to Us Weekly's story? No light at the end of the tunnel? If you're looking to feel even more confused, read MTV's story about Pratt. It came out the same week as the Us story.

In this article, Pratt says The Hills did not make her bulimic. If anything, it showed Pratt how to "get healthy" and to try to be a "role model." This is quite a different tune from the Us article, which highlighted how the "skinny girls" on The Hills made Pratt insecure. So who should we believe?

Maybe Pratt is to blame for the inconsistency. Maybe she felt backlash from her original story and wanted to put herself in a positive light. We must wonder, however, if Us ignored all the facts and wrote the article to get attention - to sell magazines. After all, a tale of a poor girl who succumbs to pressure is far more dramatic than a girl who recovered from an eating disorder and now wants to help others, right?

If Us did in fact misrepresent the story, it should come out with a public apology, not only to Pratt but to her fans as well (remember how they might think her behavior is normal and follow it themselves?).

Regardless of who is right, we as readers need to recognize that what we see in the media is not always the truth. We cannot base our beliefs off what we see on the cover of Us Weekly, because the story may be wrong.

Michael Steele, could you help us out with this and publish the full story from now on?

The Real Writing

Dear Reader,

Part of the reason why I am very passionate about this topic is because of an article I read in Us Weekly in June 2009. I remember it vividly because it really got my blood boiling.

Stephanie Pratt, The Hills star and younger sister of media hound Spencer Pratt, shared with Us that being on the show and working with "skinny girls" made her feel embarrassed about her body. Mind you, Us did not hesitate to mention that Pratt was already a size 0-2 and 5'7" when coming onto the show. I remember reading this and thinking, "She is that small and she feels fat?" A little ridiculous and unrealistic, yes?

The article also mentioned that Pratt does not blame society or the producers for her eating disorder - she just felt uncomfortable working with skinny girls.

What really bothered me about the article was that it did not say if Pratt had overcome her eating disorder or if she had learned from it. I did not gain anything from Pratt's confession and was not told about how important it is for eating disorder victims to get help. Granted, the Pratt siblings will do anything for attention, but this story, in my opinion, took it a little too far.

If Pratt really did suffer from binge eating and bulimia, then that is tragic. The problem here is not about her personal struggles, it is about the way the story was portrayed in Us Weekly. Telling us Pratt's already tiny dress size, announcing that she was embarrassed to be the bigger girl compared to her co-stars, and not giving us an answer as to whether or not she recovered from the disorder means that the audience (including teenage girls, remember?) does not benefit from the article in any way. Instead, the story is just there to sell magazines and completely disregard the effect it might have on fans of Pratt or The Hills.

Remember, the media tells us what is normal. If Us Weekly explains Pratt's struggles but does not give us any hope, is the media telling us that those people with similar struggles need to get help?

The Real Pressure

Dear Reader,

I came across this video, "Thin Is In," on myspace. With "Pressure" by Paramore blasting alongside photos of emaciated celebrities and models, we get a glimpse at the feelings of young women who have been affected by the media's portrayal of beauty as thinness.

Comments beneath the video read, "Thank you for this," and, "This is a great video." The fact that the creator of the video, Carie McComas, is receiving support from other myspace users indicates that this is not the problem of one individual. Other people feel the pressure, too.

Please take a look at the video. It is not a rant about eating disorders; it is the best video I can find thus far conveying the intense emotions associated with societal pressures, the media, celebrities, body image, and eating disorders. The statistics at the end are pretty startling, too.

Thin is In

Bean♥|MySpace Videos

If Michael Steele were watching this, would he be surprised to see many Us Weekly covers featured?

The Real Term

Dear Reader,

Until today, I was unaware of this term. Then, I read an article from abc7news.com.

"Thinspiration" is a term that pro-anorexia sites use in reference to images of emaciated celebrities and models.

The article goes on to say that 80% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat and they are getting "thinspiration" from "young Hollywood celebrities who seem to be shrinking before our very eyes."

Is this your "thinspiration?"

Us Weekly, why must you show us this if it only promotes unhealthy self image and dieting?

The Real Influence

Dear Reader,

OK. If we assume that pictures of ultra-thin celebrities and articles about their bodies are not good models for anyone, especially young women, then why don't we just look away? Why don't we consciously decide to ignore the messages of Us? Can we prevent ourselves and others from being affected?

It is difficult for many reasons. A professor asked me why not just stop reading if the Us articles are so harmful to our self image? The problem is not only about reading feature stories; these messages go far beyond the articles in the magazine. Think about the last time you were at the grocery store. Did you notice that many of the magazine covers had to do with how celebrities stay fit or which celebrity has gotten too thin? The message that we need to be obsessed with how our bodies look is not something you need to search for.

Us Weekly thrusts it into our daily lives.

According to Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson, authors of Age of Propaganda, there are two main reasons why mass media models are persuasive. The first is that we think the rewards received by a model for a given behavior will also come to us. That is why some people believe that their life will be as perfect as that of their favorite celebrity if they just get rid of that cellulite. The second reason is that mass media models serve as a cue to indicate that a behavior is legitimate and appropriate. This is why there is an increase in suicides among teenagers when there is more coverage of suicide on major TV networks. It is also why girls do not register eating disorders as abnormal behavior; if the stars of 90210 have eating disorders due to "stress" (see the Us cover for image), it is appropriate for eating disorders to be an element in coping with stress.

So you see, even if we know certain messages are negative, we do not and cannot necessarily fight against them. While you, the reader, now know this and can hopefully block the messages from your mind, many people are unaware of the influence of mass media. That is why it is of paramount significance that Us's editor in chief Michael Steele takes covers and articles about celebrity bodies out of his magazine. He might not mean harm, but the pervasiveness of the messages may be deadly.