Jennifer's tips:
What you can do for yourself
- Vote with your dollars. If you don't like the ad, don't buy the product.
- Think critically about the media you listen to and watch. How does it affect the way you feel about yourself?
- Give advertisers and their agencies a piece of your mind, and join About-Face in taking action!
- In front of a mirror, list 5 good things about your body instead of critiquing it.
- Get the basics down-a healthy diet and the right amount of exercise for you.
- Remember that real self-improvement is about working on yourself on the inside, not just changing yourself on the outside.
- Notice women who are different from the ideal and find a few beautiful things about them.
- You may find you're less harsh with yourself.
What you dan do for a girl in your life:
- Bring an About-Face workshop to her school or group to help her make sense of media.
- Watch TV, use the Web, or read magazines together and discuss what you see.
- Encourage her to boycott brands that show women in a negative light.
- Write an e-mail together if there's an ad or show you both find offensive.
- Lay off weight talk and body complaints in front of her. She learns how to think about her own body based on what you say about yours.
- Let her know she's not alone in her body concerns, but give her hope that she can learn to accept her body as it is.
- Counter her negative body talk with positive talk about her strengths and accomplishments.
- Show her what a confident woman looks like by being one yourself!
About About-Face
About-Face equips women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem and body image. We deliver media-literacy workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area, enable girls and women to take action, and maintain the web site About-Face.org. About-Face is based in San Francisco, and educated 500 young women in the 2007-08 school year.
For more information, visit www.about-face.org
