Comments for The Butterfly Effect

Comment on Skinny Kids by Melinda

Melinda — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:13:14 +0000

Oh wow Danni, what a powerful video. I know as a teacher and a mother this really resonated with me on so many levels. Should be compulsory viewing!

Comment on Skinny Kids by Noelle

Noelle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:09:02 +0000

When I first became ill with my eating disorder I was 12. But I can remember being as young as 5 and 6 and worrying that I looked fat and scared that people would laugh at me. I used to grab my stomach, my arms, my legs and think they were fat. They weren’t, of course.

Watching that video was awful for me to see, because it resonated just how I felt at that age. It’s devastating that our young people are going through it. I started “going through it” 8 years ago. Nearly a decade on, why haven’t we fixed this yet?

I’m so pleased Danni shared this – because we need to see what it’s like. It’s only when we truly understand the detestation this kind of thinking causes, and it’s only then that we’ll really want to do something about it. It really hits harder and hurts more when this is CHILDREN we’re talking about.

Comment on Skinny Kids by Melinda L

Melinda L — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:56:54 +0000

i had to stop watching this as I wanted to cry when the 7 year old pulled her skin over her jeans and declared it was fat. I will come back to it later. The culture is destroying the little girls.

Comment on Skinny Kids by Kate

Kate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:20:30 +0000

Wow… I knew there were kids like this, but actually being in their houses with them was very confronting.

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by New Blog, Weightless, Critiques Media While Promoting Well-Being | Our Bodies Our Blog

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:37:33 +0000

[...] of the group’s members, Danielle Miller, writes about the recommendations, including the proposed educational curriculum and voluntary code of conduct for advertisers and [...]

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by Tweets that mention A National Strategy on Body Image | The Butterfly Effect -- Topsy.com

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:38:05 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Illusionists, Patrick Bergstrom, tamsyn_dent, bridget de Socio, Rita Mou and others. Rita Mou said: RT: @illusionists The Butterfly Effect: "A National Strategy on Body Image" http://ow.ly/z7mF #beautymyth #feminism #australia [...]

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by Ella

Ella — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:42:39 +0000

To Lisa Cox:
Could not agree with you more! We’re well past “it’s a start” – it’s getting old.

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by jo - livingsavvy

jo - livingsavvy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:32:39 +0000

Very important issues raised and you can talk on each one of them for some time. School uniforms, I noted that the call has gone out for consultation for the design of sport uniforms. I would encourage that t be extended to all school uniforms. My daughter who is in prep this year wears culottes …which allow her freedom to run and climb and be very active. Next year in grade 1 her uniform is a tunic- much more restrictive in terms of physical activity. For primary school girls, I would like to see a skort or continuation of culottes adopted so my daughter can do cartwheels, handstands, climb, run with confidence. Standardised sizes – I don’t understand the fuss. I have clothes in my wardrobe that range from size 8 to 16 – my size has remained relatively unchanged for 10+ years. I try something on that I like, that I know suits my body shape in some stores I take an 8 into the change room in others I take a 12 depending on the maker of the clothes and the store brand. I refuse to let my self-esteem be determined by a number on a piece of clothing. I recently spoke to a friend who refused to buy anything larger then a 12 because she felt bad – I took it on as my mission to shift her attitude and make her clothing choice based on how she feels when she puts on the article of clothing – her outlook is changing.

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by Sonia

Sonia — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:39:43 +0000

Keep up the pressure … we do need to do!!! As we know from the Senate inquiry into the sexualisation of children the boards decisions were only mere suggestions, nothing definitive at all.
This is a great for awareness and a fantastic starting point. I feel it will be a case of ‘watch this space’ to see what we can do it to ensure they produce clear, decisive outcomes.

Comment on A National Strategy on Body Image by Lisa Cox

Lisa Cox — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:24:53 +0000

Firstly, may I congratulate EE on their work and recommendations (above) for the schools program.

I would like to make comment on the influence of the ‘media’. As somebody who has worked in the media/advertising/modeling industries for about a decade, I have seen the distortion of body image from both sides of the camera lens. In all my time working at advertising agencies, I can tell you – from first hand experience – that this ‘voluntary code’ of conduct will be about as useful as (my Grandmother would say) “tits on a bull”.

Until quantifiable, enforceable standards and are implemented and met, we will only continue to circle around the problem with more ‘feel good’ voluntary codes that do little to address the bigger issues.

Oh I hear you say “But it’s a positive start!”… Granted, it is. But this same debate about the (mis)representation of body image has been raging for years and we are well past the positive start days.

I’m now using my background to speak at schools to teens and pre-teens about media literacy and body image. Experience taught me that popular culture is dictated by demand. Unfortunate but true. I aspire to educate the kids about the messages they are being exposed to and teach them to make educated, media literate decisions for themselves.

Last week I was asked to attend a National Collaboration about body image dissatisfaction in Canberra. While it was a good idea, ‘in theory’, the problems of body image dissatisfaction amongst our youth cannot be solved with statistics and reference to dated theoretical models – as some participants attempted to do. The solutions are as complex as the problems themselves.