As a University student I have access to a plethora of books and media not available in any other library. I stumbled upon "Killing Us Softly", a lecture by Dr. Jean Kilbourne. Fascinated by the collage of female bodies on the cover, as well as the eerily poignant title, I checked it out and just now watched the film in its entirety.
Maybe you're visiting this little blog again, and if so, you probably know that I am overweight and plagued by insecurity, self-doubt, and shame. I struggle with my weight, am classified as overweight, I'm 28, and going to a University populated by 18 year olds who grew up with the new media technology of airbrushing the female body. Let's just say I don't fit in (not for lack of trying).
This lecture struck a raw nerve. Watching the slideshow presented by Dr. Kilbourne was shocking. One teenage girl after another was being shown in insinuating poses. What reads like dirt is in fact just your typical brand name clothing advertisement. Youth, exploited, held up as ideal, their immature brains unable to fathom what exploitation they are being sucked into.
This lecture made me pull back from the social conditioning that happens on campus. I could, for a moment, perceive something beyond that contemptuous glance I received today from a very skinny young co-ed who sneered at the sight of my thighs as I walked by. So her thighs are thinner than mine. That's fine! So long as she doesn't wreck the grade curve by earning the highest A in the class, I can live with being her sexual inferior. She can keep her thin thighs and I'll keep my fat ones.
This is sad. I don't know what to do about this. It appears to be some sort of divide and conquer strategy, but by whom? Men have the most to gain, true, but women often take matters into their own hands by alienating and belittling those less beautiful than they are. Indeed, I must look at my own actions, because I am probably helping to keep the status quo somehow, without even realizing it.
164 pounds seems too much for me to weigh. Yet, I am more than a number. I am more than a statistic of the American fat epidemic. I wrote many excellent term papers: don't they count for anything? What about the fact that I give up my seat on the bus to little old ladies?
Anyways, I think I'm rambling, so I'll end here with a book, "Deadly Persuasion" by Dr. Jean Kilbourne, that can be found on amazon dot com. Dr. Jean Kilbourne was the lecturer on the DVD I checked out from the campus library. Unfortunately, the DVD, "Killing Us Softly" is not available on amazon. I think it might be out of print, which is sad. :( But here is a book that covers the same topic!
Book by Jean Kilbourne Because "Killing Us Softly" Is Not Available on amazon dot com
I haven't read it yet, but I will. I did watch the movie "Killing Us Softly" and Dr. Kilbourne has made some startling insights into advertising and women's roles in society.
Maybe you're visiting this little blog again, and if so, you probably know that I am overweight and plagued by insecurity, self-doubt, and shame. I struggle with my weight, am classified as overweight, I'm 28, and going to a University populated by 18 year olds who grew up with the new media technology of airbrushing the female body. Let's just say I don't fit in (not for lack of trying).
This lecture struck a raw nerve. Watching the slideshow presented by Dr. Kilbourne was shocking. One teenage girl after another was being shown in insinuating poses. What reads like dirt is in fact just your typical brand name clothing advertisement. Youth, exploited, held up as ideal, their immature brains unable to fathom what exploitation they are being sucked into.
This lecture made me pull back from the social conditioning that happens on campus. I could, for a moment, perceive something beyond that contemptuous glance I received today from a very skinny young co-ed who sneered at the sight of my thighs as I walked by. So her thighs are thinner than mine. That's fine! So long as she doesn't wreck the grade curve by earning the highest A in the class, I can live with being her sexual inferior. She can keep her thin thighs and I'll keep my fat ones.
This is sad. I don't know what to do about this. It appears to be some sort of divide and conquer strategy, but by whom? Men have the most to gain, true, but women often take matters into their own hands by alienating and belittling those less beautiful than they are. Indeed, I must look at my own actions, because I am probably helping to keep the status quo somehow, without even realizing it.
164 pounds seems too much for me to weigh. Yet, I am more than a number. I am more than a statistic of the American fat epidemic. I wrote many excellent term papers: don't they count for anything? What about the fact that I give up my seat on the bus to little old ladies?
Anyways, I think I'm rambling, so I'll end here with a book, "Deadly Persuasion" by Dr. Jean Kilbourne, that can be found on amazon dot com. Dr. Jean Kilbourne was the lecturer on the DVD I checked out from the campus library. Unfortunately, the DVD, "Killing Us Softly" is not available on amazon. I think it might be out of print, which is sad. :( But here is a book that covers the same topic!
Book by Jean Kilbourne Because "Killing Us Softly" Is Not Available on amazon dot com
I haven't read it yet, but I will. I did watch the movie "Killing Us Softly" and Dr. Kilbourne has made some startling insights into advertising and women's roles in society.
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