Topic : 12/12 Convince Me!

98% of the men I know prefer women with curves.

But, could just be the men I know.  lol

My daughter wanted to be a model/actress, so like any good parent i took and inrolled her in a very popular school for just this career. She was all excited and she seemed to be doing very well in her classes.   My daughter told me she had to watch what she ate cuz she was borderline over weight for the petite model and to short for the tall models. At this time in her life she was 12yr.old and she was 4' 2" and she wore a size little girls 6x or a  xsm. jrs. I thought ok maybe they just mean to cut out the snacks and soda. Well my daughter had always loved fresh veggie trays but now thats all she wanted. I told her she needed to drink her milk and eat more than just veggies,the body needed bread and meat. The day came for the parents fashion show and she was so excited about all the new outfits and doing the catwalk.  After her show she told me and her father she didnt want to do this anymore. We asked her why, cuz she looked great and did great on the catwalk. She said lets go and on the ride home she cried and said i will never be a model nor anactress cuz im to short to fat! She went almost a yr. thinking she was ugly and not good enough. She now thinks the fashion models are a joke and everyone must love and like themselves for who, what and how they look.not what someone else thinks. She is now 18yrs.old 5'5" and weighs 130lbs.and she wears a jrs size seven and shes in school to become a RN shes very happy! Her motto (you dont have to kill yourself to be someone just love yourself)

I grew up with a lot of turmoil in my home life and a few close friends and i also idealized models and those on TV on how we should look.  We subjected ourselves to losing it by depriving ourselves of food.  The 'boys' our age and older were constant reminders of how we should look by comparing us to those on the big screens or in magazines. 

Still today a lot of men today compare women to the airbrushed figures in magazines and the movies and expect or would definately like for their significant others to look like them. 

Women have enough self-esteem issues without the industry (all media) making it more damaging. 

I am 28 years old and fear to bring a child into this world because of the way it has been going.  With extensive regular television shows promoting sex, magazines promoting sex and well 'media' all together it is frightening to me.  Everything is being desensitized.  Adding on body images getting thinner is horrifying. 

I agreed with all of your models today.  There are some that just have the ability to eat whatever they want and not gain a pound...then there is ME...i'm not heavy but it is a constant struggle.  I am 142 and 5' 81/2".  I have an athletic build because i work out 5+ days a week.  But i have constant appearance issues.  Your models were beutiful and why in the world we do not try to promote inner beauty combined with outer beauty i will never understand.  We are our own worst critic.  If we add that it is expected of us to look like that then others will also do the same.  The pressure is too great for young girls that can not think of long-term effects.  My best-friend from high school that suffered from anorexia and bulimia lost her gull-bladder from it years later. 

The only way we can make a difference is to put all our resources together.  As Dr. Phil once said..."it's beuty lenses, hair extensions, air brushing, silicone, silicone, silicone!"  I love him! 

As far as I know, no one looks at a magazine or a tv show and suddenly develops an eating disorder.  These issues/illnesses run way deeper than than the media.

I totally agree with Dr. Phil's guest (Drew?), just because you aspire to do something doesn't necessarily mean that you CAN do it.  Look how many great athletes never make it professionally.  Or, look at all the "wedding singers" you see and hear in your town - - don't they sing as well, if not better than many of the people you hear on the radio? 

Not everybody has IT.  So, don't blame the people that do have IT for your failures, illnessess.

To all the folks who look at magazines and wish they  looked like the models, how about you get a foster child or something and find a more useful focus in your life?!  Or, if looking at magazines makes you so sick, how about not looking at them!

I look at magazines and think about how I can adapt the latest styles to my proportions (I'm 5 feet tall).  How about all the short people start crying about the extra expenses we incur to find stylish clothes, pay full price for them and then have to pay almost as much to have them tailored?

The last time a checked, the media was not the greatest source for shaping and defining a life.  So don't depend on it to define yours!

WHY AREN'T YOU IN SCHOOL?  In my house, no school, no tv, no radio, no Dr. Phil, no fun!

Honey, if people on the runways looked like regular Janes and Joes there would be fashion shows.  Who would pay to see what they can open up their doors and look at everyday for free?!