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Audience moved by images portrayed

BY C.A. SCHNEIDER

THURSDAY NIGHT WAS AN EMOTIONAL evening for all present at Carla Rice's presentation on body image. Duffy amphitheatre played host to one of the most disturbing and touching presentations anyone has seen in a long time. The problem of distorted body image is one that has plagued our society since the birth of the supermodel, and poses a serious threat to many young women today.

The disturbing

The disturbing statistics given in the early part of

is an impossibility, not an ideal.

In the quest for the ideal, women begin treat their bodies.as objects... When one body becomes an object, violence becomes; allowable occurrence. Violence can al: become erotic as women’s pain and sufferi is sexualized. Fifty-five to seventy-five perce of women who suffer from eating disorde have also experienced, will experience sexual: physical. violence, Tt violence..drives. wom out of their bodies, leadi self-harmin behaviour, disassociatio

statistics given in theearly Rice "5 presentation er a

part of Rice’s

presentation showed showed that ninety behaviour. .

that ninety per cent of

Women who que

women dislike their per cent of women for the ideal body sto

bodies, while seventy per

nurturing and. lovig

cent are preoccupied dislike their bodies... themselves and begin

with their weight. Forty

per cent of women are actively yo-yo dieting, while twenty per cent struggle with anorexia and bulimia. Fifty per cent of girls under the age of nine have begun dieting. Sixty-six per cent of women have experimented with bulimia to control weight.

In our society thinness is regarded aia sign of health, wealth, sexuality and immortality. Little girls are brought up believing that power comes from approximating these superficial societal beliefs. Society's ideals have kept getting further and further out of reach for most women; the “ideal” size has in fact decreased by twenty-four per cent, while the actual average size of women has increased by four per cent. The ideal that is presented to young girls-- Barbie-- is in fact the ideal most women reach for. She is blonde, blue-eyed, incredibly leggy and incredibly thin. In fact, if one were to make Barbie life-sized, she would have measurements of 36", 18" and 33". This

struggle against their o bodies. The problems of this generation unhappy women have been: passed on to next generation, and if we don’t stop the cd now, we may never end it. Women must sty aspiring to unreasonable ideals and insteadai for reasonable goals. Women must also lea to once again love their bodies and themseliq as they are. We in turn must teach daughters to love their bodies, to know th they are beautiful just as they are.

Carla Rice spoke to all present, and hi words touched them.all.. She raised all t issues that matter to women in this society those who care about these women. pointed out that society has changed its ide many times in history, and that we can fort society's ideals to become realisti@and healt The presentation, sponsored by the UM Women’s Centre, was essential not only the women of this community but also 4 those who love these women.

forthe | X-Press!

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x.press march fifteenth 1994 page 4 |

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