WIN: DFO pulls down ‘Starving for Fashion’ billboard after protest initiated by 13 year old
Company apologises for ‘error’ after outcry including from eating disorder specialists It’s so good to be able to share another win with supporters. This one thanks to 13-year-old Melbourne teen Naomi, who spotted this billboard advertising the DFO at Morabbin Airport in Melbourne. Naomi told her mother, long time supporter Gloria Anderson, who texted me […]
Teaching girls a nose job is as harmless as choosing a new outfit: the cosmetic surgery games contributing to body hate
Are we OK with games that allow kids to perform eye lifts and nose jobs? Melinda Tankard Reist A large needle is jabbed into the lips of a young girl. Instantly they become sausage-shaped. Another girl, oxygen mask over her mouth, has her nose cut into with a scalpel. A larger-sized girl in saggy underwear […]
Challenging the industries that breed body hatred: videos from Endangered Bodies conference
We must act personally and politically: MTR Laura McNally, Melinda Tankard Reist, Sarah McMahon Rick Kausman, Here’s some You Tube clips from the Endangered Bodies conference held in Sydney in August. I’m interviewed in the first, followed by a combination of speakers at the event, then Dr Rick Kausman, Susie Orbach and Sarah McMahon. Combination Dr Rick […]
Support calls for a Senate inquiry into dieting industry
We need change. We need it now. And we need your help to get it. Please join us in our crusade. We are in the midst of a public health crisis in Australia. Weight, eating and body image issues are rampant. The weight loss services industry has positioned itself as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, […]
Drugs, depression and dealing with embarrassing parents: Girlfriend November 2013
Girlfriend and Dolly can be commended this year for taking strong stands on alcohol and drugs. This issue of GF is no exception, with ‘The High Life’ exploring the harms of smoking marijuana. When celebs boast about it – such as Miley Cyrus posting a photo of herself smoking pot with the caption “High as […]
MTR and Dr Emma Rush discuss sexualisation of children on ABC Nightline
Dr Emma Rush and I were guests on the ABC Nightline program hosted by Tony Delroy last night. You can listen here: abctonydelroy
Calling on Cleo to stop airbrushing images: Change petition
Cleo Magazine: Stop digitally altering images to change appearances #RealGirlsCleo Following a US teenager’s successful petition calling on 17 Magazine to publish one unaltered photo spread per month, Melbourne woman Jessica Barlow has created a petition calling on Australian Cleo Magazine to do the same. The petition reads: Reality is beautiful. Stop using Photoshop to […]
Women’s Magazines and the Cult of Hypocrisy
By Laura Bates | July 5, 2012 This week, Seventeen magazine promised to publish un-photoshopped images of real girls, finally responding to 14-year-old SPARK activist Julia Bluhm’s campaign. Such pressure must continue argues author Laura Bates. Last week, two editions of Now magazine appeared on newsstands in the UK. The weekly issue featured a dramatic […]
How inequality and objectification is imprinted in our brains
“A woman will see this as a representative of herself and her self-worth” Have come across some great blog posts on the stuff that matters here at MTR and I thought you should see them too. Opt 4 has perfectly captured the way objectification of women and girls is harful to them. And there’s some […]
Child beauty pageants: socialising girls in the importance of ‘lookism’: MTR in Sunday Herald Sun
And here’s an advertorial on the importance of beauty regimes – for children ‘If you’re on a budget make brows the priority as this really makes a big difference. It’s worth it and it’s worth seeing a professional. Do facials if you can afford it…’ Read entire article here.
Girlfriend May Review: injects some much needed reality, but doesn’t go all the way
In last month’s Girlfriend Review, I outlined the disturbing findings of the magazine’s annual body image survey. Our young women still despise their bodies, despite GF’s own positive body image initiatives, which I’ve argued, never really went far enough. So it was refreshing to see in May’s issue a strong case for exposing systems and […]
Rejection, pain, bullying, heartbreak: former Dolly model search entrant speaks out
‘I was never as happy or as sure of myself after that. It was just too big of a let-down, because it wasn’t a rejection from a high school bully, it was a rejection from ‘the experts’, from people with professional opinion, and it was a closing of doors in my face from a glamorous […]