MTR on Open House with Leigh Hatcher
I was interviewed by Leigh Hatcher for Open House on Sunday night. If you’re interested, here’s what we talked about. OH_MelindaTankardReistSexualisation_2013-04-28
Tag: body image
Excellent advice on helping a friend with an eating disorder and dealing with stalking: Girlfriend April.
When I speak in schools, I’m often asked for advice on how to help a friend with an eating disorder (and not just girls – a male student ask me in a school in regional NSW recently). So I was really pleased to see the piece ‘Help! My BFF is wasting away before my eyes: […]
Dolly April – Continued improvements in content, shame about the model search
I think Dolly may be improving (if only it would drop the model search!) Forty eight pages into Dolly’s April issue and I was beginning to wonder if there was anything worth commenting on. Yes there was a promotion of the Dolly model search, but I’d already gone to town on that in the last […]
The problem with Dove
Not buying it Thanks to our friends at ‘The Illusionist’ for this blog post on Dove. With the deluge of lovey-dovey isn’t Dove wonderful guff all over the social media stratosphere, it was refreshing to read this piece which sums up all that is wrong with the so-called ‘Real Beauty’ campaign. So what if they […]
When we have to airbrush flesh onto models you know we’ve got a problem: MTR in Herald Sun
WHEN fashion publishers feel they have to use photo-shop to ‘‘fatten up’’ models in a major fashion event before they can publish their images, you know there’s a problem. Usually when fashion and beauty publications employ digital enhancement it’s for the opposite reason: to slim down the model or celebrity and hide ‘‘flaws’’. But this […]
How Biggest Loser fat shaming hurts us: another eating disorder survivor speaks out
Following my Sunday Herald Sun column critical of ‘The Biggest Loser’ last week , I heard from a number of women in recovery from eating disorders, who wrote about the negative impact the series had on them – including Melbourne woman Belinda Davis, 38, who was happy for me to share her story here. It […]
The Biggest Loser – is it making us sicker? MTR in Sunday Herald Sun
Tacky show is not worth the weight REALITY weight-loss show The Biggest Loser claims to be all about health – leading a new “social movement” against the “obesity crisis”. But many authorities – and those suffering from disordered eating – say it actually contributes to bad health. Parading and humiliating obese people, dangerously rapid weight […]
Sexualisation of girls – are we carrying on about nothing? MTR on Weekend Sunrise
On Saturday I appeared on Weekend Sunrise with Danielle Egan, US author of a new book which argues concerns about the sexualisation of girls are exaggerated. You can watch it here Beauty Redefined: Victoria’s Dirty Little Secret The time-wasting, body-hating self-objectification proved to go hand-in-hand with such “bold, sexy, powerful” ideals – though ideal for […]
Driving childhood out of children – Channel 7 Today Tonight
There’s been a ton of media coverage on the adultification and sexualisation of children lately. This program aired on Channel 7’s Today Tonight Monday. Click picture below to view clip. And just a clarification re the KMart campaign. It wasn’t actually me who was instrumental in getting KMart to pull certain items – that win […]
A call for consistency: stop the mixed messages to girls
Girlfriend February Review Many girls and young women look to girl’s magazines for advice on life, relationships, bodies, health and sexuality. But too often they receive conflicting advice and mixed messages and even, sometimes, outright contradiction. Take for example, information provided in the sealed section of Girlfriend this month, where, within four pages of each […]
You Only Live Once – why not make it count? Dolly February review
Girl Mag Watch As always, I’m confused about teen girls’ magazines approach to airbrushing and photo-shop (see here for a past example of my confusion). This issue contains an explanation of the ‘Retouch Free Zone’. “DOLLY is all about healthy body image – that’s why we only feature photos of girls that haven’t been altered […]
Good advice on standing against sexist stereotypes, teen marriage, budgeting and managing internet – but why so much on scoring a boyfriend?
Girl Mag Watch: Dolly January 2013 In its first edition for the year, Dolly brings readers some important content to help them launch into 2013. ‘Sexism: what’s it all about?’ examines how gender-based prejudice and discrimination is alive and well. Women continue to be paid less than men and hold a tiny proportion of board […]
