PINK sends wrong message

PINK - lenaLast week, I walked through campus cutting through the concourse to get to my class, and I came face-to-face with a cardboard cut out of a Victoria Secret’s PINK model.

The cut out allows for women to put their face on the model’s body and take a picture, pretending that this is their body. This is absolutely ridiculous!

Not only is society objectifying this person who is the model, but also people are making this image appear to be how every woman should look. It has a huge effect on the self-esteem and body image of woman whom are not stick skinny.

Society is filled with images of what the idealistic women’s body should look like. The idea that a 6-foot tall woman who weighs 100lbs is the “ideal” appearance and role model for woman is completely unrealistic not to mention unhealthy.

There are images of people all over the place that display and push that being unhealthily skinny is a good thing and that being curving is undesirable and unacceptable. With all of this negativity everywhere else, it was a nice break to come to Laurier and not be pressured with images of models in every direction, until today.

Women and men alike, have to deal with pressures for body image on a regular basis and people should not have to be exposed to this at a place of learning. I understand the analysis of the images and breaking down what the image is about in courses, but the literal advertisement should have never been allowed.

Why is it that PINK has been allowed to bring such a controversial image into the Laurier community? Women are already objectified with out having the support of this from our University. This display is ridiculous and Laurier should be ashamed to have allowed this advertisement to exist.

Laurier should be promoting healthy living and a positive body image rather than giving into the pressures of what the ideal body image is or has become.

By allowing such an image to be displayed, it is as if Laurier is almost suggesting that woman should look a certain way and conform to this desired appearance.

I am all for PINK supporting breast cancer and woman, but this needs to be done in a manner that shows what a beautiful and healthy woman looks like, not through advertising an image that models them selves can not even live up to.

These images are so edited and morphed into the perception of what perfection is, that the desired person in the image is not even achievable by the model that the picture was taken of.

This gives all new meaning to the popular expression of “no pain, no gain” because advertisements such as these are suggesting that it is OK for young women to starve themselves in order to be “beautiful.”

Societies’ perception of what beauty is drastically screwed and needs to be seriously rethought .

It is possible that if advertisements’ promoting beautiful women who are curvy, happy, and most importantly healthy, that slowly people’s idea of what is beautiful will change.

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