NEWS

Message: You need not be thin as a stick

Event on improving women’s self-image

March 23, 2006 – Women who buy into cultural pressures to be stick-thin run the dangerous risk of developing an eating disorder and lower self-confidence, experts say.

In an effort to promote a healthier body image, Cabarrus Family Medicine will host a jeans fashion show Tuesday as part of this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

The observance is designed to encourage women to be more comfortable with their body sizes and shapes.

The local event is a spinoff from the national “Be Comfortable in Your Genes” campaign. Everyday women with various body types will model the jeans.

"How we view ourselves as people and how we view our bodies are closely linked to self-esteem and how we feel about ourselves,” said Cheryl Masters clinic director of Psychological and Behavioral Health at Cabarrus Family Medicine in Concord.

"What we are trying to do is empower women to honor and celebrate the bodies that they were given,” Master said, “and not try to squeeze into the Barbie mold.”

At least 10 million women and girls are fighting life-and-death battles with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.

More than half of all women have reported being dissatisfied with their weight, muscle tone and upper and lower torso, Masters said. That dissatisfaction is linked to greater psychological distress such as problems with depression, anxiety and lower self-esteem. 

Sandy Robertson, 34, of Concord, said she volunteered as a model in the show to encourage women to accept their bodies and to strive to be healthy.

"A healthy weight is what to need to try to obtain, and a healthy weight in not being a size 2, necessarily,” Robertson said. “You just need to concentrate more on what’s in the inside and less on outward appearances.”

An elaborate display of jeans will decorate the main lobby. The pants are covered with writing from women who describe how they feel in their jeans.

"Our idea is to get women talking about how they really feel about their bodies and to free themselves of these unrealistic expectations,” Masters said.

Everyone attending is asked to bring a pair of jeans that remind them of an unrealistic body size and donate the garment to the CVAN domestic violence program in Cabarrus County.

The free event also will feature a 20-minute discussion on how the cultural standard of beauty has changed over time. The talk will be followed by a short documentary film on how women are portrayed in advertisements.

Information will be offered on services available at Cabarrus Family Medicine such as nutritional counseling, psychological and behavioral counseling and metabolic testing.

Masters said she wants people to re-evaluate how their view their own bodies.

“You don’t have to just come in one shape or size. Most of us don’t,” Masters said. “break free from that idea of ‘one size fits all.’”

By Lena Warmack, Cabarrus Neighbors