“About Face” Body Image Benefit: America the Beautiful Movie

May 15, 2009 He’s baaaaaaaaaack! ‘Tell it like it is’ director Darryl Roberts of America The Beautiful is wrapping his last personal appearance on his U.S. screening tour to benefit two worthy Bay Area orgs promoting positive body image: About-Face.org (love their "don't fall for the media circus" tagline) and Beyond Hunger ("freedom from the obsession with food and weight) … [Read more...]

The Oprah Factor: Stop the Yo-Yo Dieting Messages

April 8, 2009 Young women and their moms have been "under the influence" of Oprah longer than you can say “she’s gotta have it.” From cuddly bathrobes to kids' book club picks, when the grand dame of daytime speaks, people listen. Precisely the point that Director Darryl Roberts of America the Beautiful is making in his recent “open letter to Oprah” plea to curb the weight … [Read more...]

A Challenge: Love Yourself. Share Your Story. Find Beauty.

Happy Valentine’s Day dear readers! Like my 'Luvicon?' (You can make one too!) Little did I know when I wrote about ‘thinspiration’ that there was an actual term for sidewinders and commentary that dings so deeply in the developmental recesses of kids’ minds. "Bodysnarking." Dare to share the body image stories that stuck in your childhood mental relay and lend a hand with a … [Read more...]

Counter-Marketing Thinspiration: Killer Media Cues

Feb. 12, 2009 Media literacy rule number one: Watch for extreme headlines that command attention. I could've gone with 'Fatal Attraction' or any other number of sensationalist eyecatchers. As you can surmise, this is about the role of media feeding the pop culture zeitgeist like the Venus Flytrap plant in the Little Shop of Horrors, singing, "Feeeeeeed me." Valentine’s Day … [Read more...]