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Hello readers!
Last week, I was out of town, so you may have noticed that I
did not post on this blog. I was, however, still gathering information for my
research and looking through social media to find posts related to body image
and eating disorders.
First, I want to share a bit about the NEDA Walk that I
attended on March 1st. I spent most of my time at the walk at A New
Beginning’s table handing out information packets. Participants showed up at 6
a.m. for registration, where they got their NEDA shirts and totes. The walk did not begin until 7 a.m., but
prior to the walk’s start time, participants were able to do some yoga to warm
up (lead by an instructor), and visit different tables set up around the
entrance to the zoo. When the gates opened up to the zoo, the walkers completed
a 2-mile loop and were congratulated by the Phoenix Sun’s gorilla mascot at the
finish line. Dr. Ashley Southard from A New Beginning gave an excellent speech
to the crowd. At the end of the walk, numerous items were raffled off, such as
restaurant gift cards and Phoenix Suns tickets. The fundraising goal for the
walk was actually surpassed—over $26,000 was raised!!
Now going back to the totes that were handed out—written on
the totes was “Love your real selfie” and “#AerieReal.” Aerie, launched as an undergarment line, is a sister brand to the
popular clothing brand American Eagle. Aerie sponsored the walk nationally. I
had never seen #AerieReal before, so I looked into it to see what the hashtag
was for. Aerie is trying to go against the “supermodel standards” for young
women by releasing ads that are completely untouched, airbrushed, photoshopped,
or edited in any way. Numerous studies
and surveys have shown that young women’s self-esteem and sense of body
confidence is often influenced by the images of other women in the media. That
is why Aerie wants to show that the “real you” is beautiful and does not need
to be edited. It's great to see social media put to a positive use! Below is a picture from
Aerie regarding this campaign.
Until next time,
Carly
P.S. I apologize for the cheesy/bad pun in the title of this blog entry.
I love this!! I was aware of aerie's campaign as well as Dove's beauty campaign (only having commercials/ads with "real" looking women). Do you think you would do a compare/contrast between body image positives and negatives in social media for your presentation? I really like this idea of promoting the acceptance of your body!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the NEDA walk was a huge success! What is one thing that you took away from being at the walk?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting concept that Aerie is starting. However, do you think that having fit models, as opposed to curvier models, takes away from their #loveyourrealselfie campaign?