Bitchin' Bodies: young women talk about body dissatisfaction
by Terri L. Russ
images by Karin E. Lekan
by Terri L. Russ
images by Karin E. Lekan
online press kit
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Talking about women's bodies in political news stories:
With our first female presidential primary candidate this year, as well as full-time coverage of the Democratic and Republican candidates' spouses going into the general election, how are women's bodies treated within news stories and what kinds of new lines are being drawn about body shape discourse within the political sphere? What does it mean when a fashion item, whether a pantsuit or a newly popular dress, becomes the topic of conversation on news outlets regarding women in politics?
Body image and family relationships on TV:
On HBO's Weeds we have Celia, a TV mom who mistreats her daughter based on body shape: How real is this type of character and how often does this happen?
Celia on Weeds (Elizabeth Perkins) replaces her daughter Isabelle's (Allie Grant) chocolate bars with laxatives to teach her a lesson about weight loss. Isabelle responds by replacing Celia's daily laxative dose with Imodium. This is one of many examples of the show's dysfunctional happenings between Celia and Isabelle, but how often does this character of the mother obsessed with her daughter's body shape occur in the real world? Does the portrayal of this relationship on TV highlight the problem and offer solutions? Does it shame parents who may be behaving this way into taking a different approach to health and weight with their children?
