Better Body Image Month presented by Ethical Fashion Review™
– Use hashtag #BBIMonth to join the conversation and push for positive change.
For fashion and lifestyle magazines, the October issue has reputedly been one of the year’s best sellers, with millions of women, girls, boys & men poring over their glossy pages.
Offering crash-diets and exercise tips to help us “get in shape for summer”, along with perfectly stylised imagery of a young and terribly ‘niche’ section of society, when compared with reality,
the message is clear: “If you don’t look like [impossible stereotype], here’s how to change.”
We have to carefully consider how much weight we give to these images and ideals so prevalent in marketing and social media; and what (if it wasn’t already apparent) damage is this does to the self-image of adults and children who can’t relate to it, (and rightly so!).
Great News for Changing Impressions: The Grazia UK “Big Fashion Issue” September 2018 provides ‘Visibility’ for different ages and abilities, often overlooked by the Fashion Industry.
Who is affected?
No gender, age, race or body-type escapes unaffected from the sense of insecurity these images are created to induce. Indeed they are the very emotions which allow enterprises to sell products; i.e. “use this [insert product] and you will be more beautiful/sexy/happy”.
Considering the above along with the rise of online advertising and social media, these messages are no longer the odd-billboard or prime-time commercial they used to be in the 80’s. As a global society we are bombarded with information from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, much of it re-affirming an impossible ideal.
This is why we decided October is the perfect month to feature beauty in all of its forms with our Better Body Image #BBIMonth Feature on social media.
We have considered; by talking about body image are we causing our physical shape/type/size to remain an ‘issue’? Does continuing the conversation imply that it’s acceptable to compare, weigh and judge ourselves, celebrities and consequently the people around us?
We concluded it’s time to take back the narrative starting by sharing positive and inclusive Body Image messages, conversations and images with our community over the next few weeks.
We’d love to hear from you! Get involved – Send us an image, story or comment;
- Have you ever felt pressured to change how you look?
- What makes you feel attractive? (Is it important?)
- Do you feel your age / gender / sexuality / race / size / ability; are represented in the media?
- What brands/businesses/causes help you to feel good about being you?
– Tag #BBIMonth to join the conversation on social media and push for positive change.
Twitter – @ethicalfashrev
Facebook – /ethicalfashionau
Instagram – @ethicalfashion_review
Email – sophie@ethicalfashion.net.au
“The future of Fashion is inclusive, because we’re creating it together.” Ethical Fashion Review™
INCLUSIVE: image credit – Sustainable Activewear brand: Girlfriend Collective
If this article raised any issues for you, please contact a help service – Beyond Blue, provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live – Call 1300 22 46 36, Open 24/7.
Header image credit: Charisse Kenion
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