Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Kudo's to Keira Knightley!!!

Hollywood or Bust! Er....No Enhancement or Bust!


Even though I am the mother of all sons, it still really irks me that the media has such a profound effect on the body image of young girls. Not just young girls, but women of ALL ages. It is so refreshing when someone in the spotlight takes a stand and refuses to allow the media to tell them their body isn't "good enough" just because it isn't perfect and it needs be altered in some way in order to enhance the profit.

Keira Knightley is my hero this week for doing just that! She refused to let the producers of her new movie Duchess digitally enhance the movie posters of her to make her appear more buxom. She has insisted that her figure stay in its natural state. She stated that she is proud of her body and doesn’t want it altered. Hallelujah!

Three cheers for Keira!!!

It's about time that someone with such a high profile start sending this kind of message! I have grown weary of the pressure the media hits us with as women (and our daughters) that we have to have the perfect body in size, shape, and form, in order to even be acceptable. It's a shame we can't love our bodies for the amazing gift that they are instead of focusing what isn't perfect about them.

Yes, Keira has done other things that I don't approve of, and I am not promoting her in any way. I am just grateful that she would step up and make such a bold statement that will hopefully have a powerful impact on today's young girls who have been force fed such unrealistic and impossible stereotypes!

Courtney Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, stated, "What she is doing--and it's significant--is reminding us to honor what we already know: namely that the images we see every day on television, in magazines, online, are notoriously technologically-altered and unrealistic. It's not willpower that makes these women's bodies perfect--it's money, money, money, and a splash of genetic predisposition." We have become so used to it that many of us just shrug our shoulders and say that is just Hollywood. Martin's book goes into great detail about how these images nevertheless worm their way into the thinking of girls, teens, and young women...and make us dissatisfied about who we are. Every time a well-known celebrity stands up and says, "I'm good enough. Don't you dare change me or judge me," she chips away at impossible media stereotypes and puts another crack in the artificial facade of how women are 'supposed' to look."


YOU GO GIRL!!!!!


Now, lets hope some other celebs will have enough backbone to get on the bandwagon too!!! Then maybe, just maybe, those of us that have the same body type as Keira's will finally feel we don't have to keep declaring we are good enough as we are too!


This is a video clip of the segment on Good Morning America. Be sure to watch this!
You will have to hit the pause button (far left) on my music play list at the bottom of my blog in order to hear it better.


12 comments:

EarlGirl said...

Oh, I love it! That was great. It's a little scary that with with a little money, we can change almost anything about our bodies we don't like. I think it short circuits the whole process of accepting and embracing the miraculous gift of our bodies from a loving Father.

Kami said...

AMEN!! Take it from someone with a body like Keira, I love that she stood up for herself. It's hard to take a stand when everyone is telling you you're not normal. She's proud of her body the way God made it. It's refreshing to see someone in Hollywood take a stand.

SkinnyJeanGirl said...

I love that she stood up for herself. How easy it would have been for her to say, "Go ahead." But she loves who she is and wants to be portrayed that way.
I love the Dove campaign for real beauty. Love the skin you're in. I do. I have wrinkles that bug me, but I've just decided I am going to grow fat and sassy and wrinkles to boot. Okay, not too fat, but I will do with what nature hands me. I love me and the skin I'm in.:)

Amy Plumb said...

You know it's not just a "girl problem" though. I have a son who is worried about his body image and what he eats and how much he exercises. Yes, he plays sports maybe that plays a part but I think too it's this whole "we have to look a certain way". I keep a close eye on him because if for one minute I thought he was taking it to far I would seek help for him. I worked as a counselor for years with teens who had eating disorders and it horrible to see them struggle. Media has no idea what they do to our young people.
Glad to see someone in Hollywood stand up and do something that's right. Great post!

Unknown said...

HERE, HERE! So glad you posted this for all to see.

Kelli said...

very well said (or blogged) yeah

Jodi said...

Thanks Amy for bringing up that it's not just a girl problem. That is very true. In fact on the video clip it showed how that guy's build was enhanced for the magazine. I don't think it's as big of a problem as it is for girls YET, but I do see it headed that way! I fear it will just get worse for both now with all the digital enhancement they can do!

Yvonne said...

Thanks for posting that. Yes, it is so sad that so many of our young women and even older women struggle with body image and don't realize that what they see in magazines, etc., is not treal.

deb said...

THANK YOU! and AMEN!!!!

4funboys said...

just so long as we're working on the inside more than we focusing on the out!

Jen said...

Wow, refreshing to have this happen! Thanks for sharing! hee hee!

4funboys said...

Happy birthday!!!

You wise woman you!!!

Fabulous Forty.

luv the pix

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails