Introductory Letter

         Hi everybody! My name is Valerie Tindall and I am a senior here at UCF, my major is Women’s Studies with a minor in Communications. I am originally from Cooper City Florida, which is a small suburb outside of Fort Lauderdale, but I’ve been living in Orlando for about seven years now. Growing up I was raised in a very feminist, liberal household so going into Women’s Studies just seemed like a very natural thing for me to do and I was very interested in the history of Women’s Studies and how everything began.

 

         I am interested in studying about girls and body image because I’ve had to suffer through my own problems with negative body image from a very young age and I would like to learn about the things we can do to stop this cycle from occurring in other young girls. A positive self-image is very important for girls to have because when you think positively about yourself you will be more likely to go after things that you want or want to do, such as job opportunities, leadership positions, hobbies, etc…

 

         Popular culture impacts girls’ understandings of their bodies in so many different ways, with most of them being negative. Media today, whether it’s television, movies, magazines, websites, etc., provide us with a false idea of what beauty looks like; we are constantly bombarded with images of tall, skinny, models with perfect skin and hair, and frankly most young girls and women do not look like that, but society is telling us that image and beauty is the only way to define oneself. On a more positive note there are some aspects of popular culture that have contributed to girls’ understanding their bodies; I remember as a young girl my mom buying me “Are you there God? It’s me Margaret” as a way to explain what was going on with my body but in a more relatable, fun form because I loved to read. Dove has also started The Real Beauty campaign which features more natural women in their ads to portray the beauty in everybody and not what society tells us is ideal.

 

         Some of the major issues that I think are affecting girls and their bodies today are growing up with a negative body-image and self-worth and because of this negative body-image the prevalence of eating disorders and self-mutilation is also becoming more of a problem with girls today. I am very excited about this class and getting to hear everyone’s thoughts about this subject matter.