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Body Talk

The Frightening Reality of Body Bashing

There is no doubt that there is growing a demographic of girls who are struggling with poor body image and an ongoing desire to change something, or many things, about their physical appearance. With an infiltration of perfected, airbrushed media images and a sea of size two teen queens, it can be difficult to celebrate beauty that comes in all shapes and sizes. In her new book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, author Courtney E. Martin analyzes the "skinny culture" and makes an excellent case for why accepting and loving her body may be the healthiest thing a girl can do for herself!

Gareth looks up from her crochet project just as the train pulls into the Brooklyn Jay Street station, where she must get off and switch across the platform for the A train to Manhattan. She stuffs the yarn into her new orange leather clutch and positions herself in front of the door, waiting for it to open.

“Yeah, that’s right, get off the train, you fat bitch!” yells a man sitting nearby. He looks to be in his 40s or 50s, dressed in jeans and a leather coat, possibly drunk but not obviously so. His words hang in the air like a noxious gas. A woman nearby gasps, clearly offended. An older man with white hair and a friendly, wrinkled face shakes his head silently. Two schoolkids in puffy jackets muffle their giggles with their hands.

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