National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Feb 1-7

Body image has always been a really controversial issue. Just reading through the previous entries from my fellow bloggers and even the comments, there are often conflicting opinions.

We are all well aware that media images influence the way we perceive our own body image. I would be lying if I said I never scrutinized myself in the mirror after flipping through a magazine or watching a television program. Everyday, young girls and women alike are bombarded with photos of skinny, beautiful women and unfortunately, many young girls feel the pressure to emulate them to their demise.
According to the National Eating Disorder Information Center (NEDIC):

According to a 2002 survey, 1.5% of Canadian women aged 15 - 24 years had an eating disorder.
Government of Canada. (2006). The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada 2006.

AN has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness - it is estimated that 10% of individuals with AN will die within 10 years of the onset of the disorder.
Sullivan, P. (2002). Course and outcome of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In Fairburn, C. G. & Brownell, K. D. (Eds.). Eating Disorders and Obesity (pp. 226-232). New York, New York: Guilford.

Fortunately, the media has been under a lot scrutiny these past years. Anorexic models dying on the catwalk and the extent of airbrushing on magazine photos have been exposed. And many have changed their tune. Actually, this past year saw a new trend in the media. French ELLE put 3 celebrities on their covers - without any makeup, without any retouches. 

Just last month, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld photographed a plus-sized burlesque model in his atelier for V magazine.

The magic veil has been lifted - or has it?
Do you think that taking a picture of a plus-sized model is a good way to say, "Love Yourself"? Are these just a parodies of our insecurities? Are they making fun of us? or are they really trying to make the industry better? I really can't tell. I mean, just a few months before, Lagerfeld was quoted saying, "No one wants to see round women." So how great is this supposed "turnover" really, if I don't even know what they are trying to say with these campaigns? I guess I'm asking if we're on the right path. Is this a trend you want to see stay? Or would you prefer to leave it behind in the last season's bin? Personally, I don't believe any of these campaigns promote healthy behaviour. None of them really send out the message that I should be content with the way I am.
But in the grand scheme of things, the good news is that we are talking about it. Next week, February 1st to the 7th, is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. All over the country, major cities are holding conferences and events in order to educate people and raise awareness about eating disorders. However, an important comment I'd like to leave you with is that while researching on the topic, I found it was incredibly difficult to find any Montreal or Quebec initiative to help people afflicted with the disorder. It was even harder to find any events going on in the greater Montreal area. If you know of any, please feel free to leave some in the comments. For more information on eating disorders, http://www.nedic.ca/index.shtml is a site I found extremely useful during my research.