Eyes Wide Open #StopDietainment

A funny thing happens when you visit a website featuring a positive message, a well-branded campaign, and watch a thoughtful video to help solidify the message. It gets in your brain, and then when you’re out and about in your daily activities, you see the world just a little bit differently.

At the checkout this week with my four-year-old, I was acutely aware of the magazines at her height level when standing beside me and when sitting in the cart. Retailers aren’t going to move magazines out of our eyesight, of course, but it’s important to realize while mom is putting items on the conveyer belt, our daughters are watching other things. True, my four year old can’t read just yet so the verbage is lost on her but the images of sexy, sultry, women is not.

My eight-year-old, however, is reading and we had a conversation this week about magazines. It turns out she can read the covers but isn’t entirely sure on what “sexy cool” means, for example. “It’s just cool, mom.” The message is clear though – lose fat, get abs and ahem, a nice bum, and of course – be sexy. I asked my eight year old if it’s important to be skinny (since she doesn’t really know what abs are either) and she said that yes it is, but “it’s good to exercise too!” so I guess part of the messaging at school and home (healthy eating and exercise) can somewhat get mixed in with the messages we see in the media “eat less, work out, have a nice bum”.

It gave me pause and made me think about my own childhood. I grew up in the era of workout videos, cabbage soup diets, and of course the latest weight-loss mega-company opening its doors and inviting in clients. My mother embraced all of it and dieted most of her adult life. As a teenager in the 90’s I existed in the time of the anorexic-thin super-model. There was no message about healthy eating, at least not in the magazines I was reading, but rather eating to be thin was the end game.

So, this week left me actually feeling positive about the direction we’re going. Companies like Faze Media and Divine.ca have supported the pledge to stop dietainment. While the majority of magazines and mainstream media have not officially announced that they will stop the practice, they have certainly changed their messaging from the 80’s and 90’s. They have to. Women (and men!) are making them accountable, and this is a beautiful and encouraging thing.

I am teaching my girls that healthy eating and exercise are important, but we’re allowed to eat delicious desserts and watch Netflix on the couch. Wearing an outfit that makes you feel good (mom included) makes us smile, but having a flat tummy isn’t at all important in our household (three kids later, thank goodness it isn’t!) Being kind is important. Getting good grades is important. Being a good role model is important.

And, I’m acutely aware it starts with me. My girls see me the same way I see them – they’re perfect. I love that when I dress up and wear more makeup than usual, they notice and compliment me. I love when they wear something cute and look like little mini-mes full of sass and spunk. I won’t point out my flaws (how the makeup covers the bags under my eyes) and when my daughters outgrow their jeans, I compliment their hearty eating and how they’ve grown rather than how “your jeans are too tight”. It’s the messaging and the messenger both in our household and on TV.

The goal is for my voice (and my husband’s) to always be the loudest.

Learn more about the #StopDietainment campaign and sign the petition to ask Canadian media to stop dietainment.