In his eye-opening documentary "America the Beautiful," director Darryl Roberts exposes the unhealthy influence of the fashion industry, and also reveals some unpleasant truths about the health & beauty industry and the use of sex to sell magazines.

Kathy Flanagan of the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel wrote the following in her Nov. 20, 2008, review of the film:

[Roberts] weaves a convincing story in his behind-the-scenes look at the beauty and fashion industry and threads the movie with the story of Gerren Taylor, a striking 12-year-old African-American girl.

Roberts follows Gerren and her stage mother on her zenith ascent to New York runway model. One moment she's a middle-school student, the next she's touted by designer Marc Jacobs as a beautiful new face. Almost as quickly as she makes it to the top, Gerren is pushed back to the bottom and implodes.

This beautiful tall, thin girl with the beguiling smile says she's fat and ugly. ...

Too bad "American Beauty" is rated R. Impressionable young girls should see this.

Labels: beauty, fashion, unhealthy eating

Beauty pageants are often criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty standards that may prompt young girls to engage in dangerous weight-control measures.

But as Micholyn Fajen reported in the June 5 edition of the Des Moines Register, Katie Petersen's efforts to win the Mrs. Iowa crown may help to overcome the unfortunate association between beauty pageants and eating disorders:

Petersen's platform is building awareness and education of eating disorders, a condition she battled and overcame after seven years. Her mission is to provide a stopgap for women who are overcome by obsessions about size and perfection. ...

"I suffered emotionally and physically," Petersen said. "I'm preparing to turn something negative into a positive by sharing my story with others."

Petersen told the Register that winning the Mrs. Iowa title would allow her to expand her efforts on behalf of women who are suffering from poor self-image and eating disorders. "I want women to know it's OK to stay true to who you are on the inside," she said.

Labels: beauty, eating disorders, prevention

Students at the University of New Hampshire are working to dispel the media-propagated myths and misconceptions about beauty by participating in Mind/Body Dialogues. The dialogues begin as a scripted play, but end in an open question-and-answer session.

"The event illuminated some startling statistics while sharing a number of poignant experiences related to body issues. In a survey conducted at UNH in 2001 aimed at finding where UNH stands on body issues, 25 percent of students had symptoms of eating disorders and over half the people surveyed said they knew people with eating disorders."

Those who attended the event felt empowered by the play, but more so by the discussion that followed. The Mind/Body Dialogues have been performed twice so far, and organizers are planning a third for the upcoming semester. Source: The New Hampshire (UNH)

Labels: beauty, media_influences, myths