I know my view about this is in the minority. Hmm. Wonder if I care. Nope.

I've never had a problem with thin beautiful women (or men) being the focus of advertising. Personally, I pay so little attention to advertising, it's ineffectual anyway. But people get so up in arms about the images advertisers are portraying to our children. This article says:

"Viewing television commercials containing images of the unrealistic thin-ideal for women caused adolescent girls to feel less confident, more angry and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance" .

Uh huh. And viewing commercials for The Broker makes me feel like a lousy cook. Not. Viewing commercials for Village Homes makes me want to throw rocks at my house. Nope again. Of course advertisers are going to use the pretty people and things to tout their wares. They're hoping that giving you something nice to look at will help you remember their product and plant a thought in your brain that if you use the product, you'll be pretty and hip too.

I'm sorry, but if you're that susceptible to suggestion, you've got a lot bigger issues than body image. If you aren't absolutely sure that the imges portrayed in advertising are the "ideal" then you're ignorant. Should we have obese, unattractive, pimply faced women touting lipstick, because they're more "real?" Please.

We're bombarded with ideal images all over the place, not just advertising. Do you work with someone who has an "Unrealistic thin-ideal" body? I do. Do you know someone that has a beautiful home? Me, too. Should we rant and rave about the unfairness of that because it makes us feel bad? Should we make it illegal for anyone to make us question ourselves because they have what we want?

We have an obligation to build up our children (and our friends, really) beyond appearance and to encourage and foster self esteem consistently. If girls are "less confident, more angry and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance" for viewing advertising, that is a sad state of affairs indeed.

Maybe you could accept yourself for the fabulous person you already are. Or maybe, if you're unhappy with your appearance, you could actually do something about it. Wow, novel idea.