I admit I like local news, not so much the way it is reported, as a matter of fact I don’t much like the way any news is reported, but I go on-line and check out one of the local news stations every morning. This morning I came across this Bikini Baristas in Portland now I just don’t know what to think about it. They are opening up a coffee shop where the baristas are going to be clad in bikinis only. This objectifies women (it is only women who work there as always), this really isn’t a debatable issue, people are going to go there to LOOK at the girls, but is it overall harmful? That is what I struggle with. I do not think there is anything wrong with looking at a body for pure pleasure, nor do I necessarily think it’s wrong to show off your body in a job. Yet I find something about this whole thing just wrong, the feminist in me rebels against anything that has “The Man” making money off young scantily clad women. The dichotomy of my feelings for this is played out in so many other aspects of my life, I just try to do my best, if I were ever to encounter any of the people that work there I would not look down them or call them whores, nor would I secretly think they are, I will try to respect their choice as I would hope that they would respect mine for doing what I do.

Long days and nights, working on my disseration on a tight timeline, is something that will be done, has to be done. Nonetheless, there are times when it seems like everyone else is doing it without problems, what is the problem?  So, pulling myself back into the now it is important to remember this is my process, my time, my journey, and it will get done.  In honor of this, I’ll DJ Shadow communicate how I’m feeling at the moment.

DJ SHADOW – “You Made It”

“There is something in my body that is telling me to do something that I should probably ignore.” – Testosterone NPR This American Life.  My sister had recommened that I listent to an EXCELLENT radio program Testosterone NPR This American Life.  All I can say is without a doubt you must find the time to listen to show, I think it was about an hour long and *OMG, you must listen because you need this information. I couldn’t sleep last night because I’m writing my dissertation and my mind is just so busy that I’m having some trouble sleeping - so I turned it on thinking it would put me to sleep and it kept me awake it was so interesting.

Here’s a some notes I pulled from it:  One man explains that when he lost his testosterone (T)  he lost his ability to know - he had no frame of reference for anything whether it was a flower or sound.  Then a woman to male explains it so interestingly, before T, he explains that as a lesbian she would see a beautiful woman and think about her though in the sense of  ‘oh she is pretty, what is she reading, she looks really into that book, etc..,” but when she to he started T, found the he was unable to follow the rationale he had without T. to not look back at her breast - but something overcame and with T he would HAVE to look back at her breasts. After T. he for the first time became interested in science. .  Had to relearn how to talk to women, rephrase things.   Testosterone NPR This American Life.

What it did for me was help to shed some light on testosterone, a concept I knew about but never really learned anything much about.   It isn’t meant to hold up any stereotypes, but it is interesting to hear people talk about their life before and after T.

*OMG…was just texted to me by Mark’s 10 year old newphew, he told me Uncle Mark lost a battle with bungy cord and “OMG, it was gross.” First time I’ve used OMG – thx to Nate for helping me be texting code cool.

Photo by: deepwarren

Alright trusty readers, take a guess and tell us what you think is the is the profession with the highest rate of deaths by assassination?   Having this stigma attached to the career choice has got to be hard on your self-esteem.  The appropriate song to support this question is provided below, “My Baby Shot Me Down (Bang Bang).”  – Nancy Sinatra

The winning guess will receive…..umm…the self-satisfaction of being the smartest Sweat It Out reader!

**Do note at the end of the video the way Nancy has to roll off the stage b/c she is sitting in a short skirt, and now we’ve got our pop stars showing all their bits & pieces. How times change.

Oh look, another Perez Hilton  bashing Rumer, here is the history of his bashing Perez Hilton on Rumer Willis.  Doesn’t he get like 12 million views per day from around the world?  I’m really glad he’s  helping build the self-esteems of women and our girls.  Just write a quick comment below, and maybe we can generate enough interest to get him to stop!  (send this to a friend, we are a newish blog, I don’t have the power to do this without some grassroots help)

Perez Hilton  writes:  “Can’t she get that fixed???

Rumer Willis, aspiring “actress”, attended the 2008 Crystal Lucy Women in Film Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Seriously, isn’t there surgery where you can shave down your jaw???

We’re sure some trannys have gotten it done to make themselves look more “feminine.”

Plastic surgery is not always a bad thing.

Rumer should look into it!

And, while she’s there, she might wanna get her nose done too!”

Photo via: Perez Hilton

We often take the view on this site about how media influences our self-esteem, or ways in which to maintain healthy self-esteem.  But what we haven’t talked on here about are the implications of disease on self-esteem.  Part of the reason I became aware of self-esteem was due to Mark’s battle with Ulcerative Colitis for 7 years, and how that disease slowly ate away at his self-esteem leaving him with one identity sick, and being sick holds little value or worth in our society. 

Well, here is the face and words of woman fighting her 2nd round of colon cancer.  On her blog The Colon Chronicles she writes “Alright, I said I was gonna ‘document’ stuff more. So *gulp* here goes.
Documentation of the evil phenomena known as “erbirash”
(jeez I hate seeing myself so close up) [Photo 1] the comparison picture below was taken just a few weeks ago [Photo 2]. I look like a pimply-faced teenager. I am not cute. And this is how I normally can be seen while on chemo: [photo shown] Don’t I just look thrilled.
There ya have it. I guess when I’ve bitched in the past about how people don’t seem to fully grasp that you’re “sick” or not well, if you don’t look like the typical chemo patient…didn’t lose your hair, no outward signs of illness….Guess this time around chemo made sure I got some outwardly visible signs.   Damn I shoulda kept my mouth shut.” 

I know how difficult it is under healthy circumstance to have good self-esteem, but I can’t even imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to maintain healthy self-esteem while battling something like Cynnycal’s fight with cancer. 

Also, it is time we all start addressing the very real issues of self-esteem and the related symptoms of disease:

Self-esteem and IBD is discussed “Some of the emotional challenges that are typical of those diagnosed with IBD are:
1. Self Esteem
2. Self Image
3. Depression
4. Anger
5. Grieving
6. Sense of loss that your life isn’t ever going to be the same
7. Feeling alone
8. Feeling different
9. Shame/Guilt
10. Embarrassment
(*Some of the items on this list were offered in Sherry Porat’s presentation at the IBD conference on Nov. 3,2007)”

This has nothing to do with self-esteem but you totally have to see this “historic” photo.  Doctors by chance recently caught on film the ovulation occuring of a human egg Ovulation Photo.  I’d post the photo but they are bit much if you aren’t prepared for them.

“Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman’s body.

Observing ovulation in humans is extremely rare, and previous images have been fuzzy. Donnez captured the event by accident while preparing to carry out a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman. The release of an egg was considered a sudden, explosive event, but his pictures, to be published in Fertility and Sterility, show it taking place over a period of at least 15 minutes.

Shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.”

via feministing.com

The first few lines of this ad read:

“Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her.  After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her.”

I don’t know the year of this ad, or what magazine it was in, but it seems well worth sharing. 

Excellent! Sarah Haskins is back with a new Target Women: Suffrage Edition.  Enjoy! 

You can watch the other Sarah Haskin Target Women videos here:  Target women other posts

A source on the set of Kate Beckinsale’s new film has been quoted as saying “Kate has a terrible self-image. She thinks she is fat and she is always complaining how certain outfits make her bottom look big. Of course, the reality is that she has the most amazing body. The script called for her character to be filmed nude in a shower, focusing in on her bottom and thighs. Kate insisted on a double being hired. She was quite open on the set about not liking her body and said she particularly loathed her bottom and was not comfortable baring it.”

If this story is true, this is sad state of affairs for her children, but also that somone in her position could have a low self-image to the point of making it known her body is unfit.  The problem is that even though I obviously don’t know Kate B. personally, her public image does seem like she would be one of those beautiful women who never actually feels beautiful. And the my vapid reason for saying this is because her image when she is in public looks really put together, but that I didn’t try to hard, but I really tried very hard.

via dlisted.com 

Click here  to join our campaign to get Perez Hilton to stop bashing Rumer Willis for being “ugly”

Maybe I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I don’t understand why the media has to be so mean to others.  I’ve hit my breaking point with Perez Hilton’s constant harshness towards  Rumer Willis.  He is ruthless as to her looks, and he is constantly insulting her in very very cruel terms Perez Hilton on Rumer Willis .

So, I’m just wanting to point out to Perez that although his trash talk pays, the damage his “humor” is causing to Rumer and millions of others about their image, body image and worth as a human based on image is shameful.  Each human puts out energy into the world that affects others, and his cruelty towards her is shameful and hurtful. 

Here is Rumer in an interview, and she is articulate, quiet, and simply a young woman trying to find her identity in an extraordinary position of celebrity.   We need to learn to be more kind and compassionate towards others beautiful or not!

Photo via usversusthem

Recently, I said to a friend of mine, “Why is Ashlee Simpson pregnant she is so young (23years old)”, and my friend (to paraphrase) ‘Why does it matter how old she is, as long as she is ready it shouldn’t matter her age’.  And I realized at that point that I was indeed being judgmental – the very thing I stive not to be, because being judgment is a symptom or behaivor of self-esteem.  The point of my story is that I learned something valuable out of the pregnancy of Ashlee Simpson. 

In honor of the bikini onslaught of how how to look better to fit into your swimsuit, I’d like to bring up one of the more refreshing images from the past and give a shout out to Jennifer Love Hewitt for her December 2007 swimsuit stand-off!   As you likely recall she was ridiculed for being in a swimsuit, but instead of cowering away, she came back and said “  “A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful. … To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini – put it on and stay strong” Jennifer Love Hewitt .

So, here is Jennifer looking beautiful and NORMAL to remind us all that bikini’s are your friend! 

We have an excellent documentary to recommend called Dare to Dream: Women’s Soccer from HBO.  It is a candid look at the impact of women’s soccer and the winning of the World Cup, and how this changed the soccer for women for the future.

An excellent parody on “28 days to a fit bikini body” instead is 28 days to a bikini mind.  Written by Marina Wolf Ahmad founder of bigmoves.org.  

Photo by:  nomi joy

It has been all over that pop stars are trying to go country.  Well, for our listening amusement, here is little compare and contrast game for you.  What we have here is Jewel “Stronger Woman”  versus Jessica Simpson’s “Come on Over.”   What is funny about this is that Jewel’s song is about how she has learned to love herself, she doesn’t need a man, she is her own friend, and a very strong message…And Jessica Simpson’s is all about needing the man, come over to save me, I need you now and I don’t care how you look just come on over. 

Jewel “Stronger Woman”

Jessica Simpson’s “Come on Over”

Guess which one of these songs has the higher ratings?

MTV recently had a fantastic show on called America’s Best Dance Crew.  A new season of the show is starting on June 17 on MTV, and I recommend for anyone to tune in.  The reason I recommend this show is because of the POSITIVE message this show offers.  Reasons to watch:

1)  The dance crews are street crews of dancers. Many who aren’t classically trained, but they can dance. Their dancing is their choregraphy.  Many of this kids have hard lives, real stories and their dancing keeps them positive and healthy.

2)  It is a contest with 3 judges.  BUT, the judges are never mean, they offer great advice for improvement, but they are never disrepectful of the dancers.  It is a great spin on how negative the reality tv genre can be, this is not part of that negative genre.

If you have 8 minutes and you need a good laugh about media and feminism (where feminism is not) then you should watch the following Target Women Videos:

Target Women: Wedding Edition : This video discusses the media desire to convience women that they want to get married and that they are not good enough for that day.

Target Women: Yogurt Edition:  Find yourself eating more yogurt these days and you are female?  Here is the marketing ploy behind the scheme, yogurt is now a woman’s food.

Thank you Sarah Haskins, Great Videos!

 As we’ve all likely heard Hillary will not be running for United States President.  It is still yet to be seen if she has lost only by delegate vote, and not the popular vote. 

The title of last weeks Newsweek cover shows Hillary Clinton with the title “Hear Her Roar.”  Although this has been touted as an election of people and not gender, it is hard to avoid the obvious gender components present.

My question is discussed in this article by Judith Timson about how will this loss affect future generations of women from believing they can achieve such heights?  I have often felt during this battle of Hillary and Barack that indeed my gender was less than others.   When my role models lose important competitions – I now struggle to reestablish my worth in my society.

Just another article critical of the Dove Campaign:

http://dove.msn.com/#/connections/columns/0408_BQ_Response_Stacy.aspx[cp-documentid=7483256]/?GT1=25039

Interesting that it is on the Dove section on MSN.

An article I found talks about an educator, Jason LeBlanc, who focuses on young boys’ self-esteem by acting as a positive role model when it comes to treating others with respect. The angle Mr. LeBlanc takes is interesting and I had never thought of it that way, but increase boys self-esteem, show them positive, non-abusive men, and they in turn will treat women better, and have more self-respect. True, much of the self-esteem issues women have are because they are socialized to be so concerned about what men think and do to them. Their self-esteem is based on the external factor of “man”, whether having one, do they like you, are they happy with you, etc. Encouraging young boys in this way would impact the affect they have on many young girls in the future.

While women have the most self-esteem issues, and indeed, men are the overwhelmingly majority of perpetrators of abuse, I agree that it is important to include young boys in the discussion and men as allies in the goal of equality. This takes the unequal burden off the victims of violence and poor self-esteem to correct the situations. It should also be men’s responsibilities to step up and demand this behavior end.

I think in that way, everyone’s self-esteem and self-worth are increased because we are stopping the negative behavior early on and teaching young boys to treat others with respect. We often do not focus on what the social construction of masculinity does to men, in the fact that it does harm them as well. This is not to take the focus off of women of course, who already do not get enough attention in our androcentric culture. Yet, it focuses some of the problems in society not on women’s shoulders to solve all the time. That perpetuates the idea that only those who are oppressed need to end their oppression.

Those in privileged positions need to recognize their role and their part, and thus do their part to end it. After all, we can try to change things all we want, but if one half of the population does not change also, then we cannot achieve the kind of real and lasting equality we deserve.

Read the full news article here.

Photo by: Franco Folini

Women still make 25% less than men.  The reasons for the pay difference are women’s choices around jobs versus raising a family, and gender discrimination according to a 2006 New York Times article.  Anywho, this yahoo article tries to say these are 5 jobs in which women can have it all and still make money like a man. 

read full article here

Photo by:  Tidewater Muse

(my comment to the math photo is hardy, har, har, har, har…)

Apparently, Kirsten Dunst has come out and said that she was not in addiction related rehab, but rather she was in rehab for depression read full story here.  She is quoted saying We’re all in the same boat together,” she opines. “Depression is pretty serious and should not be gossiped about.”   I value that she is candid about her struggle and hope that press can be kind and willing to accept her humanness with gentleness.  I know many people struggle with issues of anxiety and depression, and these issues often stem from struggles with self-esteem.  It is important that we open up the communication lines about depression so that people know that it can be real, and that it can helped with proper assistance.  And in the vapid fashion of Perez Hilton he makes sure to poke fun and doubt her intentions (and although he could be correct why would anyone lie and say it was depression over addiction?!).  And Michael at the dlisted was almost compassionate, and then bitter.  I think everyone should just chill out and respect her courage. At People Magazine Online they discuss that she was crying a lot and drinking a lot.  All signs of depression, it is so great she sought help.  I am a big fan of letting others know that there are positive options like therapy – I wish it wasn’t so taboo in our culture to seek help for things like depression. Life is simply too short to live strained and depressed, anxious, unhappy or other related emotions!

In tribute to her honesty and coolness, here is an interview with Kirsten Dunst and Sophia Coppola from one of my favorite films 2006, Marie Antionette. 

The British press is going after 19 year Princess Beatrics (daughter of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew) for wearing a bikini.  Comments made that she needs to cover up because I guess she is asize 10 and therefore should cover up?!.  You can see her photo below in the bikini, but my question is this:

Why do we need to break her down?  Just as women to women and human to human, Beatrice is just a 19 year old young woman who is not exempt from needing to develop her confidence and self-esteem.  Why can’t others just RESPECT each other as human beings instead of breaking each other down?

Photo of Beatrice in Bikini

For me this isn’t an issue of being beautiful at all sizes, blah, blah, blah…what I am screaming at is WHY SO JUDGMENTAL and HURTFUL TOWARDS OTHERS?  We need to just get over judgments and just learn to be more bloody kind to each other.

I have heard this time and time again from those wanting to remove Title 9 citing the notion that it is hurting boy’s self-esteem. Yes, heaven forbid they must treat girls equally, give them the same access to education and particularly sports that they get. Oh no, we can’t treat them fairly, it will hurt their conflated, overprivledged sense of oppressing other! Oh no!

While my cynical and smarty pants commentary aside (oh no, I should not be smarter than a boy either) this notion of protecting the boys from girls who excel them in sports particularly is problematic and quite honestly ticks me off.  

A similar issue has arisen with the WNBA, of which Megan has noted in other posts as well as Heidi in her WNBA Marketing Posts. The issue there is of course make-up requirements.

Yet, the article of late, from Beaverton, OR discusses this issue. Yet, it was not mentioned at all the real reason I think this amazingly talented young girl, Jaime Nared, (she is 12!) was kicked off the boys team she has been playing on since 2nd grade. It was not because of new management. It is not because the boys do not treat her same when it comes to being rough. It is not because of the surprise rule they just found about not allowing mixed gender teams.

The answer, dear readers, is that more than likely the parents do not want to have their boys losing to a girl.(Perhaps even fellow male team mates feel the same in this as well). Jaime herself is coming into her prime, scoring amazingly, and just excelling in every way. It was ok to let the “girl” play on the team……as long as she was not as good as the boys, or at least did not show it. How the tune does change! Now, it would ruin their manhood, hurt their self-esteem….they would not feel like the best. It is just not right to have boys experience that!

We must start now, ensuring that they never enter a situation where a girl or woman would be in a better position than them, socially, economically, or politically. Let us encourage the boys to demand girls are kicked out of all bastions of a falsified entitlement and socially constructed masculinity. After all, their self-esteem (really read that as privilege and continuing entitlement) stomps over all notions of equality.

Well what do those self-esteem bloggers out there think?

Read the full news article here.  Or watch the Video here.

Photo by: astique

RIZE (2005) Incredible documentary about a community coming together through dance. You see the fragility of self-esteem though with the terms of winning/losing. 

As we have mentioned before, and has been mentioned in research and various articles, that physical activity increases self-esteem and overall health.

What does this mean then with the introduction of the Wii Fit? Will this tech toy increase physical activity and self-esteem? Or is it just a game? If you play the Nintendo Wii Fit, give your thoughts! If you do not, tell us what you think as well!

Read the full article here.

Photo by: Ian Muttoo

 Well, looks like research is going to back “abstince” is the only way for teens. The reported trend with teens lately was supposedly having oral and anal sex as a way to remain a ‘technical virgin’ until real virginity is lost. According to researchers at the Guttmacher Institute have recently published findings in the Journal of Adolescent Psychology reports the Washington Post that this isn’t what teens are doing:

“This study . . . invalidates the suggestion that ‘technical virgins’ account for the rise in oral and anal sex,” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association. “Sexually experienced teens were almost four times more likely to engage in oral sex and 20 times more likely to engage in anal sex than their peers who were virgins.” …  “This report reveals that teen sex — even with a condom — presents significant risk for future sexual experimentation and so underscores the need for redoubled emphasis on abstinence education for teens,” she said. “Only abstinence education adequately addresses this problem.” 

Hmmmm…..teen sex is a big issue for self-esteem and especially for females. My question is when are we going to talk about fostering healthy sexuality in our youth versus the idea of “abstinence.”  I figure abstinence may be the best health option but unless supporters of abstinence plan to alter the global media to remove the blarring popularity of sexual activity, it seems like a feudal effort.  This all actually ties back to the Miley CyrusIssue for me, where as a society she was being publically admonished for her budding sexuality.

Like any serious social issues here are two short joke videos on the matter:

Photo by: Lin Pernille ♥ Photography

In sticking with a previous post about Couples Do Stay Together, I’ve decided that for every spotlighted break-up/divorce showcased in the media that I will celebrate a couple together.  I understand that couples break-up, relationships are hard, but I’m frustrated by the lack of positive recognition in our society to the “failure” of others.  It is our lack our positive acknowledgment of others that makes it more difficult for us to find ways to develop and maintain self-esteem.

Therefore, I’m sad to announce that Jodie Foster and Cydney Bernard of 14 years have split. Jodie and Cydney have 2 children together and have remained very private and out of the public gaze for many years.  The reports are claiming infidelity on Jodie’s part, and that Jodie is with someone new. Read more on here  Jodie Foster News

TO CELEBRATE A COUPLE:  ELTON JOHN & DAVID FURNISH

Together some 15 years, Elton John and David Furnish were wed in a lavish ceremony in 2005.  The couple is still going strong and is a good relationship to acknowledge and celebrate!

A friend recommeneded I look into the movement in Holland for bringing awareness to self-esteem and body issues.  It seems the Dutch are struggling with the same issues as American’s in terms of esteem and related body image issues.  The following video is in both Dutch and English language. It is well worth watching even if you aren’t fluent in Dutch.  It is important to know how other cultures are perceiving beauty and the issues, and how others are viewing American standards of beauty.

Thanks to Cees for the info!

Yep, the Sweat It Out crew is famous because we made the front page of the OSU Barometer newpaper.  Now we are BONA FIDE!

Photo by: Speedy2 

I think the folks at www.icanhascheezburger.com make a very valid point…

Well, for the many of us who find during stressful times that we gravitate towards fatty foods, junk foods, sweets there is a reason why, and it isn’t because we are lazy people with bad diets.  Get this, “Researchers at the Yerkes Primate Research Center in Atlanta found that stressed monkeys ate more fat and sugar than those who weren’t under stress.There are two classes of monkeys: the dominant ones and the subordinate ones. By studying these two varieties, researchers have learned why some humans are more likely to binge eat than others. “ (ABC News)

Read the full article here NY Times  and/or read the article and watch the video here ABC News.  This is big news and could have huge learning implicaitons for research on understanding and accepting oru behaviors during stress.    

Photo by: Enygmatic-Halycon

Part of self-esteem is not to compare ourselves to others. However, there are times when I think more information about others can help us accept or understand our own situation/reality and maybe help us not have false self-expectation.  My case in point is this FANTASTIC series running online on cnnmoney.com where real American families of all diversity share their financial situations.  Money is such a taboo topic, and we rarely know how others are really living, or how they are really affected by the recent recession.  I highly recommend you check this out below, and really spend some time reflecting on their words, their concerns, their successes and struggles.

Read the posts here: America’s Money: In their own words

Photo by:  danesparza

Doll Face by Andy Huang is a great artistic commentary on externals, conforming and individuality. Although the message is abstract, the artists voice is loud and clear. I love this piece, it makes me just the right amount of uncomfortable.

Matt Barnum, of the University of Chicago’s Chicago Maroon, chose to use some interesting words when he described Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign in this morning’s edition.  At first, when he was describing his trophies and awards, it seemed that he was off to a great start.  However, then he began talking about Dove’s campaign to improve women’s self-esteem.  If you recall, I wrote a tidbit about a month ago about this very campaign, and Emily weighed in as well.  While we each have our own criticisms of the campaign, I think it’s safe to say that Emily and I are still very much in favor of attempting to improve women’s self-esteem.

The part about Dove’s campaign that drew the most heat from Mr. Barnum was the idea of being pro-age, which he dismissed as “insanity”.  I think it is very narrow-minded and ageist to ask “Who in their right mind is “pro-age”?”  Hmm, I think my grandmother is…

Anyway, I’d like to see how others have reacted to this editorial.  For the full text, click here.

And to answer his question – would I rather be self-aware and unhappy or deluded but content?  I would actually rather be self-aware and content…

Here is the commercial for “pro-age” Dove products.

Okay, YOU MUST if you haven’t been here, done that with the newish song by Webbie called ”Independent.” Could you please watch the video, listen to the lyrics and tell me what you think of this.  The crux of the song is that “She got her own house, She got her own car, Two Jobs, Work Hard, you a Bad Broad” – She don’t need a man other than for uhhh….Lyrics

There is something to be said for being able to take care of yourself, especially financially.  Although, I know it isn’t exterior things that make a lasting impression on self-esteem, I do feel much better when I’m bringing in income.  Such a double message, take care of yourself and don’t depend on materialism too much because you aren’t your things. Yet one of the ways I gauge if I’m personally succeeding is if I’m making income or not. 

Well, this article was not a shocker in proclaiming that the more education you have, the healthier you are. The article however, focused almost exclusively on the “good habits formed during college” that often extend to better exercise and eating habits afterward. While, sure this may be true, given college’s time of being on your own and making decision, I think there are various other factors that lead to education and heath being correlated.

First, most college campuses have easy access to fitness centers and gyms. Often they are paid for by tuition, and if not, most local gyms offer students a discount. So, you have easy access to equipment to even begin to practice those healthy habits.

Second, college campuses often have nutrition and fitness classes. Once again, access to these is essential in building those habits.

Third, campus health care if often discounted, so checkups and preventative care are more affordable than normal. OSU campus even offers FREE family planning. That can save the average student $300 or more a year!

So right there, simple access that most people in the country do not have makes it possible to be healthy.

Forth, higher education often (but not always) leads to a more prestigious job, higher pay, and offering more health care benefits. Of course, just exercising and eating right does not mean you are healthy, but being able to go to the doctor and get check-ups and preventative care can make a huge difference. Being paid more means you do not have to work 2+ jobs to make it, thus giving you more free time to workout. Earning more money also gives you advantages in affording health care.

Fifth, that higher education often means your job is less labor intensive, offers more vacation/sick time, and just in general more flexibility than a minimum wage job. This flexibility leaves you more time, in theory, for yourself to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Shoveling coal for 12 hours a day is completely different than being in office meetings all day. Both are valuable, but one is going to make your body feel trashed. My brother can speak from personal experience.

If one way to build your self-esteem is to take time for yourself to do things you want to do, for example, exercise, see the doctor, eat better, not being able to do it because of the social construction of the workplace and health care make this goal hard to reach.

So, what is my point? The point is that higher education and health are of those who are privileged to earn the money it takes, the knowledge how to do it, and have the time to maintain a healthy lifestyle in all its forms. This does not guarantee health, but it sure makes it a lot easier to achieve.

Read the full article here.

Photo by: Steve and Jemma Copely

Of teens aged 12-17, 8.5% have had a major episode of depression in the past year. But, what is more interesting, and related to self-esteem is the striking differences between girls and boys. 12.7% of girls have been depressed as compared to 4.6% of boys. The confidence gap clearly plays a role here.

It was depressing, (no pun intended) that the article did not discuss the reasons why the difference was so large between girls and boys. This needs to be talked about! Gendered socialization, norms, or even just the negative self-images girls are bombarded with on a daily basis did not even get a mention.

It also does not help that we as women, and young girls are taught to keep these sorts of things inside, internalize them to the point that there must be something wrong with us that we are not happy. It is our fault, something we did, or are, not the fact that the larger society in general does not value us.

I was one of these girls who has a major depressive episode in their teen years. It was never officially diagnosed, but everyone around me, and everyone in my family knew something was wrong. I somehow pulled myself out of it, (I attribute a lot of it to finding myself through music) yet not everyone is that lucky. I do not know exactly how I did it, but not everyone just “snaps” out of it. How demeaning to think we snap in and out of it. It is much more serious, and socially ingrained than that. Girls deserve better. Women deserve better. Our emotions and feels are valid, and not simply mood swings, PMS, or being a woman.

A simple pill nor a “just be happy” will not fix this.

Read the full article here.

Photo by: Michelle Jones UK

Have you heard all about the Juicycampus.com website and issues.  Apparently on this site college students rate and discuss other students. However, the problme has been the content discussed, for instance, the story of Chelsea Gorman.  She was raped and then later someone online posted that “Chelsea Gorman Deserved It“  Click here to watch the news story from Red Lasso regarding her situation and the problems that juicycampus.com is now facing. 

Talk about lowering self-esteem, and being able to do anonymously! 

Photo by: Guillermo Esteves at gesteves.com