Girls need more than mirrors to know their own beauty

As noted on WebMD, “by the time most girls reach their teens, they’ve consumed years’ worth of messages about what a female body should look like.”

According to Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University, “the average teen girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily ,” compare to “only about 10 minutes of parental interaction a day.”  For too many American girls, being “model thin” is a very real aspiration, and it starts at a shockingly young age.  In one recent study, researchers found that TV programs focused on appearance are swaying the self-esteem of girls as young as 5.  Read the entire article on WebMD, including what parents can do to help their daughters develop a healthy attitude about their own bodies.

Justine Amodeo, mother and CLP instructor offering the class Tapping the Body’s Wisdom, is doing everything she can as a parent to help her daughter explore and express her feelings in relation to her own beauty and media and society.  She recently shared the expressive art piece made by her daughter recording the feeling of “smallness” she felt in relation to her dolls.  She writes, “take a step forward towards being your own person.”

Image courtesy Justine Amodeo and  Ms. Magazine.

Using creativity to contemplate and examine visual culture, girls are able to break down the images solidified by the media of what a body is “supposed” to look like, and arrive at their own ideas of what is beautiful and healthy.  Doctors conclude that more than anything else, dialogue and critical thinking about what is healthy and truly beautiful can serve young girls more than any other activity.  The needs of her daughter to have a creative outlet to develop her own ideas about beauty and body image inspired Justine to develop Tapping the Body’s Wisdom, which combines ritual, writing, art, dance and music to bring out the true spirit of each child while examining the pressures they experience from their peers, the media, and society.  Click here for more information on Justine’s class, which happens every Saturday morning at 10am, for a suggested donation of $5-$10.

Images courtesy Center for Living Peace.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

Permalink: http://centerforlivingpeace.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/412

The typical carrot travels 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table.

Transportation, refrigeration, processing and packaging associated with the trip are major sources of air and water pollution – which can be mediated when you support your local farmers OR grow your own fruits and veggies! Info Courtesy of the Ecology Center.

Photo Courtesy of The Ecology Center

The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano has great programs and resources to help us find and create our own sustainable food sources!  Don’t miss “Sprouting” this Saturday at 1pm in the Center for Living Peace’s north wing!

Not just sustainable for the environment, but for the human body as well, sprouts are sources of all the nutrients essential for physical well-being:

digestible energy

bioavailable vitamins and minerals (like A, E, C and B complex)

amino acids and proteins

Because vitamins are extremely perishable, freshness is key, and you can’t get any fresher than harvesting from your own kitchen!  Sprouts also yield higher amounts of vitamins compared to mature plants, some say as much as 30 times higher!  Read more about sprouts and click here for program details!

The Ecology Center’s programming at the Center for Living Peace is reliably awesome.  Watch this clip from their previous class on Terrarium making!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out.

Permalink: http://centerforlivingpeace.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/378/