Comments on: Nivea Firming Cream: The miracle in a bottle

By: MCP

MCP — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:45:22 +0000

Sharon, thanks for reading and commenting. I do get her point, I do realize that it’s never completely avoidable, but I think she takes it to an extreme sometimes and reads too much into it. I can see her getting pissed off at the Nivea thing- but the laundry detergent was a tad overboard.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:24:48 +0000

I saw this ad in one of the front pages of a Good Housekeeping magazine my mom receives for free. (I am also surprised at the amount of attention the magazine puts on writing about weight loss tactics and the like in almost every issue.)
I read the conversation between MCP and mamaV and I definitely agree with both sides. I understand the new direction mamaV is heading to with her blog, but MamaV has already proven that we are a society of disordered eating society, this is already an accepted fact. I think it will be boring to devote all your blog entries to pointing out each and every ad that links a thin body or good looks to imediate happiness in life. There are so many of such examples, and many of us already are aware and understand the idea.
However, we cannot completely ignore the media’s influence and only focus on things such as “rape, incest, sexual abuse child abuse, and a pattern of chemical addiction in families”. Both categories are important to know about, but the former category, namely the media’s influence, is something that is more preventable and defeatable and which generally applies to more people.
MamaV does not promote “completely staying away from the media”, because this is not always possible. We could just not read fashion magazines, and watch TV, as many do (myself included), but ultimately one will encounter ads or billboards somewhere, see products, or hear friends talk about things. We need to look closesly at our culture, notice the trends, and that way realize how some ridiculous ideas have been rooted in our minds, and in that way, we can fiz our conception of the reality.

By: MCP

MCP — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:58:27 +0000

Christine,
Thank you.
I definitely agree, the media is a problem- I’ve never denied that the messages they promote do not help. But, I know enough to stay away from them- just like an alcoholic knows not to drink a shot at a party even if they want to. Even while completely staying away from the media, I still struggle with my anorexia even while I am at a healthy weight. Pictures of skinny bitches, Nivea, and laundry detergent do not determine a good day or a bad day for me. I understand that they can for some, which is why I think the attention Mama V draws to it can seriously backfire on people who seek her advice and help. Yes, it is a problem- the media. But is her giving so much attention to it helping people like me, or hurting? Just walk away. No one can make you do anything- you don’t have to endordse or subscribe to that kind of pressure, and in a way, I feel the air time she gives the media only further encourages the thin is in society. Whether she likes it or not- Advertising is a business. They care about making money and what sells… not whether or not some skin cream will make a girl have anorexia. It’s sad, I don’t approve of it, but again, I do not think these products alone can cause it.
I think my point was, that that while I understand that this blog has evolved beyond such topics as anorexia and bulimia, Mama V still speaks about them enough and never commets or sheds light on the other psychological factors that can cause them.
Maybe she doesn’t because as she admits, is not a therapist and probably not qualified to, and I can’t fault her for that. But, I am not a therapist either and even I know that you can not blame an illness as psychologically complicated as Anorexia or Bulimia on the media alone. To do so is very ignorant. I just wish since she is so passionate about the subject and considers herslef a leader and a positive influnece on these diseases, she would educate herself a little more about the very deep rooted things that can cause an eating disorder and stop blaming everything on the media.
Anorexia has been around for centuries- before tv, before vogue, and before thin laundry detergent. So has Bulimia. If we did not have any of these things that albeit, definitely feed the the fire, I am confident that people would still have anorexia and bulimia. Sad- but it’s the reality.