Hello Bellas! I'm hoping to get the opinions of all you wonderful ladies with regards to images of women in the media, particularly throughout advertising, being used as a form of 'thinspiration.''Thinspiration' refers to the act of becoming inspired to become thin or thinner. In your own opinion, are advertisements portraying females and the 'ideal' body and appearance destructive to the female self-esteem and body image or actually motivation for self-improvement, commonly referred to as 'thinspiration'? Do you personally use images of women in advertising as 'thinspiration'? I am really interested in any information regarding this topic and would greatly value each of your insight and opinions. Thanks so much for your time, ladies. I look forward to getting your feedback on this important issue! x

I think it's o.k. to look to healthy women in the media for thinspiration as long as you know that you can't ever look like somebody else. You can only look like a better version of yourself (unless you're going to spend thousands on plastic surgery).

Overall, I think the media emphasis on "thin" goes overboard. That being said, "thinspiration" can be used to inspire if used appropriately. If you pick a pic of a thin, healthy body from one of the weight loss or fitness magazines, it is inspiring. If you feel that the only way to be beautiful is to emulate a gaunt, anorexic model from some of the fashion mags, then it is a problem.

Healthy and fit should be emphasized over waif-like, gaunt models with sunken eyes.

To the Ladies ,

Want to hear the side of a man.Kate Moss started the heroin attacked body,when she went for an interview and the interviewer told to come back when she would have lost another 20 pounds.

I go to the gym everyday ,and see woman of all shapes and sizes
Never saw one that you could put your head between her knees
like the models look like.This is a very bad exemple for the young girls and even guys that develop anorexia and bulemia.

Before becoming a Buddhist Monk ,I was a ladies man,would have been ashamed to go out with those bag a bones.

So if there are mother's out there check your girl, to see if she's only eating lettuce ,that's a sign.I am a vegetarian and eat plenty.

I have spoken with many guys throughout the years and none liked that style of woman.Look at Angelina Jolie,last photos of her
she looked like she was dying out of not malnutrition.no nutrition.

Extremes are extremes ,Morbid obese or Anorexic look?

Buddha found the Middle way,women should too.

an ordinary guy
loong

I think the problem with using "thinspiration" is that we don't consider what the person in the photos has to do to look the way they do. Their body is their work so they spend hours a day focusing on their bodies and keeping fit because it is their career. It is impossible to achieve those kinds of standards unless you work in the same industry and most of us don't.

As Monica says, you can only achieve a "better version of yourself". I think this is where keeping track of your fitness level really pays off. i.e. You could only do 5 squats when you started but you can do 25 now. That is inspiring.

We need to focus more what we are able to do and less on what we want to look like. Looks are fleeting and ever changing.

We should be focused on healthy first, thin second. Thin as an aim in itself misses the point - if it comes as a welcome side effect to a healthy, active life-style, then that's great, but you don't have to be a size 0 to be healthy (and happy).