by Meagan DeJong

Created on: April 03, 2009

This question is multi-faceted, because although the answer to this question is "no", it does not mean that there are not other body image role models in our culture.

First, to answer the question, Miss America is not a body image role model, but the reason is because frankly, I do not think that many young girls and women take the competition seriously anymore, if they even watch it on television. It has declined in popularity over the years, and I think that most young girls and women understand that, for the most part, the Miss America competition does not value intelligence and therefore is unimportant to women. Many consider it to be an antiquated view of what qualities are most desirable in a woman.

However, having said this, I would like to point out that there are many body image role models in our culture, and unfortunately, most of them are not positive role models. Often, we are our own worst enemies. The headline on many women's magazines screams something like "Lose 10 Pounds Now!" or "How the Stars Stay Slim!". There are often advertisements for diet pills, plastic surgeons, and the latest Hollywood "Cleanse Diet", which usually involves drinking some sort of citrus drink for two days and starving yourself. The truth is, women are never encouraged to just be healthy. Instead, the focus is always on losing weight and being thin.

Of course, there are some body image role models that we can be proud of, who embrace their body type instead of being ashamed. Ironically, these women and others like them are in a healthy weight range, but we have trained ourselves to believe that they are "curvy" or even "chubby". They are not. Some of the women who we consider to be skinny and therefore beautiful are actually freakish. These models and even some actresses starve themselves, and often use a dangerous mixture of over the counter and illegal drugs to attain their slim figure. Cocaine, diet pills, or just starvation are their preferred methods of weight loss. It is not mere coincidence that many of them end up in the hospital with exhaustion. Unfortunately, many of them are also either anorexic or bulimic. The unhealthy eating habits often mean that their teeth decay at a much faster rate than normal, they do not menstruate, and their hair falls out. All this for what we consider to be "ideal"- a flatter-than-flat stomach and nonexistent thighs. And the vast majority is airbrushed, and so young women try to reach an ideal that does not even exist.

Miss America is not a body image role model, and if she is, it is a shame. But there are many body image role models in our culture that should not be held up as the ideal for our young women. Instead of emphasizing "thin", it would be wonderful if we could emphasize "healthy". If this could be accomplished, we would have much more confident girls who could turn into much more confident (and healthy) women who do not waste their time on a false ideal of beauty.

For more information, I suggest checking out Laura Fraser's book, "Losing It: America's Obsession With Weight and the Industry that Feeds on It", for further information and a very interesting read.

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