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Promoting positive body image in young people |
| 21 September 2011 |
 You know you’re on the right track when you have a room full of teenagers laughing, clapping, cheering and dancing. This was exactly the scene at the inaugural Body Image and Eating Disorder Week (BIEDAW) event, held earlier this month to promote positive body image in young people. Mission Australia 2010 Youth Survey of 50,000 Australians aged 11 to 24 ranked body image as the top issue of personal concern. With this in mind, one of the key questions young people were asked to contemplate throughout the afternoon was, “What would you gain if you stopped chasing the perfect body image the media expects you to have?” The event was a collaboration between Mission Australia’s Project Circuit Breaker – a free early intervention and prevention service that supports families on Brisbane’s Northside experiencing conflict or difficulties – as well as the Isis Centre for Women’s Action on Eating Issues, the Eating Disorder Association of Queensland (EDA) and the Eating Disorder Outreach Centre. It was sponsored by Kedron Wavell Services Club in Brisbane’s north and attracted more than 150 Queensland students from Beerwah to the north and as far west as Toowoomba. Throughout the afternoon, students learned how the media manipulates images through airbrushing and Photoshopping, and were taught to question the images they saw on billboards, in magazines and television. The students were also treated to performances by two inspirational performers. The first, Mark Lowndes, entertained with a range of personal anecdotes about what it meant to stay strong and be true to yourself, as well as performing a number of original, and uplifting songs. The second performer was Candy Bowers, who performed a number of satirical songs and poems, including one entitled, ‘You want a piece of me’… a piece of cake, that is! EDA also launched their consume magazine targeting youth and Isis presented their peer support project. Students were also invited to help create a graffiti wall (pictured), a group art project in which they were each asked to write a statement about positive body image. The statements ranged from Lady Gaga’s infamous line, “You’re on the right track baby, you were born this way,” to “A skinny girl isn’t always a happy girl.” So what did the students think of the event? One remarked, “I feel kind of empowered now, like I don’t have to listen to the media.” Another commented that, “It feels really nice and supportive.” Contributed by Tamieka Trebilco (Education and Activities Coordinator – Mission Australia’s Project Circuit Breaker program) Photo Credit: Graffiti art wall created by young people at the forum  |
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