Fair to help students with self-image
Jealous of the long and lean legs, tiny waist, perfectly toned abs and long, shiny hair? The tall, muscular, tan body with a brilliantly white smile? Thomas Berry, USU Counseling Center staff psychologist, said it can be difficult for a person to accept and appreciate the body they have, especially with persuasive media messages suggesting they don’t fit the perfect mold.
“Media shows us a homogenized image,” Berry said. “Everyone can’t look that way but people don’t have to look that way to be attractive.”
In an effort to increase body acceptance across campus, the USU Counseling Center is hosting the Annual Body Acceptance Fair Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the TSC Ballroom. Anna Mae Jorgensen, a pre-doctorate psychology intern in the Counseling Center, said the fair will promote healthy body images and lifestyles, developing healthy relationships with food, using exercise for fun and learning to appreciate and love one’s body. She said an important aspect of body acceptance is finding balance.
“I think we tend to go to one extreme or the other,” she said. “You should value your body for function and its purpose … and create a balance where you accept yourself and don’t have to go to any extreme whether it be dieting or restricting eating or obesity.”
TaLisha Wheatley, psychology junior and Counseling Center reach peer, said the fair will include booths on various topics such as “Fashion for Any Body” (fashion merchandizing from Bridgerland Applied Technology College), “You Lose More Than Weight with an Eating Disorder,” “Men’s Issues on Body Image,” “Physical Effects of Restricted Eating” and others. She said there will also be scheduled classes and presentations throughout the day including yoga classes, massage home technique instruction and discussions on finding body balance. She said the fair will also include raffle prizes students can enter for as they visit the different booths. Some prizes include free massages, gift certificates to The Bluebird, Cafe Sabor, Indian Oven, Angie’s, Fun Park and others. Free popcorn will also be provided.
Wheatley said she thinks it’s important to value the body a person has.
“It’s about changing the focus from being skinny to being healthy … having a healthy lifestyle and liking the body you have,” she said. “Not everyone’s genetic makeup will be size two, super tall.”
Berry said the fair coordinates with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. He said students need to be aware that eating disorders are everywhere and interfere with regular daily life.
“These sort of issues are everywhere … people being so uncomfortable with their body that it gets in the way of other things they do in their life is throughout society,” Berry said. “It’s something we (in the Counseling Center) see as important to address in how we care for the students on campus.”
Berry said students, faculty and the community are welcome and encouraged to attend the fair. He said contrary to what most people may assume, both men and women are affected by body image.
“Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness are doing to men what magazines have been doing to women for generations,” he said. “The models have been tweaked – putting makeup on people’s abs is a little bizarre, and that’s one of the less invasive things.”
Berry said the incidence of eating disorders has been growing steadily in the past 10 years, and has spread far beyond men restricted to meet weight requirements for sports.
Jorgensen said eating disorders have increased across the board over the years.
“It comes from the media objectifying body,” she said. “In doing that they create unrealistic ideals that can’t be met with natural means.”
She said a private, online eating disorder screening will be available to students visiting the fair.
Wheatley said along with the fair the Counseling Center will also be sponsoring a day free of mirrors in the library and several of the dorms.
“We’re going to cover mirrors in the library bathroom so you don’t worry so much about your physical appearance,” she said.
Berry said he encourages students to utilize the counseling center services, free for students enrolled in at least six credit hours on the Logan USU campus. He said professional therapists are often available to make same-day appointments for students seeking help with depression, anxiety, relationship issues, romantic, parental and roommate, eating disorder, abuse and mental disorders. Berry said the services are also available for students who just need someone to consult and discuss more minor problems that may arise. The Counseling Center is located in TSC 306. For more information visit their Web site at usu.edu/counseling/.
–karlie.brand@aggiemail.usu.edu