How cool and smart is Kelsey Hertel?
“These people who promote the perfect body really don’t care about you at all,” says Hertel, a high school junior in Eugene, Ore. “They purposefully make you feel like less of a person so you’ll buy their stuff and they’ll make money.”
Where did this high school junior gain the sort of wisdom that eludes so many of us? According to Time magazine, Kelsey is a participant in the Body Project, an amazing initiative by the University of Texas that involves a form of civil disobedience referred to as “body activism.” The goal is to promote positive body image attitudes, and reduce eating disorders.
In addition to writing critical essays and role playing, young girls get to engage in all sorts of small “non violent acts” to combat the pervasive notion that being thin is the only way to be. They write letters to Mattel (hello, if we were Barbie’s measurements, we would be dead or dying), slip positive notes in the diet books at bookstores (I would love to accidentally find one of those) and posting signs in the school bathroom that says: “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. DON’T BE SOMEONE THAT YOU’RE NOT. BE YOURSELF.” Now, those are words to live by.
If Ghandi or MLK had created a movement for women against the oppression of the thin ideal, it would look something like this. And it works, reducing the risk of developing eating disorders by 61% among participants. The girls continue to feel good about their bodies at whatever size for a long time, even after completing the project.
Can we nominate the person responsible for this for the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace of mind to these young girls?
Tags: body activism, body project, eating disorders, ghandi, mlk, nobel prize, time, university of texas
