So here, as promised, is the other article Auntie M sent to me. I found this one particularly frightening, frankly. And sad. And above all frustrating. It seems no matter how much lip service is given to producing a healthy body image in children, cultural perceptions of male and female body size and proportion are hard to shake. Keep in mind, this article was written about three-year-olds. A small snippet:
Mothers were more likely to report that their daughters had a good appetite, but not their sons (p<.05). And mothers were also worried about their sons being underweight (p<.01), but not their daughters.
Fathers showed identical perceptions. They also worried about their sons being underweight, but not their daughters (p<.05) and also said their daughters ate enough food, but not their sons (p<.05).
"While parents' intentions are good, their worries about their children's eating habits and body size are misplaced and not at all helpful," Dr. Joiner said. "Parents are buying into the media ideal of thinness for girls and perceiving that their daughters may not be thin enough, even at this young age. They also have stereotypes about male culture that boys should be big and strong and physical."
I really hope the dear wife and I are strong enough to overcome the relentless cultural messages, both subliminal and overt, that dictate social acceptability. All I want is for my children to love themselves as much as I know I will, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or who their friends are.
If only self-worth were valued in our society as highly as social acceptance.
Finn, don't you need to find out the Zygote's sex soon so that you can choose a room color, choose trucks or dolls, choose prenatal Mozart or Motley Crue, etc.?
Posted by: Christian | 19 December 2005 at 12:57 AM