I've sort of resigned myself to the fact that I will never even come close to figuring out that deeply complex bundle of circuitry known as the female brain. This was further emphasized to me after reading about this peculiar study, which showed that although images of thin models hawking products made women feel worse about themselves - they...

Flickr / Megan New research in the Medical Journal of Australia suggests that reality TV shows focused on appearance may be bad for your self-esteem. [...] the portrayal of cosmetic and weight loss procedures on television typically distorted the speed and difficulty of these physical changes - creating unrealistic expectations for viewers - and had been shown to lower viewers'...

As someone who's been "shown the door" at nightclubs before, this article really annoyed me. A club in Australia faces hot water for barring heavy set women, but admitting men of similar size. Yeah, because we all know how appealing fat dudes are! The bar's actions prompted protests and 1,000 people to join an internet-based campaign demanding a boycott of...

While browsing through the magazine section of a local bookstore, I picked up a copy of Adbusters Magazine. If you aren't familiar with Adbusters, it is a counter-culture periodical - a rebellious magazine that boldly speaks out against many of the things that are polluting our world - not the least of which is all of the other magazines that...

Poster boy for positive self-image - or are speedos a fashion crime? What are the unwritten rules about fashion and body shape? ...

I'm a sucker for reality shows that focus on weight loss. Typically, these shows feature people who are attempting to lose weight and get fit with the whole world watching. Last night I watched a show about three women trying to get "thin" for their wedding day. Although the template for this show was typical, the tactics involved seemed pretty...

People have always picked on one another. But with the advent of blogs, social networks, video and picture-sharing - it got a whole lot worse. Maybe the magazines started it. Unflattering photos of celebrities make great covers and - according to the Wall Street Journal "stories about celebrity weight-loss with before-and-after photos now fly off the shelves." Scrutinizing and criticizing...

This is a guest post from Cari Corbet-Owen May 6th may not be as big as May 11th - Mother's Day - but I predict it's a day that will grow in importance. May 6th is International No Diet Day. It's history? It was started 16 years ago in the dining room of Mary Evans, the British director for Diet...

As it turns out, magazines show no sexual discrimination when it comes to damaging body image. Research suggests that younger men who read "Lad's Magazines" (Maxim, FHM, Stuff and Blender) may be psychologically harmed by images of perfect male physiques. ...

A draft law in France is looking to punish "incitement to excessive thinness" in magazines, on websites and in other media. While not seeking to target bona fide dieting, the law would punish any encouragement to make "people deprive themselves of food in order to get excessively thin", or that constituted an "open apology of anorexia"....