I expect there are many of you with opinions on this. Read the story first. Then we'll try to keep the discussion to a global perspective here - seeing that Disney is global, including Euro-Disney and even Hong Kong Disney. You can also connect it to the bigger idea of body image perceptions that are delivered to us via the media.
Remember these images are deliberately targeted at impressionable youth... they carry over into a lifetime.
http://ca.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/skinny-minnie-mouse-inspires-petition-194641110.html
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteThe classic Walt Disney characters we grew up with included Minnie Mouse, who first appeared in 1928. I’m sure many of us grew up watching these cartoons, so we all know how influential they were. Minnie Mouse was the embodiment of being yourself and also was, and still is an icon to girls all around the world.
The fact that they want to alter this character is quite concerning. [1] Although Barney’s and Disney are stating that this “moving art” is only three minutes in length, can still cause massive damage. In my opinion even 5 seconds would be enough to change girls opinion of their body image in this case. In the skit, Minnie is supposed to be dreaming about being in a fashion show and wakes up in that same dress as herself afterwards. With the character being such a role model for young girls, if they see the mouse inspiring to be this thin they will obviously follow along in those aspirations. It also sends the false message that you have to be size 0 to appear pretty or successful.
[2] Plus size models have even been speaking out on the fact that this could potentially be very damaging for young girls and Minnie is fine just the way she is. To be honest it’s a huge step in the wrong direction. More and more now media tries to promote for girls to love themselves just the way they are. That size doesn’t matter. This should be taught from a young age, as girls are very vulnerable to this subject. We see enough rubbish on TV about altering your body that these cartoons should remain the way they are and set a positive example for children.
1)http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/social-issues/is-the-world-ready-for-a-skinny-minnie-barneys-5-foot-11-size-0-minnie-mouse-sparks-protests.html
2)http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2012/10/23/minnie-mouse-skinny-barneys-holiday-windows/
I agree with Erika's post. Young girls see pictures of thin models everywhere- posters, magazines, TV shows, movies etc... The last place they need to be seeing them is on a cartoon. Like Erika said, I agree cartoons should be left unspoiled by our Western cultures idea of what "beauty" is. Children are very impressionable at this age and we should not be influencing them to believe being skinny is the only way to be.
ReplyDeleteI also believe this will not only affect girls, but boys too. What happens if they grow up only seeing thin women? They will grow up believing that is the only way women should be, thus putting more pressure on girls to be this way. It is a dangerous cycle!
I too agree with Erika's post. The fact that they want to alter Minnie Mouse's character is quite concerning. For those who grew up watching really any show as a kid know how much a certain character can be influential on you whether it be minor or major. The media has their own beliefs on what the perfect female/male and most of the time they're wrong.
ReplyDeleteI believe that changing the look of Minnie can have a major impact on the young girls who watch this show. If the character would appear to be skinny or more slim the young girls would probably believe that, that is what they have to look like as well. Another thing is that Minnie was never like that, so if she did change then girls would notice that and start to wonder why that happened. The media changes the our perception on what beauty is (1). It is like any other tv show, magazine or movie that you see, it always has women in it that we as a society would consider to be "beautiful". They send the wrong message because these "beautiful" women for some reason are all slim, which has an influence on the viewers, because they start to believe what they see is the right thing.
I also agree with Kaileyeinstein's post. I believe this will also affect boys as well for the same reasons. These boys watching the show will grow up to believe that, this is what all women should look like, or at least what the perfect women should look like. In the future it would only get worse and worse and even more people would believe it is the right way to look like.
(1)http://www.helium.com/knowledge/23015-how-the-media-changes-our-perception-of-beauty
I completely agree with what Kailey and Malik added that boys too are affected by the persona of what media thinks we should look like. It is a dangerous cycle! How can people expect their children to be respectful and accepting of all body types if this is what they're influenced by? This is why bullying is such a major issue today. Not only that, but studies show how girls are starting to become more obsessed with dieting than in past generations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erika, Kailey, and Malik. As Erika stated, many children (including us!) have looked up to these characters since we were in diapers and their messages have huge impacts on how we live our lives. By having Minnie Mouse, a very influential character, strive to be stick thin, what is that going to tell other kids?
ReplyDeleteMedia has been hammering the idea that we need to be stick thin to be beautiful into our heads for quite a long time. Using a child-idolized character to convey this message is the final straw and it needs to be stopped.
As Erika has also said, bullying really is such a major issue today. Girls and boys alike have been struggling with body image, and having messages like this put out by media only makes the damage worse; negative body image can often lead to depression, anxiety, and sometimes even suicide. [1]
Why media feels body image is more important than a person's character is beyond me, but hopefully in the future, media will stop telling us how to look and rather encourage us to be accepting, considerate, and compassionate people because I believe a person's character has more positive impact on another person than their appearance does.
[1] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060606224541.htm
This is my weekly post. The idea of this “revolutionary” notion to take the term “skinny Minnie” to a literal level is in my opinion appalling and unnecessary. As Erika previously stated, Minnie Mouse has become an icon to young girls all around the world due to reasons that have nothing to do with the way she looks. Minnie is renowned for her soft spoken and motherly tone, her docile humor and most importantly her devotion and loyalty to Mickey and her friends. These are the types of values that we too should hope to instill in our children. Instead of teaching character, much more commercial and shallow ideas are being implanted into the minds of today’s youth. One of these ideas seems to be that skinny equals beautiful, and beauty equals everything—without them, you are nothing.
ReplyDeleteI believe this to be a terrible mindset, as we’ve heard time and time again, “looks aren’t everything.” And it’s true, they’re not. I believe the media portrays this idea of a flawlessly proportional, angular face with a thin, long limbed body in order to promote overall product sales within a country. The average girl or woman does not have the perfect body proportions or a flawless face and the media knows that, they prey on that. They use self consciousness as a way of getting women and girls to become bigger commercial consumers. For example, a fifteen year old girl, let’s name her Sara, is sitting at home one day flipping through a teen Vogue magazine. In front of her are pages and pages of rail thin models with long blonde hair, perfect teeth and gorgeous men hanging on their every word. Sara puts down the magazine and walks over to the mirror in the hall. Staring back at her is her 5’2” body, her freckled skin, short brown hair and slightly crooked teeth. Sara doesn’t look like the models in the magazine, she’ll never be pretty like her, never have boys like her, and never be her. So what does Sara do? She goes out to the mall, buys herself some tall high heels, brand new makeup, blonde hair day and extensions. She changes herself to be something a magazine told her to be because if it worked for the model, it must work for her too.
This is what irks me the most about the media, like Erika said, it truly is a vicious cycle that thrives on insecurities. Robyn Lawley, the first plus-sized model to be used by Ralph Lauren states that "the issue of body image is always prevalent and should always be considered." (1) Of course, from a media standpoint, if they were to tell everyone they were perfect the way they were, they would never make any money off of people trying to improve themselves. People may not be spending money, but at least they’d be happy and I’d rather live in a nation that is happy rather than wealthy. The media has targeted adult and teenage women for many years now, so why all the controversy? I believe that the changing of Minnie Mouse is such a controversial subject because now the media is targeting an even younger age group: female toddlers and children. To make children feel like they are not good enough at such a young age is wrong. Children should not be burdened with self-consciousness, worries about their weight or outward appearance; all they should have to worry about is being kids! At the end of the day, what needs to be remembered is that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” (4)
(1) http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/social-issues/is-the-world-ready-for-a-skinny-minnie-barneys-5-foot-11-size-0-minnie-mouse-sparks-protests.html
(2)http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Minnie+Mouse+goes+glam+Think+tall+thin+with+killer+legs/7447622/story.html
(3)http://www.realbeauty.com/health/wellness/the-limits-of-thin-losing-weight-doesnt-fix-everything
(4)Quote by : H.G Wells
It surprises me they would even consider displaying an unrealistic figure of Minnie mouse considering how much hate there as been towards media for years now displaying the unhealthy but "idealistic" body type. The fact that it would be Minnie in a dream makes it even worse, it shows that is what a woman's dream should be of the ideal life; thin, tall, and wearing designer clothes. So not is it only pressuring very young children who are at a very influential and naive age to be tall and thin, but also that wearing designer clothes will make you more beautiful and successful. It's bad enough teenagers have to deal with the pictures in magazines and t.v, but to start spreading this "ideal" body type into the younger audiences now is outrageous! It just seems as the years go on, the perfect girl just seems to be getting even thinner. Way back when, Marilyn Monroe was a true beauty, she was a sex symbol in her time because of her natural curves she wasn't afraid to flaunt her stuff. She was what girls wanted to grow up to look like. No a days, as shameful it is to say it, Marilyn Monroe wouldn't have a chance to be a model, she'd be considered "fat". In reality however, she was just healthy. The ideal beauty in our society now, is under the healthy weight for ones height. It should be societies priority to reverse the way things are going, and try to decrease disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Which sadly is an often route young girls to older women are taking to be "beautiful".
ReplyDeleteThis is a link I found really shocking and interesting about media influence !!!! :
http://www.raderprograms.com/causes-statistics/media-eating-disorders.html
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteI’m sure many of kids my age have grown up with Minnie Mouse. Minnie is a cute, funny cartoon character. Many girls enjoy Minnie, because she is cute; but that won’t be the same with “Skinny Minnie.” I think Minnie is fine as she is, and girls do not compare themselves to Minnie; after all she is a mouse. I feel that this new skinny Minnie will be giving the wrong message out to young girls around the world. Since she is so thin, girls will feel compelled to look like her. I think it’s wrong to drastically modify a character who has been around for over 80 years. Many kids look up to Disney and are inspired, but I think this is something that Disney is doing wrong.
This skit may only be three minutes, but that is three minutes too long. This Minnie is dreaming of appearing in a fashion show, and wakes up not in one. I think this is wrong because girls compare themselves to famous figures all the time, meaning they may easily compare themselves to her. I think the idea of the video could be better, if they kept Minnie how she originally is. I think it would give a better message; not that you have to be stick thin. Since girls see stick-thin figures everywhere, I think it is not fair that they have to also see a stick-thin cartoon of which they grew up with.
[1] Body activists have been speaking out, and protesting against this skinny Minnie. “The message is if your body doesn’t fit into a designer dress, drastically change your body. Not, let’s insist on a designer that’s talented enough to make a dress that fits you,” This is a quote stated by Ragen Chastain, a positive body image blogger. I agree with this statement. Girls should be directed towards the thought that they are pretty no matter what size they are. Chastain created a petition against this, and now has over 135,000 supporters. [2] People may think that the new Skinny Minnie is harmless, but really girls wanting to be skinny starts at a very young age. 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner. That fact is scary to think of, because many girls around that age will be watching the Minnie video.
[1] http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=816571
[2] http://www.change.org/petitions/barneys-leave-minnie-mouse-alone
I hate to notice the lack of surprise I experienced when reading of the statistic Leah just posted- that in todays society 42% of 1st-3rd grade female students around the world want to be thinner than what they already are. At this age, we are the most vulerable to the persuasion that is our parents, peers, authoritative figures and most importantly the media. As technology grows in advancements so does the type and sort of influence this technology has on us- especially at such a vunerable age.
DeleteReflecting back on my childhood, characters in the story books read and the tv shows watched are what illustrated the entirety of the interests I took to as a young child. Barbie backpack, Barney themed room, Pochahontas pajamas and to adjust such an image to form with a statistic that already has girls at ages 8-10 adopting eating disorders is absolutely rediculous.
I know that I wouldn't want my kids looking up to such an unrealistic, disgusting image.
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDelete(1)"There is nothing wrong with tall thin women. There is something wrong with changing a beloved children's character's body so that it looks good in a dress that almost nobody looks good in -- adding to the tremendous pressure on young girls and women to attain photo shop (sic) perfection." This quote is 100% right. There is nothing wrong with creating a character that is a tall skinny woman, but to change a beloved Disney character that is already perfect the way it is, is absurd. I don't blame Disney for wanting to change Minnie appearance because that is what society says is the "perfect woman".
(2)"Our tweens and early teens are a time when we become more aware of celebrities and media images — as well as how other kids look and how we fit in. We might start to compare ourselves with other people or media images ("ideals" that are frequently airbrushed). All of this can affect how we feel about ourselves and our bodies even as we grow into our teens." This is a quote from kids health and i agree that changing Minnie, not only a cartoon character, but a character know around the world is asking for changes in behaviour among girls. Girls already strive to be society's idea of perfect so instead of condoning it, i believe we should be doing the opposite and creating more characters that are healthy not skinny
1)http://ca.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/skinny-minnie-mouse-inspires-petition-194641110.html
2)http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/wellbeing/body_image.html
This is my weekly post: As a brother of four sisters I think this is ridiculous. We hear on the news that we need to stop spreading this crazy story around; of how if girls are skinny as a twig guys will like them.Well how can you say we are putting a stop to this,when a disney show which every little girl watches, puts Minnie Mouse looking like this?
ReplyDeleteLittle girls also love Donald and Daisy Duck, so why are we making Daisy Duck look like a tooth pick?What I am saying is you can't tell the world were putting a stop to this when your creating these things that girls love,that can be very harmful to themselves.
Statistics show that 7 million American women have eating disorders,200 women suffering from anorexia.18-20 percent of these women with anorexia die in 10-15 years!Thats not even including what diseases you can come in contact with while being anorexic.
From a personal experience,seeing a girl that is close to my heart going threw this is scary. Looking at those statistics,knowing that she could be very sick or even dead shocks me.I hope to see an improvement in trying to put a stop to this.But if your saying you are putting a stop to it,then this crap shouldn't be put on T.V. Minnie and Daisy should look the same as they did when we were kids, make them look like a cartoon, not a skinny model starving herself to death.
1)www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm
2)www.troubledteen101.com/articles40.html
3)www.anad.org/get-information/.../eating-disorders-statistics/
Every one is agreeing with everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnyways I think this is atrocious why would they ever think of doing such a thing. Minnie was perfect the way she was. This is just another example of how society is trying to make girls and boys think what the "ideal" body type is. Little girls and boys are going to watch Mickey mouse I think "wow I am fat look how great those characters look" It's stupid and shouldn't be done. Media has told us that we all need to be skinny and perfect when in reality thats not true it's just a stereotype. They say in order to succeed and have fun you need to look good. Well I disagree. Society should grow up! Why are they trying to fix something that wasn't broken? Minnie was fine. If Walt Disney could see what as turned out of his company i'm sure he would be disgraced. She doesn't even look good.
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteAs women and girls growing up today, we already face many challenges towards how we are "supposed" to look. We see these ads on the television and we hear about "how to lose weight" almost everyday. It is told to us that if you are not skinny you will not be as pretty as someone who is as thin as a tooth pick. How our society has reached this conclusion however, I will never understand. Men are genetically factored to like curvy women. [1] The hour glass shape of a woman unconsciously shows a man that she will have an easier time giving birth than a skinnier woman would. Along with the genetics part of why women should have a positive outlook to their curvy bodies, is the fact that very skinny women are not ideal all around the world. In Africa, if you are a curvy woman you are seen to have a lot of wealth. On the contrast of that if a woman is skinny she is seen as poor and would be looked down upon. [2]
Last week when we discussed bullying was something that we should look upon when we think about changing this iconic symbol to girls. The rate of eating disorders is rising ever so as more and more our planet becomes consumed with the "perfect vision". 91% of women that were surveyed on a college campus has attempted to control their weight through dieting. 22% of those diet often or always. Dieting can be a good thing for women to make themselves feel better, however taking it to the next level is not the way. Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents. 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.8. [3] If our rates of women hating themselves are growing at a dramatic rate, why would we even begin to believe that changing an iconic childhood symbol to something that will harm those young girls even more. When you change this symbol you are putting those 95% of people with eating disorders at risk of increasing those numbers even higher. Our generation needs to begin to look at the media and tell them what we wish to see. Women being who they are and being healthy should be the most attractive thing and should be much more well respected than those women starving themselves just to feel pretty.
[1]http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12575/1/Why-Most-Men-Love-Curvy-Women.html
[2]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3429903.stm
[3]http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/
This is my weekly post
ReplyDeleteWhile I do disagree with the fact that Minnie is being used to target young girls and change their perception of body image, everyone above me is missing a key point. While 80% of women in America are unhappy with their bodyweight, (1) 35.9 percent of adults over 20 are obese and 33.3 percent of adults are overweight, (2) and 8.5% of the population is underweight. (3) If we do a little math we’ll find out that of those 80 percent of women that are unhappy with their body image, at least 62 percent of them are actually at an unhealthy weight for their height. While I am not saying that these women should be unhappy with their bodies this just shows that even though there is (supposedly) enormous pressure on girls to lose weight, it is a very valid point. Almost 7 out of 10 Americans do need to lose weight so this brings up another question: Why is there so much concern being placed on these fashion designers who are giving girls these poor ideals of body image when we have an obesity epidemic to deal with that is killing us slowly but surely. If we took all the energy towards lambasting these fashion designers and instead took it to campaign against unhealthy fast foods and empty calories, void of almost any nutrients, and supported healthy eating and exercise then maybe these designers wouldn’t have as many insecure women to prey on. While I used the more readily available American statistics our obesity rates are nothing to scoff at: 35% of Canadians are overweight and 24% obese, almost 6 out of 10 Canadians are overweight.(4) We need to as a society stop caring about and supporting these trivial advertising campaigns and look at changing our lifestyles for the better and becoming healthier and more fit as a country or we will continue killing ourselves off due to the plethora of diseases that accompany being overweight.
(1)http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/1121/Body-Image
(2) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm
(3) http://todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/tdjan2008pg56.shtml
(4) http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=6
This is my weekly post
ReplyDeleteThe idea of turning an iconic Disney character and a role model to young girls like Minnie mouse into something like this is sad. It’s another great example of major media companies trying to create their vision of a perfect woman. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again, they’ll continue to do these things which only make girls feel bad about them for not looking like that. Young girls are very impressionable and if they continue to see these types of images when they’re young, they’ll grow up to think that they have to look like that.
(1) According to this source, 40% of 9-10 year old girls have had tried to lose weight because of seeing someone or something that made them feel like they needed to be smaller and skinnier. Being a girl, I think that’s disgusting. No girl should ever feel like they are inadequate or like they aren’t beautiful because they don’t look like a supermodel. Not only do these images make girls feel about themselves, but it also gives other girls a reason to tear them down for it. Maybe they do look like that, and that makes them think that they’re better. Everyone talks about how teen suicide rates have doubled (2) in the past 20 years and since world war II the affect of the media, and what the things think is beautiful have only gotten skinnier. (3) Barbie, one of the most famous and best selling brands worldwide, was first created in 1959 and if she was a real woman, she wouldn’t be able to survive (4).
I think that Disney should not be endorsing something like this. Its only going to give them bad press and it gives girls unreal expectations on what they should look like.
(1) http://depts.washington.edu/thmedia/view.cgi?section=bodyimage&page=fastfacts
(2) http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/2004-09-22-suicide-rates-doubled-5-14.htm
(3) http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring02/barrios/page2.html
(4) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html