As I mentioned in the Lipstick post, I received an email about a study conducted about women and makeup use by the Renfrew Center Foundation.

I emailed the PR rep, Jennifer, with the following:

I have a question for you, Renfrew, and Dr. Ressler: I'm curious why an eating disorder organization is studying makeup use in women. I don't see the connection, nor do I see what going without makeup has to do with eating disorders awareness week.


I have a blog post here: http://ed-bites.blogspot.com/2012/01/lipstick-connection.html


I really am interested in hearing a response from you guys. Thanks so much.

Jennifer's response:

Thank you for your response, Carrie.  Attached please find a copy of the full press release which further explains the survey that we conducted as well as our campaign, Barefaced & Beautiful, Without & Within. 


Barefaced & Beautiful, Without & Within is a call to action - an opportunity for women to join together and go without makeup in order to celebrate their natural beauty and start a healthy dialogue about body image, self-confidence and self-esteem.  


It is our goal that through this campaign, we will get people talking in broader terms. For many, negative feelings about one's self-image can set the stage for destructive behaviors, such as addictions or disordered eating.  It is our hope that Barefaced & Beautiful - a community of supporters sharing natural photos of themselves - will promote a greater understanding of how beauty and confidence come from within.


Upon your review, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or if you would like to schedule a time to speak with our expert.

The press release was a Word document, which I've copied here:

So, to some extent, Renfrew isn't trying to deliberately link lipstick and eating disorders. They mentioned disordered eating, not eating disorders, which is very good. But it still rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I guess what I really want to know is why the Renfrew Center is studying makeup use. It just doesn't compute.

Jennifer's email ended with an invitation to speak with Dr. Ressler. I would like to ask her directly the question in the above paragraph. And since I'm going to be sending her the question via email, there's plenty of room to add other questions.


What other questions would you like to ask Dr. Ressler? Feel free to suggest away! I may edit your question slightly for clarity, brevity, or to combine several questions into one. I can't promise that I will submit every question asked, either, but I will do my best to make something comprehensive but not overwhelming.

This week is the first ever Fat Talk Free week, part of the launch of the Reflections Body Image Program and Eating Disorders Prevention by the Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Today was International No Diet Day, a day when you should honor your body, eat what you want, stop when you are full, and move your body with joy.

Don't ever step in the way of a senior and his/her doughnut. Just don't. 'Cuz it could get ugly.

Ug-leeee.

The owners of a senior center outside New York City found this out the hard way. The government of Putnam County, NY, decided that too many doughnuts were being donated and then consumed at their senior center. Concerned about the health and well-being of their residents and visitors, they banned all pastries from the center.

"Officials were concerned that the county was setting a bad nutritional precedent by providing mounds of doughnuts and other sweets to seniors," says the Associated Press article.

Some residents didn't really care, some approved of it, while yet others took matters into their own hands.

They are now protesting outside the front doors of the facility with placards and sandwich boards.*

One reads, "They're carbs, not contraband."

Another: "We're old enough to choose."

Damn straight.

There was, of course, a little more to the issue than just the calories/carbs/fat issue that is immediately associated with a trip to Dunkin'. Reports said that as many as 16 cases of donuts were being delivered to the center each day, and that some had been sitting in car trunks overnight, or showed up with a sprinkling of mold.

The easy, obvious solution would be to limit the number of doughnut donations, and once the limit had been reached, to go visit another community group in need of free pastries. As for the mold issue, maybe you could just have potential donors eat a little of their donation before they leave. I guarantee that the number of moldy sweets will plummet.

There are several ironies involved in this, namely that people would be so up in arms about weight gain in a population where studies have proven, again and again, that weight loss is horrifically unhealthy. 'Overweight' is actually even more protective in the elderly than in the rest of the population. The county government also thought that seniors eating doughnuts was setting a bad example for the rest of the community. Um, sorry. If I make it to 80 and I want to gum down half a dozen doughnuts every morning, I've earned that right. If swearing off pastries means an extra year of life, that might not be a year worth living.

Truth be told, I'm not a huge doughnut fan. I gravitate more towards good bread and other sweets. This doughnut shop is doing a very good job at converting me, however. But what happened to the right to decide for yourself what your body needs?

This article on Junkfood Science about kids earning an "A" in business for selling contraband treats reminds me a bit of what some business-savvy seniors might do. Black market donuts. Never thought I'd see the day.

The article ends with one of the more amusing points: a description of a bag lunch at one Bronx, New York senior center. Roast beef sandwich, cranberry juice, and carrot sticks.

Carrot sticks? For an 80-year-old? How do they chew those? They'll probably wreck a tooth and then be on a soft foods diet for a while and will wind up eating doughnuts anyway.

Thanks, but no thanks.

*Since most sandwiches contain bread, wouldn't that be, like, double the infringement? I'm not sure the residents were thinking of it in that form, but it's a nice thought.

****************************************

I was reading the Baltimore City Paper the other day, and found this cartoon. It's not the easiest to read, but it's so worth your time. And so relevant to this article.

posted under activism, news, ridiculousness | 4 Comments