Meaghan Ramsey: Why thinking you’re ugly is bad for you
ABOUT 10,000 people a month Google the phrase, “Am I ugly?” This is what Dove Self-Esteem Project’s Meaghan Ramsey said about that when she took to the coveted TEDTalks stage.
ABOUT 10,000 people a month Google the phrase, “Am I ugly?” - and this is exactly the issue Dove Self-Esteem Project’s Meaghan Ramsey tackled when she took to the coveted TEDTalks stage.
In a thought-provoking 12 minute speech, Ramsey highlighted the fact that “today’s teenagers are rarely alone,” and that “in an image-obsessed culture, we are training our kids to spend more time and mental effort on their appearance at the expense of all of the other aspects of their identities.
“They’re under pressure to be online and available at all times, talking, messaging, liking, commenting, sharing, posting — it never ends,” she said. “Never before have we been so connected, so continuously, so instantaneously, so young. And as one mum told me, it’s like there’s a party in their bedroom every night. There’s simply no privacy. And the social pressures that go along with that are relentless.
“It’s also really hard to tell the difference between what’s authentic and what’s digitally manipulated. What’s a highlight in someone’s life versus what’s normal in the context of everyday. And where are they looking to for inspiration? Well, you can see the kinds of images that are covering the newsfeeds of girls today. Size zero models still dominate our catwalks. Airbrushing is now routine. And trends like #thinspiration, #thighgap, #bikinibridge and #proana. For those who don’t know, #proana means pro-anorexia.”
Ramsay went on to highlight that the problem with this relentless image-obsession is that “things like their relationships, the development of their physical abilities, and their studies and so on begin to suffer.
“Six out of 10 girls are now choosing not to do something because they don’t think they look good enough. These are not trivial activities. These are fundamental activities to their development as humans and as contributors to society and to the workforce. Thirty-one per cent, nearly one in three teenagers, are withdrawing from classroom debate. They’re failing to engage in classroom debate because they don’t want to draw attention to the way that they look. One in five are not showing up to class at all on days when they don’t feel good about it. And when it comes to exams, if you don’t think you look good enough, specifically if you don’t think you are thin enough, you will score a lower grade point average than your peers who are not concerned with this. And this is consistent across Finland, the U.S. and China, and is true regardless of how much you actually weigh. So to be super clear, we’re talking about the way you think you look, not how you actually look.”
Watch Meaghan Ramsey’s TEDTalks in full in the video above
Ramsey has drawn huge support from the social media world, with many hailing her speech as “deeply touching.”
Meaghan Ramsey's @TEDTalks is well worth a watch! http://t.co/jnanGcF35k #bodyconfidence #bodyimage
— Appearance Research (@CAR_UWE) October 8, 2014If ur a current or future educator, coach or parent, watch. Meaghan Ramsey: Why thinking you're ugly is bad for you. http://t.co/Ovus7BuxEq
— Becky Egan (@BeckyEgan_VB) October 8, 2014One of the best TED talks I've heard. Every girl should watch this. Meaghan Ramsey: Why thinking you're ugly is bad.. http://t.co/BU5XNRUQS8
— SpeakNow4Tash (@SpeakNow4Tash) October 7, 2014“Ultimately, we need to work together as communities, as governments and as businesses to really change this culture of ours so that our kids grow up valuing their whole selves, valuing individuality, diversity, inclusion,” says Ramsey.
“We need to put the people that are making a real difference on our pedestals, making a difference in the real world. Giving them the airtime, because only then will we create a different world. A world where our kids are free to become the best versions of themselves, where the way they think they look never holds them back from being who they are or achieving what they want in life.”