WHEN Rachel McHollister attended this past season's Vancouver Fashion Week, she was pleased to see models who looked healthy and not rail-thin.
McHollister attended the annual fashion event in November 2011 as a public relations representative, and says the Vancouver models were "decent-sized."
It is a change she says is happening "slowly, but surely" as members of the fashion industry, especially in Canada, show more interest in contributing to positive messages about body image.
The owner of her own boutique PR firm, McHollister has a special interest in promoting messages about healthy body image. Since the age of 13, she has been struggling with anorexia. It has been a 13-year battle that she is still fighting.
"It's such a really hard cycle of getting up every day and dealing with something most people take for granted," she says.
McHollister has attended various treatment programs over the years, and says there aren't enough treatment options in British Columbia, especially for people over the age of 24. She has recently been trying to shed light on the treatment gap she says exists for adults with anorexia. Throughout her own struggle with anorexia, McHollister says she has had to push for treatment options, and says without support from her parents: "I don't even think I would be alive."
McHollister is now hoping to attend a one-on-one program on Galiano Island. It's a program she is confident will help her improve.
"I want this to be my last bout of treatment, and I want to move on with my life," she says, noting her anorexia, and accompanying anxiety and depression, stops her from doing things she wants to do. "I can't get past it on my own. I've tried."
As part of her effort to spread the word about her journey, McHollister will be a featured speaker at an upcoming UBC Dialogues panel discussion at the Kay Meek Centre January 24. The event, called "Body Image: Is fat all in our heads?" will explore topics related to social pressure and self-esteem contributing to eating disorders. Panelists will also discuss who is spreading negative messages about body image.
Elena Grant, owner of Sofiabella clothing boutique in Edgemont Village, says media are largely responsible for spreading messages about body image, and those messages have a negative effect on preteen girls in particular because girls at that age are so impressionable.
In 2009, when Grant was developing her business, the message to young girls was clear: it's important to be pretty. In the last few years, that message has changed, says Grant. It's not enough for young girls to just look pretty, now they must be sexy and "hot." The message continues: If you look sexy, then you are sexy, explains Grant. She says this message is ubiquitous, and is sold by media in various ways, including by the type of women who are regularly celebrated in the media for their sex appeal.
The idea that young girls should be sexy had already reached the fashion world in 2009, when Grant was looking for clothes for her daughter. She was disgusted by the thongs and padded push-up bras she saw for nine-to 13-year-old girls, and decided to open her own clothing store online in 2009. In 2010, Sofiabella opened
in Edgemont Village as a retail clothing store featuring age-appropriate clothes for tweens. At Sofiabella, positive messages adorn T-shirts and jewelry rather than messages such as "Who needs a credit card?," which was recently featured on crotches in a line of underwear for girls (sizes 46X) from a large North American clothing chain.
Grant says trends such as featuring inappropriate messages on crotches and behinds on clothing for young girls represents "vile behaviour" by designers and retailers. And the message that girls, even young girls, should be sexy, is reaching the preteen generation, says Grant.
She notes that many young girls who visit her store are not interested in wearing pink clothing because pink is traditionally associated with little girls.
"They're not quite sure who they are, but they know they're not little girls," says Grant.
She says the motivation for her store isn't "just about selling clothes," it's about instilling confidence and making a positive impact.
"It's about ensuring our young girls grow up to be confident women," says Grant.
To that end, Grant recently held an empowerment workshop at her store for girls ages nine to 13. The workshop, called iGirl Empowerment, was created by Saleema Noon, a well-known sexual health educator, and was led by Noon's colleague Ashley McIntosh. It sold out in just three days. The iGirl Empowerment workshop website notes that the workshops feature topics such as what to expect from puberty, safety on the Internet, understanding a healthy body image, and how to be assertive in tough situations.
"I think you can do both," says Grant about the balance between being a business owner and caring about what she sells. "You don't have to sell yourself out to make a dime."
Everyone has a hand to play in ensuring this current generation of young girls grows up to be as successful as can be, says Grant. "Parents can't do it alone."
More people need to support positive messages about body image, so that better messages reach young girls.
"Nobody's perfect," says McHollister. "Everybody is unique, and everybody has their flaws."
For more information about the UBC Dialogues event, visit the website at www.alumni. ubc.ca/events/dialogues.
