Young Girls Find the Beauty
(ARA) - Ninety percent of American women have been on a diet at least once
in their lives, experts say. In fact, it's estimated that one out of two women
is dieting at this very moment. Could that be you? And if so, are you aware that
it may be more than pounds you're losing?
"The way a mother views her own body definitely communicates to her daughter and
at a surprisingly young age," says Dr. Jim Longhurst, a psychologist for The
Montcalm School for Girls in Van Wert, Ohio. Longhurst cites studies showing
that by age 10, between 50 and 80 percent of girls have determined they need to
lose weight and are either thinking about or beginning a diet. Are we creating
an unrealistic and unachievable longing in our daughters?
"Well, the media is certainly contributing to the problem," says Longhurst who
notes that there's a direct correlation between a girl's dissatisfaction with
her body and the amount of television she watches. According to ANRED, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness on anorexia nervosa and
related eating disorders, models 20 years ago weighed 8 percent less than the
average woman. Today, models weigh 23 percent less and many fall into an
anorexic weight range.
"We are holding up an ideal that is far from ideal," says Longhurst. And it
starts early. Consider the Barbie doll, one of the icons of the toy world. ANRED
points out that if Barbie were a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours
because her legs and famous "tiptoe" feet couldn't support her impossible
proportions.
What can we do to protect our girls? Longhurst suggests that parents and
especially mothers look deep inside and really examine how they themselves feel
about their own body image. "It's hard because we are a culture that values
appearance," says Longhurst. "But it is our job as good parents to make sure our
girls understand the concept of inner beauty."
The real issue, says Longhurst, is self-esteem. As head psychologist for The
Montcalm School for Girls, Longhurst has seen firsthand what can happen when a
young woman's self image is scarred. The school treats troubled teenage girls,
many of whom have dealt with eating issues in the past. "Our treatment
philosophy is built on a strength-based model," says Longhurst, explaining that
"strength-based" means looking for a girl's positive traits and abilities and
using them as a starting point for healing.
"Very often, this happens when a girl steps outside herself to help someone else
and we give our girls many opportunities to do this." The result, says Longhurst,
is rewarding to watch. "They're amazed at the positive impact they can have on
others. It's an esteem builder that is real and lasting."
The Montcalm School for Girls is part of Starr Commonwealth, a child and family
services organization with nearly a century of experience in treating troubled
youth and their families. For more information about the Montcalm School for
Girls or its parent organization, Starr Commonwealth, call (866) 244-4321 or
visit their Web sites at www.montcalmschool.org or www.starr.org. Young
girls are still liable to a nonsensical ideal of beauty
Behind the discontent with body and behind low self-confidence stands
above all the publicity of anorexic figures. Experts, who specialize ineating
disorders, rate proportions of world reputable models as dangerous beauty.
It is vain. Young girls are still on drastic diets and some of them even die.
Models are heroines for many teenage girls. They represent success and beauty.
Models, which they display, aren't important, most important is their look and
their corporal proportions. Although hardly any Czech woman seriously reasons
about models by firms like Louis Vuitton or Versace, all the more they are
interested in the ideal of bodily beauty. Commercials and media give the readers
hope, that it is possible for them to easily change their figure. That's why, if
a woman isn't able to change her body, she feels inferior. When she has normal
corporal proportions, she feels like a fatty.
Low self-confidence and discontent with the body are put together with bodily
weight. Studies from recent years illustrate, that discontent with own body
starts at the age of eight. 60% of girls from the 8th and 9th classes said, that
they aren't satisfied with their bodies, 30% restrict or reduce the amount they
eat because they are afraid, that they will grow fat. 4% of fourteen-year-old
girls force themselves into vomiting and another 7% tried it. These statements
demonstrate, that nowadays, mental anorexia and bulimia pertain to the most
frequent and the most serious health problems of teenage girls.
In many ways, eating disorders are more serious and more mean than drugs. Nobody
advertises the results of drugs, but unsuitable eating habits and diseased
emaciation are advertised every day. Anorexic actresses and models are proud of
their gautness. Anatomical abnormalities and signs of disease are presented like
the norm. Ordinary women doesn't know, that the long-terme effect of a diet is
playing with their health. The „beauty“ of gaut models is a reason, why women
with normal weight feel fat, they speak about excess weight, although they are
slim and why they confuse dieting with normal eating rigime.
It is true, that the slim figure is nice and attractive and it is easier to sew
on gaut models, because the consumption of the material is lower, but we have to
realize, that the sale of means to grow slim is only a good busines for the
grocery and pharmacy industry, who earn a lot of money on selling these
ineffective methods. College girls step into beauty controversy
With a white mask covering her face, Wang Xinli closes her eyes. Lying on a
soft bed, the 26-year-old enjoys a massage and the fragrance the face mask
brings.
Yang Jin, a 20-year-old sophomore from Wuhan-based Zhongnan University of
Economics and Law, talks with media on the eve of the final round of the Miss
World Contest in Sanya, Hainan Province in December last year. [China Daily]
Within minutes, she falls asleep. One hour later, Wang gets off the bed and
finds a refreshed girl in the mirror. "Very comfortable!" she says while paying
300 yuan (US$35) for the service.
This is only part of Wang's routine investment in body treatments. Each month,
the young financial advisor from Huaxia Bank in Beijing spends more than 2,000
yuan (US$240), roughly half of her monthly salary, to beautify her skin, hair,
hands and feet, as well as buying brand-name cosmetics and perfume like Chanel,
Lancome or Christian Dior.
"It enhances my confidence and it's worthwhile," she claims.
"She is not an exception," said Zhang Qian, a personal image advisor in Beijing,
claiming that a young generation of Chinese, born around 1978 when the country
began its reform and opening-up, are better-educated, better-paid, and pay
greater attention to fashion and their personal image than their parents.
"Nowadays, professionals like Wang not only compete in their professional
skills, but also in their personal image because it could directly affect the
first impression of future customers," he said.
While the traditional beauty sector in China refers mainly to such services as
hairdressing, massage and face-lifts by medical means, the modern beauty sector
expands to cover the areas of beauty-related education and marketing, the
production and research of cosmetics and related instruments, and even includes
ornaments, packaging materials as well personal image consultation.
Within 21 years, from 1983 to 2004, the sales volume of China's beauty
businesses has increased 260 times, according to the country's first annual
report on the beauty sector, recently released by four young Chinese economists
He Fan, Ba Shusong, Zhong Wei and Zhao Xiao.
With a 15 per cent annual growth, the beauty sector is turning into another huge
money-maker after the boom in the real estate, auto, electronics and tourism
sectors. Moreover, the revenue of the sector is expected to reach 176.2 billion
yuan (US$21.3 billion) this year and double in the next five years.
From the perspective of cosmetics, a similar track is visible: The annual
average spending of Chinese on cosmetics, in the early 1980s, was about one yuan
(12 US cents), the figure rose to five yuan (60 US cents) in the early 1990s,
and 25 yuan (US$3) at the end of 2000.
In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the annual average spending on
cosmetics has reached 80-100 yuan (US$9.6-12), although still much lower than
the figures for many developed countries, roughly US$35-70.
China is currently home to 1.54 million beauty parlors and nearly 3,800 cosmetic
companies, and almost 8 million people are actually working in beauty-related
businesses, plus another 4 million whose jobs are connected to the sector.
A survey of five major cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu
and Wuhan, shows that the most popular beauty items include SPAs, stone
massages, Yoga, foot massages and nail treatments.
More growth expected
Despite the huge advances witnessed over the past two decades, "huge gaps still
exist between China's beauty sector and its counterparts in developed
countries," said Zhang Xiaomei, vice-president of the Beauty and Cosmetics
Association of Central China's Henan Province.
Ba Shusong, one of the four co-authors of the report, shares a similar view.
"Compared with overseas beauty and cosmetics rivals, the domestic companies lack
competitive advantages and are markedly overshadowed in such aspects as
management, talent and brands," he said.
"Even the beauty chains with hundreds of outlets across the country are very
often unknown to ordinary consumers."
Statistics from the annual report show only 11.72 per cent of the practitioners
have a two-year college or higher educational background, while the
practitioners who have a junior middle-school or an even lower education, and
those who have a senior middle-school or secondary technical school education
account for 38 per cent and 50.2 per cent of the sector's workforce
respectively.
Zhao Xiao, another co-author of the report, highlighted several other major
features of China's current beauty economy: Private investment accounts for 87
per cent of the sector; small-sized beauty shops with less than 50 square metres
of work space stand for 65 per cent of the total; and more than half of the
beauty shops cost no more than 50,000 yuan (US$6,045) of investment.
Zhao pointed out that in spite of the two decades of rapid development, China's
beauty sector has been in a kind of disorderly state, "it's of great urgency to
find a brand-new industry mode suitable for the 21st century."
He was echoed by Ba Shusong who also believes it's time for big investors to
step into the industry and establish brand-name beauty shops.
An interesting phenomenon is that Chinese men are attaching more and more
attention on their personal image as well. Across China, beauty salons have
begun providing professional services for men.
Due to the fact that many successful men maintain such bad habits as staying up
all night, smoking and drinking, which lead to skin and hair problems, "men need
comprehensive and professional beauty services to enhance their confidence as
much as women do," said Yi Dai, who owns a Men's Beauty Salon.
She claims her routine customers mainly include white-collar workers, private
entrepreneurs and celebrities of various industries.
"Male models, actors, and celebrities are the pioneers," said Guo Xiaohua, an
industry researcher from Xiamen.
"Of course, male consumers expect a kind of energy, instead of beauty, from the
beauty services."
Zhong Wei, one of the four co-authors of the report and director of the Finance
Research Centre of Beijing Normal University, is rather optimistic about the
future of China's beauty sector.
"With the development of the fine-chemical industry, bioscience, materials
science as well as the application of cell science in dermatology medicines, the
beauty sector is sure to make headway in both depth and scope."
Zhong predicts that in the next five to 10 years, Chinese herbal medicines may
play a bigger role in the domestic beauty market if researchers can solve such
problems as purification techniques and conduct more scientific analyses on the
nature and quantity of the effective elements of Chinese herbal medicine. Young blond girl
Young blond girl in colorful sweater listening to music in front of the ...
Girl is touching invisible wall
Girl is dancing arabic dance
Young beautiful blond girl listening pop music isolated on white backgro...
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Young beautiful blond girl dancing isolated on white background
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Relaxing girl
Smiling girl with mp3
Beautiful young girl listening music Young & beautiful Russian women
Beauty Contest
The city of Gomel was always proud of the beautiful women living here. This
is why "Miss Gomel" beauty pageant is organized every year and still being one
of the most favorite events among the local people. As a regular sponsor of this
"holiday of beauty", Ryerose agency represents it worldwide hoping to attract
single foreign men to pay attention to the beautiful, but lonely Russian women
we list in our photo album. So the visitors of this page are welcomed to enjoy
the appearance of young Gomel beauties, but please don't forget to visit our
albums if you are still single.
For your convenience we divided the photos into the four sections. Just click on
the link under the section to open the whole gallery. Please note that
participants of this beauty competition are not a professional models, but just
a regular young girls living in Gomel.
Many of them are still single and looking for a soul mate through our agency.
We've just listed the links to their profiles in the last gallery named "The
final awards ceremony". I mean that it's probably a good idea to visit this page
if you don't mind looking at the author of these lines who does his speaches
from the stage :-)
Miss Gomel pageant of 2004th |
