participants

We selected seven women to participate in a three-day videotaped retreat to talk about body image in our society. We selected the participants because we believed their collective experiences represent a wide range of attitudes about body image in our society. These participants included:

Holly: A self-described fat woman, Holly often feels alienated by a weight-obsessed society.

Megan: To be truly happy, Megan believes her body must be perfect.

Thendara: Despite her ability to analyze the sources of her anorexia, Thendara cannot seem to escape the illness.

Renee: Since recovering from bulimia, Rene has shared her story with other young people.

Shavon: Shavon expresses the struggle of being a black woman in society that deems white the cultural ideal.

Tiffany: At age fifteen, Tiffany blamed her body for being raped. Now, she talks about her frustration with a society that objectifies women.

Marivi: With every tilt of the scale, Marivi struggles to accept her body. She speaks of the difficulty of living in a world where one's body is everyone's business.