sex health: What I Learned from the Super Bowl

Sunday, February 5, 2006

What I Learned from the Super Bowl

Dove has launched the Dove Self Esteem Fund, which I learned from this Super Bowl commercial. Dove has been noticed recently for its "Campaign for Real Beauty" ads which feature women larger than your average stick-thin model, in their underwear. The campaign has come under fire from various sources, such as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, who called the ads "unsettling," and described the normal-sized models as "plump women baring too much skin." Some feminists also criticized the ad, complaining that Dove wasn't doing enough to promote realistic body images, because it was using the ads to promote a skin firming cream. I say, it's nice to see images of non-diet-obsessed women in the media, no matter what they're selling. See the previous post for eating disorders-related resources.

The Dove Self Esteem Fund has been set up to encourage girls to have a more positive body image. The site includes self-esteem workbooks for mothers and daughters to use together, quizzes, and information about the "uniquely ME!" program, an an activity of the Girls Scouts of the USA funded by the Dove Fund. A donation to the program can be made here.

Also related to the Super Bowl, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger is not likely to need any of these resources on exercise for seniors anytime soon. If you saw the half-time performance, you know that from the chest down, old Mick is smokin' hot, and can still work a stage. I was particularly pleased to see the performance of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which your little blogger went around singing, to her grandparents' horror, at the ripe old age of 3.

Finally, you may have heard that domestic violence soars during the Super Bowl; this seems to be myth. However, here are a few domestic violence resources:

Family Violence Prevention Fund

Are You Being Abused? - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Checklist for Leaving an Abuser - National Women's Health Information Center

How an Abuser can Discover Your Internet Activities and Domestic Violence Safety Tips - American Bar Association

Supporting the Survivor - National Mental Health Information Center

Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Domestic Violence Hotlines and Resources - Feminist Majority Foundation

Women Against Domestic Violence