bodies: diet/exercise industry

The Pink Patch is similar to nicotine patches, except it’s a diet product aimed at young women. Here’s a photo from the website of a woman wearing it:

The website for this product clearly targets young women; it warns young women that they are at the time in their lives when their metabolism is highest, and refers to college weight-gain.

The product promises women a solution to their negative body image. Of course, the solution isn’t to think differently about their bodies; the solution is to use the Pink Patch to get skinny:

This quote from a supposed customer makes it clear that losing weight brings boys and popularity:

It also encourages competition and envy among girls:

And apparently, it’s an upper. You might experience “possible mood elevation” and can “relieve your stress,” allowing you to get everything done:

So use the Pink Patch and you will lose weight, which will bring popularity and male attention. Girls will envy you. You’ll be happier, you’ll get a lot done, and that will help you graduate with that great job you always wanted.

It’s the overall message of the diet industry, condensed in one website: the answer to all your problems in a product that will help you melt the pounds away, thus transforming your life. And it’s pink! So feminine!

Via Big Fat Deal.

I took this picture of a “rapid weight loss” product at a Walgreens:

I think this product it all-too-clearly illustrates Jean Kilbourne‘s contention that, when it comes to women, “less is more.”  Aspire to be a size zero.  Aspire to be nothing.  Aspire to be defined by what you lack.

Latisha J. let us know about this Special K ad that sexualized dieting (which she read about at Lip-Sticking). The woman (who looks perfectly thin to me), figures out she needs to diet when a button pops off her dress. After she eats the Special K, which we learn can help women lose weight, we see another button pop off, but this time it’s because she’s intentionally revealing more cleavage:

So…popping button because she “needs” to diet = bad, but same woman popping button because she’s trying to look sexy = awesome.

Thanks, Latisha!

Susanne T. sent in this photo she took at a gym in Bremen, Germany, of two ads for “Multipower Sportsfood,” a sports supplement of some sort:

Susanne writes:

It’s the same product for women and men, but the ad for women says what roughly translates to: ‘This way you look great.’ ‘Eine gute Figur machen’ in German means literally ‘making a good figure’. The ad for men says ‘Strong/powerful tips for your workout.’ Krafttraining means specifically working with weights. And then, of course, the woman looks sexy and flirty and the guy is made to look powerful and in charge. So the same product is supposed to make women look sexy but make men be strong.

Thanks, Suse!

These Slim Fast ads (found here) target soon-to-be-brides:

Thanks to Laura L. for sending these in!

Kimberlee M. sent us these stills from a Winsor Pilates video and an explanation. She writes:

The Winsor Pilates series is something you might be familiar with since it is advertised on TV and is endorsed by many celebs. I recently bought a bunch of second hand Winsor Pilates DVDs and found that one particular DVD was incredibly racist.

Though Mari Winsor uses mainly white fitness models (and I have seen 8 of her dvds), in her dance fat burning workout, suddenly she has several black models in the foreground dancing with her. And the music? Some live drumming which is being played by black people.

A few particularly offensive moments:

At 29:55 minutes Mari Winsor exclaims “shake that booty” just before the scene fast cuts to a shot of the black woman’s behind:

Around 33 minutes Mari says to the drummers, “Boys, my loves, ya mon! Cool it down for me, you gonna cool it down for me? Let’s go back to the island mon!” One can hardly ignore the dramatic change in her ennunciation and diction when she talks to them, (gonna, mon etc) and her patronising, “boys, my loves”.

What is worse, not representing black people? Or only representing them in stereotypical demeaning roles?

…this workout dvd is CURRENT and is for sale on the front page of their website.

 

You might pair this post with these images that fetishize Black women’s behinds.

This is an ad for a diet pill called SlimQuick:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66oZY3NcxLA[/youtube]

Super creepy TAB commercial:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDBJ2ktSZpI[/youtube] Another doozy from Molly M!Here’s another on the same theme (youtube says it’s from the ’60s):[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbVyDYqsEK0[/youtube] Here’s another from 1982:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhGJvGhIzaw[/youtube] And this one, from 1984, cannot be beat for it’s essential ’80s vibe:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kymo2Vj6nw[/youtube]