Pro-me campaign: what is it and why you should support it too

Every workshop of I AM not the MEdia, Inc. is specially developed to transform teens and young adults in conscious viewers of the media and critical decision makers, but our ultimate goal is also to help attendees to embrace their individuality and uniqueness. The impact of the media in the way we perceive ourselves is largely discussed, especially when it comes to body image. Newspapers, magazines, advertisements and websites are known to use photoshop to make drastic changes on photos of celebrities and models so they portray beauty stereotypes. Women should be thin, have prominent breasts, small waste, and maybe blue eyes and long blonde hair. Men should be thin, have strong muscles and a well defined stomach.

The main consequence of picture alterations is the construction of this ideal of beauty that most people feel the need to achieve, sometimes without realizing that they are chasing an unrealistic model. Not even the celebrities look the way the media portrays them. From crazy diets to invasive unnecessary surgical procedures, people have gone the extra mile to change their figures, often times  risking their health. Furthermore, the useless chase for the perfect body may cause a lack of self esteem and feelings of depression.

Recently, things have changed a little. Some celebrities came forward to criticize the use of photoshop on their pictures and a few companies like Dove created advertisements that focus on real beauty. Although these actions help people understand the impact of photoshop on the construction of the ideal beauty and start defending real beauty, the industry as a whole hasn't changed much. Most media continues to erase every single detail perceived as an imperfection, perpetuating the stereotypical notion of beauty.

Teens and young adults are particularly sensitive to images published in the media. According to Erickson's psychosocial  development theory, during adolescent years teens are in the stage of development known as identity versus identity confusion. Teens are very likely to try different identities and are easily influenced by peers and environmental factors. Raising awareness about body image issues in our workshops empowers teens and young adults to read these images critically and perceive  themselves differently. Knowing they don't have to go the extra mile to try and achieve the beauty standards depicted by the media may improve their self esteem and help them understand that each person is beautiful in their own unique way.