'Cheeky' Campaign Gives The Middle Finger (Quite Literally) To Negative Body Image | HuffPost Life

'Cheeky' Campaign Gives The Middle Finger (Literally) To Negative Body Image

Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK

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If negative body image was a person, we'd certainly flip them the bird.

Now, a new awareness campaign has launched which encourages people to get involved and quite literally stick their middle fingers up at a culture of appearance-based judgement and negative body image.

The Don't DIS My Appearance campaign - "a cheeky campaign for a serious cause" - was launched by the Butterfly Foundation in Australia to coincide with International No Diet Day and encourages people to paint their middle fingers to stand against body shaming, bullying and general negativity surrounding the way we look.

“Painting your middle finger is a cheeky and symbolic way of saying: 'I am more than my appearance, and no-one has a right to judge me based on how I look',” said Christine Morgan, CEO of the Butterfly Foundation.

The organisation prides itself on representing "all people affected by eating disorders and negative body image".

It realises that the causes of eating disorders are complex, however it believes that negative body image and poor self-esteem play a key role.

Speaking to ABC News, Morgan revealed that there is a need for this kind of campaign because: "We live in a society where, whilst it's politically correct and most of us can say: 'Hey it's who we are and not what we look like that counts', scratch the surface and there is a great deal of emphasis put on what we look like."

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"We know that negative body image and low self-esteem can be a serious, high risk contributing factor to developing an eating disorder," says the campaign, "and that negative body image is often perpetuated by the experience of being judged or shamed about our looks by others as well as ourselves".

As a result, it hopes to raise awareness of appearance-based judgement and shaming by encouraging people to paint their middle fingers and donate money to fight against eating disorders.

Participants can also get involved by purchasing a special FABY nail polish - where 100% of May profits will be donated to the cause - while also engaging in fundraising activities, sharing the campaign message via social media with #DISnoBODY and entering the campaign competitions.

The campaign has since generated a positive response on social media.

One Twitter user, Amy Haughey, said: "It's great to see more awareness about the impact of negative body image and leading the way in a health first approach! #DISnoBODY".

Meanwhile a spokesperson for UK-based eating disorder charity B-eat said: "We wholly support the Butterfly Foundation’s campaign, drawing attention to the fact that it’s not ok for people to judge us by our appearance.

"Humour is a good conduit for serious messages and hopefully this campaign will be adopted and perpetuated by many in Australia and beyond."

Body Image Heroes

Jennie Runk(01 of21)

Runk is the star of a May 2013 H&M swimwear campaign that gained widespread media attention for not relegating the gorgeous size 12 model to the "plus-size" pages of their website. In an interview with activist group SPARK, Runk told a young blogger: "I remember often feeling like I should be unhappy with my body, but it was confusing, because I never thought there was anything wrong with it until people started talking about it."In a piece for the BBC, Runk wrote of her newfound media attention: "This is exactly the kind of thing I've always wanted to accomplish, showing women that it's OK to be confident even if you're not the popular notion of 'perfect.'... There's no need to glamorise one body type and slam another." (credit:H&M)

Jennifer Lawrence(02 of21)

The famously outspoken "Hunger Games" star has been extremely vocal about resisting diet culture and pressure to be unnaturally thin. "If anybody even tries to whisper the word 'diet,' I'm like, 'You can go f*ck yourself,'" Lawrence said in an interview for the November 2013 UK issue of Harper's Bazaar. She also hit the nail on the head during a Nov. 7 Q&A with Yahoo! employees. "The world has this idea that if you don't look like an airbrushed perfect model," she said to Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. "You have to see past it. You look how you look, you have to be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That's just dumb." (credit:Getty)

Nickolay Lamm(03 of21)

Lamm, an artist who works for MyDeals.com, used CDC measurements of an average 19-year-old woman to create a 3-D model which he then Photoshopped to look like a Barbie doll. His images of "normal" Barbie next to the doll sold in stores is truly worrying."If we criticize skinny models, we should at least be open to the possibility that Barbie may negatively influence young girls as well," Lamm told the Huffington Post in an email. "Furthermore, a realistically proportioned Barbie actually looks pretty good."It's awesome to see a man take a stance on these issues, especially considering that many men experience their own body struggles -- often in silence. (credit:Nickolay Lamm)

Trina Hall(04 of21)

Hall, a Dallas-based yoga instructor, abandoned all dietary restrictions between March and July of this year in order to see how her body changed when she wasn't actively limiting her eating habits -- and how people in her life reacted to her changing shape. The results of her project were not what she expected:

The people who didn't know, who were just with me in my life -- there was no difference that I could tell in the way that they treated me. The difference came in my own perceptions of myself, and I began to treat myself differently. I was very judgmental, and I would look in the mirror and critique myself... I would pick apart my body. Instead of looking at the whole of my body, I would look at different parts and analyze what's wrong with them.

"My most shocking discovery through the process is that I’m afraid of not being loved," Hall wrote in a Jul. 30 blog post. "I noticed the self-talk was that my beauty is only on the surface."The experience moved Hall to better understand the dialogue happening inside her own head, and inspired her to help other people suffering from poor body image. "I want to empower people to love their bodies... if it's going to start somewhere, it has to start within," she wrote. (credit:Trina Hall)

Shailene Woodley(05 of21)

Woodley, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in "The Descendants," told Flavorwire in July:

I saw somebody -- what I thought was me -- in a magazine once, and I had big red lips that definitely did not belong on my face. I had boobs about three times the size they are in real life. My stomach was completely flat. My skin was also flawless. But the reality is that I do not have those lips and my skin is not flawless and I do have a little bit of a stomach. It was not a proper representation of who I am. I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that -- and most of it isn’t real.

Because of her discomfort with how women are constantly Photoshopped and edited on-screen, Woodley doesn't wear makeup to events. What a badass. (credit:AP)

Elena Raouna (06 of21)

Raouna, who was crowned Miss British Beauty Curve 2013, told the Daily Mail: "you don't have to be size zero to be a model, and you can be pretty and plus size at the same time." The beauty queen hopes to use her platform to inspire young women to be comfortable in their own bodies, regardless of their weight. "My confidence has grown over the years and hopefully I can inspire other plus-size girls to be confident in their own skin," she said. (credit:Elena Raouna )

Kelsey Miller(07 of21)

The Refinery29 staff writer turned to intuitive eating, a practice where you learn to listen to your body's signals and eat accordingly, to help manage her body demons -- and is chronicling her journey on the Internet via the Anti-Diet Project. "The goal here is not fast weight loss," Miller told the Huffington Post in an email. "It's about creating a healthy, neutralized relationship with food and learning how to be fit and active every day -- but still have a life." (credit:Rockie Nolan)

Sheila Pree bright(08 of21)

Pree Bright's photo series "Plastic Bodies" examines how beauty ideals affect women, especially women of color. Her striking images combine doll parts with segments of human bodies, and the discord between the two is startling. She told HuffPost in an email:

American concepts of the “perfect female body” are clearly exemplified through commercialism, portraying “image as everything” and introducing trends that many spend hundreds of dollars to imitate. It is more common than ever that women are enlarging breasts with silicone, making short hair longer with synthetic hair weaves, covering natural nails with acrylic fill-ins, or perhaps replacing natural eyes with contacts.Even on magazine covers, graphic artists are airbrushing and manipulating photographs in software programs, making the image of a small waist and clear skin flawless. As a result, the female body becomes a replica of a doll, and the essence of natural beauty in popular American culture is replaced by fantasy.

(credit:Sheila Pree Bright)

Adele(09 of21)

Adele says she tries not to worry about her body image and doesn't want to be a "skinny minnie." "The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body -- only then should you try to change things about yourself." (credit:Getty)

Rebel Wilson(10 of21)

The actress took to Twitter to say, "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people." (credit:Facebook)

(11 of21)

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Source: The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, “Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources,” 2003.

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Source: Zucker NL, Womble LG, Williamson DA, et al. Protective factors for eating disorders in female college athletes. Eat Disorders 1999; 7: 207-218.Source: Sungot-Borgen, J. Torstveit, M.K. (2004) Prevalence of ED in Elite Athletes is Higher than in the General Population. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14(1), 25-32.

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Source: Dove Real Beauty Campaign, 2004.

(18 of21)

Source: The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, “Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources,” 2003.

(19 of21)

Source: Shisslak, C.M., Crago, M., & Estes, L.S. (1995). The Spectrum of Eating Disturbances. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18 (3): 209-219.

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Source: Collins, 1991.Source: Mellin et al., 1991.

(21 of21)

Source: Rader Programs

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uk lifestyle news Body Image women and body image Eating Disorders body confidence

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