Body image: Do magazine images influence how you feel about your body?

Body image is always a hot topic in the magazine industry. In the past, magazines (specifically women’s magazines) have been under fire for featuring too much of one body ideal. And while the magazine industry has definitely included its share of super-skinny women, several magazines are now using a more diverse selection of women with real-looking bodies. (See Best Health‘s May 2010: ‘Love your body’ cover).

Marie Claire South Africa has joined the body image debate with a new initiative in their November issue. For this new type of ‘Love your body’ campaign, the magazine asked six different advertising agencies to design a poster to challenge society’s perception of what the perfect body looks like. What the advertisers came up with is interesting. Some of the more provocative images include a girl with numerous parts of her body blacked out and a tagline that reads: "If you were to get rid of everything you hated, what would be left?" Another poster features a deceased older woman on a morgue table, and asks: "When will you stop worrying about your appearance?" My favourite of the bunch (pictured above) is a collage-like collection of 12 images, each of a different body part and tagged with a word, which, strung together, reads: "Which part of your body would the people who love you change? Love yourself like those who love you."

What do you think of this initiative? Do images such as these make a difference in how you feel about your body?

Related:
‘ Quiz: Do you have a healthy body image?
‘ How to boost your self-esteem
‘ 6 reasons to love your body