Tag: body image

"Mom, I’m so fat. I need to go on a diet," says your 10- (or 6 or 16) year-old daughter as she pinches at her belly. Your stomach drops. She’s too young to be feeling this way!

You are flooded by a tsunami wave of thoughts and emotions:

* It’s my fault!  I’ve disliked my body for so many years.
* It’s the media’s fault!  I shouldn’t let her watch so much TV.

There’s a common misconception out there that women lose their sexual drive after giving birth. I am here to tell you that this is just incorrect! From my personal experience as a mother and having worked in the field of sexual health for over 30 years, there is enough information out there to disprove this myth. As taboo as it might sound, moms want and need sex as much as any other woman!

There’s no denying that welcoming a new baby into the household is a major adjustment for couples, especially when it comes to intimacy.

Sex and relationship expert, Dr. Trina Read, is ready to answer your questions.

It’s bikini season and I’m really self-conscious about my body. What can I do to start liking my body?

It’s one thing to say we want to love our bodies and another to put a plan into action. For change to happen, you need to experience feeling different.

Have you ever noticed how Elmo always looks a little better in print: a little thinner, a little more buff and cut in the chest and abs? It’s the digital airbrush. Well, not really, but almost every picture you come across in print has been manipulated in some form, and the images your kids see can influence the way they see themselves and believe it or not, the issue of how ads are manipulated affects us all—especially our kids.

Body image issues—that are precursors to eating disorders—develop earlier than you think. In my dissertation 20 years ago, I looked at how kids from sixth grade through college were comparing various body images through media and found that in both boys and girls there were very defined ways of comparing their bodies to what they saw as acceptable in the media.