Name: Ava Bee Masterson

Social Justice Group: 2023-2024, Beauty Standards and the Media

Date of Fieldwork: January 30, 2024

Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Carrie Wofsy

Type of Fieldwork: [69]

What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?:

My group met with Carrie Wofsy on Facetime, a therapist for adolescents with eating disorders or body dysmorphia. We discussed the causes of eating disorders and the effect social media has on our self-image. We discussed how editing the photos we put out into the media enforces an impossible standard that requires altering our appearance in some way, like an eating disorder. It’s not only the media that pushes this on people, it’s the people around you, that affect your opinions so strongly. If you hear someone talking about your food intake, or theirs, or talking poorly about someone’s appearance, that can really change your self-perception.
Carrie told us limiting the amount of time we spend consuming media can help us mentally, and stop us from spiraling into body dysmorphia. Everywhere you look beauty standards are pushed onto you, but it’s up to you to allow them to affect you. Eating disorders are a huge problem, and you might know someone struggling with one. We should all take time out of our day to think about what we say and how it could negatively affect someone. I know it sounds cliche but it’s what you can do to save lives.
Thank you Carrie for your time.