You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.

Something that I though a lot about when I was pregnant and think even more about now is how in the world I am going to help Harper have a healthy self image. I think this is one of the biggest and most difficult tasks that moms of daughters have. It seems like the whole world is working against us on this one. Case in point - below is a picture from a recent Ralph Lauren ad campaign.

Seriously? I'm pretty sure that the laws of physics would not allow this air brushed form to actually exist in nature. When asked to comment on it, Ralph's reps gave this statement:

"For over 42 years, we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately."

I think that all of the retouching and airbrushing that magazines and ad agencies do is absolutely ridiculous. French legislators feels the same way and are in the process of drafting a law that would require labels to be added to airbrushed photos. You can read more about that here.

Until our culture decides to change, what are some things that we can do to help our daughters (and ourselves) have realistic and healthy self images? Any thoughts?