| KEYNOTE PRESENTATION Shari Graydon Re-shaping Reality: Media Impact on Body Image and Self-Esteem From movies and magazines to music videos and reality-based TV, media messages about beauty ideals – female and male - abound. This image-based presentation explores the social impacts of unattainable physical ideals and discriminatory stereotypes, offering critical tools to resist and overcome their insidious influence. Historical context and media-effects research are woven into an accessible analysis that’s leavened with humour and made practical with concrete suggestions. |
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| KEYNOTE PRESENTATION Joe Kelly Dads and Daughters: How Fathers & Stepfathers Can Inspire, Support, and Understand Girls As the first man in a girl’s life, a dad or stepdad holds a unique position of influence—especially in a world that tells girls that men value appearance above all else. Drawing on his best-seller Dads and Daughters (which Mary Pipher calls “an essential aid for the fathers of adolescent girls”), Kelly will describe how to overcome the top five hurdles for fathers of daughters and how dads can help inoculate girls against body image distortion. The talk also includes ways that professionals can tap the power and potential of father-daughter relationships for prevention and treatment of body and eating disorders. |
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| PLENARY SESSION Glenn Gaesser Dieting: Is it Necessary to Lose Weight to be Healthy? The idea that a given body weight is a meaningful indicator of health, fitness, or prospects for longevity is one of our most firmly-held beliefs, and one of our most dubious propositions. Being “fat” may not be so bad and “thin” may not be so good. Dieting may give rise to a number of adverse health problems. Furthermore most “weight-related” health problems can be improved independently of weight loss. Fit and healthy bodies can come in many shapes and sizes. This workshop will examine the science of body weight and health, and present an evidenced-based rationale for the Health-at-Every-Size paradigm. |
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| CLOSING SESSION Carla Rice Exacting Beauty: Intensifying and diversifying female body projects and problems in the 21st century The body has become a compelling personal project for many girls coming of age in consumerist, individualist, and visual culture. Today, young western women worry about the image of their bodies, believing that physical appearance and ability shape self-esteem, social privileges, and life chances. At the same time, many see body modification as a means of self-making, a way to visibly author who they are in the world. In this talk, I explore how the female body has become a site of constraint and possibility among girls growing up in the west. For diverse young women, weight, skin, hair, breasts, and other physical features have become significant projects. I begin by detailing developments in mirrors, cosmetics, fashion, and film that have encouraged women’s discovery of their image and display of their body. Turning to contemporary beauty advertising and women’s magazines, I uncover ways in which freedom to play with appearance has been accompanied by an exacting beauty standard and a demanding dietary routine that affects increasing numbers of women. I draw on their personal accounts to show how cultural pressure to control the female body has intensified and diversified female body projects and problems at the beginning of the 21st century. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 1 Jan Moxey Lorayne Dunlop-Robertson The Journey and The Learning from Reflections of Me --The ETFO Body Image Project What happens when a teachers’ union decides to take the body image message into the elementary school classrooms of Ontario? Join us in looking at the process - from the partners on the original steering committee, to the research, curriculum development, instructor training and teacher training stages and finally into the classroom. We will present the strategies and challenges we experienced during the initial implementation of this whole school initiative. We’ll also show how we adapted feedback content and process to make successful changes to the program and meet our goals. This is an interactive session with opportunities to dialogue with the researcher, writers and trainers. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 2 Tomee Sojourner A Critical Exploration of Barriers to ‘Body Image’ Services and Resources from the Perspective of Women of Colour Struggling with their Body Image This workshop will explore current barriers to ‘body image’ services and resources from the diverse perspectives of women of colour, as a heterogeneous and complex group. Using an interactive and participatory format, participants will examine case studies and current research, and share their lived experiences in a welcoming environment. The objective of this workshop is to highlight the need for culturally appropriate services and resources for diverse groups of women of colour struggling with their body image. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 3 Mary Jane De Souza Gretchen Kerr Nancy Williams Understanding the Female Athlete Triad: Risk Factors, Diagnosis and Treatment Session Leader: Dr Mary Jane De Souza, University of Toronto The Female Athlete Triad is a medical condition that consists of three interrelated conditions: disordered eating, menstrual cycle disturbances and bone loss. These medical problems occur when an individual becomes energy-deficient, that is, fails to eat enough calories for her volume of exercise calories expended. In many athletes, sub-clinical eating behaviours associated with body image disturbances and a high drive for thinness can contribute to many athletes being in a state of chronic energy deficiency. In this symposium, factors underlying body image disturbances will be explored, and the mechanisms whereby energy deficiency causes menstrual disturbances and bone loss will be discussed. Finally, novel strategies to address Triad related medical sequelae will also be explored. 1. Perspectives on Body Image Disturbances related to the Triad (25 minutes) Dr. Gretchen Kerr, University of Toronto 2. Understanding the Underlying Physiological Causes of the Triad (25 minutes) Dr. Nancy Williams, Penn State University 3. Novel Innovations in Prevention, Management and Treatment of the Triad (25 minutes) Dr. Mary Jane De Souza and Dr. Lynda Mainwaring, University of Toronto 4. Questions and answers (15 minutes) |
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PARALLEL SESSION 4 Alana Lowe Leila Monib Juniper Glass Chantale McNairn Feeding or Starving the Hype: Society’s Gender Stereotyping on Youth and Its Negative Effect This presentation will include a brief description of Girls Unlimited, its activities and how the program addresses negative body image as a barrier to being physically active for female youth. The presentation will include testimonials from GURLs (Girls Unlimited Real Leaders) and Toronto Youth Cabinet members who are involved in our program. When looking at body image, we tend to blame the media and often forget how we perpetuate fatphobia and gender-based stereotyping. Placing people into gender-specific roles and boxes often degrades the way we see ourselves, binding us to double-standards while breeding unhealthy and often violent relationships we have with others. ReAct: Respect In Action is a youth peer-to-peer violence prevention program that addresses such issues like that in our workshops, delivered to youth and service providers across the GTA and parts of Ontario. Alana Lowe, ReAct Girls, Learning Through Action! POWER Camp National – Filles d’action (PCN-FA) is a national charitable organization that creates, inspires and supports social justice education for girls, young women and organizations across Canada. We have developed a unique, community- based feminist approach to building girls self-esteem through engaging them in community action. We assist community organizers to create safe, gender-specific spaces where girls learn to communicate, advocate for themselves and others, and actively engage in the world around them. Our flexible programming model is participatory, involving girls in planning, and respects the diversity of communities. Our methodology combines popular education workshops, discussions, physical movement, arts-based activities and games. PCN-FA’s national network of over 80 organizations engaged in girl-specific programs is a living laboratory of innovative grassroots initiatives. Our intention for this workshop is to: - share our approach to working with girls and young women - contextualize body image and self-esteem issues in a broader understanding of the complex realities of girls’ lives - give concrete examples from our Girls’ Club Program in Montreal - engage in a dialogue on how girls’ programming can positively impact girls’ self-esteem, self-awareness and identity through community action |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 5 Lorayne Dunlop-Robertson Dianne Thompson On what wall is your Health Curriculum ladder leaning? This session examines the historical underpinnings of the Physical and Health Education curriculum for Canada's provinces and territories. Participants in the workshop will use a body image awareness lens to critically examine current curriculum documents. Dianne and Lorayne will share some of their findings and recommendations. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 6 Lise Denis I Am More Than My Reflection! Young people, co-facilitators of this workshop, will share their personal challenges and successes with body image and self-esteem issues. Through their words, workshop participants will gain a deeper understanding of how for some youth, external messages about identities may become entangled with internal complexities resulting in destructive behaviours. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 7 Gretchen Kerr Jaci vanHeest Athletes’ and Coaches’ Perspectives on the Female Athlete Triad Session Leader: Dr Gretchen Kerr, University of Toronto Disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis represent the three interrelated clinical sequelae of the Female Athlete Triad. In this session competitive athletes, coaches and sport researchers will come together to explore athletes' experiences of the Triad, and the implications it can have on both an athlete's performance and well-being. Specifically, presenters will address the challenges they face in maintaining healthy body images and healthy eating behaviours within a culture that emphasizes performance and wining - sometimes at great costs. Challenges with the prevention of the Triad and the integration of sport science knowledge will be discussed with a particular emphasis on future directions for best practice in sport. 1. An athlete's story (10 min) 2. Coaches' perspective on the Female Athlete Triad: Lessons from experiences with athletes (20 minutes) Carl Georgevski, Linda Kiefer & Kristine Drakich, University of Toronto 3. An analysis of cultural contributors to athletes' experiences of the Triad (20 minutes) Ashley E. Stirling. M.Sc., University of Toronto 4. Swimming through the Triad: Implications of the Triad on health and performance (25 minutes) Jaci vanHeest, PhD., University of Connecticut 5. Panel and audience discussion (15 minutes) |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 8 Jill Fraleigh Karin Jasper It takes a village . . . Supporting teens who are in treatment for an eating disorder Eating disorders have wide ranging effects on teens’ lives. Ability to focus on schoolwork, energy level, social activities, sense of identity, family relationships, and mood are often affected. Further disruptions may be caused by the demands of treatment processes from inpatient admissions or intensive care to frequent visits to various health care professionals. The support systems (school, sports clubs, workplaces) a teen and her family are involved with can help or hinder recovery. During this workshop we will identify some of the challenges faced by a family and teen dealing with an eating disorder and some suggestions about how support systems can help promote best outcomes possible for these families. |
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PARALLEL SESSION 9 Ian Boulton will provide a compelling personal history of an eating disorder, the influences and path of his illnes to his recovery and activism. Jay Johnson will explore the contradictions between sport perceived as ‘healthy’, ‘positive’, and an active site for the construction o f ‘building healthy, strong bodies’ and the underbelly of our sporting culture, where discourse shifts to ‘damaging’, ‘problematic’ and ‘treacherous’. He will discuss the cultural traditions in sport which support and encourage patterns of disordered eating and distorted body image. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 10 Josee Jarry Self-esteem and the impact of the media promoted thin ideal on women’s body image Body image can be conceptualized as having three components: Attitudinal, perceptual, and behavioural. Body image attitude can be further divided in two sub-components consisting of satisfaction with one’s appearance and investment, which refers to the importance of appearance for self-definition. The negative impact of the media promoted thin ideal on women’s body image attitude has been extensively documented. However, not all women are equally affected and individual differences have been found to moderate the impact of the thin ideal. Surprisingly, self-esteem has received relatively little attention as a moderating factor. This session will review evidence supporting the role of low self-esteem as a risk factor in responsiveness to the thin ideal. Some of the presenter’s original research documenting how body image satisfaction and investment are affected by self-esteem threats combined with exposure to the thin ideal also will be presented. Implications for prevention and treatment will be discussed. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 11 Lynda Mainwaring Kate Hays Donna Krasnow Body Image, Self-Esteem and Disordered Eating in Sport and Dance Session Leader: Dr Lynda Mainwaring, Ph.D., c. Psych., University of Toronto Body Image, the way we view our bodies (our appearance), is a component of physical self-concept. Physical self-concept refers to what we think about our appearance, body shape, height or weight, strength, body fat, fitness, coordination, health, or sports/ activity competence. It is directly related to self-esteem or our feelings of self-worth, and associated with exercise behaviour. This session will explore psycho-social dimensions of body image disturbances in sport and dance, provide case examples and conclude with strategies to enhance self-esteem within the environments related to physical performance. The session is relevant to teachers, therapists, coaches, and parents. 1. Overview of body image and disordered eating in sport and dance (25 min) Dr. Lynda Mainwaring, Ph.D., c. Psych., University of Toronto & Donna Krasnow, MSc. 2. Disordered eating up-close and personal: case examples(25 min) Dr. Kate Hays, Ph.D., c. Psych., University of Toronto 3. How to build self-esteem through physical activity, exercise, sport and dance. (25 min) Dr. Lynda Mainwaring, Ph.D., c. Psych., University of Toronto & Donna Krasnow, MSc. 4. Panel and audience discussion |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 12 Julie Charlebois Sari Simkins Evelyn Vaccari Healthy Measures: A Public Health Approach to Promoting Healthy Weights in Toronto How to tackle the public health issue of obesity without exacerbating weight preoccupation has been the challenge for Toronto Public Health (TPH). TPH takes a primary prevention, health promotion approach that addresses the broader social, institutional and physical environments as well as individual behaviours. Consistent messaging, the role of influencers, the "teachable moment"and blended learning are key concepts that are reflected in our work. In this session, we will share some of our unique communication activities, facilitate discussion of personal and professional reflection on this issue, and show how it is then translated into the delivery of consistent messages to the community. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 13 Jan Moxey Discover Reflections of Me -- The ETFO Body Image Project Experience the training and explore the materials developed for Reflections of Me, The ETFO Body Image Project. Writers and trainers will lead the session and provide the audience with hands on experiences with the curriculum materials and training objects. An outline of training goals for this whole school initiative and how they were accomplished will be shared. Participants will examine excerpts from the curriculum, parent connections and the training video and interact with examples used in the training. Recent training activities about boys and body image and health at every size will be included. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 14 Margaret MacNeill LeAnne Petherick Ted Norman Media, Youth and Health Literacy Session Leader: Dr. Margaret MacNeill, University of Toronto This production of ‘fit’ and 'unfit' bodies by media and the variety of cultural messages resonating within youth culture are explored in this session. Presenters offer insights from fieldwork with a variety of youth populations in the GTA and Halton regions. Throughout the presentations, the audience will be invited to engage in health literacy and media literacy exercises. The session will be of interest to teachers, public health nurses and parents. 1. Media Literacy and Representations of In/Active Youth (25 minutes) Dr. Margaret MacNeill, University of Toronto 2. Healthism and Youth Constructions of Fitness (25 minutes) LeAnne Petherick, PhD candidate, EXS, University of Toronto 3. Boys, Bodies and Fatness: The Mediation of Stigma (25 minutes) Ted Norman, PhD Candidate, EXS, University of Toronto 4. Panel and audience discussion (15 minutes) |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 15 Nadia Bello Anna Penner The relationship between homophobia and body image How do homophobic and heterosexist attitudes shape the way women and girls, regardless of individual sexual orientation, see themselves and their bodies? Young women are not just dieting to fit a model of femininity, but a model of heterosexual femininity. Body image and self-esteem play direct roles in the relationship choices that women make for themselves and young women who are struggling with coming out face the dual pressure of having to fit into to idealized notions of both gender and sexual orientation in addition to other pressures. This workshop will explore the connections between body image, homophobia, and healthy relationships. We will mainly focus on the experiences and issues facing women, but will touch on how homophobic attitudes impact men as well. |
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| PARALLEL SESSION 16 Sandra Friedman Loving Yourself Girls Project This workshop will provide an overview of the Loving Yourself Girls Project to prevent eating disorders and to promote the concept of Health at Every Size. Participants will develop an understanding of the theoretical framework, the prevention strategies, the role of volunteer presenters in the schools, the skills taught to build resiliency in girls, and how these skills are being reinforced in the elementary schools by involved teachers and parents and in the community. Participants will learn how nine different communities implemented the project and what is needed to sustain it. |
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| RECEPTION Arabesque Dance Company Arabesque Dance Company has emerged as Canada’s leading Middle Eastern dance ensemble, promoting an art form that is often misunderstood, and yet, has persevered through two thousand years of persecution. The company has performed across Canada, the United States and the Middle East, often performing for royalty and heads of state, winning over audiences and gaining critical acclaim throughout its travels. Arabesque Dance Company has appeared at the 2nd International Conference of Middle Eastern Dance in California, Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York, the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, the John Basset Theatre at the Toronto Convention Centre, Hart House Theatre, Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend at Premiere Dance Theatre, and fFIDA (fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists), and from 1996 to 2004, at Dusk Dances and the Niagara Folk Arts Festival, to name a few. |