European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Jane e. Brody Newyork times one of ivly most Beauli Lul friends is hardly. What our society would Call a classic Beauty. Al 5 feet 4 inches Lall and 120 to 125 pounds she is absolutely average statistically speaking. Clearly she is not Centrefold material her belly protrudes a bit. Her Waist and neck arc somewhat foreshortened her thighs Are slightly flabby and her Faco is round but lacks the delicacy of a Cherub. Yet nearly All who know her see her As Beautiful Why because she sees herself As an attractive woman who looks Good Lor her 40 years. She is pleased with her physical Persona and in snows in How she walks talks dresses laughs and listens. Her dazzling smile projects Beauty from the inside out. -. Millions of americans especially the majority of women who View their physical being Wilh disdain even disgust could learn a Tot from my Friend and irom the psychologists who try to help people end their self loathing and acquire a healthy body image. Far too Many women Aro burdened by a poor body image which can impair hair social and professional Success and their pm Olenti and physical health As veil _ ii is lha rare woman who looks admiringly Al Hersell in the minor and it is lha rare woman who acc cps a compliment about her appearance with a smile and a thank you rather than making some excuse like it s just this dross or i be still got to lose live  in a Survey conducted by shape Magazine fast year. Three fourths of Tho nearly 9.000 women who responded said shape and weight were the most important actors determining their feelings about heir bodies. Twelve per con of the respondents said they were extremely dissatisfied Wilh their bodies 16 percent were quite dissatisfied and 25 percent were somewhat dissatisfied. Whal the women liked least and most wanted to change were their highs hips buttocks stomachs and wails.-., or. Linda Devillers. A psychologist and or. Ronald m. Podell a psychiatrist Bath of whom practice in los Angeles concluded from the findings that despite the women s movement Many women still believe that they have to look Good to be worthwhile.". Or. Marcia Germaine Hutchinson a psychologist in Sherborn mass., who conducts body image workshops said it is the rare woman today who has a healthy body image who is not actively doing Battle with her  she estimates that 65 percent of women do not like their bodies and said a lot of women who Are very Beautiful by everyone else s standards Are nonetheless dissatisfied Wilh their  the problem a most severe for women because most men in our culture Are taught that their Worth is measured by their accomplishments Hutchinson said. But women Are Mora often socialized to believe that physical attractiveness determines their social value. She predicted that poor body image will become an increasing problem Lor men As our culture gets More and More image orianted.". In her Book.  soon image learning to Lave the body you have Hutchinson noted thai the inability to feel at Home in our bodies can make life miserable on every front.". We Are so Busy obsessing Over what is wrong with us whether it s our weight disproportion wrinkles pimples excess hair or functional limitations that we fail to develop our potential As human beings she wrote. In an interview she said that people Wilh a poor body image Are so self critical and fearful of rejection thai they often shy away from social situations intimate relationships career opportunities and personal challenges. They May also impair their physical health through self contempt and drastic measures to reshape their bodies. / i we lend to look at health irom Tho perspective of what we at and How to exercise but not in terms of.  Hutchinson said. Our lifestyle can look wonderful on the surface but h it in lusted by self con Empl ii will no Breed health.". Hutchinson is also struck by the wasted human Energy thai results from poor body image. She says women could More constructively use the time and Energy spent on trying to remake themselves physically to develop their creative and intellectual abilities which in turn could give them a More lasting sense of self Worth than the usually elusive Goat of an. Idea body. A y. Obviously our culture bombards women with images of an Ideal body that is virtually unattainable. The Ideal woman is tall and slim and free of flab and softness weighing 10 to 15 pounds less than what is feasible for All but about 1 percent of the population. Fitness and muscularity have recently been added to the equation introducing a tyrannical new Ideal that May also elude the majority of women Hutchinson said. Writing in the Melpomene journal a research newsletter on women s health issues published in Minneapolis Teri Vlebel Chavis. A therapist in St. Paul minn., said since we depend on others to provide confirmation of who we Are our body image As we grow up is based on the reflected appraisals of others parents and Peers play a major role in molding body a s3 w .7 Foj " 11 lift of if of cum 0crr  women athletes such As Camplon swimmer Janet Evans Are still lighting the Battle for Equality. Page 14 the stars and stripes by Steve Springer los Angeles times Janet Evans slices through the water and America cheers. Florence Griffith Joyner race across the television screen and Madiso Avenue applauds. Female athletes Are in. They have become big Lime and big Bucks. But go beyond the stars of the olympic games women s Tennis and to ome extent women s Golf and you la find that no truce has been called in the Battle for Equality. I " for female athletes in the United Stales Tho struggles on the Field have always paled in comparison to Tho struggle to simply get on the Field. The important thing was t whether they won w lost but rather whether. They even got a Chance to play the game. Tifilo in of the education act amendments passed by Congress in 1972, bars sexual discrimination in educational programs. In the ensuing years that Promise has been realized to a Large extent in  sports wore women Are playing More sports in front of More spectators than Ever before the programs Are better funded and better received. Women who had to Battle for their rights As. Undergraduate alleles now oversee huge programs that Are taken Lor granted by today s female competitors. Title in was Learod. Opposed severely limited by a 1984 11,3. Supreme court decision and then reinstated several months ago by new legislation. And still says Chris Grant director of women s athletics Al the University of Iowa not one University in the country can say it is treating men arid women in a comparable fashion except perhaps. Temple University in Philadelphia. Officials at thai school reached whal is considered by wednesday no