Kick and rec from a former ballerina that modeled as a teenager that was Mia for 13 years. If there are any women at DU that are struggling right now - send me a PM . . . I've been in that hell. I'm a safe place to land.

Does it end today? If so, I'm really bummed at missing the chance to promote it in my classes. I see so many examples of girls teetering on the edge of eating disorders in my school, and it is really scary. My school district has added a school psychologist to the nurse and doctor we already had, simply because the main reason for dropping out isn't learning disabilities anymore, it's mental illnesses. They're under so much pressure when it comes to looks - when I grew up, we inherited clothes, and the fashion in the 80s was the bigger clothes, the better, so go borrow your father's shirts. Their fashion is figure-hugging to the nth degree, and before that it was the bare midriff for 5 years. No way of not being on display and still be fashionable these days.

When I showed the trailer to Jean Kilbourne's documentary 'Killing us softly 4' in one of my classes, it became clear that they didn't realize that the models they see everywhere were photoshopped beyond anorexia, and that they weren't normal. I wish I could get a hold of a full version of the documentary to show in class - I think it is out on dvd, but I don't know whether it is in my zone.

Or rather, winter break, sorta - we're apparently meant to be plowing the fields, as the absolute storm outside clearly shows. I need to mark mark it in my calendar for next year, then. And you don't necessarily need to raise awareness only in the week dedicated to it, anyway.

Thanks for this post.

So many have been there or are still fighting this battle.

K&R