Teens, Body Image & Mannequins

I’d love for you to listen up today as I have heard of a very inspiring new trend.

If you look at most mannequins in stores across the United States you will clearly note that they have unusually tiny but tall bodies. I have always been concerned about the impact of our mannequins on the body image and self-esteem of teenage girls and their mothers. Well, lo and behold today I learned that Sweden has been displaying curvy mannequins in at least one store and women around the world are delighted.

Now tell me: Why can’t we, in the U.S., lobby for mannequins with fuller and more realistic measurements? It might just make our girls feel better about their bodies. The mannequins that we have now are at least partly to blame for many of our teen girls’ obsession with the thigh gap and their dieting and exercising strenuously so that their thighs don’t touch.

What do you think, mothers and fathers?