SparkPeople Rant >_
So, I have a SparkPeople account - have had for four years now, actually - and every now and then (usually on a whim) I'll poke it, and see what falls out.
Today what fell out was this quiz about body image.
Some of the questions are... okay, but almost none of them had an answer that was anything close to what I actually think/feel. For instance, the third question regards 'flipping though beauty magazines,' and there was no 'Like I ever touch those wastes of wood pulp' or similiar option. And then the fifth question, oy.
True or False: I believe that others would like me more if I looked differently.
I answered True, because it r a fact i nowz it from my lerningz. I'm pretty, but my visual presentation is decidedly nonstandard. I frequently have an abnormal or unnatural colour of hair, I wear men's trousers and boots, I have nerd glasses, slightly crooked teeth that I never intend to 'fix,' I almost never wear makeup (and when I do it involves nonstandard applications and colours), and my idea of 'dressing up' involves either a three-piece suit and polishing my DMs, steampunk, or gothpunk.
Or sometimes being a pretty pretty princess like I'm six again or something.
The point of it is, I know that if I looked more 'normal' - if my appearance conformed to what was expected of a twenty-something female - more people would have a more positive reaction to me.
The real question is, do I care? (Hint: the answer is NO.)
The very next question should have been, "Regardless of how you answered above, do you care?" (Y/N/Maybe/Anteater ...there should always be a nonsense answer.) Of course, it wasn't, and so I got dinged on my body image, because I know people would like me better if I looked different.
I generally don't give a crap what other people think of the way I look, or about me in general. What friends adn family think, sure, that matters; I don't want my mom or my best friend to have a low opinion with me. (Fortunately, my mom's appearance 'standards' involve things that are covered by basic hygiene needed to stay healthy.)
The worst part is that the poll seems to assume that those taking it care what other people think; not all of us do, but it is still important to have a positive - or at least neutral - body image.
The options under the 'why do you exercise' question were equally non-applicable, but not nearly as annoying as the T/F one. It's just. Yeah.
REALLY ANNOYING.
So, I have what society at large would deem an abnormal appearance, and am aware of that fact, and that means I have a negative body image? Really? I want to flail my arms at the creator of that quiz, and point out all of its fail. ALL THE FAIL.
Argh. >_<