No Body’s Perfect
I was thrilled to contribute in a very small way to the documentary No Body’s Perfect to be screened 10th November BBC4 at 9pm
The promotion of diverse appearance (apart from being a regular lecture topic of mine) is at last becoming a more pressing activity for broadcasters and advertisers' alike.
Why? Because studies show our feelings of self-worth are affected by unrealistic images promoting unachievable bodies. We need to see difference and identify with different ways of presenting appearance.
Director of No Body's Perfect - Ian Denyer and I have conversations about this subject all the time, given that we are husband and wife and so the opportunity to influence the script as it was being written in my capacity as a body image activist and psychology graduate, was not to be missed.
No Body's Perfect presented by Alison Lapper is a superbly moving story of the journey taken by four people, unhappy with their image, towards some kind of acceptance of their inner and outer exquisiteness using the medium of photography as a healing influence. Pictured right is Carly an alopecia sufferer, who has previously struggled to leave the house without full make up and a wig on.
We see international photographer Rankin use his camera as a tool for good mental health and Alison Lapper engage with true empathy and knowledge about the struggles our subjects and indeed so many of us experience when we engage with our appearance. The Healing Image reveals an opportunity for all image makers to be part of the solution not the problem.
Watch it.
David lives with facial difference
Damian has spent 30 years trying to come to terms with his body image
Alannah has Body Dysmorphic Disorder which has seriously impacted on her mental health