Courtney Cox revealed how she really feels about her body last week on The Tonight Show. She is making appearances on talk shows for the release of her new show, Cougar Town which begins this week. One has to admire that she is a woman who continues to work hard and reinvent herself. She's evolved from Monica on Friends to a host of other projects.
In Cox's interview with O'Brien, she discussed a scene from Cougar Town that many people, particularly women, can identify with. Viewers will see Cox scantily clothed and evaluating herself in the mirror. Her character judges herself harshly and picks apart her body. She laments about the parts she feels haven't aged well. Who hasn't done this same thing? Unfortunately, approximately 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance (Smolak, 1996).
Kudos to Cox for being brave enough to bare her body on camera without the luxury of any airbrushing. She leaves herself open to criticism and media picking her body apart ruthlessly. She said that people can't see that she has a stomach under her dress which may not be as perfect as people think or expect from a celebrity mom. This is a good lesson. Even a drop dead gorgeous movie star like Courtney Cox is human. She is vulnerable to the same insecurities everyone else has. It doesn't matter what you look like. The term "body image" is how you see yourself, not how other people view you.
For example, Courtney said that she dislikes the skin on her elbows. She revealed how unhappy she is about the folds, a tell-tale sign of aging. Elbow skin? Not the typical body part that most people are concerned about. Courtney apologized and recognized that this will likely cause other people to obsess about their elbows. I appreciated the acknowledgment of her power to influence the way women see themselves, whether she likes it or not. It must be a lot of pressure for a woman like Courtney Cox to always have to be very mindful of the way she discusses her body.
I was inspired to write this article when I walked into a public bathroom the next morning and spied two women, who appeared to be friends, closely evaluating their elbows in the mirror. The women were pinching their elbows and comparing how much skin they could pull. I didn't even have to ask what they watched on T.V. last night. Courtney's prediction was spot on.
Many psychological studies have investigated the impact of the media on body image. In fact, a study in the May 2009 journal Sex Roles used the characters of Friends (including Courtney Cox) to demonstrate that watching thin women on T.V. can negatively impact satisfaction with one's own appearance.* How men and women are portrayed on T.V does effect the way we evaluate ourselves and our body image.
The term "cougar" has many positive and negative connotations for women. On one hand, a cougar, a woman who pursues younger men, is someone who embraces her sexuality and power much like her male counterparts. On the other hand, a cougar is sometimes a negative term. They are often seen as women who need younger men to validate them or fix a self-esteem that is crumbling with age. Regardless of how you feel about this term, it's likely that this show will also impact the way women see themselves. Through her show, Courtney Cox has a tremendous opportunity to portray older women as sexy and to positively influence the way women feel about their bodies.
The secret to feeling younger and good about yourself? I suspect that Courtney Cox has already found it. Continue to reinvent yourself. Work hard. Focus on the parts of your body you like and don't let your big and little insecurities(like imperfect elbows) get in the way of feeling sexy, no matter how old you are.
50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food www.eatingmindfully.com or
www.psychologytoday.com
Walk with me on October 11th in New York City to raise money for the National Eating Disorder Association. See http://www.firstgiving.com/susanalbers
*The Influence of Television Programs on Appearance Satisfaction: Making and Mitigating Social Comparisons to Friends May 2009 journal Sex Roles.
