Personal Commentary Article

GOING SKIN DEEP
Section: In
By: TESSA WONG, ALFRED CHUA, RAJESH MISIR, MARK LIM, ERMA DZALIN
Publication: The Straits Times 05/03/2007
Page: 8,9
No. of words: 586

INDEPTH

THE BIG STORY THIS WEEK

TEENAGE GIRLS FACE PRESSURE MEETING IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS IN LOOKS. TESSA WONG FINDS OUT WHY BEING FIXATED ON PHYSICAL FLAWS IS ANYTHING BUT HEALTHY

Nor Hidayah Zainudin, 15, is planning to have plastic surgery when she is older.

"I don't like my nose, it's too big. I wish it was as sharp as that of Hollywood stars," said the Secondary 4 student at Jurong West Secondary School, who has hated her nose since she was a lot younger.

She is not the only one. Too tall, too fat, too big-haired, too flat-nosed – all are worries of teenagers unhappy with their appearance.

The girls, that is.

A recent survey by skincare and toiletries company Dove found that up to 60 per cent of Singapore's teenage girls are unhappy with the way they look and their weight.

The study also revealed that one in five young Singaporean women would consider getting plastic surgery to alter their appearance.

Before she goes under the knife, Hidayah pinches her nose often to make it sharper, a habit she developed when she was 13 after gradually realising that "sharper noses look more beautiful".

While social worker Carol Balhetchet points out that it is natural for teenagers to feel self-conscious, being fixated on flaws is not.

"It becomes dangerous when girls get obsessive and start having false ideas of how they're supposed to look," said Dr Balhetchet, who is the director of the Youth Development Centre at the Singapore Children's Society.

It may be down to the fact that teens are constantly under pressure to conform to an impossibly high standard in looks.

"Nowadays the media advertises perfection in looks and fashion, and this does impact on a young person's vulnerable self-esteem and confidence," Dr Balhetchet said.

She added: "Many get their benchmark for looks from well-known celebrities and personalities and like to compare themselves to them."

But the very celebrity icons featured feel just as insecure.

The rail-thin star of TV's The Simple Life, Nicole Richie, has become the dubious poster child for eating disorders, while pop princess Britney Spears recently shaved her head and got tattoos in response to the pressures of constant fame.

The fashion industry, often blamed for glorifying feather-weight models, is beginning to wake up.

Still, it took a tragedy to make that happen.

Last December, Italy and Spain banned too-thin models from fashion catwalks after several models died from eating disorders.

Models now must have a healthy body-mass index and must be certified healthy by a doctor before taking to the catwalks.

Here in Singapore, the prevalence of girls with low self-esteem about their bodies has led to the launch of at least two new campaigns in the past two years to combat the problem.

Last month, Dove launched its Dove Self-Esteem Fund, whose main programme BodyTalk teaches girls to deal with negative feelings about their appearance.

Professional trainers tour secondary schools islandwide, including many girls' schools, to teach realistic standards of beauty through slideshows, videos and talks.

Meanwhile, Youth Advolution for Health (YAH), a group started in 2005 by the Health Promotion Board, is a student-run organisation that promotes a healthy lifestyle, by encouraging anti-smoking and loving one's body through various events.

Said the chairman of YAH, Miss Celeste Phua: "It's important that avenues exist for teenagers to share their worries about their bodies, and learn more about doing the right things to stay healthy.

"What is most important is taking good care of your body, not feeling bad about how you look."



Additional reporting by Erma Dzalin, Alfred Chua, Rajesh Misir and Mark Lim