Today I’m sharing my first real VLOG in a new series in which I respond to reader questions. I thought it was appropriate to start with one of the questions that I get most often: Does the media cause eating disorders? Check out my thoughts and don’t forget to share you own in the comments below!

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Do you have a burning question you would like answered on NTS? Email me confidentially at nourishingthesoulblog@gmail.com and I might answer it on the blog. Just as a reminder, the opinions expressed on this site do not constitute advice to or treatment of any individual. If you are in crisis or in need of assistance with a serious mental health issue, please be sure to contact a health professional in your area.

Ever pick up the latest issue of Vogue and feel just a little bit, well… underdressed? Or read Shape and noticed your self-esteem dropping in direct correlation with the number miles you did not run today? Ever peruse Good Housekeeping and wonder just how other women seem to have time to clean their gutters, plan a dinner party for twelve, teach a yoga class, negotiate a raise at work, and make mad, passionate love to their husbands, all before getting in bed promptly at ten o’clock? Yeah, me too.

As a bit of an experiment, I took a peek at some of the latest issues of the most popular women’s magazines, just to find out exactly how I should be spending my time. With circulations nearing seven million, one would imagine that the information therein would be of the absolute highest quality, right? What better source to determine just how to plan my day! Here’s a rundown of what’s on my magazine-inspired agenda:

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I would start my morning by working to make my eyes as big, bright, and sexy as possible. I’ll need to devote at least twenty minutes to follow the recommended routine applying moisturizer, high-end eye cream, brightening shadow, special liner, and $65 mascara on my Latisse-enhanced lashes. No one likes small, dull, unsexy eyes, right? Psssh……

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I’d then move on to finding the perfect jeans for my bum while I apply the rest of my make-up for flawless skin. If I started to experienced any body anxiety about living up to these unattainable ideals, I’d just use some of the techniques I learned in… oh, wow… the same magazine. Now how can that be….

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After heading to my totally fabulous 9-5er, checking emails and sipping my non-fat latte, I’d start wondering if perhaps I shouldn’t do something more meaningful with my life, like returning to school to free my brother from prison. I start googling online LSAT prep courses…

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After work I’d head to the gym to take off what I packed on and develop some flat, sexy, abs! Just because I lost weight while eating out at lunch doesn’t mean my abs are going to be toned enough to make good sex great. All that core work will definitely pay off in the bedroom later…

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After my intense workout, I’m starvinnnng and so whip up shortcut dinner of portabella mushroom stroganoff. I used to think frozen pizza was sufficient, but now that I’m supposed to eat organic, vegan, raw, clean, and 100% taste-free, I’ve had to make some changes.

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Once the dishes are washed, I can reflect on my long day of primping, working, exercising, and meal planning. And I realize I’m totally in the mood for bad girl sex, of course. Who cares if I’m more Natalie Portman than Kim Kardashian?

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But before I corner my partner, I start wondering, “how many men is too many?” Struck by the perpetual female conundrum – to be a prude or a whore – I start tallying… And anxiety ensues. Maybe I’ll hold off on the midnight romp for another night. Instead, I’ll just read about the latest diet that, while reportedly dangerous, really works. I mean, they say it does on the cover, right?

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Okay, so I hope that we can all have a little chuckle. I don’t hate these magazines, nor do I think that they don’t often have super helpful tips (e.g. saving on grocery bills), important health news (Glamour got me to finally make SPF a priority), and inspiring stories (some of these cover girls are rock stars! – in the coolest sense of the word).

But it’s all too easy for the tips and advice to make us feel like we can’t measure up. Maybe you just can’t afford that $400 handbag or don’t have time for a daily yoga lesson. Hey, It’s OK! It doesn’t mean you’re not totally amazing.

If magazines are getting you down, it may be time to cut them up and, say, make a beautiful vision board. Decide to be your own cover girl and decide on all the headlines you’d want on the magazine of your life. [FYI: You’ll see no mention of flat abs or long lashes on mine!].

How would you want your headlines to read?

As if the media standards for looking youthful and thin weren’t absurd enough, apparently adult women are now expected not only look prepubescent, but Pre-K as well.

Or so one might assume from a recent spread in Vogue Paris, a notoriously racy and boundary-pushing publication, that featured girls age six donning Valentino gowns, dripping with jewels, painted with heavy make-up, and sporting satin bras.

The December fashion piece was entitled “Cadeaux” (or “Gifts”, for those who need to brush up on high school French) and featured girls who should be spending time reading adventure stories or playing kickball lounging on leopard-print sofas giving their most come-hither stares and reapplying their wine-colored lipstick with manicured nails. In one particularly unseemly photograph, a bejeweled youngster is featured with a toothbrush in her mouth. If this was Parents magazine, I’d applaud the promotion of dental hygiene. But this is Vogue, and there is nothing that doesn’t ooze with sex in this publication.

Tom Ford, fashion icon, guest edited the issue; however, it seems to be Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief, who’s taking the heat. Actually, make that former editor-in-chief, as the woman who told reporters that she tries to do “something every month that is… not politically correct,” has “stepped down,” while rumors fly.

Fortunately, or so I hope, most women will recognize not only the ludicrousness of this 15-page spread, but also the potential danger that exists in portraying girls in this way.

So, what’s wrong with playing a little dress-up?

Portraying girls in adult apparel and situations and portraying adult women as young girls (à la Britney Spears sucking on a lollipop in a Catholic school girl uniform) reinforces the sexualization of youth, something that harms both girls and society.

In fact, the American Psychological Association created a Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls and found that these media, products, and societal practices are significantly harming the healthy development of young girls. Dr Eileen Zurbriggen, Chair of the APA Task Force, stated unequivocally, “We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development.”

Messages like these in Vogue are sent to young girls during a critical period of identity development. They implicitly convey a message of objectification wherein the girls become objects of adoration for ideals of beauty and sexuality. Girls then internalize these messages and develop shame and fear around their bodies, which results in things like anxiety, eating disorders, depression, and impaired sexual development.

And the effects don’t end there. Society suffers as well, with the sexualization of girls being linked to sexist attitudes, poorer relationships between men and women, and sexual harassment. And consider this: If a young girl is too caught up with shame and fear about her appearance to do things like raise her hand in class or join the science club, we as a society lose out on enormous intellectual and leadership potential that could push us forward.

So while little girls playing in mommy’s clothes and make-up may seem benign, it’s not. Vogue Paris is doing a disservice not only to little girls everywhere, but to all us.

What are your reactions?

The December issue of Cosmopolitan screams “Drop a dress size by tonight.”

Really Cosmo?

And how I am going to do that?

By engaging in unhealthy, disordered eating behaviors? By over-exercising, purging, starving, or abusing medications? Eating only carrot broth or “health foods”?

I assume the article inside suggests something much less harmful; however, I can only hope that is the case given that I decided against spending my hard earned money on a magazine where the top priority is to find a new party dress (mine from last year will do just fine, thank you!).

Perhaps it suggests wearing Spanx or drinking more water; sometimes these types of flashy headlines do promote more benign ideas. However, what I would suggest is that the headline itself is misleading at best, but dangerous regardless.

Promoting the idea that a dress size can be dropped in a matter of hours or even days is setting consumers up for more than disappointment. It’s also implicitly promoting unhealthy means of achieving rapid weight loss. Because the fact of the matter is that in my experience, there is no healthy way to lose weight fast. In fact, in my experience, body changes that are slow, steady, and prompted by a deep and abiding love for one’s self are the only healthy kind.

Beyond that, screaming about dropping a dress size to check-out line passers-by also implies that dropping a dress size is something they need to do. I’m minding my own business, piling my purchases on the conveyor belt, checking out the latest Orbitz flavors, and BAM!, I’m presented with the idea of dropping a dress size by tonight.

Hmmm, I think (in this facetious scenario), I wonder if I should drop a dress size. Maybe that black number would look a little better a few pounds lighter… Oh shoot, that party is tonight! Whatever will I do?

This is of course slightly exaggerated, but it’s not far off from the mental process that marketers are aiming for when we’re presented with these types of media messages. The answer they are looking for, of course, is: “Oh, I’ll buy this magazine and learn how!” or “I’ll purchase this diet aide and be happy!” or “I’ll stop by that gym down the street and sign up for more classes!”

But what if, just maybe, we didn’t believe the hype? What if we didn’t buy into someone else implying that we need to lose weight or drop a clothing size?

What would that be like?