Speaker lectures on women's health, displays misperceptions in media

By: Shaun Boutwell

Posted: 3/24/05

03/24/05 - Judy Norsigian, co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves, presented a lecture to about 75 people last night in White Hall at the University of Rhode Island about women's health education, advertising and the media.

Norsigian's lecture, "The Media and Women's Health: Sorting Fact from Fiction," marked the 25th anniversary of the Women's Studies Program at URI.

"We don't often tune into the ways in which we get manipulated," Norsigian said. "And that is why I think media literacy is so important."

Norsigian first talked about the origins of Our Bodies Ourselves, a nonprofit, public interest women's health education, advocacy and consulting organization. Norsigian helped start the group in the early 1970s following a women's liberation workshop held at Emmanuel College in Boston.

"These were college educated women who knew nothing about women," Norsigian said.

They soon made it their goal to gather as much information about women's health and bodies as possible, which eventually led to the best-selling first edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves in 1973.

Norsigian devoted a significant amount of time discussing the effects of falsely marketed drugs toward women.

"Right now we are facing a number of drugs that are being marketed misleadingly," she said. "The risks we assume are there may not be there."

Norsigian urged people to be cautious when reading about actresses and models that promote certain drugs or hormones as their "beauty secrets" in magazine articles because they are often paid spokespersons for the product.

In regards to the issue of false advertising, Norsigian said, "The problem with this whole issue is that we don't discern it."

She mentioned many organizations nationwide were upset over some of the ads, including one group in particular that tried to get them banned.

"We were surprised because they are conservative," Norsigian said. "But they looked at the evidence and said, 'This is not consumer educated. The benefits are exaggerated and the risks are downplayed.'"

Norsigian discussed the dangers of silicon use for breast implants and the influence of reality shows emphasizing the necessity for physical attractiveness.

"Extreme Makeover and The Swan ... all of these shows suggest you aren't good enough and you need to change your bodies," she said.

Norsigian stated about 90 percent of breast implants are used for augmentation and cosmetic appearance, while only 10 percent were because of reconstruction.

"[Breast implants are] a popular graduation present for high school and college students," she said. "When I first heard this I thought, this is crazy. But when I found out it was true, I then asked if these young girls knew what they were doing."

Leaking silicone can be a dangerous side effect to breast implants, Norsigian said. The Food and Drug Administration has also done studies that show women who have them done are at a higher risk for autoimmune diseases.

In regards to botox, Norsigian said, "I think we are so embedded in a youth-worshipping culture, there's almost no way to escape it."

"The way we all look is actually pretty good," she said. "We just have to find someone who appreciates it."

Norsigian also answered questions about breast-feeding and its relation to lower risks of breast cancer. She also addressed female genital mutilation and emergency contraceptives.

At the end of her talk, Norsigian urged the crowd to come down to the front of the auditorium to look at a PowerPoint presentation, originally meant to be a visual aid for her lecture, or take an issue of Teen Voices magazine.

Norsigian said Teen Voices was a positive publication because it "encourages teenage girls that they are more than just a pretty face."