A 2004 study of women and self-image at Harvard University determined that only 2 percent of women in the study thought of themselves as “beautiful.” According to Delta Delta Delta Vice President of Public Relations Madison Krall, that means only 32 women on Pepperdine’s campus view themselves as “beautiful.”
Beginning this Monday, Pepperdine’s Delta Delta Delta sorority chapter is teaming up with Reflections Body Image Program to launch Pepperdine’s first year of involvement in the nation-wide campaign “Fat Free Talk Week,” which will challenge students on campus to change their conversational topics to ones about “healthy ideals” rather than a societal “ideal.”
“Fat talk is any statement made in our everyday conversations that contribute to girls’ dissatisfaction with their bodies,” Krall said. “The purpose [of this week] is to promote positive body image.”
According to Krall, the goal of the campaign on campus is “to inform girls that they can unknowingly have a detrimental effect on others, often those they care for, simply through their word choice and conversation.” The campaign is about making girls feel good about themselves, and informing all those on campus about the consequences that come with using “fat talk.”
“It’s time we take control over our own destinies, our own bodies, and our own inner dialogues,” Krall quoted from endfattalk.org.
Signs will be posted all over campus labeled “Fat Talk-Free Zone,” which will encourage students to think and speak about their bodies in a new light. Krall said the sorority hopes the campaign will motivate people who have finished working out to say that they feel good about themselves — not because they are burning calories, but because they are refreshing their bodies.
In honor of Fat Talk Free Talk week, a women-only convocation will be held Thursday, Oct. 20, in the Pendleton Learning Center (PLC 125) at 5 p.m. The discussion will highlight the five types of fat talk and evaluate how spiritual values are involved in dealing with self-worth issues.
“Our efforts show our commitment to the [sorority’s] founder,” Krall said, adding that the founder of Delta Delta Delta wanted women to celebrate their inner character. “We are on a small campus, but this movement can create a change in someone’s life.”
PLC 125 can hold 280 people, so Krall and other Delta Delta Delta members are hoping to have a room full of 280 women attending Thursday’s convocation presentation.
“We are all excited that we can help and take the pledge [to promote Fat Talk Free Week] for the first time,” Krall said on behalf of the sorority.