New Year's resolutions can be unreasonable

I hate going to CVS and seeing all of the magazines about the "best diets to start off the new year" and celebrities dropping 10 pounds with ease. While I am personally accustomed to the way the media tries to twist around females' perceptions of themselves, it still sickens me that this madness continues to sell.

I was on the T today when I found an article in the Opinions section of the Boston Globe about body consciousness, and more specifically, a 5% tax that some were trying to get Congress to impose on cosmetic surgery.

It says: "Indeed a proposal in the Senate version of the healthcare bill to impose a 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery was vociferously opposed not just by the nip-tuck industry, but by women's groups who argued that Botox and liposuction are important tools to help them level the playing field with men.

"To be fair, NOW stated that it was not endorsing cosmetic surgery and vowed to continue fighting unrealistic images of female beauty in society. But the underlying message that cosmetic surgery lets women control their own bodies is creepily reminiscent of what teenage girls often say to explain anorexia or other eating disorders: that it gives them a sense of control.

"Let’s hope that obsessing over body image doesn’t become a new bonding experience across the generations. It will only lead to more guilt and anxiety - the very emotions that erode self-esteem and send women chasing after ever more impossible goals in the first place. Instead, we could all try to understand that true happiness comes from being in harmony with conditions as they actually are. It’s the healthiest thing we can do in the New Year - if not for ourselves, for our daughters."

What are your resolutions for the New Year? Why are they your resolutions?

Renee Loth. "Hey, does this facelift make me look fat?" The Boston Globe. 8 Jan 2010.