Woman stops looking into mirrors for one year
April Cubbage, Asst Professor Sociology
Does the idea of not looking into a mirror for one full year intrigue you? That is exactly what Kjerstin Gruys, Cultural Sociologist, did and then wrote a book about it called, “Mirror, Mirror off the Wall,” due to be published in May 2013.
Gruys, a recovering anorexic, lectures on body image issues – and not just for women, but men as well. All who are interested can hear her speak on November 28 at 6 p.m. in SSC 212.
The purpose in the “no-mirrors” exercise was to improve her life and self-image by taking a rest from looking at her physical self on a daily basis as well as highlight the American obsession with beauty.
Gruys completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University in 2004, with a B.A. in Sociology, and a Certificate in The Study of Women and Gender. She is now a doctoral candidate at UCLA and has been featured on both NPR and 20/20.
Approximately 70 million people struggle with anorexia and/or bulimia and “24 million of those are in the United States,” April Cubbage, Chair, Women’s and Gender Studies Department said.
Subjects for this lecture include:
– the author’s experience going without mirrors for 365 days, including on her wedding day
– a workshop on how media shapes body image, and how to resist harmful media messages
– Kjerstin will also read a passage from her forthcoming book, Mirror Mirror off the Wall
Gruys hopes that her talk will “encourage students to take action in their own lives to conquer body image issues that may be holding them back.”
April Cubbage, Assistant Professor, Sociology said, “80% of 10 year olds have been on a diet and the ideal keeps getting thinner.” That is one of the reasons Cubbage feels that students at Saddleback should take full advantage of the education that is available to them outside of class curriculum. “Our students are lucky to have the funding for these kinds of speakers,” Cubbage said.
For further information, contact April Cubbage at [email protected]
You can find Gruys‘ blog at http://www.ayearwithoutmirrors.com/
If you want a copy of her course GE 72C Syllabus seminar on “Gender, Appearance, and Social Inequality,” go to http://www.ayearwithoutmirrors.com/p/course-syllabus.html
You can find a copy of The Rules to this exercise here http://www.ayearwithoutmirrors.com/p/rules.html