Last week I received and email from my health insurer, NIB, emailing me about breast implants and tummy tucks in Thailand. I was shocked. I took to social media to express my disappointment.
Women are routinely objectified in the media. Instead of being treated as whole people we are treated as the sum of our sexualised parts. Women are bombarded at every turn with messages pressuring us to fit into a narrow stereotype of what is considered acceptable by society. Girls are taught from a young age that their value lies in being hot, thin and sexy, rather than their character and what they can do.
Screenshot from the NIB website
The statistics on how many women hate their bodies is frightening. Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by the media.
Equally disturbing is the trend in young girls with eating disorders getting younger and younger. How are we supposed to raise happy, healthy and resilient children in a culture where 'health funds' are pushing cosmetic surgery onto everyday clients?
After we shared the information about NIB on our Facebook page many of our community joined the "Collective Shout' against it.
Now NIB are under investigation according to an article in The Courier Mail:
The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery is questioning whether NIB Options is in breach of federal legislation that bans ads offering discounted cosmetic surgeries and pressuring consumers to act before a deadline.
The ACCS has referred the matter to the Medical Board of Australia to seek clarification if the emails are illegal.
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