H.I.P.S. in the Press
How to Replace Negative Self-Talk with Positive Affirmations
Monroe Patch, April 2011
Karen Kovacs Dydzuhn
Although the weather is not quite warm enough for sun bathing, bathing suit season is just around the corner. For many women and men, this is a time to begin obsessing about their weight and what their bodies look like. Let's face it, pummeled by media images depicting perfect looking models with six-pack abs and slender, well-toned legs, who wouldn't feel a bit insecure about themselves?
Of course, these photos have been drastically altered and any so-called ‘flaws’ are deleted. Several years ago, I recall super model Cindy Crawford saying publicly that it took the talents of a cohort of beauty and make up professionals several hours of grooming for her to 'look' the way she appeared in magazine centerfolds and advertisements.
The Beginning of H.I.P.S.: Teen leaders for activism and education
Parent, Family & Friends Network, July 2011
The inspiration to begin this club, H.I.P.S. (Health, Image, Power and Success) came from seeing girls just 9 years old already beginning to hate their bodies. It came from the diet industry growing into a phenomenon that consumes women’s lives. It came from seeing an unnaturally thin 14 year old girl having trouble finishing dessert because she didnot want to get made fun of at school for being “fat.” But it mostly came from the want – the need – to change all this; to empower girls, boys, teenagers, men and women to believe in themselves, rather than looking to our society’s mirror for approval. In no way does this club promote throwing healthy diets to the wind, but rather it promotes being conscious of healthy behaviors and choices while accepting that no one can ever be perfect.
Rebecca Kaiserman, Founder of HIPS
Campus Celebrity, Skidmore Her Campus, December 2012
By: Olivia Burger
The inspiration to begin this club, H.I.P.S. (Health, Image, Power and Success) came from seeing girls just 9 years old already beginning to hate their bodies. It came from the diet industry growing into a phenomenon that consumes women’s lives. It came from seeing an unnaturally thin 14 year old girl having trouble finishing dessert because she didnot want to get made fun of at school for being “fat.” But it mostly came from the want – the need – to change all this; to empower girls, boys, teenagers, men and women to believe in themselves, rather than looking to our society’s mirror for approval. In no way does this club promote throwing healthy diets to the wind, but rather it promotes being conscious of healthy behaviors and choices while accepting that no one can ever be perfect.
Body Image Workshop Debunks Myths
Trumbull Patch, May 2011
By: Karen Kovacs Dydzuhn
About 30 young women listened to Nicole Roberge share her near-death experience with anorexia, an eating disorder characterized by malnutrition and excessive exercising, at Trumbull High School recently.
Sponsored by a pilot club called H.I.P.S. (“Health, Image, Power, Success”), Roberge’s appearance was part of an educational Body Image Workshop. Trumbull High School juniors Rebecca Kaiserman and Bonnie Deal founded the club as a way to raise awareness about eating disorders and body image.