America Ferrera: "We need to stop using that word."
In one of her interviews about winning a Golden Globe Award for best actress in her comedy “Ugly Betty,” America Ferrera said she hears every day from girls whose self-esteem is boosted by seeing her on the show.
“I don’t really see Betty as ugly,” she said backstage. “I see her as closer to the real girls I see in life. The title is about how we tend to call ourselves ugly if we don’t reach the expectations that are set. There are millions and millions of ugly Bettys in our own lives, and we need to stop using that word, especially to ourselves.” [Associated Press Jan 16 2007]
That is one of the reasons I have included on the Talent Development Resources site so many quotes and references to body image, and related issues like body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders. These are often self esteem challenges which can interfere with being your authentic self and realizing your talents.
Ferrera has also said she used acting as a way to escape her parents’ arguments when she was a child, and recalls, “I’d spend hours in my room blocking out my parents’ screams by acting out plays in my head. Acting was all I ever wanted to do.”
“I’d look in the mirror and cry thinking I was too fat. But today I feel beautiful and far from the ugly duckling I appear on screen.” [World Entertainment News Network Jan 15, 2007]
She thinks it is “so reassuring to have a woman heroine who triumphs with more than just what she has on the outside… who has more to offer the world than just a pretty picture. To me, the tragedy about this whole image-obsessed society is that young girls get so caught up in just achieving that they forget to realize that they have so much more to offer the world.” [imdb.com]
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Related Talent Development Resources pages:
body image
body image: books / sites
eating disorders resources: articles books sites
self-esteem/concept resources: sites books
self concept / self esteem articles
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Technorati tags: gifted and talented . America Ferrera . body image . self esteem
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