Valentine's Day Event- Offline Relationships: How to Connect IRL

In honor of Valentine's Day, we are hosting the event 

Offline Relationships: How to Connect IRL. 

There will be interactive games that will help us improve our communication skills, along with music, food and raffle prizes! Hope to see you there!

Date: Friday, February 14, 2014 

Time: 5pm-7pm

Location: SMART"s Office- 307 E. 116th St. 

(between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Transportation: 6 train to 116th St or M116 to 2nd Avenue

For more information, contact Janet Carter at (212) 289-3900 or jcarter@smartuniversity.org

SMART Youth Answers

When Did Healthy Come to Mean Perfect?

 

 

www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Thigh-Gap

Why is it that every time we turn on the television, log into Facebook, procrastinate on Pinterest, ride the subway, or simply walk down the street we see images of women who look nothing like you or me? Instead, we see women who are incredibly thin looking great in all the latest fashions, attracting the most men, and generally, being presented as the standard for beauty in our society.  In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with images of women whose bodies are almost unattainable, if not unhealthy, as the beauty ideal. Normal women simply can’t live up to this image. When we are constantly told by the media and popular culture  “this is what beauty is,” it is no wonder that most women face some sort of body image issue.

Not surprisingly, the number one New Year’s Resolution for 2014 was “lose weight,” highlighting how unhappy Americans are with their bodies. Who remembers the iconic scene in Mean Girls where “the plastics” are all standing in front of a mirror criticizing all of the things they hate about their bodies? Although that is a movie, is their criticism of their bodies that different from what we, along with most of the women we know, say about ourselves on a daily basis?

For example, the latest trend among teens and young adults is achieving the thigh gap, or the hollow cavity which appears between the tops of your legs when you stand with your feet together. Although the thigh gap is physically impossible for most women, and many who do achieve this standard are considered underweight, this trend has caught fire on social media websites. #Thighgap is now a common hashtag, and there are numerous twitter and blog accounts dedicated solely to the thigh gap phenomenon. There is even a wiki page on how to achieve a thigh gap. If the new standard of beauty is having thighs that don’t touch, what hope do most of us have of feeling very content with our own bodies?

With almost unattainable beauty standards presented to us every day without even having to leave our homes, it is no wonder that eating disorders and other unhealthy weight loss strategies are on the rise, particularly among teens.

 

 

So with all of these images and ideas bombarding us on a daily basis, how do we keep ourselves from obsessing over body image? Here are some ways that we can all work to end these unhealthy beauty standards and learn to love our bodies just as they are:

• Make an ongoing effort to STOP talking about diets and "imperfect" body parts with your friends. Instead, talk about your future plans, what is going on in the world, or even your celebrity crush.
• When you catch yourself criticizing your body or what you've eaten, STOP, remind yourself that self-criticism is part of the problem, and shift your attention elsewhere; repeat as necessary.
• Challenge media images to yourself, and out loud when with your family and friends. Write and complain if you see images you don't like. Support products with advertisements that feature "normal" looking and/or "normally" sized people.
• Start to appreciate all of the amazing things that your body can do! Like busting a move on the dance floor...
• Take good care of yourself. Learn to eat well (most of the time), get moderate exercise and enough sleep, give yourself treats occasionally, and keep supportive people in your life.
• Exercise and move your body for strengthening, health, pleasure, and/or stress reduction. Over-exercising can be just as damaging to your body as not exercising at all.
• If you begin to feel overwhelmed by all of the crazy beauty standards presented to us in the media, watch this awesome clip on loving your body from Jennifer Lawrence!

Promoting positive body image among our friends and family can go a long way in combating the unhealthy beauty ideals that we encounter every day in our lives and helping ourselves and those we care about love our bodies and ourselves.

World AIDS Day - SMART Youth

In honor of World AIDS Day, SMART Youth participated in several really great events throughout the first week of December to raise awareness and spread the word about prevention and condom usage! We kicked off the week with Cafecito at the East Harlem Café.  Sam Kirk, a multidiscipline artist, displayed her artwork and gave a talk about pieces she created especially for SMART. On Tuesday, we worked with Sam to create a wonderful community art project started by SMART Youth and SMART women and completed by the community on Thursday at Viva El Barrio! The finished artwork looked amazing and was a powerful piece conveying what community means to each of the individual artists. It truly was a collaborative effort!

SMART Youth was all over the City collaborating with NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) and NYU (New York University) facilitating sexual health workshops and sitting on panels. Everyone was fascinated by the female condom demonstration and got some specialty condoms!

On Thursday Viva El Barrio!, an annual community event in honor of World AIDS Week, took place, and SMART Youth was there to spread the message about sexual health and prevention. We tabled at the event, and community members were able to come by to “shop” for specialty condoms, learn about many of SMART’s programs, and see a female condom demonstration in action. We were able to give away a ton of condoms, and community members benefited from relevant sexual health information, along with great food and salsa dancing!

As an awesome end to this busy week, SMART Youth hosted an Open Mic Night “The Youth Speak the Truth!” to give youth the opportunity to express what it means to them to be a youth living in a world with HIV. Several youth performed some really powerful poetry, hip-hop, and even visual art to make the night both successful and inspiring. In addition, we had awesome food, activities, and conversation, making the night a great ending to a really busy and phenomenal World AIDS Week!

SMART Youth and MNN Youth Channel Join Forces!

Check out SMART Youth leaders sharing their knowledge about HIV/AIDS with MNN's Youth Channel! In time for World AIDS Day, we bust all the myths about HIV and share resources to protect yourself. SMART Youth's co-founder, Christina Rodriguez, shares great information about HIV/AIDS and SMART Youth in her studio interview and SMART Youth leaders gave insightful interviews. Let us know what you think!

SMART Youth's Open Mic Night!

Our final event of World AIDS week is The Youth Speak the Truth- SMART Youth's Open Mic Night. Youth are invited to come and share ideas through word, music, and dance!

As always, there will be great talent and delicious food. See you there!

World AIDS Week Event- How to Survive a Plague

SMART Youth is always looking for ways to get involved in the community. SMART Youth is looking forward to partnering with NYU's Nursing Students for Global Health and the Black Student Nurses Association in honor of World AIDS Day!

Please join us for a screening of How To Survive A Plague, followed by a panel discussion. Hope to see you there!

World AIDS Week Events- Cafecito & Viva El Barrio!

In honor of World AIDS Day, SMART Youth wanted to be a resource for the community. We have many great activities planned throughout the first week of December. We are excited to partner with students from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine to help us spread awareness of HIV/AIDS! We always enjoy being a supportive resource for the community. Check out these two great events below. 

We look forward to seeing you!