Coast Guard Born Ready “Female”
First watch the above video; it’s only about 30 seconds. It’s an ad spot from the US Coast Guard sent to me by Reader A. She writes:
I saw a commercial last night for the Coast Guard that blew my mind, and I’d love your opinion on it/other people’s opinions on it. Basically, the premise of the commercial is that this girl wasn’t born to sit at a desk, she was born to push herself, challenge herself, be a stronger person, etc. They show her running out of the office and cross country – through town, across fields and bridges and woods and finally across rocks until she stops just at the water. The whole idea is she is so strong, etc. Except the girl they use in the commercial, running long-distance and protecting her country, makes a lot of the celebutantes you see constantly accused of being anorexic look healthy. Honestly, one of the first things that popped into my head was the scene from the “THIN” documentary where one of the girls (in an eating disorder IP center) says she joined the Air Force to lose weight. The funny thing is they did the EXACT same commercial with a guy, and he looks fit. Not too big or too small, plenty muscular. (And I mean it’s the same commercial – same dialogue, same running out of the office and same running trail.) I still can’t quite wrap my head around the irony of a size -2 skeleton advertising hey-let’s-join-the-coast-
guard-and-be-physically-fit, especially while the guy version IS fit. Are they trying to appeal more to girls – trying to promote it as a way to lose weight if you join, like the girl in the documentary? Are they just buying into the “ideal” body? Could they just not find any healthy-weight models? I’m not sure what I think about it, but I’d love some other opinions.
A’s questions intrigued me on several levels. I have to admit that the first time I watched the ad, I was not particularly struck my the actresses’ thinness although A is right – she is definitely very very thin. There are two brief moments right after she runs through the river where you can clearly see her chest bones through the V in her top. I think this is because I am used to everyone from fitness magazines to TV shows to gym advertisements using women closer to fashion models than fitness models to sell their wares. I mean, remember this ad campaign from Men’s Health? The models are certainly not what I envision the epitome of healthy woman to look like (not to mention she might possibly be missing her legs?):
The second thing that was interesting to me about A’s question is that quite often the military uses weight loss and increased fitness as a selling point in getting people to join up. These days it’s definitely all about talking up the self-improvement aspects and downplaying that whole “you might die” part. In which case it makes sense to show thin, fit people in the ads – aspire higher right? Except that the actress in this particular spot may possibly be thin to the point of unhealth. And I’m willing to bet, knowing many military folk myself, that were she to do any sort of boot camp she would probably bulk up a little bit. In addition to the exercise, the chow halls are not exactly renown for their healthful food options – especially if you are stationed overseas. (Active military personnel feel free to correct me on this!) All of which makes this feel like a bait-and-switch.
The last thing that interested me in A’s question was the concept that “health” looks different on a man than a woman. With men, it seems like muscular definition is the first criteria for judging a man’s fitness. Weight probably doesn’t even show up in the top 5. Yet for women, weight is the number 1 factor people use in deciding whether or not a girl is physically fit – even though research has shown this to be an unreliable marker.
So what do you guys think of this ad? Does it make you want to join the coast guard? Anyone else not even notice the skinniness of the actress at first? How do you judge someone’s – or your own – health?
That's actually what I looked like when I joined the Navy after high school, you know, stick thin with no muscle tone. I gained 12 lbs of muscle during two months of boot camp (which promptly turned into 20 lbs of fat when I got to my first duty station). I think it's something like 75% of the young adults in the US don't meet the weight standards for the military and most active duty members gain weight after basic training. (The military is full of desk jobs.)
Honestly, I think all recruiting commercials are bait and switch. A Navy commercial came on tonight and both my husband (currently active duty) and I were like, yeah right. That's exactly what the Navy is like. I imagine it's the same thing for the other branches as well.
But that commercial does nothing to make me want to join the Coast Guard.
I have seen that commercial a few times but never noticed how thin the woman was until reading your post. You are right though, she looks way to skinny and unhealthy.
You're completely right, Charlotte; she looks exactly like all the models in the "fitness' magazines. She's young, skinny to the point of bony, and probably not all that healthy, despite the fact that she can run a lot.
I really only noticed how skinny she was because I was warned before watching the commercial that she would be skinny. And she was, very very skinny. I don't think it caught me as unusual because I mean really, how often do you see a "healthy" woman in a commercial? Especially for a form of the military (which you won't actually see MANY females in military commercials where they aren't in full uniform so they're not showing off). I know a great deal of military, and am myself joining, so I see them constantly. It really truly depends on their job, and station, what they'll look like. Marines and Army are always more fit, from what I've seen. Air Force relaxes quite a bit unless they're pilots. And in the very few Navy I've seen (I'm in Kansas, a bit land-locked), they're pretty much the happy medium.
As you pointed out, the thing that they didn't (and probably SHOULD have shown) was the fact that once in boot camp, you will pack on muscles. Or, like my girlfriends have warned me "will be so muscularly cut, you'll look like a dude." But it's not appealing because since a super-skinny girl running and saying she is all super and great is more of an eye-catcher for the masses.
I think she's too thin and far too glamorous for a military commercial. My friend, who joined the coast guard and went through basic training and boot camp, told me that yes, it gets you in shape and you begin to feel like you could do anything (because you feel so strong) and you get extremely muscular, etc. but you also lose your period, you get so sweaty and exhausted that you do not have time to glam up. She said her hair was in a ponytail for so long without being taken down or washed that her hair was falling out because of it. So… I don't really know how fashion model-y you actually feel once you join up…
But I do think it's interesting that a "healthy" look is essentially different for men and women — "healthy" men are muscular while "healthy" women are stick thin and boney. Shouldn't a healthy HUMAN look basically more or less the same as a man or a woman? Meaning if muscular is healthy then shouldn't a muscular woman be healthy?
Er Charlotte, I think you are wrong in this case.
This woman simply has a thin frame and a body type that is very common in Asia. She looks like 2/3 of the fit young women here in Osaka. They eat and train healthily, no eating disorder. Some of them do boot camps and lift heavy weight, but they don't bulk much. It's a question of DNA.
Most Asian male cops are martial art athletes, they still look skinny (and short) compared to the average US policeman, but I wouldn't try to fight with them.
And there are millions like that in some places, even if there are few or none in your town.
Yes, it's very likely that you (or me) would be in last stages of anorexia before getting our limbs as thin as hers. So what ? Nobody said we all had to compare to her, or to someone like Ms Obama, or vice-versa. We have to accept there are differently shaped people.
Fashion models are another matter, they take real freaks (notoriously junkie, sick, underage…) and always the same standardized narrow body type, the same botoxed faces, and well they say it's done in order to sell clothes to us, normal people… so why do they negate we exist in different shapes ?
All the armies select people they consider fit for the job. They don't recruit people that can't run 10 miles and are already pre-diabetic at 20. In my country, I am considered too short, but well otherwise, I'd be considered too tall to be a classical dancer, you can't have both. I mean, everybody has to wear clothes, but there is no obligation to do a career in army or ballet.
Last thing, you're sure about your chest bone criteria ? I'm sporting nice clavicles but my scale told me this morning : "Bodyfat 31%". Well, you can't affirm that I have hip bones without checking with Xray.
My Y buddy/boot camp instructor is a real, genuine trainer for the Coast Guard. He instructs guys only; I don't know if it's because they're separated at his base (Two Rock, California) or if they never get female recruits; I'll have to ask.
One thing I do know is that he's always emphasizing upper-body strength. Ever seen that movie The Guardian with Kevin Costner? He says it's actually pretty accurate; you need to be able to haul people into a helicopter with one arm and hang on, that sort of thing. There's no way the girl in the video could do that with those scrawny arms.
I think it's tad unfair to label the girl in the commercial "anorexic", as the title of the post hints at. I agree she is thin, but again, should we label her, or all other thin people, with an ED? So if there was an average woman in this commercial, maybe 15 lbs overweight, would we be immediately be calling out her fatness, or would we be lauding the Airforce for portraying 'real women' (whatever that may mean). Again, agreed she is thin, maybe the anorexic term can be used less liberally.
Lindsey – I actually agree with you. Writing post titles is such a tricky thing! It has to be informative and attention grabbing and I must admit that I struggled for about a half hour last night with what to call this one. I was not entirely comfortable with the one I went with – because of the "anorexic" label – but I also wanted to go to bed:) Sometimes they come easy, sometimes they don't work at all! Do accept my apologies:)
Kuri – The question of Asian genetics did occur to me and your point is well taken. Some people, especially Asians, are just genetically smaller boned. It's a fine distinction but the part that bothered me was the US Coast Guard using such a small person (whether or not she was ED'd) to sell a concept to women who 90% of look nothing like her. If the commercial had run in Japan I'd have felt differently. You mentioned that they aren't actively recruiting the overweight and the unhealthy except that now they are, as evidenced by the recent loosening of physical fitness standards and age for new recruits. And they use this image of getting fit as a major selling point.
T thought the actor looked like a very fit professional runner. I do wonder if the person who did the commercial was really in as good a condition as she appears. That would tell me more.
Of course with the Coast Guard, a higher fast percentage would help with floating 🙂
I wouldn't have thought she was too thin if I hadn't been looking for it – but the bony chest does look a bit extreme.
Does it make me want to join the Coast Guard? Well, I don't know that anything would make me want to join the Coast Guard; I'm thinking I'm not the target audience.
I wouldn't have noticed it at first, I don't think, but the breastbones when she's running are REALLY prominent. It makes me squirm a little to see that kind of stuff on tv.
On the other hand, it ISN'T necessarily fair to judge based on the looks alone. The girl might actually be quite healthy and strong. And the campaign is smart to use a thin woman when they KNOW that "thin is in" with the media.
The video inspires me to run faster and harder, but not join the military. I am very… weary of that already though.
I did notice her protruding collar bones. Yikes!
To be honest, I didn't think she looked that thin. I'm so used to seeing super skinny 14-year-old models in magazines and beanpoles on TV (ahem, 90210 girls) that this woman actually looked normal-sized to me. Should I think this woman looks like a normal American woman? Probably not. But she sure is bigger than Angelina Jolie or Kate Bosworth or Keira Knightly. Compare: http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/07/05/keira_narrowweb__300x587,0.jpg.
Hm, that didn't work. Let me try to post that link again:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/07/05/1151778986222.html
The chest bones did bother me a little, but more on a personal aesthetic level than anything else. True, the girl is very thin, but not thinner than a lot of serious runners.
The comments that boot camp will bulk you up are entirely true. Whenever DH comes back from training with the Nat'l Guard, his biceps are so much larger and he is ripped. He also looses about 10 lbs during that time, too.
What gets me most about recruiting commercials is that they don't use actual military personnel, at least not for the main roles. Surely, out of all the people in the various branches, they can find someone who represents their ideal and use them for promotion.
I wouldn't have noticed it either except when she swings here arms and you can clearly see rib cage. But as Kuri said, she does look Asian and it could just be the way her skeleton is put together. At at about the same height and weight, you could see my college roommate's collar bone but never mine. Also, it could just be a trick of the light. I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe I'm being overcritical but when I watched it I thought to myself, "Not only is this woman super thin (protuding chest bones were my first clue) just doesn't run like an athlete. I've played sports my whole life and this women just didn't strike me as athletic. She looks like she would snap in half if she were to play in some of my basketball games!
I don't mind if they use a very attractive model, but at lease make sure she has some guns, to hold those guns you expect her to be using!
Call it what you will but it's apparently working! According to the Washington Post, the US Military has met its military recruiting goals for the first time in 35 years!
(Of course, it could be that recruits have more trust in the current Commander in Chief, but I think that's another blog…)
Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit, but i think i do remember seeing this and thinking, "whoa – I can see the bones in her chest when she's running." Her arms also seem very think and don't have any muscle in them. I'd expect an armed forces woman to have some definition. of course, there's the chance she really is very fit but I agree, they should've used a more fit/stronger-looking actress for this.
Count me among the ones who don't think she's unreasonably thin. But then again, I spend a lot of time around distance runners, and a lot of them have that body type (long, lean, about 15% body fat.)And they're not anorexic-you should SEE how much some of these women eat just to maintain their body weight.
Honestly, I think you're being unfair. I'm probably one of the strongest women in my gym- and you can see my chest bones like you can see hers. Not everyone's able to build muscle there.
I live in San Diego and I saw a billboard for the Navy that looked just like a cruise ship (white boat-I think it was a hospital ship) sitting off a tropical island. Talk about your bait & switch!
I thought she was skinny, but more of the wiry and deceptively strong type. I have a friend with a similar body type and she is crazy strong.
I'll admit, it's hard for me to tell from the video. Sure, she's skinny, but I can't say that she's too skinny. smaug's comment is true; I know plenty of women who have that kind of chest structure/definition (can you call it that?) with…ummm…well, wider hips with no definition.
Now the bike rider, that's a bunch of BS. I've never known a rider with legs that skinny.
Joshua
http://techparent42.blogspot.com
I wish they would use actual military people in these commercials. I think that would be much more inspiring and convincing.
I don't know. I did not think of too thin when I saw it. I watched it a couple times. When I look at her bottom half, I don't see the excess thinness of the stars on TV or some of the mag models. Hard to tell since she has more clothes on.
My chest sort of looks like that too from lower body fat BUT I do have more muscle elsewhere. I kind of thought she looked fit but not enough muscle to be in the military. She just looked like a fit person to me… not like the really thin models. I tried to pause it but still did not show it well enough.
I thought she looked slender, and she very well could be a fit long-distance runner as others suggested. However, to portray her as a "fit for the military" type of body doesn't seem quite right.
My sister is Korean, and she has a very small body and ran track, pole vaulted and lifted weights throughout HS and college. However, she looked a good deal HEAVIER than she actually was (looks around 120, actually weighed around 105), due to all her muscles. . . the girl in this commercial is the opposite. She appears much more frail than what the commercial is trying to suggest–which is crazy marketing to me!
I did not notice that she was too thin. Even when I did notice her rib cage in those couple shots. Last year, I was still not overly thin or anywhere near aneorix -but you could see my uppper ribs and most of clavicle.
I couldn't see anything approaching my abs…
So maybe in some cases this is just genetics and fitness and not too thinness?
I totally didn't notice at first either but yeah, she is pretty slim. Most of the real military gals I've seen/known are not little girls, but then again advertising isn't selling you the product, it's selling the dream, right?
One more thing…considering this is an ad for the Coast Guard, shouldn't they be showing a woman swimming or diving or something else having to do with water or boats?
Yep totally agree-the girl in the ad is far too skinny and its is just not sending out the right signals in my opinion. I really do not think that this is going to help their campaign or attract more women to be Coast Guards.
Char,
Your knowledge on chow halls is correct – most are very off in their nutrition and serve a lot of white, white, white (and breaded or deep-fried).
I'm not so sure she is too skinny for the commercial. She certainly looks a lot healthier than the similarly skinny females in my command, but of course make-up can take care of that. Unfortunately, with the Navy for sure and what I've seen of the other branches, the majority of females are on one end of the extreme spectrum. Either super skinny and can't lift a darn thing or super heavy and still can't lift a darn thing.
Even though I don't advocate LSD running, as pictured in the commercial, I do have to acknowledge it has taken a lot of former "fat" folks back into acceptable standards for the military. (With the assistance of their change in diet of course, but that's a whole different story).
All in all, the military culture of fitness is MOST influenced by the American culture. Only the elite are different.
I've just watched the video 3 times to see if I've missed something. Yes, she's slim, but some people are slim, some people have 6 toes on one foot, some people have green eyes, some people have brown hair.
I have the a similar upper body to her but my bottom half is a different animal. I don't think she's an underweight freak for being in proportion.
And I don't think the ad is selling the idea of weight loss through coast guarding (on an obvious level) so I don't feel anyone should be thinking her body shape is some sort of goal. I think she's just fit and that's how fit looks on her.
Now if only I could find a non-office job that didn't put my life a risk and never had to involve potentially falling in cold ocean waters.
The woman in the commercial looks perfectly healthy. Skinny, yes, but fit and healthy.
I'm the one who originally sent this in, and I just wanted to clarify that what really got me was her ribs, not the circumference of her limbs. I also originally saw this on tv – much bigger screen, much better resolution. I have friends who are naturally (and healthily) very skinny and have small arms and legs like hers. What got me was her ribs – and, at least on tv, it was more than just her collar bone sticking out a little. It was every rib protruding far. Which doesn't mean she's anorexic automatically, but to me at least, the ribs did look unhealthily thin – whether she's anorexic or not, it could still be seen as promoting that unhealthy level of fitness.
I tried to find a picture of what I'm talking about online, since the resolution of the clip doesn't really do it justice, but I couldn't find a picture. But I did want to clarify that it was really her ribs more than anything else that struck me.
Being a size acceptance advocate does not require that you attack thin women just as they attack fat women. That defeats the purpose.
I am an ally to fat acceptance advocates, and I appreciate that many don't tolerate critical remarks of thin women, either. This blog apparently doesn't have that rule.
As a woman who is 5'10 and 118 lbs (naturally, mind you), I was really turned off by all the derogatory comments here about the woman in the video saying she is a skeleton, that her collarbones are gross, that her ribcage is gross, that she is obviously unhealthy.
This video's undertones can be analyzed WITHOUT putting down other women who may be allies to your cause.
I actually didn't think she looked that thin, until I saw her ribs on her chest. That's just nuts. I do agree with the reader that says it's unwise to label her with an eating disorder. I'd have felt more comfortable with the post if you'd said, "too thin" instead of "anorexic". I think we can make a great case for her body not being representative of most women in the military, or not being a good example of great muscle tone of fitness, without labeling her as "anorexic".
Ribs aside, I thought it was cool that she was wearing those great running shoes to her office job. She was ready to make a break for it!
Wow. You really can see her chest bones. That's not attractive to me. I know a lot of people in the coast guard and military and they have muscle. Enough muscle that sometimes they have to go up a size to get over their killer legs.
Gosh, other than the chest bones while running in that one shot, she didn't look unreasonably skinny to me.
In shape doesn't mean anorexic. That is all. Stop the pity party and just get on with your life.
I would like to say that this commercial is bullshit. I recently just tried to join the coast guard and have taken every step to doing so. My recruiter called the other day and told me that I am "overweight". When I say "overweight" I mean over their weight standards. I am athletic and can do all the physical requirements that they have. First of all my recruiter has never seen me face to face, I have always been heavier that I have looked, and I'm not fat in any means. I personally think they need a new method of "weight requirements". And plus, would you want an extemely skinny person protecting you or a person who looks like they could actually handle some heavy lifting?
Wow, she's too skinny? Then I guess I'm too skinny…This gal looks very fit and strong to me. I'm really getting tired of people saying lean people are anorexic. I'm 5'5", 115 lbs and can do 10 pullups. I'm strong and lean and eat like a truck driver. Haters…go take a flying leap!!
There are alot of assuming, unfair and irrational things being said here. For starters, I'm a 12 yr veteran of the Coast Guard and still proudly serving. As far as "bulking up" after boot camp; some did, Some didn't. I didn't change at all. Everyone changed in the ways their respective metabolisms allowed. This is America and even physical diversity is something to be respected. I believe that anyone who is overly consumed with a .5 second shot of a "thin breast plate" is missing the bigger picture and completely let the message pass them by. I work with people who are a little overweight and some who look exactly like the young woman in the commercial. Knowing the Coast Guard as well as I do, it's very possible that these actors are actually in the Coast Guard (BUT I can't say for certain). Point is, if you believe in the message and the mission, talk to a recruiter. If not, couldn't you find something more constructive to do with your time than to criticize people in a commercial representing something you have no plans of being a part of anyway? Here's the other commercial:
http://www.blip.tv/file/2755841/
Guys, I hate to break it to you, but the "model" in the commercial is a Coast Guard Officer. The Coast Guard always uses its own members in its ad campaigns. As far as the military using fitness as a selling point..are you serious? The military has always had requirements for physical fitness, if anything you can look at commercials as confirmation that "yes, they will kick my ass". Some people gain weight in boot camp, others lose a lot.
In the military you have to work as a team, and a team is always as strong as its weakest link. And as crazy as it may sound to you, I surely would not want some overweight and out of shape dumpling responsible for my sweet butt when the crap hit's the fan. Also, another consideration is the fact that the Guard is a sea going service. Many times while out to sea you have to use scuttles to move about decks, especially in the case of fire or flooding. Scuttles are not big, they are about the size of a man-hole. How could you possible do your job if you cannot even fit through a hatch?
Way to go on judging people by their weight while bitching about people doing th same to you.
You people are crazy.. I think the young lady is beautiful… You are just jealous… I want to know who it is, so I can tell her she is amazing… Go Coast Guard!!!!!
I never noticed the size of the woman in the ad because I was too busy laughing at the fact that I am in the Coast Guard and I spend a majority of my day doing exactly what that girl was running away from .