Sociology

Office of the First Lady
________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release  February 21, 2010
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT THE ROSE GARDEN
The White House
Washington, D.C.
500 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA

Good afternoon and thank you for being here today.  I am here to discuss the challenges associated with creating positive self-images for young people in America as well as to announce important changes which will be made by this Administration to support this necessary cause.

Creating positive self-images for young people in America is something which Barack and believe is essential to the future success of this country.  As you all know, at the end of January I gave a speech in which I commented on my young daughters Body Mass Index (BMI).  Last November, my husband Barack spoke with Parents magazine in which he was quoted as describing our little girl Malia as chubby.  While the comments I made were seen by many to be controversial and insensitive, I would like to point out that the last thing that I would ever want to do is instill a negative self-image in the minds of my daughters.  Importantly, I would like let everyone know that my comments were taken out of context and misinterpreted. My daughters are beautiful young women who are nothing short of a blessing to both Barack and me.  While we strive to create images of positive self-worth at home, we now have the opportunity to work towards the promotion of individual self-worth across this great country.

I am here today to discuss issues with you that we all have in common health, wellness and the creation of positive self-images in young people today.  Im gonna relate my personal experiences with positive self-imagery and the importance that Barack Obama and this government is attaching to the self-esteem of young people today.  Lets begin with what the experts have to say about this issue.  According to Dr. Faith T. Fitzgerald, in the New England Journal of Medicine, a healthy lifestyle is essential to the promotion of wellness (Fitzgerald 196).  For this doctor, health and wellness are always interlinked.  She writes that a well or healthy person is one who is not only physically whole and vigorous, but also happy and socially content (Fitzgerald 197) and uses the terms health and wellness interchangeably.   From this, we can infer that wellness is tied to good health and is something to which we strive for.  Wellness is then a goal and something to be attained.  Under the Presidency of Barack Obama, America today is striving to promote health, wellness and positive self esteem for all young people throughout the country.

Self-esteem must come from within but there are a variety of ways in which we as a society can help children develop a positive sense of self-worth.  Everyday, I encourage my daughters by supporting them in all of their endeavors. I tell them how smart they are, how beautiful they are and how worthy they are.  Each and every day.  By promoting the individual self-worth of my children I am reminding them that they are special, unique wonderful individuals who will one day make a difference in their lives.  I remind them that they are special and that they should always love themselves.  There is a famous quote  Im not sure from who  which reads, Love yourself, for if you dont, how can you expect anybody else to love you (Vernon 37).  I have taught my daughters this maxim and believe that all children of this country should remember to first and foremost love themselves.

The election of Barack is proof that anything is possible in this country.  In order to succeed though, one must first believe that you can succeed.  The American dream is built on ideas and people who felt that despite the odds, anything is possible.  In my full-time job as mother my task is to prepare my girls for wonderful lives as productive citizens of this great country.  They must believe that they are special, valuable children and that they can succeed in life.  Building self-esteem at home is something that I do each and every day building self-esteem amongst young people across America is something that Barack and I take very seriously.  As a result, this government has made the promotion of individual self-esteem as well as both physical and mental wellness, important goals for young people across the country.

My close friend Arne Duncan, the current United States Secretary for Education, has made the promotion of individual self-esteem and well-being for young people an important goal in 2010.  Understanding that the creation of self-esteem in young people is an important goal because young people are our future, Barack Obama and the Secretary for Education have declared 2010 the Year of Student with a renewed focus on the needs of individual students so that they can be all they can be.  Since a healthy lifestyle is so important to both physicalmental wellbeing and positive conceptions of self, this government has legislated mandatory physical education courses weekly across the United States.  Before, physical education was required by law in primary schools only twice a month.  Today, we have doubled the amount of mandatory physical education time provided to students knowing that physical activity helps promote self-worth and positive conceptions of self.   Of course, there is a direct relationship between living a healthy lifestyle and feeling good about yourself.  That is why Barack and I see physical activity as an important key to helping young people feel good about themselves (Scully, et al 111).

Another important program being implemented by Barak is the creation of a Presidential Media Task Force to monitor the ways in which all forms of media (television, magazines, newspapers, and the internet) depict roll models for our children.  If a television show is geared towards a certain demographic, say 10-12 year old boys, this program has a responsibility to its viewership and be aware of the examples they are setting.  Magazines which have a target audience of young girls must understand the unique responsibilities that they have in depicting roll models for these girls.  The Presidential Media Task Force will be given the job of monitoring the ways in which the media targets young people and will be ensure that they do so responsibly.  We all have a job to play when it comes to raising our young people, and as the old African proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child.

With a healthy lifestyle comes positive self-worth.  That is why Barack has declared 2010 to be the year of the child and with United States Secretary for Education Arne Duncan, has mandated physical education at least once a week in schools across America.  Understanding that the media has a special role to play in the creation of self-worth for young people today, the President has created a Presidential Media Task Force to monitor the ways in which the media appeals to children. Parents across America have an important job to play to in ensuring that their children grow up to be successful adults.  I think that it is important to stress the inner beauty of your children.  Children must believe that they are special and valuable c and that they can succeed in life.  Building self-esteem at home is an important responsibility for all parents and Barack Obama takes very seriously.  His government has made the promotion of individual self-esteem as well as both physical and mental wellness, a key priority in 2010.

These changes arent gonna happen overnight. These changes are gonna require your assistance, as the parents of Americas future. These changes will we enacted to promote positive lifestyles, luxuries that are not measured by the size of your pocketbook, but by the love you have in your heart for Americas youth.  Health and wellness are intertwined and together they promote positive self-worth.  Promoting a healthy lifestyle is at the heart of this Administrations goals for the future of America.

I hope that all the parents out there are as excited about this as Barack and I are. Thank you all for listening to me today. Please tell your children you love them tonight and assure them that we are all working towards an even better world for them.  The future of America is in our hands.

Thank you,

Michelle Obama