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 Fri Oct 05, 2007 « recent »
* Inkygirl *
Filk FAQ
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 Inspired by the recent discussion in response to my Blathering yesterday about Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty, I've been reading In Your Face: The Culture Of Beauty and You Thanks very much to all those women out there brave enough to answer my survey about fashion and body consciousness. A few quotes: "Fashion is for fools. It's a huge industry that tries to say that only women who look prepubescent (or like boys) are worth looking at, and anyone with more meat on her bones is fat. Sad, sad, sad."
"For a long time I bought into the idea that I could be pretty or I could be smart (which was an easy choice.) Honestly, I have no idea where that came from, since my Mom is pretty and smart, and clearly neither she nor Dad believes in that myth. But somehow I picked it up. Fandom has taught me that I can be pretty *and* smart. *grin*" "I wore makeup when I worked in Chicago (formal setting) and when I was in my 20s-30s because I thought I couldn't get any (male) attention without it. I stopped wearing makeup when it accented wrinkles rather than eyes. Yes, I have indeed been exposed to the promotion-goes-to-the-slim-and-pretty on the job. Made me angry then, makes me angry now."
"This year in particular, I've become very self-conscious about myself. I'm nineteen and I weigh around 93 lbs. I'm the perfect size, the one everyone wants to be: 0. The unachievable zero. Except I've always been this weight and have to do nothing to get there. I've always been skinny, but this year everyone seems to think that they need to comment on it and remind me how abnormally thin I am and that I really should eat more." "In the plastic surgery shows, the 'before' women look so soft in surgical prep rooms, with their tousled hair and hospital robes, smiling gently at the cameramen, aware that things are about to improve for them. The before is approachable-- warm, human, real. The after is beautiful, yes-- but also distant, and somehow, fierce-- not someone you'd ever want to share a secret with. And when the 'swans' move like real people, and talk like real people, the illusion of dollhood is suddenly broken, and the contrast between the two is often jarring(or just unfortunate)."
"I have been morbidly obese for many years, mainly as a result of hiding away from the world and not caring about myself. This year I decided it was time to finally tackle my weight problem - not to fit into any societal ideals, but to fit into my ideals and to be able to do what I like and wear what I like. Now I'm starting to develop an interest in hair styles, clothes and make-up. I'm not following fashion, I'm just trying to find my own style. And I'm loving every minute of it!" "I think it is difficult to untangle all the confusion of opinions about what is perceived as beautiful and what is actually healthy. But, I know that since losing weight I enjoy a better quality of life. I am less moody, less hormonal during that certain time of the month, and I sleep better."
"I tried to be original and somewhat bohemian in what I wore when I was in university, but had trouble settling on a style because I am, truly, too many women for one fashion style. Now I have kids, and I'm happy if I brush my hair in the morning. There are women at the schoolyard who are done out in Lululemon with makeup and done hair as they drop their kids off; they are not me." To read the rest of the comments or to add your own, see this page. Related linkPhotoshopping Mag Covers: How Much is Too Much?: I came across this article while researching publishing news this morning. Unrelated linkThe Happy Endings Foundation invites you to a book burning!: I've posted about this in Inkygirl. Apparently some woman in the UK is spearheading a national campaign to put a stop to children's books that don't have a happy ending. UPDATE: Turns out this was a clever marketing ploy for the Lemony Snicket books. :-) See my follow-up post.  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
by Shari Graydon. It won the Norma Fleck Award For Children in non-fiction. Fascinating and thought-provoking. The book is well-researched and has a TON of relevant info of interest to grown-ups as well as teens. The author, Shari Graydon, is a veteran media literary activist and has taught media literacy at university.
