Beauty?

Monday, February 1, 2010

Some fresh air for thought--

"Make the most of yourself,

for that is all there is of you."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Introducing: Plastic Surgery Barbie.

Maybe one day you will actually be able to buy a Barbie like this for your child:

...coming soon?

Invisible.

Below is an excerpt from the USA Today article, "Do thin models warp girls' body image?"

It's not surprising that women want to be slender and beautiful, because as a society "we know more about women who look good than we know about women who do good," says Audrey Brashich, a former teen model and author of All Made Up: A Girl's Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty.

For several years, Brashich worked for Sassy and YM magazines and read thousands of letters from girls and teens who wanted to become a famous model, actress or singer.

And no wonder, she says. "As a culture, we are on a first-name basis with women like Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie," she says. "The most celebrated, recognizable women today are famous primarily for being thin and pretty, while women who are actually changing the world remain comparatively invisible. Most of us have a harder time naming women of other accomplishments." The idolizing of models, stars and other celebrities is not going to change "until pop culture changes the women it celebrates and focuses on."

Wonderful what they can do nowadays.

Media

The media sends the message that if we don’t look like…

This woman:

this woman:

Or this woman:

Then we should change our appearance.

And how do we do this?

Why, of course, buy purchasing the products that these models are selling..

(Makeup, clothes, perfume.)

However, realistically, using these products most likely won’t make any of us look like the models in these advertisements.

The body of a model—that which is portrayed as “attractive” in the media—occurs genetically in only 5% of our population. It almost never exists, but it’s all we see in the media. What the Body Shop says of this misrepresentation: “There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only 8 who do.” (Killing Us Softly, Jean Kilbourne)

How has such a small percentage of the population come to dominate the media, lives, and minds of men and women?

Even more perplexing--why are we trying to ‘fix’ ourselves? We’re not broken.

Ad Attack.

Here are some advertisements promoting plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures in the media today, many of which made me think, "Did they really just say that?"

"What is it they say about inner beauty?"
(an ad for "be perfect" aesthetics)

"Be born again."

(..it doesn't??)

"It will change more than your body."

..and if you dare, watch this promotional video for The Swan Center for Plastic Surgery. I know it's long, so it's alright if you can't make it all the way through. I was too creeped out to make it past two minutes.