“my primary problem with this Dove ad is that it’s not really challenging the message like it makes us feel like it is. It doesn’t really tell us that the definition of beauty is broader than we have been trained to think it is, and it doesn’t really tell us that fitting inside that definition isn’t the most important thing. It doesn’t really push back against the constant objectification of women. All it’s really saying is that you’re actually not quite as far off from the narrow definition as you might think that you are (if you look like the featured women, I guess).”
"According to St.Ives, the average UK woman will spend 91 hours every year applying make-up, the equivalent of three and half days a year – enough time to enjoy over 60 films, back to back."This is not a makeup bashing post. I love makeup! Primarily I think it's fun and artistic, but I'm also grateful to have the option to create a dewy, blushing, pimple-free face, and, in some situations, have more control over the way I'll be perceived. Nor is this a "natural beauty" bashing post. I also love not wearing makeup (and hearing media messages about not wearing makeup) because sometimes there are other things I want to spend my time and money on, and also because no one should have to feel compelled to alter their appearance for someone else's benefit. What I do NOT love is foolish misrepresentations of "natural beauty" as a new unattainable beauty standard. This is also not meant as a post bashing Lydia Bright (the TV personality pictured below, whom I know essentially nothing about but whom I am sure is under great pressure related to her appearance and how she expresses herself), but the premise of these photos is preposterous. Supposedly we are seeing the results of Lydia's having undertaken the "St. Ives 7-day challenge," whereby seven days of using facial scrub allowed her "to achieve fresher, more radiant looking skin, giving her the confidence to go without makeup at a makeup free shoot."
O St. Ives, obtain for me these beauty favors I implore. Grant me perfect symmetry. Save me from the tweezer and eyebrow pencil, and let my eyebrows grow in tidy orderly arcs. Normalize my pigmentation: let my coloration be free of any variation. Plump my lips; lift my cheekbones; whittle my jaw; shape my eyes, nose, and lips into idealized typical Caucasian shapes. Intercede on my behalf against dark circles under my eyes, against hair on my upper lip, and against wrinkles and sags. Imbue me with a youthful rosy glow, make me fashionably slim but not too slim, and make me impossibly blonde (except in the hair of my eyebrows and eyelashes which should still be dark enough to accentuate the shape of my uncommonly light blue eyes.) Above all, St. Ives, take away my pores. Though I am an adult, make my pores like unto those of a newborn babe. Make the texture of my skin like unto that of a billiard ball.
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| JPEG of tweet taken from the Daily Mail, who captioned it "Honest: Lydia opened up about her insecurities to her Twitter followers" |
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| Shawn Johnson, 2009. Photo by Jason Christopher. |
At her heaviest, when she stopped full-time training and allowed herself to eat typical teenage fare like ice cream and pizza, she received brutal criticism from fans, especially on the sport's message boards, and from the tabloids. "That whole process kind of broke me down and taught me something," Johnson said. "People put too much emphasis on looks."Go read the rest of this article: http://deadspin.com/5915913/athletic-shawn-johnson-retires-how-gymnastics-talks-about-bodies-in-code, then come back.
Most of the time, nowadays, that emphasis isn't so openly expressed. Instead, it's coded, by labeling certain gymnasts—the lithe ones, the ones who aren't built like Johnson—as artistic. In theory, artistry should describe a quality of movement, a connection between the performer's limbs, the music, and the audience. But somehow, the short, stocky gymnasts like Johnson rarely get credit for that je ne sais quoi.
"In America, we'll score the stocky, athletic builds normally," 1996 Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes said, in response to Johnson's comments. "Internationally, there still remains a stigma to that type of body type."
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The women in my research want models—regardless of size or age—to inspire them with glamour, artistry and creativity. One woman said it best: “What’s the point of buying fashion if you’re going to look unfashionable?” The underlying message is that fashion needs to sell aspiration, but it is not a standardized model’s age, size or race that is aspirational; it is the clothes, styling and creative direction of the shoot.Link to article.
When it comes to creative problems, if you've got a feeling of knowing then you should keep on paying attention. You should drink that triple espresso, you should chain yourself to the desk. But in any creative process, at some point you hit a wall—you get stuck. At that point, you should go and take a long walk, let yourself daydream. Then a fresh insight is more likely to occur to you. You might even want to have a beer. A study came out showing that undergraduates who were too drunk to drive solved 30% more creative puzzles than those who were sober.Link to story.
Today's stars and taste-makers are ethnically diverse and women are encouraged to value the features that make them stand out from the pack.Finally, the New York Times reports on non-native chefs of ethnic cuisine. While completely non-dance related, there are still some parallels to the experiences of native and non-native ethnic dancers that may be of interest to readers.
Distance may allow a chef to explore traditions without the baggage of having to follow Mom’s recipes to the letter, even if the goal is to stay true to the original dishes. “My greatest gift is that I don’t have a Mexican grandmother,” Mr. Bayless said, “so I can look at all Mexican grandmothers as equal. If you grew up with this food, you’ll defend to the death the way your family makes a dish. So sometimes, with lots of experience, you can speak with a bit of a broader perspective.Full Article: Cuisines Mastered as Acquired Tastes.
Link: Is it Fair for Chefs to Cook Other Cultures’ Foods? Two immigrant sons hash out what it’s like to have your food shunned and celebrated in America by Francis Lam and Eddie HuangFrancis: Well…would you prefer Stupak to say: "I'm doing food that's not really Mexican, it's a mashup of that and what's in my own head"?
Eddie: This is totally unfair of me to tell someone what to say. But, you asked me a question and I’ll answer it. If I could write his press release, I'd say, “I'm making modern New American food that borrows ingredients and techniques from a Mexican pantry.” Or, make fun of it like Danny Bowien [of Mission Chinese Food] does and basically say, “I love Chinese food. I don't know what I'm doing, but I respect this, that and the other Szechuan restaurant. Please don't consider me a master, I'm just a dude with a tea pot full of dirty girl drinks.” Danny Bowien is a guy who NAILS it in terms of messaging. He does funky hybrid party Chinese food that I think we're all honored to be the inspiration for. Danny hit me on twitter today wanting to put my Hainan Lobster Rice on the menu, do it! I love that people like Danny and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are interested in our culture in an inquisitive and honest way. I think Stupak is the same. His wife is Mexican and there’s a genuine passion, plus who am I to judge. I’m just saying, we need accurate messaging because it’s offensive to the diaspora. The culture needs to consider the villagers.
As 51-year-old mother-of-two, Molly Barker, and her 27-year-old friend and colleague, Caitlin Boyle, met for a coffee in their home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, they stumbled upon a question neither of them could answer.
"Molly is the founder of a self-esteem-boosting programme for elementary school girls, called ‘girls on the run,’ and I’m the founder of a site called OperationBeautiful.com," says Caitlin.
"One day, we were having coffee when I asked Molly, ‘what do you say to the girls when they ask you, "Molly, you say inner beauty is the most important thing, but you wear make-up and wear high heels and dye your hair. What does this mean"?’
"Both of us were stumped for a truly authentic answer, because we had always engaged in those habits and didn’t really know why we did them."
By the end of their discussion, the pair had decided that the best way to find out about those habits and their motivations was to desist from doing them.
