What is Real Beauty? Photographer Jodi Bieber shares her vision.
November 23rd, 2009
"Michele" by Jodi Bieber
What words have we been programmed to use when defining beauty? How about flawless, skinny, model, glamorous, celebrity, or perfection? How about painful? Well, I’m rebelling.
I have a word I would like to include my in my definition of beauty; that word is “real”. “Real” as in something we all possess. “Real” as in every woman in her own uniqueness. “Real” as in the stunning photographs by acclaimed South African photographer Jodi Bieber.
Real Beauty depicts women who live in and near Bieber’s South African community. According to Bieber’s website, she encouraged all of the women she photographed to explore their own personalities and fantasies for their shots.
"Caroline" by Jodi Bieber
The photos are intimate. In some instances, they are so unflinching and personal that they are hard to look at. I felt like a voyeur, yet I wanted to keep looking.
The women in the photographs are proud and dignified. They are black and white and fat and thin. Some of the women are clothed, some are not. Some of them are sensual and some are very matter of fact. Each of them is very real and beautiful.
I dare you not to find at least one that doesn’t make you think “that reminds me of me.”
Bieber’s award-winning Real Beauty collection is an extension of the Dove advertising campaign depicting ordinary women in their underwear advocating real beauty. Bieber’s photos also came out of the reality of an increase in the number of black anorexic women in South Africa. This new trend has western body shapes being more desirable even in cultures that have historically celebrated a more full-figured shape.
"Brenda" by Jodi Bieber
On her web site, Bieber says that while thin women can often be seen as more desirable, in some communities thin and tall women are perceived as being sick (HIV) while full figured women are seen as more healthy. I imagine that in an impoverished nation, being fuller-figured is also a sign of prosperity, as you are obviously eating. It shows that you have a better chance at survival.
Ironically, in the United States we have an over-abundance of everything, yet we are expected to deprive and starve ourselves in order to fit unrealistic body and beauty expectations.
"Tami" by Jodi Bieber
In western culture, beauty is generally held up as an unachievable gold standard—and darn it if we don’t enjoy a good challenge! We pluck, shave, laser, dye, cut, diet, paint, exercise, liposuction, nip and tuck our bodies to fit someone else’s ideal of what we are supposed to look like. And yet, only a select few are ultimately celebrated for having what is deemed perfect skin, perfect hair, and the perfect body.
Look at the photographs Jodi Bieber has gifted to the world and ask yourself “what words would I use to describe beauty?” I like these: dignified, stylish, confident, serene, inclusive, unique, healthy, me, you. Real.
–Jodie
Jodie Maruska is a freelance writer, public speaker and stand-up comic based in Minneapolis. Her popular talk “Belly Laughs” effectively combines humor with the powerful message of body acceptance as Jodie shares her experience and observations of the complicated relationship we have with our bodies. She is a regular contributor to the Minnesota Women’s Press and was a recent finalist in the Flash Fiction competition for MNArtists.org.
Entry Filed under: HEALTH & BODY, body image, older women, photography, plus-size, positive, women of color
7 Comments
1. teresa | November 23rd, 2009 at 10:30 am
love it! Beautiful, real womyn:)
2. ‘celebrity photogra&hellip | November 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 am
[...] http://about-face.org/blog/archives/2281Photographer Jodi Bieber shares her vision. November 23rd, 2009. “Michele” by Jodi Bieber. What words have we been programmed to use when defining beauty? How about flawless, skinny, model, glamorous, celebrity, or perfection? … [...]
3. Sharon Haywood | November 23rd, 2009 at 11:36 am
Excellent article! And beautiful photos.
4. güzel sözler | December 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 am
I would really like to congratulate success
5. Jess | December 13th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Wow, yes, now this appears to be real beauty! Love the look of a strong, healthy woman. If only this were what they force fed us in advertisements and not the SKELETONS I have seen on runways.
6. Karen Batres | December 26th, 2009 at 11:46 am
It seems like in an age when overweight and obesity threaten the health of men and women alike, being “real” somehow means being overweight. The distortions that appear in ads also have to do with the abnormal, impossible body proportions portrayed there, as well as such a low body weight that no one could be healthy or well-nourished. “Anorexic” is just as real as “fat”, and both are eating disorders, both deal with issues of control or lack of it, and neither is healthy. It would be nice to see women portrayed as strong, different one from another in body proportions, different weights, heights, colors, etc. Fat women may be more “real” only in the sense that a monstrous part of U.S. population is seriously overweight.
7. Paris Photographies &raqu&hellip | January 6th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
[...] bon article sur About-face.org : “Real Beauty depicts women who live in and near Bieber’s South African community. [...]
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