Posts filed under 'body image'
Picture this:
You are out with friends on a Friday night at a bar. There is a drunk woman stumbling and constantly bumping into others. As she orders another drink, the bartender expresses concern over her intoxicated state and thus refuses to give her another drink. He insists on calling her a cab. Meanwhile, the owner also expresses concern for the woman and also insists that she be driven home.
What do you think?
Most of us agree that the bartender and owner of the bar acted responsibly and intervened in an appropriate manner—the woman’s safety was at risk, right? We may even feel that the bartender and owner needed to take action and had they not, it would have been neglectful.
Now picture this:
You have just finished your workday and you are heading to the gym to work out before meeting a 
friend for dinner. While on the elliptical machine, you notice a woman running on the treadmill. She is looking rather emaciated with her exercise clothes hanging off her. Her skin looks pale and she appears faint, even though she is exercising relentlessly. You feel uncomfortable watching because you think she is going to pass out. Her emaciated physical status also concerns you. You notice people looking at her and then continuing with their workouts. One of the gym’s trainers notices the woman on the treadmill and continues with his task. You keep thinking about her as you shower and dress. You leave the gym and head to the restaurant to meet your friend. You have a leisurely dinner lasting close to two hours. When you finish and say good-bye to your friend, you head to your car, which you parked near the gym. As you get into your car, you notice the emaciated woman leaving the gym. You realize that she must have exercised for close to three hours.
Is this a problem? Have you had this experience while working out at your local gym? How did this make you feel? Do you think any action from the gym staff should have been taken?
–M.R.
February 4th, 2007
I have a soft, round, and extremely cute belly and believe it or not, I’ve had many people (family, friends, colleagues, etc.) ask if I was pregnant. Look! Just because my stomach sticks out, doesn’t mean I am pregnant!
It’s not easy embracing The Belly in an anti-belly world! And let’s face it, the media fuels these anti-belly sentiments.
The mixed messages I receive from my friends and family correspond to the mixed messages the media sends out. The “media†I’m referring to is made up of several magazines and gossip columns (both on the web and on newsstands) that consider it their civic duty to disclose celebrity body fluctuations on an inch-by-inch basis. 
Remember the Reese Witherspoon pregnancy scandal? Editors hoped to sell their magazines by using a few manipulated pictures of Reese with a “bump†so they could be the first to expose that Reese is “preggars!†It might be news to them—and perhaps to us as well—but it’s not so newsworthy to our bodies. To our dismay, our weight-conscious society doesn’t view pregnancy as beautiful, but rather as a condition that adds unwanted pounds. Consequently, when someone is mistaken as pregnant, it’s usually taken as an insult. We now know Reese wasn’t expecting a third child. However, the media hoped she was, because it’s unacceptable for a top-ranking celebrity and America’s sweetheart to carry anything but a washboard stomach!
Yet this is the same media that shockingly reveals (or are they reveling in?) celebrities under a hundred pounds. Gossip columns are as much about body-fat content as stars’ activities. Us, People, InTouch, Star, etc. take turns obsessing over which celebrities are “rail-thin†(ahem, see this week’s People magazine) and which could afford to shed a few pounds. As readers, we are expected to reject both body types. However, we are never given any indication of what they think a healthy body should look like. Their (unhealthy) obsession with weight results in us obsessing and dangerously criticizing our weight. We wonder: “If Nicole Kidman’s body doesn’t size up, how can mine?â€
Let’s bring this back to The Belly. It’s no wonder I’ve had prospective crushes stop me in the midst of conversation to ask whether or not I am expecting. Though that question is never justified, it is especially unwelcome after the crush in question has already bought me a drink! Just because celebrities (or 0.25 percent of the world’s population—if that) have washboard stomachs, doesn’t mean women who don’t are pregnant.
It’s taken me a long time to accept The Belly. But after years of belly-hating, I had to put things in perspective. After all, how long can I hate something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life?
–A.J.
January 21st, 2007
Let me just tell you about this amazing lingerie catalog I just got in the mail. No it’s not Victoria’s Secret — I’d sooner toss my cookies than look at Victoria’s Secret catalog (or store) ever again. I actually found a lingerie catalog that makes me feel like I might actually look good in the lingerie! My new catalog of choice is: Julianna Rae.
Hmmm, let’s have a look… Gasp! Do I see a little bit of arm fat on that woman on page 7? Do I spy actual attempts at racial diversity? A hint of cellulite on page 15? A woman’s formerly pregnant belly on page 28? And oh my gosh! That one on page 23 might be actually a little bit older than 23! She could even be … 40!
The thing is, a little bit of arm fat or cellulite doesn’t ruin these women’s looks one bit. They all look happy. And even to my raised-to-attain-an-unattainable-ideal self, these women look truly beautiful, not to mention sexy. And shockingly, I almost feel normal when I look at the pages.
Amazing enough, the most wonderful thing about Julianna Rae’s marketing isn’t the models. It’s that you can shop by body type, either through the catalog or on the website. And none of this “wide hips” or “small bust” typing that only makes you feel “less than.” Juliana Rae wants you to feel like the beautiful flower you are:
Now, Juliana Rae is no Victoria’s Secret, and this is no low-rent catalog. The products are a lot more expensive, but they’re also incredibly high-quality. (I can vouch for this: When I got married about eight months ago, someone gave me one of the Il Cieli reversible robes, and I’ve barely taken it off since.)
The company seems to have built the idea of showing real women, and selling to them, into their founding statement. From the Julianna Rae Our Story page:
“Most of us do not look like supermodels (or regular models for that matter) but that doesn’t mean we look like a bag of potatoes (no offense to potatoes - we love them in all forms!). We are healthy, active, independent women who have a sense of style and more importantly, of ourselves. We deserve clothes that fit our lifestyles and our bodies - clothes that make us look and feel great.”
What you can do. When we dislike a certain company’s marketing or advertising, we should be speaking out and refusing to buy their products and encourage others to do the same. The reverse is also true: This is an opportunity to support kind, caring business practices. So if you’re as impressed as I am, show your support by at least writing an e-mail or letter to Julianna Rae. And if you like the products, go buy yourself something pretty! –J.B.
January 18th, 2007
I live 1.7 miles from my office. My commute consists of various combinations of public transportation (depending on the weather, the type of shoes I’m wearing, and the number of times I hit the snooze button) and despite the many frustrations of the San Francisco MUNI system, often the most aggravating part of my commute takes place in the final fifty yards leading up to my office.
You see, the last stretch of my commute takes me past one of the most unfriendly parts of the city for women: the Financial District. More specifically, the corner of Market and Montgomery, where bike messengers gather, where businessmen get their coffee, where commuters wait for the bus, and where construction workers are forever building luxury condos. It is here that I am subjected to a never-ending onslaught of lingering stares, inappropriate catcalls, and lewd comments.
As a side to my morning latte, I get a “What’s up sexy, you wanna go out with me?” (do these lines ever work?) a “Hey girl, you Russian?” (what is that even supposed to mean?) or the ever-popular hissing and kissing noises (what am I, a housepet?). Some comments are accompanied by lewd gestures while some men have even had the audacity to reach out and grab my arm, as if touching a stranger is a completely normal and ok.
The crazy part is, it doesn’t even really matter what I look like. I could be showered with my hair down and wearing full makeup or bare-faced and pony-tailed, in a skirt suit or a turtleneck and baggy jeans, in high heels or flats, or even a potato sack for that matter. The result is the same. I am wading, unprotected, through a sea of unsolicited negative attention.
Frustrated, I wonder what makes men think they can treat women this way. What gives them the right? Then I look up and see an advertisement of a model in a bra and underwear. Oh yes, I think to myself, that’s what.
Women are continually objectified in advertisements, movies, television shows, and magazines. Often they are shown wearing hardly any clothes. Other times they aren’t even shown as whole women. Instead their bodies are chopped into parts: midriff here, cleavage there, legs all over the place. It’s no wonder men do the same thing on the street, verbally dissecting me into nothing but a “nice rack” or “hot ass.” We are socialized to believe that women exist not as individuals with thoughts, feelings, dreams, talents, and aspirations, but solely as bodies. And that’s where the danger starts.
So how do we fight back against this? Should I say something to the men who objectify me? Should I say something to the advertisement and entertainment industries? Or should I say something to the millions of women and girls that are subjected to negative attention from onlookers on a daily basis simply for walking down the street?
I think I’ll choose option number three.
As I approach the door to my building a man who’s just walked out of a neighboring deli looks me up and down and blurts out “hot legs.â€
Great, thanks, I think as the door closes behind me. So I’m a set of legs. I’m not a human being off to work in an attempt to save women and girls from a lifetime of objectification or anything. –A.D.
January 14th, 2007
You may have heard about Spain’s controversial ban on excessively skinny models. We’ve attached a few links to articles about the ban as well as reactions from the fashion industry.
ABC News: New Message to Models: Eat! A Model’s Recent Death and a Ban on Skinny Models from Madrid’s Runway Has the Fashion World Spinning
So what does About-Face think of these recent events?
“I’m thrilled that the fashion industry is thinking about the impact of using thin models, but unfortunately the conversation isn’t centering on how regular women are affected by fashion. I want the industry to have certain health standards for its workers, but that’s not all that matters. How about a little concern for the power of fashion and what it does to society?” – Jennifer
“I was so excited to hear this news I almost screamed aloud. It’s about time someone drew attention to the unhealthy standards set forth by the fashion industry, and at a governmental level! Designers claim that emaciated models are part of their artistic vision, but it seems the only statement they’re making in sending scarily thin women down the runway is that fashion can be deadly. I love the fact that there were doctors on hand turning away models who didn’t fit into a healthy BMI, highlighting that extreme thinness isn’t high fashion, but cause for medical concern. I hope this is a conversation that continues on and off the runway. All I know is that I’m totally rooting for Spain in the next world cup.” – Andi
January 3rd, 2007
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