Posts filed under 'media'
I came across this music video a little while ago, courtesy of my trusty sidekick, YouTube. Here’s the censored version, but it is still naughty and potentially NSFW (not safe for work):
What do you guys think about this song and its video? I’m somewhat on the fence about it. On one hand, I do think the women in the video are stunning, and it’s certainly a change from the totally desexualized fat woman image. On the other hand, I don’t think the solution to that is to sexualize women of all sizes equally. On one hand it shows the women in a sexualized domestic setting, which is sexist. On the other hand, it doesn’t demonize the men in the video who are attracted to larger women. On one hand, it shows the women eating, which to me brings up the question of feederism or fetishism. On the other hand… I don’t know. It’s fruit! It’s healthy!
So are kudos in order, or are you concerned? Tell me all about it.
–A. I.
January 28th, 2008
When was the last time you sat on the couch, squealing in delight because you were so impressed with the programming? I know. Us neither. We’re not even all that into TV. That’s why we’re so excited about “How to Look Good Naked,†a new Lifetime reality series.
The weekly show is hosted by Carson Kressley from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,†and features a new woman each week who learns to love her body as it is. (Yes, really.) Each week, the show culminates in a photo shoot where the woman poses naked, flaunting her new-found confidence. The show is structured in much the same way as a typical makeover show, but the goal is one of self-acceptance, instead of diet and plastic surgery.
The title of the show may evoke something straight out of seedy late-night cable, but this show genuinely strives to counter pre-conceived images of beauty to which women compare themselves. Carson repeatedly comes back to the idea of loving one’s body, and seeing it as others perceive it, instead of as our own skewed version.
The first episode featured Layla from Santa Monica, CA, and put Layla through a program to allow her to see her body as it really is. In the show, Layla takes a good look at herself in several full-length mirrors and lists off every part of her body that she dislikes, while Carson emphasizes her positive attributes. Shortly afterward, Layla sees interviews with people on the street as they speak about a huge, projected image of her body. Instead of highlighting so-called problem areas, many individuals found Layla’s body beautiful and refreshing. After going bra and underwear shopping, clothing shopping, having a spa treatment, haircut, and makeup restyling, Layla poses naked for a photo shoot.
We find this show delightfully subversive, as it uses the typical makeover show paradigm to promote a positive message about loving oneself. Not once are diet or cosmetic surgery mentioned as possible avenues for self-improvement. There’s still the predictable corporate shilling, in not-so-subtle moments of product placement, and we saw at least one diet pill advertisement during the commercial breaks (et tu, Dexatrim?). Also, too much emphasis was put on making Layla look and feel “sexy†and desirable to men. However, we are impressed with Carson’s compassionate and unorthodox contributions to this reality series, which makes the show watchable and entertaining.
Numerous critics have cited the show for promoting obesity/unhealthy lifestyles (their words, not ours) and glossing over the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. Apparently these critics assume that the show’s viewers have never heard those suggestions before. Apparently these critics have not been paying attention to the corporate sponsors. Ads aside, “How to Look Good Naked†stands out by not taking part in that rhetoric. We are not given information about Layla’s medical profile, her eating habits or her exercise patterns, because that is simply irrelevant.
These same critics have touched upon their own impulse to judge the women featured in the episode as being too lazy to change their bodies, and finding acceptance as a sort of defeat. What do you think? Did you find yourself pointing out Layla’s flaws along with her?
We’ve heard this sort of argument a lot, blaming and bullying women who do not work day and night to achieve a cookie-cutter goal for their bodies. The show has something to say about that: Carson explains that in the 20 years Layla had been dieting, she could have been having fun, being good at her job, dating more. She had been putting her life on pause, waiting until she was worthy to go out and be proactive. That was one of the most poignant moments of the show, and one that will most likely hit home for many of the show’s viewers.
You can watch the whole first episode in three segments on the Lifetime website here. It’s also available for free download from the iTunes Store.
So if you love this show too, take action!
1) Let Lifetime know how much you appreciate its programming by writing Lifetime Television / 309 W. 49th Street / New York, NY 10019.
2) Send Carson’s agent a letter or e-mail and tell her what a great job he’s doing.
3) Support the show by tuning in and encouraging your friends to watch it.
As always, we welcome any comments you might have about the show. Let us know what you think!
The details:
“How to Look Good Naked,†Lifetime, Fridays at 9PM/8PM Central.
– Avital Isaacs and Hilary Burgin
Avital is a sophomore at Oberlin College, where she majors in Cinema Studies. After many years of quiet admiration for About-Face, she is thrilled to be joining the ranks.
Hilary is also a sophomore at Oberlin College in the great state of Ohio, studying Environmental Studies and Latin American Studies. She was raised in a female-positive family that loves to have event gatherings based upon food. She could most likely live off of garlic, chocolate, spinach, cheese, and grapefruit.
January 16th, 2008
WARNING: Hey kids! This piece includes details that may give you some bad nightmares. And we definitely don’t want to give you nightmares.
Hostel: Part II, the latest installment from Quentin Tarantino and his merry band of all-male producers, is coming out tomorrow. The main characters in the first Hostel were male backpackers, but this time, they are women — young, beautiful female actors.
Somehow, someone got the idea that women as victims would be extra-edgy. Torturing women! Cool! Then we can see their hot bodies get mutilated in a bloody pool while bound and gagged! I’m a movie fan, but c’mon, people!
According to an anonymous review written on IMDB, when you enter the theater, you’ll be treated to “3 beautiful college students … tricked into entering a hostel where the ‘hosts’ like to torture, rape and murder. … three women are lured into a hostel by a handsome young man who sells them to the twisted masters, who tie them up and bring upon an unthinkable world of pain… ”
Yes, that was “torture, rape and murder” and yes, he *sells* the women to the masters.
Some of the insanely bad movie posters for Hostel II.
Especially in the poster on the far left, we have a woman’s naked body mixed with violence (the decapitated head) to produce maximum arousal for adolescent boys.
Eli Roth, writer and director of Hostel II, and two of his leading actresses. They must love him.
Eli Roth, the writer/director of Hostel II, said in an interview with Cinematical.com, “Here’s the thing: I just want to create a story, and make it scary and interesting. I want everything to be about the next level. The movie is really about the next level of depravity — that sex doesn’t get you off, that violence is a substitute for that.”
We’ve been watching girls get killed in horror movies for years, but Hostel II seems to take it right over the edge into pure misogyny. Some writers are calling these realistic films featuring women or men “torture porn.” The very term says a lot about how our culture interweaves sex (i.e. sexual acts being done to women) and violence and why we can’t seem to separate the two.
Some super-scary shots from Hostel II.
But here’s my thing: Women and girls are being tortured for real, every day, around the world, because they are women. And it’s because they are seen as less than men, less than human.
I hear the horror-film buffs now: “C’mon, the hot chicks always die in horror movies. It’s just a director pushing the envelope. And it’s just a movie. It’s not real.”
You know what, um, no. It’s not “just a movie.” Art imitates life, or at least a dreamlike, skewed version of life. And in Hostel II, we’re seeing the acting-out of a culture that is still trying to maintain women’s roles as the objects of sex or violence. It’s the fantasy world of unaware boys and men — so, my woman friends, watch your backs.
Tips for taking action: Phone up your local theaters that are showing Hostel II this weekend and tell them you won’t be going to see this misogynistic film at their theater. Write a letter/e-mail or make a phone call to Lionsgate films, the studio that produced Hostel II, and tell them what you think:
Lionsgate / 2700 Colorado Ave. / Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: (310) 449-9200 / Fax: (310) 255-3870 / general-inquiries@lgf.com
– J.B.
June 7th, 2007
Last week I saw something that horrified me . . . vicariously, that is. The Today Show held a swimsuit fashion show on its April 26th episode, complete with a runway, cute bikinis, and beautiful models. That’s not the scary part. What sent panic through my bones was that these “models” were not part of the exclusive club of long and lean ladies that grace the pages of Vogue and Elle magazines. These models were “regular” women like you and me.
Two weeks earlier, Malia Mills, owner of a designer swimsuit boutique by the same name based in New York City, hand-picked women from the audience outside The Today Show studios who were there to watch the show’s live taping.
Can you imagine that? One day you’re minding your own business, anonymously crammed into a crowd of a hundred or so strangers, and the next thing you know, you are donning a swimsuit on your size 12 frame in front of millions of people across the country! These women went from civilians to swimsuit models in two weeks! That means that as far as getting “swimsuit-ready,” there was barely enough time for a decent bikini wax. A personal trainer, crash diets, or even colonics couldn’t even make a noticeable difference in two weeks. That is what makes this jump into the public eye so impressive to me. These ladies were confident enough to boldly strut their beautiful, true selves. They looked fantastic!
I watched them on the TV incredulously. Could I be that brave?
Malia Mills’ motto is “Love Thy Differences” and that is what she does. She designs suits that are meant to flatter all figures. She achieves this by emphasizing the beauty of every body type, whether curvaceous or slim, size 2 or 16, tall or short. Mills’ approach is not to use industrial-strength Lycra that pinches so hard at the waist that breathing — let alone swimming — becomes a challenging feat; She allows customers to mix and match tops and bottoms that complement each part of the body. She doesn’t try to hide anything or force us to pretend we are something that we are not.
Now that swimsuit season is upon us, I am going to remember these models when I am in the department-store dressing room. Instead of fretting about what I could have done to make my body swimsuit-ready, I will patiently look for a suit that was designed to fit my body. I know that the right suit is out there.
If you want to check out these brave and beautiful women and these great swimsuits, you can visit the Malia Mills website.
–J.K.
Jennifer Kinzelberg is a freelance public relations consultant who works with non-profit organizations. She is proud to be associated with organizations like About-Face that are dedicated to helping young people realize their true potential through knowledge and positive self-esteem.
May 4th, 2007
Oh Dove, how you woo us. In the latest series of ads meant to motivate women to buy products based on positive feelings about themselves, Dove has created a truly sassy commercial for Pro-Age, a line of products for women over 50 years old. Here I’ve posted some still images of the commercial, which you can watch on the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty web site.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not even close to 50! Why should I care?” Listen sister, you are going to be 50 someday, so don’t you need some positive role models who actually feel comfortable in their skin? Raise your hand if your mom (or older sister, or aunt, or grandmother) hates her (insert body part here). Let’s see some women who love their (insert body parts here).
The Campaign for Real Beauty web site states that Dove couldn’t show these commercials on TV. I’m not sure whether TV markets wouldn’t accept it (the women are nude, after all), or whether posting it on the web site only is just a marketing tactic.
Dove also took out a four-page ad in Oprah magazine’s March 2007 issue that spotlights one of the women in the ad. (If you have a copy, please send us a scan of it… submissions@about-face.org)
Congratulations to Dove for continuing to help women feel good about themselves. You may be selling us beauty products, but at least you’re not insulting us in doing it.
– J. B.
February 15th, 2007
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