Whitney had no problem stripping down for a good cause, joining Love Your Body Day founder and Hollywood NOW president Chenese Lewis in promo shots for the event. NOW launched the Love Your Body campaign in September 1998, and this year’s festivities take place October 22nd through 24th.
While Whitney will fulfill her hosting duties in Hollywood, NOW encourages women around the country to “say ‘no’ to twisted beauty standards and hazardous advertisements by holding rallies, pickets, house parties, classroom discussions and more.” Who could say no to a body-positive house party?
And though Whitney’s known for being a “Top Model,” she’s more than just a pretty face. As a 2010 ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association, she’s been pretty vocal about the same messed up media images we get riled up over at About-Face.
The girls pose for another Love Your Body promo shot.
Even after appearing on E! News recently to promote the NOW campaign, she wrote on her blog, “I do wish that they had female hosts who were at least size four, but they do have all the latest info and are quite informative. As a matter of fact, I think that they should hire me. LOL but I am a little biased.”
Whitney also spoke out about that whole “Top Model” teeny-tiny waist controversy we told you about. “Tyra supports women of all sizes as long as they are healthy,” she said in a press release. “I do not fault her for her reaction to seeing such a tiny waist. She had a similar reaction to seeing Toccara‘s enormous breasts. Tyra remains a leading figure in the fight for body equality in the fashion industry.”
I’m not sure whether I can agree with that, but it’s hard to disagree with her awesome attitude.
Stay tuned for future updates on this year’s Love Your Body Day.
Sadly, InTouch is not the only tabloid to pit celebrities against each other when it concerns image. Us Magazine never fails to have its “Who Wore it Best?” feature, which asks readers to rate who among a group of identically dressed stars looks better than the rest.
Ever walked down the street and critiqued a woman’s outfit or body? For most women, this may be a daily occurrence. We may catch ourselves staring at someone and thinking, or even saying, “What is she wearing?” Or “How did she get with him? I’m way prettier than her!”
But what gives us the right to overtly or covertly pass harsh judgment on friends, family or even strangers?
A typical "Who Wore it Best?" invites readers to judge celebrities side by side.
It seems as though tabloid magazine headlines, like the ones mentioned above, have made image criticism and comparison acceptable. While critiquing and judging other women may make us feel better for a fleeting moment, it won’t help us in the long run.
If we choose to celebrate other women instead of tearing them down, we are more likely to feel good about ourselves. So, I would like to propose a challenge to my fellow About-Facers. I am pledging to make an effort to stop the negativity and let the women in my life know how great they really are.
Told from the perspectives of plus-size models Anansa Sims, Leona Palmer, Julie Henderson, and Lizzie Miller (remember her from the now-famous Glamour nude shot?), the videos are part of a new Girl Scouts initiative to address the image of girls in the media.
As if we needed any more proof that females are constantly bombarded with distorted messages, a survey from the Girl Scout Research Instituterevealed some disturbing statistics. Though almost 90 percent of the 1,000 girls polled, ages 13 to 17, said the fashion industry and/or media place a lot of pressure on them to be thin, 3 out of 4 girls still consider fashion “really important.”
Furthermore, nearly one-third said they have used drastic methods such as starving themselves to lose weight, and more than one-third know someone their age who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
Rather than sit back and stare at the startling statistics, the Girl Scouts are doing something major. They’re partnering with the Dove Self-Esteem fund to offer programming for girls nationwide and will focus their core leadership program to address issues of body image in the media and its relation to self-esteem.
And according to a press release, the Girls Scouts have also “been instrumental in the introduction of The Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925) to Congress…this bill will work to promote healthy images of women in the media through a grant program that will support youth empowerment groups, media literacy programs, and further research into the effects of the media on women and girls.”
We can’t wait to see where their leadership takes us.
“I didn’t mean to be a role model,” says Margaret Cho. “I just speak my truth.”
Well Margaret’s truth is blunt, brazen, and hilarious, and anyone who’s seen the comedian in action can attest to her role-model-worthiness.
From her humble beginnings in San Francisco to her current mega-success with the TV show “Drop Dead Diva” and her upcoming comedy album Cho Dependent, Margaret’s racked up a lot of life experience. While she’s had her ups and downs with body image and self-esteem, it looks like Margaret has finally emerged on top. And whether or not she considers herself a role model, we sure do.
Check out our interview with the insanely talented star:
About-Face: Are there any celebrities you admire for being strong role models, despite constant media scrutiny? You’ve said that Paula Abdul was a celebrity you admired and that watching the media tear her down about her weight was very traumatizing.
Margaret Cho: With Paula Abdul, that was actually the first celebrity that I recognized people talking about her weight incessantly.
She was the first person I think that made a real impact with her talent and then at some point, was under fire with a lot of criticism that was totally directed at her physicality, and had nothing to do with her talent or her music or anything. And so that’s when I started to see how distorted it was, and how unfair it was.
In terms of positive role models, I don’t think that there are a lot, because there aren’t a lot of images of different looking women in the media. They don’t really exist. And people get criticized when they don’t conform.
I mean, even women who are beautiful, like Jessica Simpson. People are so insane about the way that she looks, and she looks great. I don’t understand.
The cover of Margaret's fifth concert film, "Beautiful"
I think that the way that the Internet is now, and the way that people leave comments about the way that people look, you can be so nasty without ever having to be accountable for it. And I think that kind of environment is really destructive for young women and [their] body image in general.
A-F: What do you hope “Drop Dead Diva” will accomplish in terms of challenging beauty stereotypes?
MC: It’s just about providing images of different-looking people, which I think is important. And you have this dialogue about the body and a way to talk about it. And ittreats women’s bodies with a lot of dignity and with a lot of respect and with a lot of heart, which I think is what our show does a lot.
A-F: As you’ve gotten older, how have you learned to build your sense of self-worth beyond your body image?
MC: Well for me it’s mostly personal. When I don’t eat, when I am anorexic, then I just turn to other things that are far more destructive.
I’m so hungry all the time that I’ll just drink alcohol or use drugs in order not to be hungry. And to me, all of the destructive elements in my life really just stem from my lack of eating and me wanting to be thin. That’s always what it’s about. I don’t have the same kinds of issues that other people have with addiction. Mine totally relate to my relationship with food and my relationship with my body.
So when I’m doing well, that means that my body image is doing well.
For me, I think it’s more about age and getting older and feeling good in my skin, which is really important.
A-F: Was there a moment you realized you were ready to move beyond focusing on your weight, or has it been a slow struggle?
MC: No, I think it was cumulative. It wasn’t really one thing. It was just, after a while, you start to make connections.
A-F: What has belly dancing done for your life?
MC: Well it’s a great art form and it’s a great way to celebrate the body for women, or for anyone.
Also, there’s a lot of bigger stars in Middle Eastern dance – they don’t want the stars to be skinny. That’s just really not the ideal look for belly dancers. The body type is usually voluptuous and bigger, which looks very comfortable. That’s a very wonderful ideal to have.
It’s a great dance form and it’s very traditional. And the aspects that I love, the kind of belly dance that I like, are sort of the more folkloric stuff, which is really beautiful.
But the ideal body is the one that’s much more voluptuous. And also older. There’s dancers that are very famous that dance well into their seventies and eighties, which is really cool.
A-F: I read on your blog that you love Latisse. What is your “beauty line”? How far are you willing to go in terms of societal standards of beauty?
MC: I don’t think I would get plastic surgery. … it never looks right. I just don’t think I would. I mean, I’m kind of curious also to see what it’ll look like. I’m curious about old age.
Margaret's upcoming comedy album, "Cho Dependent"
I use Latisse, which I think is a weird drug because it literally makes me grow eyelashes out of other parts of my face. That’s really weird. But I will do it. I will definitely do it for eyelashes.
A-F: Do you have any judgment on other people electing to have cosmetic procedures?
MC: No, I don’t have any issue with that. … And I have a lot of body modification with tattooing, and to me, that’s the way that I scratch that itch, so to speak. I don’t really have any issues with people who want to do that.
A-F: You participated in the making of a documentary film called Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom [not yet released].
MC:I did an interview for it a while ago that was about women and identity and all those body issues and all of that was in there too.
A-F: I read in an interview you said you spent so much of your life trying to be skinny that you don’t remember your 20s. In another you said that living in Atlanta with the “Drop Dead Diva” cast is like reliving your 20s. If you could say anything to the 20-something Margaret, what would it be?
MC: Well I would probably just tell myself to eat something. Which is really, that was kind of all I needed in my 20s, and I really missed a lot of it because I was so concerned with all this other stuff which really ultimately doesn’t matter.
A few t-shirt designs from the PinkStinks online store.
Majora Carter. Janine Benyus. Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Ever heard of them?
Probably not. But besides embodying change and breaking down gender barriers, these women all have one thing in common: they’ve been featured as role models by PinkStinks, a British organization that provides young girls with alternatives to media messages.
By promoting real role models, Ema and Abi Moore–the sisters and founders of PinkStinks–encourage girls to feel good about themselves without needing to being rich, famous, beautiful, and fake. To the Moore siblings, the culture of “pink” is more than the color: it is a message that puts girls in boxes and limits them from reaching their full potential.
As for the role models they pick, women like Carter, Benyus and Aderin-Pocock move beyond the “pink” message.
Carter is an environmentalist who founded the Sustainable South Bronx Organization, Benyus is a science writer and president of the Biomimicry Institute, while Dr. Aderin-Pocock has a doctorate in mechanical engineering and makes handheld mine detectors and optical systems for the James Webb Space Telescope. Slightly more inspiring than the female role models the celebrity-obsessed world typically glorifies, right?
PinkStinks not only lauds women like this, but critiques the messages aimed at girls on a daily basis. For example, the organization analyzed a message on a Scrabble game box for girls that was colored in pink and displayed the game tiles spelling the word “fashion.” To revolt against the stereotypical images like this, PinkStinks also has an “Approved” section on their website, which applauds products that are not gender-biased.
Some creepy T- Shirts for 8 year olds, courtesy of the Zara Fashion Store.
And it doesn’t stop there. Aware of unethical advertising strategies aimed at young girls, PinkStinks actively campaigns against alarming commercial messages in the U.K. A recent one was against the Sainsbury Company’s sexist dress-up clothing for children which labeled doctors and pilots as boys’ items, and princesses, beauticians and 1950s nurses as girls‘. Thanks to PinkStinks, the company responded and changed their approach to dress-up clothing!
In addition to the campaign, PinkStinks also maintains a blog and a “Name and Shame” section to keep its U.K. audience aware of many of the outrageous commercial tactics that they are surrounded by.
While the Moore sisters are busy countering the culture of pink, their online store enables us to keep the revolution public. T-shirts titled “Future Role Model” and “I am no princess” can be found on their site.
It looks like the women behind the U.K.’s PinkStinks are making some major, global changes.
- Sheena
While the Moore sisters are busy countering the culture of PINK, their E store enables us to keep the revolution public. T-shirts titled “ Future Role Model” and “ I AM NO PRINCESS”can be found on their site http://pinkstinks.spreadshirt.co.uk/. In addition, during the Soccer World Cup Season this month, you can resist the media obsession with wives and girlfriends of soccer players (WAGS), by wearing a PINKSTINKS shirt titled “ WAGS:Women against gender stereotyping”.
WORLD CHANGERS IN ACTION, is all I can say about PINKSTINKS!
You know how self-help gurus, Oprah, and basically any teen magazine will advise you to, in moments of insecurity and lags of confidence, look at yourself in the mirror and reaffirm all the things you love about yourself?
Well, my roommate passed a YouTube video to me of a little toddler doing just that while standing on her bathroom sink. Check it out:
What first was a sweet, adorable video gave me an idea. The next day, standing in front of our medicine cabinet mirror waiting for the shower to warm up, I took a breath and started listing off all the things I like, a la little Jessica: “I like my friends! I like my family! I like my eyes! I like my legs! I like my sense of humor! I like San Francisco! I like my dog! I like my apartment! I like my hair!”
I laughed at how goofy I was being, but amazed at how GOOD I felt. Later, I confessed the ritual to the friend who initially showed me the video, and she broke into laughter, admitting she did the exact same thing just hours earlier!
So, go. Do it. Look at yourself in the mirror and, like Jessica, list off everything you like, even if it is simply “my haircuts” and “my pajamas.” It’s always nice to remember the little things, after all.
Anne Taintor is an artist who has taken the iconic images of the 1950s era and turned them upside down with just a few words, giving the classic images new meanings.
The Anne Taintor products add interestingly witty layers to the one dimensional images of the “ideal” woman.
Images of women in 1950s and ’60s America depicted strict standards of “perfection” with their flawless hair, white faces, and red lips. This type of image can still conjure up thoughts of a Leave It to Beaver life filled with women in housewife roles baking apple pies and vacuuming in high heels.
But Taintor plays on this connection of a “wholesome” idea of a woman with the clever comments she adds to the images.
Anne Taintor products range from compacts and coasters to file folders and flasks–all with the trademark comments that are both silly and insightful.
One of my favorite products from the Anne Taintor web site is a makeup bag showing a proper looking woman with the Anne Taintor caption that reads: “maybe I want to look cheap.”
There are also items like notepads that have women’s faces smiling back at the viewer, featuring words such as “why yes, I am overqualified” pasted beside the classic image.
The few words pasted on the classic images of women point out the rigid standards women conform to in the media more generally.
In a culture where girls and women see “perfect” pictures of women almost everywhere they go, it’s refreshing to see silly products that poke fun and mock those pressures to look and be a certain way.
You can check out all the Anne Taintor products here.
If you want to let Anne Taintor know how you feel about her products and their impact on women, send an email to cs@annetaintor.com.
When you look at today’s pop music scene, it’s easy to become discouraged. Women in song, in music videos, and on stage are expected to be oversexualized and Barbie-doll beautiful, and it seems as though talent has taken a backseat to sex appeal.
But in this gloomy musical landscape, a few bright lights stand out. One of these is the brilliant Marian Call, an Alaskan singer-songwriter who describes her style as “acoustic folk funk with a twist of jazz.”
Others, like the memorable nerd anthem “I’ll Still Be A Geek”, deal with being a female geek in a society that expects women to care more about sororities than sci-fi.
Quite a few of Marian Call’s songs express the joys and frustrations of being a woman who is passionately unique, and unwilling to conform to society’s image of what a woman “ought” to be like. The title track of her recent album, “Vanilla” is a good example.
She sings:
I’m not sexy, but I really want to be
I hear that’s normal for my demographic
I don’t look good in skirts, and even wedges hurt my feet
And I can’t keep a straight face and say ‘orgasmic’
Oh, I’m not hip, but I really want to be
All the bands I like you’ve heard of, and I watch too much TV
And I’m not cute, and I think too hard to be sweet
But not enough to get a real job or converse insightfully –
This is the part where you politely disagree.
My virtues are vanilla at best, but you can always call on me.
When asked about the meaning of the song, Call wrote, “I’m grappling with a very narrow definition of sexy here, the shallowest imaginable MTV bad girl diva dancer definition. Have no fears for my self-image; it’s just fine.”
Marian Call is a highly intelligent and talented woman, and she doesn’t have to perform in tiny leather outfits to prove it.
Support talented women in the arts! Visit www.mariancall.com to find out more about Marian’s music and lyrics; you can also follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mariancall.
I stumbled across this poster in a natural foods co-op in Santa Cruz–the kind of place where subversive media can be found in abundance. The poster features an image of Medusa, and the text on the poster delivers important messages regarding beauty:
Beauty must be defined as what we are, or else the concept itself is our enemy.
To see beauty is simply to learn the private language of meaning which is another’s life–to recognize and relish what is.
Why languish in the shadow of a standard we cannot personify, an ideal we cannot live?
CrimethInc.'s Beauty Subversion Poster
This poster was produced by the CrimethInc. Ex. Workers’ Collective, which describes itself as “a decentralized anarchist collective composed of many cells which act independently in pursuit of a freer and more joyous world”.
What do you think about these ideas on beauty? How are they similar or different from the ideas you are exposed to in your day-to-day life?
I stumbled across the Media That Matters Film Festival web site while randomly searching for documentaries online. After browsing through the taglines of numerous films on the site, one description immediately intrigued me:
“What’s your ethnic make-up?” A young man makes a pass at a beautiful stranger and gets an eye-opening schooling on race and gender.
I was impressed and touched by each of the short films I viewed on the site, but Slip of the Tongue (2005) especially stood out because it hit very close to home.
“What’s your ethnicity?” “What’s your ethnic background?” “Where are your parents from?” “Where are you from?” “What are you?”
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked these questions, I would not have to worry about paying off my college loans. Believe it or not, these are the questions most people have asked me upon meeting me for my entire life.
I understand that I’m asked out of curiosity, and I often wonder similar things about other people. But I’d like to explain that a question like “What’s your ethnic make-up?” is much more loaded when the person you are asking is a young, brown, American woman.
We may feel very proud of our heritages, but that doesn’t mean we want to be immediately defined by them. That kind of classification, especially for women and especially in the context of being hit on, feels like the all too familiar fetishization of the “exotic” woman: mysteriously beautiful, yet ultimately the strange “other”–a spectacle and a sexualized object.
The girl in the story is not necessarily mixed-race, but she still lies in the spectrum of ethnic ambiguity. Once plagued by the beauty standards that all American women face, made even more unattainable to women of color, she now explains the connections between not only race, but also imperialism, globalization, and capitalism within the conventional beauty ideals.
Like Sophie in the video “Beauty is Not How Skinny You Can Be!”, the girl in “Slip of the Tongue” reminds us that we are unique individuals. We should learn to embrace our natural beauty because our genes carry the rich history of our ancestors.
Beauty standards are simply trends marketed to make money for cosmetic industries. Covering up or altering our natural appearances to fit subjective beauty standards is, in a way, denying our ethnic roots and diverse forms of beauty.
What are your thoughts on the video and the issues it brings up?
But Taintor plays on this connection of a “wholesome” idea of a woman with the clever comments she adds to the images.
