You’re reading the About-Face blog, so I’m gonna guess that you’re interested in the various messed-up ways women and girls are portrayed in media, and how it can really damage our self-esteem and self-respect. Well, now there’s a movie about it! It’s the new documentary “America the Beautiful,” and you should really go see it.
The trailer:
I saw the documentary last night in San Francisco, and I almost lost my s*&# watching the editors of Elle Girl and Seventeen magazines talking about how they need to show the thin body ideal only, or they’re “out of a job.” Really — no care for the fact that you are contributing to eating disorders, self-hatred, and general depression in young women? And the answer: No, really, none at all.
And then there’s Gerren, a 12-year-old model whose mother lets her wear next to nothing on the catwalk, but won’t let her wear a bra to school because she doesn’t think it’s appropriate. Through my work with About-Face, I’ve spoken to more moms than I can count who give their daughters the very same mixed messages.
There are just so many pertinent, poignant bits in this film, one being that the whole thing flows really well and nails the problem of our culture’s beauty obsession in a way that no somewhat-smart woman can deny. And two being that it’s an African-American man who made the film and who includes many other African-Americans who truly have something to say.
If you look carefully, you’ll spot two About-Face posters in the film! (I wish About-Face had been around to be in the movie!)
Really, I could go on and on. But I won’t.
Bring your mom, bring your friends, bring your sister. Hey, bring your brother. Cuz guys need to know this stuff too. (Plus there are quite a few bits about men and their body image too.)
THIS is the model who won America’s Next Top Model last night.
Well, imagine my surprise when I tuned in to America’s Next Top Model (a Tyra Banks vehicle) to see which of the three finalists would win, only to see Whitney, a “full-figured” model, take the prize. It’s quite an accomplishment for the show, since Tyra gets all kind of flack for being size-positive on the Tyra Banks Show, her daytime talk show, but not supporting full-figured models enough on America’s Next Top Model. So finally Tyra reconciled her two TV pursuits a bit better.
We at About-Face are pretty pleased, though Whitney is not actually “plus-sized” by any stretch of the imagination. She’s pretty normal. But you know, the modeling and fashion industry needs this right now.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, here’s a good recap of last night’s episode (the web site makes you install a Java applet, and the best bits are from 1:23 to 2:00).
Great quotes from the episode: Es gibt aber auch ein paar deutsprächige online Kasinos , wo man internet Kasino poker spielen kann.
Tyra: “She’s not big, J. [Alexander, a judge]! This is the modeling industry — she’s considered big, but walking down the street, she’s just a hot chick.”
Paulina Porizkova [former supermodel]: “[Whitney] should not be called ‘plus-sized’ or ‘full-figured.’ [She] should just be called ‘beautiful.’ ”
Whitney: “I’m here because I do feel good about myself, and I want other women in America to feel better about themselves.”
Whitney: “[I realized] I can do that [be a model]. I don’t have to starve myself or have cosmetic surgery.”
It was all rather touching.
Is this a step in the right direction? Does it matter that there’s a larger-than-model-sized model who won? And what will it do for (or to) the fashion and modeling industries, if anything?
(Amelia playing guitar with her teeth, from
Girls Rock! The Movie, www.girlsrockmovie.com. Photo by Nicole Weingart)
Using your voice powerfully isn’t just about being a loud, outspoken bad-ass chick — something we grown women often want for girls. It’s also about finding your vulnerabilities, and turning them into strengths. This came to me, a grown woman, while watching 8- to 18-year-old girls learn how to play instruments and sing in a rock band.
Alyza (About-Face’s Director of Programs) and I saw Girls Rock! The Movie when it played in San Francisco recently. The filmmakers interviewed some of the campers at the Girls Rock Camp in Portland, Oregon, as well as their parents. What resulted was funny, fun, true, and transformational.
Watch the trailer for the movie:
By the way, we are still trying to cleverly answer the question, “How do you tune a taco?”, posed by the performance-artist type Amelia in one of her many improvisational and truly weird songs. That line was such a crack-up.
Laura, a young woman adopted from Korea, says early on, “I pretty much accept that I hate myself.” But later, she says, “I’ve been waiting so long to admit to myself that I’m amazing.” (That’s Laura there on the left. Photo by Nicole Weingart from www.girlsrockmovie.com.) At that moment, I wished we all knew that we’re amazing from the day we’re born. It gave Alyza and I fresh hope, and a reminder that girls still need to be taught to find their voices, get on stage, and use them — the earlier, the better. We’re working on that here at About-Face.
Take Action! Support Girls Rock! The Movie, and the Girls Rock Camps. Here’s how:
2) The Girls Rock Camps need your support to keep raising girls’ self-esteem through the medium of music. Make a donation to the rock camp of your choice. There are camps all over the country, including one on July 7-12 in About-Face’s home base, the San Francisco Bay Area.
I was Google-chatting with my good friend Rebecca the other day and we were rambling on about the Oscars. You know — our favorite dresses, favorite speeches, and so on. Out of the blue, she asks “Did you hear about Emma Thompson?” Apparently, Emma Thompson laid it down to the producers of her new movie Cassandra’s Dream when they asked Hayley Atwell to trim down her physique. Ms. Thompson used her leverage as a two-time Oscar winner and told the producers she would “resign from the film if they forced Atwell to lose weight.” Wow!
We’re hoping this story is true. Either way, we hope other high-powered celebrities heed this example of awesome-ship (of course, in an ideal world, this would never be an issue). After all, movies are supposed to be part of self-expression. When did this type of expression result in controlling women’s bodies?
Once again Dove has spoken to the hearts of About-Facers. Their latest “Onslaught” commercial tells parents to “talk to [their] daughters before the beauty industry does” after showing clip after clip of advertisements, commercials, etc. parodying messages given to girls and women every day (or more acurately, every minute) by the beauty industry.
We hope you’re calling your daughter or sister or friend to tell her all about it. It’s wonderful to see an advertisement that doesn’t leave us feeling inadequate. Instead of telling us to get up and buy some product that will wipe out our bank accounts (not to mention our self-esteem), Dove tells us to take action and talk! Do it Dove. We hope you will keep it up!
And then there’s Gerren, a 12-year-old model whose mother lets her wear next to nothing on the catwalk, but won’t let her wear a bra to school because she doesn’t think it’s appropriate. Through my work with About-Face, I’ve spoken to more moms than I can count who give their daughters the very same mixed messages.
