Fat Rant: You Must Watch This

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe we missed this for THREE FULL MONTHS.

Watch! Watch! She’s fat, and she’s OK with it!

Thanks, Alison, for the major tip!

– J.B.

18 comments June 13th, 2007

Me, a Swimsuit Model?

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.

8 comments May 4th, 2007

Betty Love

Though I’ve only seen two episodes, I am hooked on “Ugly Betty.” It’s cheesy, dramatic, funny—all the key elements of a soap opera. It’s television shows like this one where I can’t decide whether I should boycott it or question the urge I have to watch it all day.

Betty is lovable. I can’t get enough of her. I relate to her because she is unlike most characters I see on television. However, the show plays on a lot of racial, class, and gender stereotypes, which in turn affect women’s self-esteem and body image.

Some of my feedback from the pilot episode:

Betty is smart, funny, ambitious, and confident. Her confidence strikes me, because usually when we see “nerdy” women on television, they are too wrapped up in their all-consuming geekiness to place value on hygiene or anything related to maintaining “femininity.” They try to accept their inherent geekiness with pride. Betty seems to know she doesn’t fit in. She doesn’t seem concerned with defining her identity within the standards set by her co-workers. Her niche includes women who are also Mode Magazine outcasts. They seem woman-centric and supportive of one another, which apparently isn’t valued at Mode. Why are the so-called “popular women” (a.k.a. fashionable and superficial ones) usually portrayed as catty, jealous, and competitive in mainstream media?

Here are a few more questions the pilot episode raised for me:

• Why do ambitious women often get portrayed as catty, competitive, mean, superficial witches or innocent, nice, unattractive (by mainstream standards), clumsy, wool-wearing simpletons?
• What are some stereotypes Hilda, Betty’s sister, perpetuates about Latina women?

And one more thing–Daniel was sexually harrassing his first assistant. Apparently if you are a beautiful and sexy (by mainstream standards) woman, you can’t expect to be taken as a serious professional. However, if you are geeky, and unattractive, you can expect to be respected…that is, after your boss feels bad for working you into the ground in an attempt to get you to quit!

If you’ve seen “Ugly Betty,” I’d love to know what you think. More to come…

–A.J.

1 comment March 8th, 2007

Dove Does It Again with Pro-Age Ads

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.

6 comments February 15th, 2007

Lady with Babe

One of my best friends, Alison, is expecting her first child this March. Auntie Alyza sure has a nice ring to it, no? Alison is one of the few women in my life who rarely critiques her body — something many women have trouble with in general.

Because many of her loved ones live out of state, Alison uses MySpace to keep her long-distance friends updated on the hows and whats of her pregnancy. We visually track her pregnancy with pictures she posts every week. It’s been a delight! What I love about these pictures are her poses. Alison does funny plies, uber-sarcastic “sexy model” expressions, funny 80’s midriff shots, and every once in a while, she takes a simple shot of her glowing, smiling self. Alison’s baby boy will be lucky to grow up in a body-positive household! It’s refreshing knowing a pregnant woman is having fun with her body, since most of us feel burdened by the extra pounds.

Here’s what Alison says:
“People have joked that I’ve been gaining some weight. They make sure to tell me that they are joking, but I never take it seriously because I know that I am gaining the right amount of weight per my pre-pregnancy size. I eat so I’m full and know that I am nourishing another growing life.

“Earlier last year, I interviewed for a nanny job with this lady who was due to have twins. She was a ridiculous exerciser. Despite being pregnant with twins, she said she had only gained around 25 pounds. That’s the bare minimum that a woman like me should be gaining with ONE child. It kills me that some women are more concerned about their weight and image during pregnancy than creating another life.”

Alison is a great role model for all of us, not just the pregnant ones! This is why I love Alison — she’s a great role model What’s your take?

– A.J.

2 comments February 8th, 2007