Christina worked a Zac Posen gown at the 2010 Emmy Awards.

Yes, I’m on a Christina Hendricks kick.

Can you blame me?

Just a few days after my last post on the “Mad Men” star and some supposed Photoshopping shenanigans, Christina strutted down the Emmy Awards red carpet Sunday.

While it may have been tough to notice anything other than the ravishing redhead’s um, assets (which are very much real, despite whispers that her “Mad Men” alter ego, Joan is just very strategically padded), many took note of Christina’s dress.

And not in a good way.

I’ll admit, I was put off by the lavender Zac Posen number myself. But you can’t blame the girl. According to an interview with the Daily Record, designers aren’t exactly lining up to dress her curves for the red carpet.

“People have been saying some nice, wonderful things about me,” Christina told the Scottish news source. “Yet not one designer in town will loan me a dress. They only lend out a size 0 or 2. So I’m still struggling for someone to give me a darn dress.”

Seriously? Starring on a critically acclaimed television show and being voted Esquire Magazine‘s “Sexiest Woman Alive” don’t warrant a few fashion freebies?

If only modern designers could take a hint from "Mad Men" and learn to dress bodies of all sizes.

Not if your dress size comes in double-digits, apparently.

“This has always been my size,” Christina said. “I’ve worked on other shows with this same size but ‘Mad Men’ celebrates it and that is nice.”

It is nice, isn’t it? And wouldn’t it be nicer if 21st century designers shared the same enthusiasm for the female form as their 1960s predecessors and aimed to dress bodies, not clothes hangers?

Yes, there are plenty of beautiful size 0s and 2s, and we all know a good amount of them populate Hollywood. But let’s get real. Designers should be clamoring to dress stars of all sizes, especially those that come packaged as photogenically as Christina Hendricks.

And if it’s that hard to craft a beautiful garment big enough to contain Christina’s curves, then maybe it’s time to revisit fashion school.

– Michelle

Whitney Thompson (right) and Chenese Lewis take it all off to promote Love Your Body Day.

But “ANTM”‘s first plus-size winner, Whitney Thompson, is trying to bring body acceptance to the masses as the face—and, duh, body—of the 5th Annual Hollywood National Organization for Women (NOW) Love Your Body Day.

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.

– Michelle

"In Touch" pits Kardashian vs. Kardashian in a battle of the bodies.

“Body Jealousy, Sisters at War!”

This is InTouch Weekly’s latest headline. The article claims that Kim and Kourtney Kardashian are in a weight war, battling it out to see who can be the slimmest.

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.

And I invite all of you to join me.

– Maddy

Christina's curves seem less than curvy in the new London Fog ad.

Poems should be written about “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks’ curves.

No, really.

The actress has one of those unbelievably beautiful bodies that only Botticelli could have dreamed up. The show’s costume department must have a field day dressing her up in vintage styles that showcase breasts, hips, and butt (all of which she has plenty of, thank you very much).

So why on Earth would London Fog feel the need to touch her lovely, decidedly unwaif-like body with even one click in Photoshop?

Jezebel put some unretouched photos side-by-side with the campaign’s final ad, and it definitely looks like some digital blasphemy has gone on.

The man (un-Photoshopped) curves of Christina's "Mad Men" character, Joan Holloway.

Whatever London Fog’s photo editors did, they managed to pare down Christina’s curves enough to make her look alarmingly like a typical Hollywood starlet.

Can we once and for all leave works of art alone, please? Otherwise, let’s just slap some extensions on the Mona Lisa, fit her with horsey veneers, and give her the Heidi Montag plastic surgery special. Sheesh.

– Michelle

Eating disorders as entertainment? E!'s "What's Eating You?" isn't exactly "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Interested in watching a girl eat ant-covered food out of the garbage? Or how about a guy who continually chews and swallows entire packs of gum? Stellar entertainment, right?

It may sound like a “Fear Factor” ripoff, but it’s actually “What’s Eating You?”–the E! network’s new eating disorder reality show.

Oh boy.

The always-classy E! (“classy” as in, “I can easily name three of their resident stars who have starred in homemade sex tapes“) is promoting its new show as if it centered around a bevy of circus freaks.

Unfortunately, the “bizarre rituals” described in the network’s press release aren’t wild and wacky stunts, but just a couple of the “extreme habits” exhibited by participants on the new show.

So what the reality genre is sorely missing is an exploitative exploration of mental illness? Not really. We already have “Celebrity Rehab,” “Hoarders,” and a slew of “True Life” episodes documenting the anguish of addiction, obsession, and more. But this is about eating! And it’s on E! Surely it couldn’t be a bad idea!

Judge for yourself. Executive Producer JD Roth swears that “this show really is about the incredible fortitude and strength of people with intense obstacles to overcome, and how they strive to get their lives back on track.”

E! should stick to what it does best and continue only exploiting those who ask for it.

Really? Then why does the lengthy first paragraph of the press release about this show chronicle the gory details of each person’s disorder with the perverse glee of, as Hortense at Jezebel.com brilliantly asserts, “a carnival barker”? I’m surprised the statement doesn’t start with “step right up!” and go on to announce the participants alongside the bearded lady.

Hortense also points out that Roth is the same producer who brought us “The Biggest Loser,” which we’ve already told you allegedly caused one contestant to develop an eating disorder. Can we expect the same sensitive treatment for those featured on “What’s Eating You?”?

Personally, I’d like E! to stick to what it does best and exploit only the people who actually asked for it (i.e. the Kardashians of the world). Let’s leave the real issues to those actually qualified to present them tastefully.

– Michelle

Join the About-Face team!

Love what we do? Want to know how to help? Oh, and did you need school credit, too? We may have a solution. Become an About-Face intern!

New opportunities for the fall have just been posted, and you might be one of the smart, enthusiastic, ambitious students we need! Read the descriptions below, and find out more on our website.

Education Into Action Intern

Help young women understand media and body image as an About-Face Education Into Action Intern!

About-Face is looking for a smart, enthusiastic, and organized Education Into Action Intern who will help ensure that our much-loved media-literacy workshops for young women maintain their sassy, edgy tone and who will help spread them throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. This role would be perfect for a college student who needs an internship for college credit starting September 2010. Note that the role is unpaid.

For more information about our Education Into Action workshops, please see the presentations page.

Timeline and time commitment: This internship will take place September through December 2010. The time commitment will be 8-12 hours per week, depending on course requirements. Most work hours will be in our downtown San Francisco office.

DUTIES AND TASKS

– Coordinate and schedule media-literacy workshops with teachers and group leaders

– Help support our current group of workshop leaders

– Depending on your interest and skills, learn how to lead About-Face media-literacy workshops

– Help with monthly volunteer meetups (evenings once per month in San Francisco)

REQUIREMENTS AND SKILLS

– Interest in how media affects women and girls

– Excellent organization skills and ability to remember lots of disparate information

– Great phone skills and communication skills over e-mail

– Responsibility: commitment to coming to work on time, communicating clearly with manager

– Accurate typing skills

– Basic computer skills, Mac preferred

TO APPLY

- A brief e-mail that tells us what would make you a good fit for this role

- A resume or another description of your previous work and volunteer experience. (A formal resume and an informal description will be equally considered).

- Name of your college or university

- Name of the course that will be giving you credit for this internship and the contact information for the teacher or professor who will be your supervisor

Send it all via e-mail to Jennifer Berger, Executive Director, at jennifer@about-face.org. You’ll hear back from us about one week after you apply, when we may ask you to interview in person.

About-Face.org Intern

Help young women understand media and body image as an About-Face Web Site Intern!

About-Face is looking for an enthusiastic, technology-inclined intern who is willing to learn more about our work and who can help our web site stay up-to-date and engaging. This role would be perfect for a college student in web design or another field who needs an internship for college credit. Note that the role is unpaid.

Timeline and time commitment: This internship will start between September and December 2010. The time commitment will be 4-8 hours per week, depending on your school’s internship requirements.

Some duties and tasks include:

– Learning about our work with women and girls, and helping develop our resource-filled web site

– Working on web site updates, including graphics, our blog, and text

– Writing items for our blog (www.about-face.org/blog) and other parts of the webs site

Of you, we require:

– Interest in how media affects women and girls

– Basic understanding of HTML or other web-design frameworks or CMSs

– Responsibility — showing up on time and communicating clearly

– Enthusiasm around technology

To apply, e-mail us:

- A brief e-mail that tells us what would make you a good fit for this role

- A resume or another description of your previous work and volunteer experience. (A formal resume and an informal description will be equally considered).

Marketing and Fundraising Intern

About-Face in San Francisco, CA

Help young women understand media and body image as an About-Face Marketing and Fundraising Intern! Perfect for students studying marketing, nonprofit development, and fundraising.

About-Face is looking for a shameless promoter who wants to learn more about our work and who can help get out the word about us to potential donors and the public. Note that the role is unpaid.

Timeline and time commitment: This internship will start between September and December 2010. The time commitment will be 4-8 hours per week, depending on your school’s requirements.

Some duties and tasks include:

– Learning about our work with women and girls

– Fundraising: creating and putting on a fundraising event, organizing donor information, researching possible funders, thanking donors

– Marketing: Making calls and sending e-mails to media outlets about our work, maintaining our media list, putting together About-Face’s info kits, and coming up with new, cool ideas for ways to get the word out

– Depending on interest, learning how to write grants

Of you, we require:

– Interest in how media affects women and girls

– Responsibility — showing up on time, communicating clearly

– Desire to learn the nuts and bolts of fundraising and marketing/outreach

– No fear of technology and a willingness to learn

To apply, e-mail us:

- A brief e-mail that tells us what makes you a good fit for this role

- A resume or another description of your previous work and volunteer experience. (A formal resume and an informal description will be equally considered).

All-Around Intern

About-Face in San Francisco, CA

Help young women understand media and body image as an About-Face Intern!

About-Face is looking for an enthusiastic, All-Around Intern who is willing to learn more about our work and who can help our office run smoothly. This role would be perfect for a college student who needs an internship for college credit. It is also open to high-school students who need community-service hours to graduate. Note that the role is unpaid.

Timeline and time commitment: This internship can start any time between September and December 2010. The time commitment will be 4-8 hours per week, depending on your school’s time requirements. Most of the time, you’ll work from our downtown San Francisco office.

Some duties and tasks include:

– Learning about our work with women and girls, and helping with all programs

– Attending and helping set up, manage volunteers, and break-down at volunteer meetups (generally every 3rd or 4th Thursday night in San Francisco)

– General office tasks like data entry, filing, organizing, and shipping

– Finding various media that relate to our mission and discussing them in our office (i.e. fun!)

Of you, we require:

– Interest in how media affects women and girls

– Responsibility — showing up on time, and being reliable

– Basic knowledge of computers, including files and folders, Microsoft Word, and the web

To apply, e-mail us:

- A brief e-mail that tells us what would make you a good fit for this role

- A resume or another description of your previous work and volunteer experience. (A formal resume and an informal description will be equally considered).

Check out the video below to see Executive Director Jennifer Berger and 2009 intern Sydney Calendar talk more about the perks of an A-F internship!

– Michelle

Arika (left) and Danika take action in Denver, CO.

There’s nothing we like to see more than About-Face supporters take action!

Check out 16-year-old cousins Danika and Arika making good use of our Covert Dressing Room Action Kit at a mall near Denver, CO. The girls told us a bit about what motivated them to act, and we hope you find their words as inspiring as we do.

If you need even more encouragement to hit your own local dressing room armed with decals (you can find them here), watch the video of our Summer 2009 Take Action group.

Arika strikes a pose.

“I wanted to positively influence others to feel good about themselves. The media has negatively influenced people’s body image and self-esteem. I am hopeful that the decals will inspire others, help someone feel good about themselves or influence someone to compliment someone else.” — Arika, age 16.

Danika thinks you look pretty phat.

“We put the decals on dressing room mirrors with self-esteem-boosting quotes to help other women and teens feel good about themselves. I think it is important because there are a lot of people who feel that they aren’t equal with others—maybe because of their looks or weight—and we wanted to help them know that everyone is beautiful in their own way, no matter what size, shape, or color they are ” — Danika, age 16.

Have you formed your own Take Action group? We want to know about it! Send your pics, videos, and stories to submissions@about-face.org and you might see your own beautiful face on our blog!

– Michelle

Proenza Schouler's new ad campaign features a model who seems to have misplaced her waist.

Obviously, this trend isn’t a new one (ever heard of a corset?), but recent media hype has drawn a lot of attention to the trait.

If you own a TV and have ever found yourself “accidentally” surfing the CW network (Yeah, I DVR “Gossip Girl.” So?!), you’ve probably seen promo ads for the upcoming season of “America’s Next Top Model.”

While it’s never exactly been a stellar representation of realistic beauty (a handful of plus-size girls and a season’s worth of petite ones does not a diverse show make), “Top Model” may have finally gone too far.

In the video below, cycle 15 contestant Ann shows off her unbelievably itty-bitty waist (J. Alexander’s hands successfully touch when wrapped around it). It’s surprising Tyra Banks doesn’t have to wipe the drool off her chin, given the awe-struck expression on her face.

The commercial is only 21 seconds long, but it does a pretty efficient job of planting the seeds of some seriously distorted beauty ideals. Does 6’2″ Ann really have that miniature middle naturally? Maybe. But it’s still disconcerting to see that “regular-thin” is no longer the modeling world’s gold standard. The hosts’ mesmerized gazes pretty clearly convey that to get ahead, it helps to have almost unfeasible body parts. Great.

Jumping on the “oh my god, is that for real?” bandwagon is fashion line Proenza Schouler. In the company’s new ad campaign (seen at the top of this post), a model quite literally disappears when viewed from the side. Too much fun with the eraser tool in Photoshop? An unfortunate angle? Does it matter? Either way, this is the image designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez chose to project to the world, and it’s not healthy, beautiful, or for that matter, humanly possible.

While it’s wonderful to celebrate all the various eccentricities that go along with having a body, putting one on this high a pedestal can be seriously damaging. No amount of Spanx or sucking in will ever get most women the waist these fashion moguls are fetishizing. And it doesn’t matter one bit. But that doesn’t change the fact that swarms of  style-savvy girls will buy into yet another unattainable aspiration.

UPDATE: Tyra Banks sat down with PEOPLE Magazine yesterday to issue a lengthy apology for the new “Top Model” promo.

“The passionate response the trailer has evoked proves that the message to promote and celebrate all different — healthy and natural –- body types has resonated with our viewers and I’m so proud of every one of you who voiced your opinion and participated in this conversation. I have experienced body image scrutiny from one extreme to the next –- as an awkward, extremely thin pre-teen who couldn’t gain weight no matter what I did, to later being slammed by the media for my fuller, curvier frame,” Tyra said.

“Driven by these personal experiences, I am committed to expanding the definition of beauty which includes ALL shapes, sizes and proportions, from skinny to curvy and everything in between. It’s about women telling the world to KISS their –- skinny, wide, droopy, flat, cellulite-covered or FAT -– you know what!”

Read Tyra’s full statement here.

– Michelle

Julie, Leona, Anansa, and Lizzie share their stories for "The Changing Face of Fashion" video series.

They’ve been around for nearly a century, count 3.3 million members worldwide, and are considered a preeminent leadership development organization.

In case the only thing you know about the Girl Scouts is their unwavering dedication to supplying America with Thin Mints, it’s time to learn more.

With the help of four Wilhelmina Curve models (the agency’s division of women size 10 and up), Girl Scouts of the USA created The Changing Face of Fashion, a series of videos that explore self-esteem and personal empowerment.

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 Institute revealed 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.

For more information on The Changing Face of Fashion, visit http://www.girlscouts.org/itsyourstory/ and check out the video below:

– Michelle

Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan get violent in Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie" video

How would you feel watching a domestic abuse victim admit her desire for more pain? What if the cycle of violence were enacted by two celebrities, alternating between scenes of fierce aggression and passionate love?

What if all these images were set to a number-one, radio-friendly rap hit? Would you call it glamorization of a serious issue or a creative public service message?

Never one to shy away from controversy, Eminem recently released the new video for his single featuring Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie.” Starring Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan in a (literally) fiery relationship, the video is causing a big debate among music fans and domestic abuse prevention experts.

I have to admit, I’m torn on the matter. My first instinct is to scoff at any form of media that attempts to employ Megan Fox in a meaningful way (she, of the eloquent quotes, like: “I resent having to prove that I’m not a retard — but I do.”).

It also makes me absolutely uneasy to watch Rihanna, who repeatedly spoke out about her abusive relationship with Chris Brown, coo to the camera,

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn

But that’s alright because I like the way it hurts

Just gonna stand there and hear me cry

But that’s alright because I love the way you lie.

And though I can’t deny being a fan of Eminem’s lyrical skills and serious talent, it’s no secret that he’s had his own violent past with ex-wife Kim. The song, allegedly about the couple’s roller-coaster relationship, even includes the disturbing lines, “If she ever tries to f—ing leave again/I’mma tie her to the bed and set the house on fire.”

The thought of MTV’s target audience interpreting the frightening lyrics and engaging images as sexy or glamorous is completely revolting. But to play devil’s advocate, there are some positive points to the video as well.

Though it’s easy to pick on Megan, she performed quite an admirable act by donating her fee for the video to Sojourn, a facility that helps battered women and their children.

And some experts believe that depicting the chilling realities of domestic abuse can help spread awareness. Stephanie Nilva, executive director of sexual assault and trauma resource center Day One, told MTV News, “The most important thing the video is doing is raising the topic of dating violence among young people.”

My own personal jury is still out, but feel free to form your own opinion on the video below:

- Michelle