Once upon a time, there was a Milwaukee photographer named Julia Kozerski. At 25, she was classified as morbidly obese. She made healthy lifestyle changes and lost 160 pounds. And lived happily ever after as a weight loss success in her svelter shape, right? Wrong. Julia Kozerski began documenting her weight-loss journey in one of… Continue Reading →
Georgia’s Strong4Life campaign relies heavily on fat-shaming
There is no denying childhood obesity is a growing concern. The CDC reports that one-third of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese. The health ramifications of an unhealthy lifestyle, especially one that begins in childhood, are severe. Seventy percent of obese minors had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and obese children and… Continue Reading →
Fotoshop by Adobé will solve ALL your beauty problems.
Back when I was an editor at a tech magazine in San Francisco and Adobe representatives would come to demo the newest version of Photoshop, I found myself thinking, “Wow, women just Photoshop themselves every day — except it’s called makeup and cosmetic surgery.” In short, tech was imitating life. The maker of this satirical… Continue Reading →
American Apparel’s “plus-sized” model search is a total farce
I have never loved anything like I love ripping on American Apparel, and they make it so easy. Their latest? A “plus-sized” line that consists of a size 12/14—a straight size in most retailers—and which is available in a whopping 20 styles. How gracious of them! Given American Apparel’s previously stated stance on plus-sized clothing… Continue Reading →
Born This Great: Mission accomplished!
After weeks of preparation, the “Born This Great” action came to fruition! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWk391N1Exk[/youtube] On Saturday at 10 am, the six girls met at the About-Face office, nervous but excited to go out on the streets and make people think about body image and advertising (we missed you, Amy!). After going over the logistics of the… Continue Reading →
Take Action week 3: Two Wolves & an Action
Last Wednesday’s meeting started out with a discussion on body image–a difficult topic for anyone, especially for a group of teenage girls in American society. The discussion was lead by Suzannah Neufeld, a wonderful About-Face workshop leader and therapist who frequently works with young women with eating disorders and body image issues. With guidance from… Continue Reading →
Yay Scales and brainstorms: Take Action week two!
This past week was our second About-Face Take Action meeting. We’re continuing to work towards our goal of having this year’s group of girls speak out against harmful media messages that negatively affect the way people look at themselves. b It was great having another opportunity to get to know the girls. We even had… Continue Reading →
Contest: design an empowering billboard for NYC!
You know those terrible American Apparel billboards? Or those totally skeezy, greasy Calvin Klein ones? Or any of the ones that basically make women out to be sex toys? Do you hate those? Take action! SPARK Summit, in conjunction with Women’s Therapy Center Institute and Endangered Bodies, are sponsoring a billboard design contest seeking positive,… Continue Reading →