Over the years, there have been some pretty glaring examples of other countries caving to western beauty standards. For example, in 1999, a Harvard study documented the outbreak of eating disorders in Fiji, a nation that favored fuller figures until the arrival of television (and U.S. programs like Melrose Place and Xena: Warrior Princess) in… Continue Reading →
Fair or Not? The Snow White Complex
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrd7SV5MAFw&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube] I love this documentary from filmmaker M. Hansa M. about how Eurocentric standards of beauty have become prominent across the globe, and how those beauty standards promote and exacerbate sexism and racism. In just eleven minutes, “Fair or Not?” addresses the many connections between racism, sexism, colonialism and exoticism, painting a clear and troubling… Continue Reading →
“Elle” makes a mockery of Gabourey Sidibe’s cover girl moment
What do you call a top fashion magazine that features a plus-sized African American actress on its cover? Progressive? Revolutionary? If you’ve read recent Internet reports of Gabourey Sidibe’s October Elle cover, you might call it “racist,” “offensive,” or, as Salon puts it, “a weird fetishization that borders on patronizing.” Allow me to explain. In… Continue Reading →
Gallery of Winners: “America the Beautiful” exposes some ugly truths.
Produced by: Sensory Overload Productions DVD available in Fall 2009. See the film’s web site for more details. Questions to Consider: * Is America obsessed with beauty? * Do the beauty and fashion industries need to promote the thin body ideal to be successful? * What are some mixed messages that girls get about their… Continue Reading →
American Apparel’s Classy-Vintage-Chic-Late ’80s-Early ’90s-Racist-Sexist-High end brand
We’ve talked about American Apparel before. You all know how we feel about the company’s creeptacular history and about how AA ads constantly and consistently make women’s bodies into objects for public consumption. Just when I thought they couldn’t get worse, something new and insidious surfaced. Gawker wrote recently about AA’s looks-based hiring policies, leaking… Continue Reading →
Playing Housewife: Beyoncé in “Why Don’t You Love Me?”
Beyoncé’s new video for her track, “Why Don’t You Love Me?” has been a hot topic of debate recently on a bunch of blogs we read. The clip features Beyoncé as “BB Homemaker,” a character that pokes fun at stereotypical depictions of both the pin-up model and the seemingly-happy-but-secretly-unhappy 1950s/1960s housewife. “Why Don’t You Love… Continue Reading →