The protruding edges of hip bones used to be a defining feature of most fashion runways. Jutting collarbones, visible ribcages, and minimal curves have long made up the standard body type used to showcase what fashion designers have created for their next season’s clothing line. This body type, possessed naturally by a very small portion… Continue Reading →
Why “You look so skinny!” wasn’t what I needed to hear
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains information that may be triggering to people struggling with eating disorders. A few months ago, About-Face posted a link to Beauty Redefined’s article “When ‘You Look So Skinny!’ Does More Harm Than Good” to its various social media accounts. The authors, Lexie and Lindsay Kite, caution readers to be aware… Continue Reading →
Would you ever talk to other women the way you talk to yourself?
My eating disorder is something that, even if I conquer and manage to keep under control for the rest of my life, will never truly be gone. However, as I’m choosing to live healthier and happier and “fight my demons” as Amy Poehler beautifully puts it in her book Yes, Please, I’m also focusing really… Continue Reading →
Help! My gym is promoting unhealthy body ideals
My gym is doing some renovations. To make sure we’re all aware that the gym will be temporarily under construction, they’ve posted signs throughout the facility that list the planned renovations and depict a smiling woman in a hard hat. They posted one of these signs in the women’s locker room, and on that particular… Continue Reading →
5 signs you were born to be an About-Face blogger
I know what you’re thinking: The About-Face blog is so utterly fabulous, it must be written exclusively by mythical blogging creatures and media-literacy gods. Not true! Though it may seem like mere mortals are incapable of writing the glorious content we publish two times a week on our site, I’m here to tell you that our… Continue Reading →
Two reasons why the princess rap meme isn’t really that funny
Are they blowing up your newsfeeds these days, too? Those two-minute vignettes that string together hilarious rhymes while perpetuating horrible stereotypes of girls and women? Yeah, those. So far, there’s Snow White vs. Elsa (with 28 million+ views) and, more recently, Cinderella vs. Belle. [media url=”youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeZXQf77hhk/A&W=415″] Despite their sassy tone (and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s funny… Continue Reading →
9 easy ways you can support women and girls right now
1. Pledge to only read books written by women this year. Check out this list of books by transgender authors. 2. Blog. See something sexist? Have something you want to get off your chest? Write about it! I started a feminist Tumblr that focuses on sharing media and stories that support feminism, empower women, and… Continue Reading →
Let’s release binge-eating sufferers from the Betty Crocker Clinic
“I know you’re probably busy having mind-blowing sex, but I feel you need to know that your good friend, Miranda Hobbes, has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it. You’ll probably need this information when you check me into the ‘Betty Crocker Clinic.’” My fellow millennial women will undoubtedly… Continue Reading →
All-natural or all-sexist? Carl’s Jr. does it again
Why go all-natural? Carl’s Jr.’s latest burger commercial can tell you. “I love going all natural. It just makes me feel better,” says a voluptuous blond woman wearing little more than…well…anything. This woman, who has hobbies, goals, dreams, and a personality that we know nothing about, is the spokesperson for the new All-Natural Burger at… Continue Reading →