Photo by Taan Huyn on Unsplash A sex educator for teens talks about why being critical of “perfection” matters in our everyday social media lives. You pull out your phone to snap a selfie. You’re probably going to use a filter, right? Maybe your go-to filter is something simple that erases blemishes and brightens your… Continue Reading →
Part 2: Myth versus reality In my last post, I laid out how girls* are still objectified, judged, and put in boxes by our toxic media culture. We looked at the reasons that social media encourages girls to judge themselves and each other harshly. All of this points to an urgent need for media education… Continue Reading →
The first time I saw “Killing Us Softly,” Dr. Jean Kilbourne’s take-down of the toxic, dehumanizing culture that surrounds women in advertising, it was 1996. I was a naïve sophomore at the University of Michigan who had been raised, above all, to be pretty – with Victoria’s Secret catalog pages and Self magazine workouts pinned… Continue Reading →
Which part of Victoria’s Secret do I disdain most deeply? There’s the catalog! The fashion show. The website. The storefronts. All with their models with exactly the same body type — not the body type of most healthy women on the planet. It’s incredibly awful for girls’ development and women’s mental health, and harmful for… Continue Reading →
Oh Shrill, how we love thee! This week, we watched all 6 episodes, and this show earned its spot in our Gallery of Winners for its awesome, real body positivity — with a funny, sharp attitude. Read more in our Gallery of Winners and contact the makers of Shrill to tell them you want more!
On Wednesday, November 30, About-Face interns Kianna and Colleen took to Market St. in downtown San Francisco to protest a disturbing and sexually predatory Calvin Klein ad. At the center of the action was a blown-up poster of the ad which shows an up-skirt shot of a young-looking model with text that reads, “I flash… Continue Reading →
Contrary to the belief of the fashion industry, the average American woman is not 5’11” with measurements that befit starving children. However, the mannequins used to display the clothes they are attempting to sell still have those proportions. I look up at them every day, styled so carefully and tastefully, extra-small shorts trying to grasp… Continue Reading →
Here in New Zealand we are still *sigh* perpetuating the old, irritating double standard in advertising, and it’s tiring beyond belief. We continue to have a culture where we champion the “typical Kiwi Bloke”, who is “every man” and his mates, affectionately championed for his ordinariness and always welcomed into the brotherhood. Men in NZ… Continue Reading →
I used to peruse the makeup section every time I entered a pharmacy. The rows of products would stare at me when I walked in, glinting and sparkling, until I would give in and buy an unneeded new mascara or my bajillionth bottle of nail polish. I didn’t even wear makeup most days! But I… Continue Reading →
