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 →
Would you really want to keep up with Kylie Jenner?
Last week on Cosmopolitan.com, assistant fashion and beauty editor Brooke Shunatona published an article in which she chronicled living like Kylie Jenner for a week (because who else would a successful, apparently functional adult want to live like?). After a week dealing with extraordinarily long nails, walking in extraordinarily high heels, and wearing an extraordinarily painful waist trainer that resembles… Continue Reading →
Anti-aging, anti-who?
Why, in this day and age, are we bombarded on a daily basis with advertisements for anti-aging products aimed almost exclusively at women? We are constantly pressured to: Look young. “Wow! It’s great that you’re 47, but only because you look 25 and you’re a stunning, hot model.” Be obsessed with anti-aging. Oh, apparently having young-looking skin and a… Continue Reading →
Spas for tweens: Fun or f*&$ed up?
I have mixed feelings about the “little girl dress-up” industry. I recently read a New York Times article about spas that cater to young girls, and it kind of made my head spin. As an adult, I immediately cringed. Six-year-olds getting massages? A spa for girls called “Seriously Spoiled” — as if being spoiled is a good… Continue Reading →
Women’s health? Think again.
Here’s something I find disturbing: The cover of April’s Women’s Health magazine. Here are some of their cover stories: “20 Easy Ways to Look Hot Now”; “Drop 5 Pounds-Eat Your Way to a Smaller Size”; “You’ll Own Spring in the Coolest Shoes, Bags, Jewelry, and More”; “The Single Best Anti-Ager Most Women Skip”; “Working Out… Continue Reading →
Now you can change your eye color!
Flipping through a high-fashion magazine (in my case the ever so glamorous Glamour), with a little bit of a media literacy lens, you automatically expect to see images of unrealistic looking women with unattainably smooth, flawless skin, silky, bouncy hair, and an absolutely “perfect body”. (I say that in quotation marks because there are millions… Continue Reading →
Old is the New Fat
Once upon a time (until a few minutes ago), there was no greater shame or punishment in our culture than being fat. Kids as young as three were worrying their cute little heads about it, scholars were chronicling how unjustly fat people are treated in powerful books like Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body… Continue Reading →
Disclaimer for airbrushed models: an effective solution?
Airbrushed images of women and girls are bad for our overall health: mental, emotional, and sometimes physical. We can reasonably assume that the vast majority of media images are altered, even those of famous figures who are celebrated as examples of these “attainable” beauty standards. So, why not draw attention to this issue through an… Continue Reading →
Fuzzy wuzzy was a feminist?
Melanie Engle, an aesthetician in Philadelphia, was shocked when a mother booked a bikini wax appointment for her 8-year-old. Though statistics are hard to come by due to the client’s age, Melanie isn’t the first to experience this. Many in the beauty industry are witnessing a growing trend of pre-teens getting waxed. Modern media is… Continue Reading →