You know what disgusts me the most about women with body hair? People who respond to it like it’s gross, dirty, unfeminine, and/or unacceptable. In July, blogger Paloma Goñi wrote an article called “I Don’t Shave” on HuffPost Spain (which was translated to English for the version I refer to here). It’s amazing what a… Continue Reading →
No More: a high schooler’s perspective on More magazine’s treatment of middle-aged women
I have a confession: I’m eighteen, and I read More magazine. Every month, I get a glimpse into what it means to be a woman over the age of forty in American society. Recently, I overheard a saying: “Men age, women rot.” This phrase encapsulates the message that More sends its readers. It’s the reason that… Continue Reading →
Is cosmetic surgery a solution to bullying?
Nadia Ilse, a 14-year-old girl in Georgia, is attracting attention for getting cosmetic surgery to get bullies off her back. In an interview with ABC News, Nadia described the torment that school bullies put her through, calling her names like “Dumbo” or “elephant ears.” Unable to afford surgery, Nadia got it covered by the Little… Continue Reading →
About Face doc: Want to hate yourself? Try modeling.
“I don’t think there’s any 15-year-old girl that will turn down the chance to be called beautiful. You don’t realize at that point that you’re also going to get called ugly,” says Paulina Porizkova, talking about being discovered as a model, about halfway through the new documentary film About Face (no relation to this blog… Continue Reading →
Swimming and camping and… Waxing? Oh my.
When I was 15 years old and gearing up for summertime, my thoughts were much like the thoughts of any other kid preparing for three months of school-less bliss. Beach. Camping. Barbecues. Swimming. One thing that was certainly not on my mind was whether this would be the summer I would get a bikini wax…. Continue Reading →
Yo magazines: It’s time YOU went on a diet!
Somebody needs to go on a diet and it’s not us. It’s the media. Their current regimen? High in digitally deceptive additives (ahem, photoshop), low in nutrient rich reality and diversity. The cure? We want real. Not retouched. That is why About-Face is honored to join the frontline of the three-day social media Keep It… Continue Reading →
The “Yaeba” trend in Japan is not so different from American cosmetic trends
Orthodontia and the pursuit of correcting crooked choppers is big business here in the US and Western cultures. While certainly used for reasons other than aesthetics, the primary purpose for seeing an orthodontist is to correct a misaligned mouth. Historically, a straight smile was a status symbol, implying that those bearing braces or corrective devices… Continue Reading →
Vaginal dissatisfaction exposes a lack of diversity in sex education
I’m still trying to scoop my jaw off of my keyboard after viewing this documentary, The Perfect Vagina, in which UK-based writer Lisa Rogers delves into the world of vaginal cosmetic surgery. Primarily following an adolescent girl and two mothers who are dissatisfied with the shape and size of their vaginas, she documents the frighteningly… 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 →