I’m not a prude, and I don’t like to judge other women’s personal choices. But I do care an awful lot about how women are portrayed (and portray themselves!) in the media. We’re now averaging 13.6 hours of media consumption per person per day, which means the stories we see played out in the media… Continue Reading →
Cause for celebration? Sports Illustrated discovers plus-size women
Yesterday, About-Face’s executive director, Jennifer Berger, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle with an op-ed (that is, “opinion editorial”) about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. In it, Jennifer praises Sports Illustrated for running the images of the larger models, but also states: On the other hand, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is really just… Continue Reading →
“Fit is the new thin”: Is Instagram just another channel for eating disorders?
Instagram is one of the most popular forms of social media today, not just because of the awesome pictures, but because of the “community” — it’s sort of like YouTube, except you create your own world online in the form of pictures. Instagram gets a good rep partially because it seems like a great form… Continue Reading →
Plus Size Princess blog inspires body positivity
Although social media breeds negativity and outrageous haters, it also brings wonderful sites like Plus Size Princess to our attention. I found this website through a YouTube video about dating as a plus size female. Despite the fact that I am not plus size, I love to watch these videos to gain confidence. Reading About-Face’s… 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 →
Free The Nipple does more for women’s bodies than any push-up ever could
A half-moon shaped incision was made and my nipple was flipped open. Then a slice of my breast was cut out, containing a tumor. It had to happen. The tumor was uncomfortable, at times painful, and without taking the whole thing out and analyzing it, cancer couldn’t completely be ruled out. I still think it’s… Continue Reading →
I’m “All About That Bass” AND Treble
Like lots of women, I’m aching for more body positivity in pop culture. Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” appears to be a great example of a body positive song with lyrics such as, “I see the magazine workin’ that Photoshop / We know that shit ain’t real” and “‘Cause every inch of you is perfect / From the… Continue Reading →
“Fat” is an emotion, according to Facebook
As a new member of Facebook, I frequently find myself flummoxed by its strange ways. Someone “liked” my “status”? I’ve been invited to play “Candy Crush”? Someone has “poked” me? Usually, with much grumbling and cursing in Yiddish, I find some way to adapt to the world of countable likes, crushes on inanimate objects, and… 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 →