Even mutants aren’t immune to body insecurities in “X-Men: First Class”
X-Men's Mystique struggles to accept herself as she is.
I knew that it was set in the 1960s, so I was expecting a bit of a swinging retro vibe.
I expected a few references to the other films.
I was definitely expecting some nerdy comic-book action sequences and a bunch of people in the audience squealing with delight over some cool weapon or special mutant power.
But I wasn’t expecting a subplot about body image.
When we first see Raven (played by Jennifer Lawrence), we don’t really see her. You see, Raven (later codenamed Mystique) has the special power of being able to transform her appearance into that of anyone else.
In fact, she spends the majority of the film in her chosen disguise: a pretty, young, blonde girl. Anything to avoid being in her natural state, which presents as deep blue, scaly, and with slicked-back red hair. While this power certainly comes in handy when fighting villains, Mystique is constantly hiding behind a false appearance.
She would give anything to be “normal,” so when fellow mutant Hank tells her of his plans to create a serum that will help, she’s very interested.
She scoffs at the idea of being “mutant and proud,” all the while dreaming of retaining her skin-coloured form forever.
However, when presented with the serum — the do-or-die moment –Â she hesitates. Does she really want to change forever? Or could she become proud of her natural form? Continue reading
Reese Witherspoon slams sex tape stars at MTV Movie Awards
Reese Witherspoon calls out Hollywood's "bad" girls at the MTV Movie Awards.
“And if you took naked pictures of yourself on your cell phone, you hide your face, people.”
No, that’s not Reese Witherspoon‘s public service announcement on the antics of Anthony Weiner (seriously, that man will never live down that name or those tweets).
It’s the actress’s plea to young starlets who (like Mr. Weiner), are fond of self-portraiting in various states of undress.
Upon first watching Reese accept the Generation Award at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards, I was giddy to see an accomplished star call out Hollywood’s fame-hungry, informing young girls that “it is possible to make it in Hollywood without doing a reality show,” and that when she came up in this business, “if you made a sex tape, you were embarrassed and you hid it under your bed.”
Cue the collective side-eyes at Paris, Kim, Vanessa, Blake, etc.
But the more I thought about Reese’s words and read the internet commentary, the more I wondered if the preachy moment of pride was a little uncalled for. Continue reading
Fashion for girls “too pretty to do math”
This David & Goliath "I'm too pretty to do math" t-shirt can only be found in womens' juniors sizes.
Statement t-shirts have taken a turn for the tragic now that David & Goliath has put one on the market that simply states, “I’m too pretty to do math.”
And thanks to Epbot for pointing out that the pastel pink message only comes scrawled on shirts in womens’ juniors sizes.
Oddly enough, this truly depressing slogan is apparently a “thing” now, because it was also featured on magnets being sold at Forever 21.
“Was” being the operative word, because the retailer apparently had enough sense to pull the product from its website (but, as The Frisky notes, it is likely still widely available in stores). Continue reading
Naomi Campbell considers Cadbury chocolate ad racist
Naomi Campbell is threatening to sue Cadbury over their recent ad campaign.
But is the supermodel right to consider chocolate company Cadbury‘s newest ad campaign racist?
UK ads for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Bliss bars feature a Bliss bar perched atop a mound of diamonds, accompanied by the slogan, “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town.”
No, it’s not exactly the compelling copy of a Mad Men campaign, but that’s beside the point.
Naomi is threatening to sue the company over the ads, saying, “I’m shocked. It’s upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women. It is insulting and hurtful.” Continue reading
BodiMojo makes health cool for teens
BodiMojo encourages teens to care about health.
I’m so pleased to be able to write another story about an online tool taking positive action about body image.
BodiMojo is an online health and wellness community for teenagers, covering many common issues faced by girls and boys aged 13-17 years old. It contains a wealth of information and interactive tools directed at teenagers, their parents and the community.
The site began with an aim of reducing teenage obesity, but has grown into a more holistic approach, encompassing many issues that contribute to health and wellbeing.
Its point of difference is that it engages with teens on their level – featuring quizzes, blogs, games, music, videos and much more – making health cool.
The focus is on personalized health information tailored to the individual, rather than teaching a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old the same snippet of health information, which may not be relevant to them right now.
Founder and CEO of BodiMojo Tara Cousineau says “Health literacy and media literacy is top of mind for us.”
Informational articles are prominently featured on the site, but the content is also conveyed by means of graphics, video and games. The site was created with input from both health professionals and teens themselves, and the content on the site is contributed by a wide variety of people from different groups.
It’s also linked in to social networking, so teens can share their experiences on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Buzz. They also have an iPhone app, allowing teens to stay connected to the community wherever they are.
A BodiMojo comic illustrates the pervasive issue of body talk.
During the development phase, numerous studies on the efficacy of the website were conducted. Cousineau says: “For girls in particular, exposure to the BodiMojo over 4 weeks significantly improved their attitudes about their own body image relative to those who did not get the program.”
This is a heartening statistic, and just goes to show that there are many approaches to health education that could be effective in boosting self-esteem and body image.
Call me cynical, but it’s worth noting that BodiMojo is a business, not a nonprofit organization. Currently, they are funded by a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovative Research grant, but it will be interesting to see how they can remain uncompromised by the agendas of advertisers in the future.
I searched their site to find some reference to how this was going to be a profitable business, and in their media kit found a reference to BodiMojo offering “customized services and programs for health and benefits organizations to offer targeted programming.”
This certainly rings a faint alarm bell with me, but time will tell whether this is a dealbreaker for keeping advertisers away from the vulnerable target of teens who use of the site.
Overall, though, I think BodiMojo is great, and I wish something that had had been available when I was a teenager! It can be a confusing world for teens in the first place, made worse by conflicting messages about health and wellness.
With BodiMojo, teens are put in charge of their own health education and actions on their level. It’s a very encouraging beginning towards proving their philosophy: “Health Can Be Cool.”
Racist “Psychology Today” article puts down black women, gets attention
A totally meaningless graphic used in Satoshi Kanazawa's "Psychology Today" article titled, "Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?"
Last week, Psychology Today published a piece by Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa titled, “Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?”
A completely unscientific answer to a stupid question no one has ever asked? Whatever stirs up controversy, right?
Shamefully attention-seeking title aside, the article itself argues that according to a set of data, black women (but not men) are “objectively” less attractive than their white, Asian, or Native American counterparts.
According to Kanazawa, this is because of increased testosterone and black women’s “more masculine features.”
The world is a scary place if this kind of crap can be considered “science,” no?
If this was another cheap attempt by Psychology Today to get people talking (the magazine’s motto has got to be “all press is good press,” right?), it worked.
Readers (rightfully) responded with outrage, and the article’s title was later changed to “Why Are Black Women Rated Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?” before being removed completely from the site.
Perhaps the craziest part of all this nonsense is that the so-called objective data set Kanazawa references in his article is anything but. Continue reading
Is Demi Lovato sending mixed messages with bikini tweet?
Demi Lovato tweets a bikini shot of herself, post-treatment for what she's called a "life-long disease."
Disney darling Demi Lovato made headlines earlier this year for entering a treatment center to cope with undisclosed issues that many speculated included cutting and disordered eating.
In an effort to demonstrate her newly-found confidence, Demi took to Twitter on Monday and posted a shot of herself in a revealing bikini.
“I’ve been working so hard to get healthy and fit,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this but I’m so excited.. Here’s my bikini time body!”
Dammit, I’m torn.
On one hand, major props to Demi. What a gutsy move for someone who continues to struggle with body image issues (she told Seventeen Magazine last month, “I don’t think there’s going to be a day when I don’t think about food or my body, but I’m living with it, and I wish I could tell young girls to find their safe place and stay with it.”).
On the other hand, I’m scratching my head wondering why she (or her publicist, manager, agent, etc.) decided this was a good idea. Continue reading
Use your purse to be an activist
Daniela Caruso tackles the media's representation of women using the power of her purse.
Forget wearing your heart on your sleeve. About-Face reader Daniela Caruso wears her brain on her purse. She lets the world know how she feels about the media’s manipulation of women by shouting it out on her handbag. She encourages you to do the same.
My purse-billboard activism demonstrates what we already know to be true: When a girl or woman expends less energy worrying about how many pounds she weighs, whether she’s the hottest one in the room, or how to get more male attention, something magical happens.
She wastes less of her precious energy on dieting.
The mainstream media tries to tell girls and women what female beauty is: an absurd and one-dimensional standard that can be attained by buying the product or service being thrown at you.  Continue reading
The royal body in the public eye
Kate Middleton's body has been analyzed, scrutinized, and picked apart in the media. Even her sister Pippa was the subject of royal wedding body talk.
As an Australian with an Irish husband, living in the U.S., and with friends all over the world, I was exposed to many various opinions about the recent royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Some of these opinions were quite emotional, drawn from the political history of the United Kingdom, some were just those who were interested “for the spectacle”, and some were completely uninterested.
As for me, I sit somewhere between the last two. Largely uninterested in the royal wedding, but still a little intrigued to see what everyone wore. I satisfied my curiosity a few hours after the wedding with some quick Google searches, and went about my day.
Now that the dust has settled on the feverishness of the day, I’ve been reflecting on the media coverage of the event, and in particular, the commentary around bodies.
In the lead-up to the wedding, there were many articles in the mainstream media about the wedding. These ranged from speculating about the wedding dress designer, to the menu at the reception, to the politics of taxpayer money and tourism.
After the wedding, the media was buzzing with photos of outfits and hats, commentary on the proceedings and anticipations of the newlyweds’ future.
But, throughout all of this, there was the ever-present thread of body talk. Continue reading
Kirstie Alley diets, forgets to eat, falls over on “Dancing With the Stars”
Kirstie Alley's been dropping pounds on "Dancing With the Stars," but the weight loss shouldn't come from cutting calories.
Kirstie Alley, I love you.
Really, I do. Even though you’re a proud member of the Church of Scientology, and you’ve made a few really questionable career moves. I still think you’re awesome.
Admittedly, I’ve never made it through a full episode of Dancing with the Stars, but I DVRed this season’s premiere just to see you work it. And you really did.
But when Jezebel alerted me to what went on during Monday night’s show, (sorry, I had to stop DVRing that mess), I was really disappointed. Watching you repeatedly fall over in rehearsal, only to tell the cameras it was due to the measly 150 calories you consumed that day was rough.
And it was really unfortunate watching you tell your DWTS partner Maks that you’ve been subsisting on a low-calorie diet while dancing for hours each day.
And it’s kind of lame that when you were questioned during the live show, you said, “I wasn’t intentionally not eating – I forgot!” Continue reading