Attention t.v. shows, chick flicks, and magazines: stop pitting women against women!
The other day my friend and I were flipping through a recent Cosmopolitan magazine, and I was shocked by the comments coming out of my mouth:
“She’s so skinny!”
“Ew, what is she wearing?!”
“Her eyes look weird!”
With these exclamations, I was actually morphing into the person I despise–the person I imagine beauty magazines make you become: she who judges other women. Continue reading
“Why do you want to look like someone else?”
Sophie, age 4 (video below)
A friend of mine recently sent me this video in which little Sophie, with the help of her mother, sends out an important message via YouTube. The title seems like a big DUH (“Beauty is Not How Skinny You Are”), but it surely is a message we don’t hear enough. The message extends past dissatisfaction with body weight as Sophie asks the audience “Why are you trying to look like someone else?”: Continue reading
Disease as Spectacle
We came across a posting on the San Francisco Chronicle’s Daily Dish a few weeks ago, on Allegra Versace’s battle with anorexia. Here are some excerpts from the post:
Fashion queen Donatella Versace‘s daughter Allegra is under medical care, battling a serious eating disorder.
Donatella, 52, has expressed her heartache and has admitted Allegra was being “consumed” by the illness, and pleaded with the media to “respect our pain.”
She says, “My daughter is very ill. Anorexia is consuming her and we are very worried. However, the doctors are doing all they can to snatch her away from this cruel disease and we have faith in them.
“Please think of us and respect our pain. Many mothers will know well what I am going through and what my daughter is risking.”
It’s disturbing to see this as gossip-worthy. Why is a disease a hot topic? Let’s say they found out that Allegra had breast cancer. Would they show her in her hospital bed, post-mastectomy, with a shaved head, struggling to recover? Second, Allegra’s mother runs one of the world’s top fashion companies. Will she see a connection between her daughter’s illness and the effects of the fashion industry on women’s body image? Here’s what Marcella, our eating disorders expert, had to say about it:
“I really dislike this type of coverage. There is always picture of the physically ill person so that we can look at her as some kind of circus freakshow. I am curious to see how and if this evolves. It just seems so twisted to have one of the top fashion designers’ daughters have an eating disorder. Right now, this story does not sit well for me because it is ignoring the obvious elephant in the room. I think it would be powerful if ‘Mom’ Donatella could perhaps see how toxic her line of work is for a growing girl around body image and make a statement about this and include more diversity in body shapes and sizes for her clothes and runway models.
I am glad there is more coverage on eating disorders in popular media, I just don’t like the way it is being covered, and many experts in the field hold my opinion.”
What do you think?
–A.J.
We
When a popular British tabloid published a story on Kate Winslet’s secret plans to see a diet doctor, the actress not only got furious and made a public statement, but she’s also suing Grazia Magazine! Way to take action! Kate said:
“I will continue to say what I feel about this issue of women being thin and emaciated. It’s just out of control . . . I know I’m a role model to young women. It’s a role that I take very, very seriously and I would never want anyone to ever think I was a hypocrite in doing something like going to a diet doctor, for goodness sake. I mean, it’s really, really ridiculous.”
I must say, it’s nice to hear that as a celebrity, Kate Winslet feels a sense of responsibility to the public. Ahem, unlike most other celebrities we’ve heard about recently.
Tell us what you think by adding a comment!
–A.J.
News, News, News…
From government concerns with uber-thin models affecting eating disorder rates amongst women to models defending the fashion industry to the name-calling of an ex-model who’s gained weight… Here’s the news, people.
Fashion & Government
Many of you may have heard of Spain’s ban on excessively skinny models last year. Recently, Spain’s Health Ministry has been working with several top-name, Spanish fashion designers to find ways for the fashion industry to curb unhealthy body image among women and girls. Standardizing clothing sizes is one of the several agreements they reached. Way to start a trend, Spain!Italy, France, U.K. and the U.S. are beginning to think about (that is, sorta kinda ponder) this as well. About-Face is glad to see that these countries are beginning to see a relationship between the fashion industry and eating disorders, but merely reporting on this isn’t enough. It’s time to see some actual changes! STAT!
Bundchen and Family Values?
Gisele Bundchen, a Brazilian model, says that the fashion industry should not be to blamed for promoting eating disorders. Lack of family support is the problem, she says. She knows first-hand! Ms. Bundchen has strong family support which helps her maintain a healthy body image.Um … No matter what the situation, it is always a bonus when your loved ones support you and help keep it real. However, Ms. Bundchen’s opinion doesn’t seem to account for the fact that there is only one body type seen as beautiful in the fashion industry. And it’s of the thin to uber-thin type. Family support or not, women are likely to feel pressure to be thin. And
some women might go to great lengths to achieve it.
T-T-Tah-Tyra
In other news, Tyra Banks is stunned! Ms. Banks, a former model and now the host of America’s Next Top Model and The Tyra Banks Show, was appalled to find pictures of her in a one-piece bathing suit mocked as “fat”! She tells People magazine that she has gained weight, but is happy with her size. She was also sure to add that the pictures taken of her were “snapped at an unflattering angle,” making her look heavier than she actually is.Though Tyra is trying be a positive role model, it’s unfortunate that her weight gain is an issue, and an issue she feels forced to defend! With so much controversy over what’s too thin and what’s too heavy, it’s hard to have a positive body image at all. It’s good see Tyra is trying to work through hers. She seems to make a concerted effort to be honest about it.
–A.J.
Re-Belly-on
I have a soft, round, and extremely cute belly and believe it or not, I’ve had many people (family, friends, colleagues, etc.) ask if I was pregnant. Look! Just because my stomach sticks out, doesn’t mean I am pregnant!
It’s not easy embracing The Belly in an anti-belly world! And let’s face it, the media fuels these anti-belly sentiments.
The mixed messages I receive from my friends and family correspond to the mixed messages the media sends out. The media I’m referring to is made up of several magazines and gossip columns (both on the web and on newsstands) that consider it their civic duty to disclose celebrity body fluctuations on an inch-by-inch basis. 
Remember the Reese Witherspoon pregnancy scandal? Editors hoped to sell their magazines by using a few manipulated pictures of Reese with a bump so they could be the first to expose that Reese is preggars! It might be news to them and perhaps to us as well, but it’s not so newsworthy to our bodies. To our dismay, our weight-conscious society doesn’t view pregnancy as beautiful, but rather as a condition that adds unwanted pounds. Consequently, when someone is mistaken as pregnant, it’s usually taken as an insult. We now know Reese wasn’t expecting a third child. However, the media hoped she was, because it’s unacceptable for a top-ranking celebrity and America’s sweetheart to carry anything but a washboard stomach!
Yet this is the same media that shockingly reveals (or are they reveling in?) celebrities under a hundred pounds. Gossip columns are as much about body-fat content as stars’ activities. Us, People, InTouch, Star, etc. take turns obsessing over which celebrities are rail-thin (ahem, see this week’s People magazine) and which could afford to shed a few pounds. As readers, we are expected to reject both body types. However, we are never given any indication of what they think a healthy body should look like. Their (unhealthy) obsession with weight results in us obsessing and dangerously criticizing our weight. We wonder: if Nicole Kidman’s body doesn’t size up, how can mine?
Let’s bring this back to The Belly. It’s no wonder I’ve had prospective crushes stop me in the midst of conversation to ask whether or not I am expecting. Though that question is never justified, it is especially unwelcome after the crush in question has already bought me a drink! Just because celebrities (or 0.25 percent of the world’s population if that) have washboard stomachs, doesn’t mean women who don’t are pregnant.
It’s taken me a long time to accept The Belly. But after years of belly-hating, I had to put things in perspective. After all, how long can I hate something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life?
–A.J.