Target’s “Everyday Collection”: sexualizing saltines and soup

A few months ago, in my Sunday newspaper, a Target flyer arrived featuring a brunette beauty fixed with a seductive stare, cocking her head back against a box of saltines, while gripping a Campbell’s microwave soup bowl in her other hand. Unneeded sexualization anyone? I immediately removed the page from the pile of sales ads, Continue reading

Want a leg up on being beautiful? It’s all about the thigh (gaps)

I’m sorry, but did you know that there are Tumblr pages dedicated to praising thigh gaps? That’s right, I’m taking about sites that catalog and pay homage to photos of women whose legs do not touch above the knees. And it doesn’t end there. On Twitter, “#ThighGap” is often listed with other problematic tags like “#soclosetoperfection” Continue reading

Kids want to see heroic female protagonists

This article was originally published by Margot Magowan on her blog, Reel Girl. Yesterday, I posted about A Mighty Girl’s news that kids’ underwear with female superheroes on it sold out. I also posted about a dad shopping with his 5-year-old daughter who complained about the lack of cool female characters on clothing. He bought his daughter boys’ Continue reading

Sports Illustrated’s failed attempt to be more “accessible” to women readers

We all know that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition comes out every year, and with each year, we all groan at the images, growing more and more tired of the airbrushing and scantily clad models. It looks like Sports Illustrated has caught on to our feelings, has decided to switch things up a bit, and Continue reading

In praise of female celebrity role models

I think we’re due for a piece full of praise. A high school English teacher in Chicago, Ashley Lauren Samsa, shared on Bitch magazine’s website a list of positive female role models in pop culture, as drafted up by her students. She wrote, “The list is a good insight into what interests teen girls these Continue reading

Kia’s new ad gives a refreshing look at “The Woman and Man of Now”

As we’ve discussed here on About-Face.org, car companies are not known for their progressive, non-sexist advertising. But the new Australia Kia advertisement breaks the mold, presenting two separate ads (one starring a woman and one starring a man) that offer alternative perspectives on stereotypical gender roles. The “Woman of Now” ad features a woman in business Continue reading

Disney makes amends for fat-shaming exhibit, promotes healthy living

Well, here’s some good news we like to report! Last March, About-Face covered a horrific story about a fat-shaming exhibit Disney opened in Epcot, “Habit Heroes.” The exhibit was an interactive game in which children used virtual candy, cakes, and ice cream to combat overweight “villains,” spurred on by the physically superior “heroes,” Will Power Continue reading

Miss America contestants: the judgement’s never over

This might not come as a huge surprise, but I’m not a big fan of beauty pageants. (Weird, right?) I understand that some of these competitions have scholarships that are really helpful for some winners, that some contestants do have real talents that they can showcase, and that some use the platform to push good Continue reading

Supermodel Cameron Russell and the gene pool lottery

“Young girls shouldn’t aspire to be models.” Most people wouldn’t expect these words of advice to come from one of the most successful models of the year, but last week, Cameron Russell, a Columbia University grad and successful supermodel, appeared on CNN to discuss her TedX Talk that recently went viral, “Image is Powerful.” Claiming Continue reading

A day at the pool: restorative respite or body image battlefield?

Please know this about me: I loathe the term Yummy Mummy. I hate that it implies that moms are not desirable—that they are, indeed, undesirable (there is a shade of difference. “Un” seems even more derogatory)—if they don’t look better than they did before they popped out a few kids and somehow remain all carefree Continue reading