Pears, apples, string beans, rulers: not just inanimate objects anymore! Put these items on your grocery list nowadays, and you’re bound to come home with a bag full of diversely-shaped women instead of food or measuring tools. But why? I recently searched “body shapes” on Google, and the results were pretty interesting. Nearly all of… Continue Reading →
The ugly truth about the Victoria’s Secret fashion show
Our newest article on Victoria’s Secret is Victoria’s Secret, you’re going down (and I like it). Every year around this time, I’m deeply troubled by the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Not because I don’t like a great-fitting and sexy bra as much as the next lady (I do! In fact, I purchase plenty of… Continue Reading →
How to love TV and movies with a media industry that doesn’t love you
Watching movies and TV shows is my number-one hobby. I used to review movies for a newspaper, and even if it was in so many ways a dream job (having a movie theatre to yourself is pretty cool), I often headed back to the news desk with a racing heart and sentences pounding in my… Continue Reading →
An open (love) letter to Jennifer Lawrence
Hey, J. Law (I can call you J. Law, right?), How are you doing? You’re probably busy getting ready for your upcoming Catching Fire premieres (all of which you will probably look fabulous in), so I just wanted to take a moment and tell you how totally awesome you are. Recently, the Internet has been… Continue Reading →
Disclaimer for airbrushed models: an effective solution?
Airbrushed images of women and girls are bad for our overall health: mental, emotional, and sometimes physical. We can reasonably assume that the vast majority of media images are altered, even those of famous figures who are celebrated as examples of these “attainable” beauty standards. So, why not draw attention to this issue through an… Continue Reading →
“I like my body because it’s magic.”
When I was around four years old, I announced to my parents, “I like my round belly!” Probably not a sentence you’d expect to hear from a 14-year-old or 24-year-old — by then, sadly, we learn that round bellies and mainstream standards of beauty don’t mix. But I was reminded of my upbeat four-year-old announcement… Continue Reading →
Let’s see those tummies: stretch marks, scars, fat rolls, and all!
Google image search “belly” and you will find: 1) Perfectly flat, bikini-clad bellies and model men with six-packs. 2) People woefully grasping at or measuring their belly fat. 3) Pregnant bellies. It’s no wonder that when I found a stretch mark on my belly (after a particularly delicious summer feasting on Afghan food at family… Continue Reading →
What the French ban on beauty pageants can teach us
Anyone else totally caught off guard by France’s impressive new legislation banning child beauty pageants? Yeah, me, too. Because as I much as I adore the country and its people (I lived there for two years in my late twenties and also worked for the French company Club Med), its contemporary pop culture has never… Continue Reading →
Bravo, Bloomberg: NYC Girl’s Project tackles low self-esteem and poor body image
I smiled when I read about the recently launched NYC Girl’s Project campaign with the tagline, “I’m a girl. I’m beautiful the way I am”. I couldn’t help but think: what better place to launch such a campaign than a city notorious for fashion shows and modeling? NYC Girl’s Project has partnered with SPARK Movement… Continue Reading →