Beauty and the Beast: Ending the Love/Hate Relationship Between Girls and Their Bodies is a book published by Tiberious Publishing about the way that girls relate to their bodies and why. When writing the book, I essentially knew from the beginning that I wanted to have a website about it. There were things I wanted to include for my readers that I just couldn’t and the topic was so large that I also recognized instantly that the book would not even begin to cover it. Here I’ll update articles and sites I find that relate to my book, as well as post information about the book itself. It’s a work in progress, but take a look around!
Commodifying the Women’s Movement February 4, 2010
Sociological Images is a great blog that takes apart advertising and tells viewers what we’re really seeing – and what they’re really saying. It deals with every type of oppression and I’m constantly impressed by the insightful commentary. Plus, they definitely have a sense of humour.
Commodifying the Women’s Movement will lead you to post talking about the commodification of the women’s movement – otherwise known as selling feminism in order to sell products. These products can range from bras to shoes to cars. The appropriation of feminism by mainstream commercial culture devalues the struggle undertaken by feminists and turns it into a selling tool. While this happens with almost all social movements, it’s very frustrating to see the women’s movement into something it’s not.
Sexualizing and Gendering Food is another interesting one and it’s got dozens of examples of how foods are created or advertised in overtly sexual ways, or that give the food a specific gender. One of the more horrifying ones outlined a woman’s body as different cuts of meat and while this is no new trick, I can still never get over the division of women into pieces for sale. It happens all the time, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it! A lot of these are very shocking and several are surprisingly sexual. You have been warned.
Anyway, check out the links and explore Sociological Images!
Because I am a girl January 12, 2010
So, in October I was fortunate enough to sit down with the crew from Because I Am A Girl and talk about Beauty and the Beast, equality, opportunities, feminism and what it’s like to be a girl. They were an amazing little group filming all across Canada and I couldn’t believe that they were interested in talking to me, but I was happy to chat!
It appears that I’ve made it into their trailer! I was pretty psyched to see myself and not completely cringe, so they worked some magic there. The movie is going to be released (in select theatres?) this Spring. I’m looking forward to checking it out and hearing how other girls see the world and what they’re doing to change it.
Learn more at their website, http://www.becauseiamagirl.ca/ and join the conversation. They have a blog with several guest bloggers it appears and plenty to do. Check it out, and take a peek at the trailer.
Pinkification January 2, 2010
Pink is currently considered a girly colour by many in Western society and it’s interesting to hear and see the difference that makes. It certainly does make a difference.
As the holiday season washed over North America, toys and clothing in every shade of pink were marketed to girls everywhere, announcing their gender with just one colour choice. Here’s an interesting article that talks about how choosing pink gives girls less power and in fact helps shape what they expect of themselves, and their role.
“….There is, certainly, evidence to suggest “sexualisation” makes girls not just aspire to a particular kind of thing, but actually changes the way they think. A study by speech therapists in Durham found small children able to identify the colour blue, but saying “Barbie” when shown pink.”
Click here to learn more about gendered toys, colours and PINK.
Also, check out Pink Stinks and their campaign to give girls options beyond pinkification.
Out of Proportion October 12, 2009
Over at Sociological Images (www.contexts.org) there was a recent posting that made my head spin a bit. Click here to check out their post comparing photos of celebrities in the 90s and photos of those same celebrities now.
It’s pretty shocking to see the different a decade makes. Not only are these female celebrities ten years older, but they’re also much, much skinner. I think the article does a great job of explaining the pictures and I thought it might be worth a look. There’s been news talking about keeping models from starving themselves into their next pay cheque, but celebrities also rely heavily on their bodies to sell themselves to media; we should look at what their job requires them to lose too.
True for Boys and Girls August 17, 2009
Jessica Hagy put up another great comic called “True For Boys and Girls.” Take a look.
http://thisisindexed.com
In the comments for the comic, several people also pointed out that the circle B should actually be partially out of the A circle, as the cultural definition of beauty is often patently unachieveable by anyone. It’s outside reality. I definitely agree with this, but love the comic even as it is. I wonder if I’ll ever run out of these?!
I’d like to also say a big thank you to all the girls I got to meet at the Calgary Women Centre summer camps. They were a great group and I’d definitely help out again next year.
Operation Beautiful July 9, 2009
There’s a woman in Florida who’s started Operation Beauty, in order to help people feel better about themselves. She encourages people to write down a positive message on a post-it note and putting it in a public place, like a public bathroom mirror. The site ( here ) shows examples of these notes all over the place and I think it’s an AWESOME idea.
I love annonymous compliments, notes or pick-me-ups so I’m totally behind this idea. The founder is trying to target the inner dialogue of women in relation to their body by reminding them via post-its that “you are beautiful” or “Smile, because you’re enough.” This definitely gives me hope that there are people out there taking steps towards a healthier beauty ideal! Check out Operation Beauty for pictures and the full story!
Hey, Mom, you’re looking good July 7, 2009
A topic I think I under-addressed in my book is the importance of mothers to set a good example for her daughter for body image.
I just came across a website for a book that encourages mothers to work around their own body image issues to help their daughters develop a body-positive attitude. The book “You’d Be So Pretty If… Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies — Even When We Don’t Love Our Own” by Dara Chadwick is definitely needed. I haven’t read the book myself, so I can’t say that I love it, but I love what I’ve heard and so I’d definitely be interested in checking it out. I may not be a mother, but I think all women have an obligation to those younger than them to teach them how to be women; the same goes for men and boys.
It’s really hard for women to send a good message to the younger generation when they’re stuck poking their own thighs with a pained look on their face, though. Unfortunately, that negative message of hating your body – and specifically the body that a mother has passed on directly to her child – is sent easily and usually accidentily. It’s super important to be aware of it and to make an effort to be the role model that girls need. Even when you’re trying to work through your own issues. Moms have a tough gig, I know, but that’s what makes them awesome.
Resolutions, re:solutions July 7, 2009
What if the beauty and fashion industry acted like they knew that their choices affected how people view beauty and fashion and did the right thing?
Wonderful, wonderful things.
This is the hopes of those women running the blog: 5 Resolutions
I love their “mission statement’ of their five resolutions to transform fashion and beauty industries. In sum, they are:
1. Educate Our Audience
2. Educate Ourselves
3. Take Responsibility
4. Take Action
5. Stay Connected
Check out the link to see how what these five points really meet and learn about how the fashion and beauty industry SHOULD be behaving.
The F-Word July 6, 2009
Feminism. I stumbled upon the the blog http://the-f-word.org and I’m loving it. From a quick read, it looks like this feminist blogger has a history of anorexia and is now a vegetarian who at least some of her time looking at issues from a feminist perspective.
For example, this entry talks about a Self article that addressed the repackaging of diets as “health plans” or “cleasing” rituals. However, often this ritual fasting is truly just an excuse to find a way to APPEAR to be both healthy and unhealthily skinny. This conflicting desire is yet another example of the opposites presented to girls and women to achieve. Check out the article and the blog for more.
