Over the summer I was an intern in the gardens at an intentional community called Heathcote. Intentional communities are essentially communes but the members do not have a shared income or business, so the members have outside jobs. I instantly felt at home with the members, a group o
f older radicals and hairy second-wave feminists. One Saturday evening the community was hosting a hot tub party in their handmade cob hot tub that sits over a fire. Although I was not interested in getting in, considering it was the middle of the summer and extremely hot, I was interested in attending the party to enjoy some conversation and vegan marshmallows. The party was taking place about a 10 minute walk through the woods from where my room was. As I approached I started to notice something was odd, everyone in the hot tub was naked. I was stunned. These people I had gotten to know so well through everyday interactions were now baring it all in front of me. Going into this internship I was not expecting to see my boss, the intern coordinator, naked. My own reaction to the nudity of the community members was surprising to me. I needed to analyze why I felt so uncomfortable about this.
My first thought was that I felt uncomfortable because no one has warned me in advance that clothing was optional, and perhaps they should have. But, what was the real reason for my discomfort? The human body itself is simply raw material, however it is also packed with meaning given by society. The body is sexualized; society has created a framework in which certain body parts are not to be shown to the public. Even in more enclosed and safe environments, like the one I was in, to many is thought to be eccentric. Sexualized body parts are labeled with words like “private” and are expected to stay that way unless that are being used for arousal.
Something many young people rarely see is a naked average-sized body, imperfections, cellulite, and all. When “plus-sized” women are shown in the media, like in the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, the images of the body are distorted with airbrushing, thus creating a false idea of what a “real” body looks like. Because of my instilled sexualized associations and my lack of experience in seeing what real naked bodies look like, my experience at the hot tub party was an awkward one.
beauty standards
Holistic Embodiment
Are humans their bodies or are we separate entities from our body? The Cartesian ideology alleges that the mind and body are separate entities. In contrast, the dogma of holistic embodiment states there is a strong alliance between the self and the body. In essence, the holistic viewpoint explicitly states that humans’ are their bodies. Many people in this country believe in the latter of these viewpoints. They express themselves through their bodies and concern themselves with how others perceive them.
One of the last acceptable forms of discrimination within this country is prejudice against overweight or obese individuals. There is a common connotation that overweight or obese individuals are perceived to be lazy and unattractive. Conversely, People considered to be skinny or of ideal weight are regarded as beautiful and hardworking. Few people want to carry the stigma of being overweight. As a result, the implication of size drives a good majority of people to become obsessed about their weight. Many people try to mitigate this issue by employing quick fix strategies such as consuming weight loss pills and exercising extensively.
The booming industry of weight control and weight loss regiments demonstrates our acceptance of the holistic ideology. Our obsession with body image illustrates that we believe our “selves” are directly tied to our bodies. The notion that we are our bodies suggests that we cannot accept negative impressions of ourselves. Many people feel as that in order to be more confident about their selfhood they must conform to what is deemed beautiful and acceptable.
In America, the acceptable view of beauty has narrow constraints and many are now falling short of because of the rapidly growing overweight population. With the ideal size of Americans changing; will the standard of beauty adjust as well? More importantly why do we rely so heavily on our outer appearances to dictate our confidence and selfhood?
Tattoo
I honestly thought about getting a tattoo on my hand, because i think it looks cool and i always wanted to get one.But my boyfriend stopped me. He always think that if i get a tattoo, i would look totally a different person.Last week,I read this article about tattoos. It said, ” Tattoo placement can negatively impact a person’s life if ink location is not careful considered.”
And it listed the disadvantages of Tattoos:
“· Career Limitations
· Style of Clothing
· Relationship Conflicts
· Decrease in Community Involvement
· Negative Self-Esteem
· Compromise Health”
I think it is true that tattoo really can impact our life. After this article, i thought about if i really got a tattoo on my hand. i would have to worry about hiding it from my parent, or when i go to a job interview, how would people think about me when they see my tattoo, and so on.I also did some research about tattoo ink.Tattoo ink contains pigments. It is bad for body. It can cause infection, such as hepatitis and skin infections.Because of the tattooing equipment if they are not unsterile. Tattoo can results Granulomas.It is an allergic reaction from tattoo ink.The treatment for it requires medical attention for antibiotics. I am wondering, for those you that have tattoo, have you consider about skin problem or have an allergic reaction before you walk into the tattoo store?
Everybody Say, “Baby Bump!!!”
Baby, oh, baby, show us a woman who still thinks style has to suffer during pregnancy, and it’s a pretty safe bet that she hasn’t been keeping an eye on red carpet mamas.
Best Dressed Baby Bumps
The quotation above was taken from this slideshow over at youbeauty.com. When I stumbled upon this slideshow, I was pretty shocked. Hollywood portrays its pregnant celebrities in interesting ways. Hollywood is constantly checking female celebrity’s bodies for “baby bumps” at the slightest appearance of a bulge. That one extra cupcake at a party or that extra french fry could potentially be a baby bump. After a celebrity has finally announced an official pregnancy, before or after they are actually ready to announce it, eyes are constantly on the tummy.
Of course, pregnant superstars cannot let their bodies or their fashion sense slide during pregnancy. Their body is still supposed to look like one of a superstar. The only piece of the body allowed to grow is the belly. The rest of the body is still as sexualized as it was before. Red carpet commentators drool over that motherly glow and growing tummy. Even with the growing bump, these women are supposed to dress to make the public comfortable, not themselves. Instead of maternity sweatpants, pregnant stars instead wear maternity gowns that accentuate the bump for all of the world to take part in her pregnancy.
Superstar bodies are constantly on display, even during pregnancy. Talk about the laboring body! I can only imagine how uncomfortable pregnancy is by itself. Adding on paparazzi cameras, heels, a drapey gown, and keeping a stellar body is way too much! Having a body that is constantly on public display, being praised and criticized, must be a big stress on famous women. What do you think?
Do you know what you put on your face?
When I was growing up my grandmother had a makeup collection that she let her grandkids use. I loved it, but my cousin was less enthusiastic. One day, when I tried to convince her to let me give her a makeover, she exclaimed, “No! Ew! Did you know that lipstick is made from bat poop?”
I didn’t know that and I didn’t believe her, and I have never found out for sure if her claim is true. And I don’t really want to know. I feel pretty certain that most mainstream lipsticks are NOT made from bat poop (seems logical, right? That’s what I tell myself). And I know that all-natural makeup products exist out there like Burts Bees products, which I assume are made of organic oat fibers, natural colors, and sunshine.
I don’t wear makeup often but I like to for some occasions. I enjoy emphasizing certain parts of my face, or adding color and sparkle for dressy outings. It’s fun to look a little different. I don’t know if as a working professional I might start wearing makeup regularly, but for now I’m content with my sporadic use. I don’t know what my makeup is made out of but I hope it’s fine and I try to make it look nice when I put it on my face.
Over the summer Jezebel posted this video of a year’s worth of make-up on a model’s face. It’s quite a different experience of makeup from what I’m used to – putting a little bit on some nights. Seeing a year’s worth of makeup applied at once changes my sense of the actual stuff that I am applying to my skin. But would a year’s worth of lotion look different? Or sunscreen?
According to the Jezebel post the “whole thing took nine hours, three lipsticks, seven bottles of foundation, and two bottles each of cream blush and eyeshadow to achieve. (That’s 228 mL, or 7.7 fl. oz. of face-spackle altogether.).”
What do you think? Does this change your perception of makeup? Do you think you’ll change how much makeup you wear after seeing this video? What about the money you spend on it?
Pin-up boys?
A friend sent me this series of men photographed in traditional “pin-up” girl poses. They sure capture the pin-up girl vibe: Look at those arched backs, pursed lips, and inviting gazes!
Yet the difference is obvious: these “pin-up boys” wear jeans and camo and are depicted with traditionally masculine props such as dumbbells and a wrench. What do these recognizable poses on different bodies do for us viewers?
I love these pictures because they subvert the pin-up girl image. Seeing male bodies in pin-up poses takes apart what we’re used to seeing, and for me expose the silliness of pin-up girls while questioning their supposed sexiness. These guys do look silly! We’re used to seeing women with their backs arched and chests thrust out, even in the midst of their regular activities (like vacuuming, apparently). Seeing men in the sam poses while doing their regular activities (fishing? Skateboarding? Talk about the sexual division of labor!) exposes its artificiality; exposes the pin-up girl as the fantasy she is.
Do these men look sexy to you? I think they look funny, which reminds me that “sexy” means different things on different bodies. In U.S. culture, one kind of sexy = slender white women doing chores with their underwear exposed. Does it work in reverse? Do these men look sexy, or goofy and posed?
Hollywood’s Thin, New Jennifer Hudson
After reading this article in Huffington Post and seeing many, many commercials with a svelte, toned Jennifer Hudson, I wondered how she managed to lose so much weight. Weight Watchers and exercise helped Hudson loose a huge eighty pounds in a healthy manner. The formerly “larger than life” singer and actress is now a glowing size zero. Hollywood could not be happier.
Plus sized women in Hollywood are not easy to come by, especially when these women are black. Hollywood’s black female superstars are sexy like Halle Berry or extremely curvaceous like Beyonce. Where does a plus sized black woman like Jennifer Hudson fit in? Does out singing Beyonce in Dreamgirls mean nothing?
In my opinion, Jennifer Hudson had not been portrayed as other black women before she dropped eighty pounds. Yes, she was talented and award winning, but not beautiful. Her beauty has only come from her weight loss. Now, we can marvel over her thin waist and curvy hips along with her amazing singing voice.
But, which is better? Should a black female celebrity have to choose between being famous for her talent or her body? Of course, some celebrities like Beyonce have both covered while others like Nicki Minaj are lacking. What does this mean for little black girls? Can they feel comfortable in their bodies and accept not being beautiful but talented instead? Or do their bodies have to be the cause of their beauty? Should they have to choose? I do not know the answers to these questions, although I have some ideas. The good news is that Jennifer Hudson’s voice is still big and beautiful!
Dove Real Women Beauty Commercial
Someone sent me this video on an interesting transformation between the way someone really looks and how they turn a “regular person” into a model. It shows a woman sitting in a chair and you see her go from an average person to them doing her hair and make-up, and finally taking a picture, photoshopping it, and putting it on a billboard. These are the images that we show to our society, yet nobody sees a problem with it.
Have no fear though, Dove is out to set the record straight. They want you to know that Dove is there for you, for real women! They want you to trust them to show real images of real women and make you feel better about yourself. No matter what the media shows, Dove is there for you and they believe in the beauty of every woman.
One thing that’s interesting to me though is that it’s a Dove commercial about promoting real women and real beauty, yet when you watch their other commercials, their models are thin and beautiful and promote the stereotypes of beauty that our society has put before us. I have an issue with the company pretending that they care about “real people” and “real beauty” when the way they act defies that. This makes me think that Dove is simply using a tactic to try and prove a point, or to get people who don’t like commercials or the media to start turning to them for an “unbiased” or “unconventional” model of what beauty is.
I think they are playing our society and using unconventional forms of beauty to attract new customers and promote their products. Now, instead of using conventional beauty to attract women by saying “if you use our products you will be this beautiful,” they are using the scheme “if you’re a real woman, you’re beautiful the way you are, and we support women being beautiful just like you, so knowing that we support REAL BEAUTY, you should buy and use our products.”
I think this is a real problem that needs to be addressed by society, but I don’t think doing it to promote your product is a fair way of doing that. Our concept of beauty clearly needs to change, but this is not the way to do it. Someone with nothing to gain has to put out a video or a commercial like this.
Unruly Bodies 