media

by

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?

by

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? 

by

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!

by

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.