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Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: Message or Just for the Show
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Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: Message or Just for the Show

Is there a message being giving in the Victoria Secrets Fashion Show or is it just a show we should sit back and admire, or look to buy?

The Victoria Secrets Fashion Show 2014 currently aired yesterday for the 13th time on national television. It is one of the United States largely viewed fashion shows and is broadcast annually.  The show features many slender and nothing short of tall and fabulous women. Now the models and designers have been working all year round and about $2.5 million goes to charity.The designers construct the over-the-top glamorous wings and costumes for the models to strut their stuff down the lit up and animated stage. And for the models, a constant hunger strike to keep their body whipped in shape. Not a ounce of fat to be seen by the viewers on t.v or the anxious fans who paid $25,000 for a front view seat. Maybe hunger strike is to aggressive of a phrase to describe these women’s actions, but from my (admitted) bias views I wouldn’t know what else to call it. They eat very tiny to no carbs for most of their life and being “perfectly” skinny is their life career. Don’t get me wrong, I highly believe it is a fun and glamorous job and I understand why people would aspire to gain that position. I shop at Victoria’s Secret, faithfully supporting them on their over priced items, as well as watch the show annually.

Even with my love for the Victoria’s Secret/PINK line, is there something they are trying to tell us? Along with the harmless glamour, is there an underlining message or are they only selling to us and no fuss should be made? Regardless of their “harmless” fashion, the facts of mostly Caucasian and extremely skinny women can not pass my mind. I am on the fence with my opinion because showcasing their product on mannequin sized women for a “nicer” appearance tells us how are bodies should look or what we should be aspiring. Or would that be making a big deal out of just a fashion show. I just feel as a company looking to pursue women (even those who are not size 2 considering they sell large sizes), they should appeal to more type of women from different ethnic backgrounds and shapes/sizes. Because to me they are blindly supporting a “right body acceptance issue.”

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Representation in Photography

I love the internet, of course. It lets me access a whole wealth of content, my favorite being photographs. I’m very interested to see what everyone else is seeing through their perspective. I look at a lot of photo blogs, flickr accounts, so on, to get to see peoples photos. However, I am often disappointed and a bit confused. When I look at photographic work done by my generation, most of it looks the same. Most of what I see is white people,specifically ‘pretty,’ thin girls, doing whimsical things like running through a field or laughing while their hair blows in the wind or something. If you have a Tumblr I know you know what I’m talking about. Let me find an example…

I don’t want to discount anyones photographs. I’m not saying these photos are bad or should not be taken. This isn’t an issue of quality or validity of work. Its an issue of representation in youth photography. Where are the fat photographers/ photo subjects? The photographers of color? Trans photographers? I could even venture to ask where the financially lower class photographers are, as the people in these photos often appear to be well off (taken with high quality equipment, or color film which is pricey, but this is an assumption). I would love so much to see the perspectives of a broader range of people. I’m wondering, is it there and just hiding in an unfound corner of the internet, or are the only people my age using photography as an outlet white skinny people? Of course there are layers of nuances here relating to socioeconomic issues, the narrative visual media maintains, and so on. But I hope that a wider demographic of people will being to be represented in photography.

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Bodies, Self-Esteem, and Sex in “My Mad Fat Diary”

trigger warning: weight, body image, self-hate, suicide mention

Recently, actress Sharon Rooney who plays Rae Earl on the UK TV show My Mad Fat Diary announced that the show is returning for a third season. MMFD is allll about bodies. Rae Earl is the protagonist of the show, a fat sixteen-year-old girl dealing with not only her weight and low self-esteem but also with mental illness. She has a tough push-and-pull relationship with her mother, and a father that is out of the picture.

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To Insinuate or to Transform
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To Insinuate or to Transform

Whether I’m wearing lots of makeup or no makeup, I am always the same person inside.

-Lady Gaga

As a child up until about 7th grade I would consider myself to had been a tomboy with girly qualities. I never wanted to put on a dress, wear dressy shoes, heels, get my hair done, and not even thinking about makeup. As I got older from high school on out, I believe I fell more into wanting to get dolled up. So makeup was a big part of that right. I soon became interested in buying foundation, and eyeliners, mascara etc. I liked doing my makeup to an extent and now, I almost wear it everyday. I personally don’t feel bound by makeup because I still go out without it. Another part of me wants to always wear it for the extra confidence boost because its insinuating. But here is where the real problem is; when is it overboard and no longer only insinuating but more trans-formative.

Society now gets on women for wearing too much makeup or making themselves look different from their natural look. When I am around my dad, boyfriend, or brother its always the “ohh she is wearing too much makeup” judgement. Many are now concerned they won’t know how someone really looks. But should that be the main concern and why is it this way. I feel society puts pressure on women to look a certain way. People now go out their way to have a certain look and to still be judged.

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Bodies in Photography

When you take a lot of photos of other people its important to have your own picture taken regularly as well.Not in order to even things out or something, but so you can observes your feelings on the matter. As someone who uses photography as a diary, an outlet to making sense of things, and a profession, I take a lot of pictures. The subjects of those pictures are always people, mostly friends or family, but sometimes strangers. I’m so thankful these people allow me to photograph them incessantly, through private moments, through unflattering faces, probably through not feeling like having their photo taken. I’m so thankful for them, in part,because I’m a bit of a hypocrite. Or sometimes I feel like one. I hate having my picture taken. It pains me. Maybe it pains me a little bit more then the ‘average’ person who doesn’t like getting their picture taken because I spend so much time thinking about the intricacies of the power of photography. It reveals too much for comfort. Photographs turns your body into an expression rather than a familiar possession. The subtext of a moment can be amplified in the bend of an arm or the tilt of a head. Even if you try to calculate a picture and how you’ll be perceived in it, sometimes, in a good photograph, something will slip through. The power of photography amplifies the power that our bodies have to express themselves. It’s a nearly unhinging experience to see yourself reflected in a single still moment, just your body existing in the physical world. If you look too long, that is. Which I do. Which is important to me. I encourage everyone, particularly people who don’t like to have their picture taken, to think critically about why and experiment with it.

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American Horror Story: Freak Show

I absolutely love these interviews that American Horror Story is putting out on YouTube. It definitely gives us a perspective on how those with unique bodies, view their own bodies, and learn to accept their own bodies.