A Skinny-Obsessed World

Paige, at ‘Mastering the Art of Life’ recently wrote a post called My Life as a Number. She talks frankly about women’s obsession with their weight and dress size, and how those two numbers, if they don’t fall within the criteria dictated by society, can overshadow all the other characteristics that truly describe a person. Paige ends her piece with a quote by J.K. Rowling from the J.K. Rowling Official Site.

In a post called ‘For Girls Only, Probably”  J.K. says in part:

“Is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me.”

“I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.”

The Media Awareness Network describes what is at stake for women in a post called Beauty and Body Image in the Media. The quest for an image that is unattainable for all but a few can have devastating effects. This post ends by saying:

Women learn to compare themselves to other women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability “effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate.”

On a recent vacation, I watched as a skinny 8 year old girl in a bikini bathing suit interacted with a group of pre-teen little boys by saying to them, “How do you like my new bathing suit?”. She proceeded to model it, but she was quickly abandoned by the boys who had no interest in her bathing suit, or her, apparently.

In reality, she just wanted to join in the game they were playing, and once she resumed normal child broadcasting, she was welcomed into the fray. But somehow, somewhere, she has already started to be programmed by the Beauty Industry, and I find that very unfortunate.

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My Similar Rants about the Beauty Industry:
- Women, Liberation, Freedom, Beauty
- Fat Facts
- The Glass Ceiling is Made of Cloth
- How to Run in Stilettos
- Mother Nature Defies the Beauty Industry
- The Beauty Hype

The Beauty Hype

Picture of someone who looks older than their age due to stress?

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably realize I am not a big fan of the Beauty Industry. It is not that I am against many of the products. I’m just against the entire multi-billion dollar machine that tells women they aren’t good enough unless they use these products.

I’m against women being told they must color their hair or hide their wrinkles or paint their faces or wear certain clothes or lose weight – in order to be beautiful.

I’m against any activity that pits women against women in a contest to see who is more beautiful. I’m against all the money that is spent on glossy advertisements that sell a dream that is unrealistic and unattainable. I’m against skinny models and botox and fad diets. I’m against child beauty pageants, the catty world of tabloid magazines and touched up photos in print media. I’m against idolizing movie stars, and… well, you get the idea. Feel free to add your own observations about how women are made to feel inferior if they don’t conform to a set of standards.

Oh, and I’m not all that happy either with the people who found my blog because they typed in these search terms:

- are there medical research on how to get rid of grey hair
- picture of someone who looks older than their age due to stress

But, I suppose they weren’t all that happy when they found my blog, either, so I guess we are even…

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My Similar Grey Hair Story: The Power of Grey Hair – A Hair Crusade for women.

Mother Nature Defies the Beauty Industry!

Can you imagine what the world would look like if Mother Nature listened to the human Beauty Industry?

This wonderful gnarled old willow would have had a facelift or two.

The bark on this evergreen would have been plumped and smoothed by moisturizers and botox.

This plump old Aspen would have been on a diet for, well probably all of its adult life.

But Mother Nature is much wiser than any human. She knows that beauty is everywhere and it is ageless.

It makes me wish I was a tree. If I was, I’d be old enough to be the lumpy, bumpy, wrinkly, crinkly Queen of the Forest! And I would be tall, too…

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My Similar Tree Story: A Tree Decorated with Memories – My Christmas Tree holds many memories.

How to Run in Stilettos

The truth is, you can’t run in Stilettos, or most High Heels for that matter. At least the average woman can’t. But that doesn’t stop some women from trying. There are many Stiletto Races staged around the world to raise money for charity, or to promote a product. One of the most recent ones was held in the Philippines. “Michelle Fernandez-Castillo, Maybelline New York Philippines’ senior brand manager, said they decided to bring the race to the country to help empower Filipinas. “The stiletto is the first thing that comes to a woman’s mind whenever she needs something to feel good and look good. Through this race, we hope to show the world how powerful women are,” she declared.”

Run? Are you nuts?

Yes, I can certainly see how the women of the Philippines will feel much better about themselves when they put on their stilettos. And they will definitely feel very powerful when they can run in them… Either that, or Maybelline is just using a clever marketing ploy to sell the Filipinas the same boatloads of beauty myths that they sell to the rest of the world.

The Stiletto Run is just wrong in so many ways. First, and foremost, is the fact that women wear those high heel shoes at all, and then run in them. Yes, I understand the term “sexy”. But why do women have to wear something so uncomfortable to be sexy, while the men watch in comfort from the sidelines? That, to me, says that the men are the ones with the smarts and the power, not the women.

Then there are High Heels in general. The foot, leg and back problems they cause are monumental, yet the number of women that wear them on a daily basis continues to climb. It is estimated that in the USA, one in five women suffer from foot problems due to wearing high heels.

Wake up women. If you want to feel good about yourself, put on a pair of sneakers and go for a walk. You’ve only got one pair of feet, and they have to last you a lifetime.

Courage is no match for an unfriendly shoe.
Roger Moore, as James Bond

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My Similar Shoe Story: To Preikestolen in Comfortable Shoes – This hike would have been difficult in unfriendly shoes.