Shine Strong
I salute the teams of creatives (hopefully many of them women) with the wisdom and insight to create such a supportive ad campaign. Please watch both “Not Sorry” and “Labels Against Women.” And no more apologies!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/pantene-not-sorry-shine-strong_n_5507461.html
Dear Advertisers
Dear Advertisers: Please Stop Portraying Women Like This In Adverts. Regards, Women
Redefining Beauty
The revolution in self-acceptance continues!
How We See Ourselves
In 1975, Laura Mulvey coined the term “the male gaze” to describe the way women tend to be objectified in film, seen through the eyes of what was then the exclusively-male domain of cinematography and film direction. Thirty-eight years later, not much has changed. According to The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, last year in the US, women comprised just 6% of directors, 10% of writers, and 3% of cinematographers. In the world of advertising, Kat Gordon has pointed out that even though women control 85% of all consumer choices—a multi-trillion dollar market–only 3% of creative directors are women. This means that at least 90% of all the decisions about how women are portrayed in visual media are still being made by an elite group of (mostly white, young) men. And in this media-saturated world, the male gaze has become the global lens.
Although there are more and more enlightened film directors (of both genders) creating inspiring stories about women—women who are active creators rather than passive objects—the majority of media still venerates skinny, plastic, Photoshopped women positioned more as sex-workers than as dynamic individuals. For example, in a recent commercial for Carl Jr’s (too bleak to reference with an image), a famous football player is “the hero,” positioned in the center of the screen and triumphantly enjoying his hamburger while two mostly-naked women gyrate around him, essentially worshiping him and offering up their bodies which (if we are to believe the ad) have dramatically less value than a three dollar burger. (AAA!) While I recover from my momentary rage-stroke, let us celebrate the remarkable Cate Blanchett for the way she confronted the “The Glam Cam”—when it treated her like a hamburger:
http://gymfreefit.com/2014/01/21/called-objectification-like-cate-blanchett/
So, what happens to a woman after a lifetime (or even just an hour) of absorbing magazines, TV, and movies, internalizing media?
For myself, I notice how often judge myself (and come up short) against what media tells me is “good,” “perfect,” or “beautiful.” And yet, when I take a moment to really think about it, I know that the picture of a starving model—wearing nothing but a diamond handcuff, for example—has nothing to do with what is good, perfect, or beautiful. And certainly nothing to do with what it means to be a women.
If you had the chance to re-tell the cultural story about women, what would you want to say?
This (if I must be brief) is where I’d start:
I believe that all women are equally, uniquely beautiful.
Like all of the nature world—every tree, flower, mountain, ocean—it is the nature of women to be beautiful. Likewise, I believe we are all equally, uniquely good and perfect and brilliant and brave.
Instead of seeing ourselves through the lens of some random photographer (with unnatural preferences), let’s start to see ourselves through our own eyes. In the words of Rebecca Walker, let’s learn “to love ourselves… not for how we look, but for how we feel.”
Every woman’s body is a powerful creative force. A force of nature. A force of wisdom. And I believe our bodies deserve to be honored, loved, and respected. It’s not about how we look. It’s about how we LIVE! Can you move? Can you dance? Can you speak your truth? Can you direct your own life? Can you do what you love?
It is our happiness that makes us dazzling.
Like Mr. Oz Behind The Emerald Curtain
What a beautifully designed, very disturbing, and very important infographic.
“These six giants… control 90% of everything Americans see, hear and consider important.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6
The Unvarnished Truth
This photo from Imgur is attributed to Eddi Aguirre. It imagines what Barbie would like without make up—if she was a real woman. Now: imagine a world in which we could see the beauty of this!
The ancient Chinese were obsessed with “the beauty” of bound, broken feet. The Kayan Lahwi women of Burma distort their necks with a foot of thick, gold cuffs. If beauty is subjective, why can’t we learn to love what we have, to embrace everything, even our pimples, wrinkles and weathered, sagging skin? Afterall, we humans are the ones who make up the rules. Why not make them kinder?
Messages In Media 