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By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

Okay, Newsweek. Let’s Talk About This.

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled .]

Everyone on top of your assigned reading ? That would be the Newsweek “Beauty Advantage” special report . It’s all about how the beauty standards have gotten stricter than ever, and new research shows that your appearance still translates to how much money you make and how beloved you are by peers and supervisors of both genders.

So it’s pretty much a big downer.

Because we haven’t much progress on this (the numbers are almost identical to the stuff Naomi Wolf talked about in the Beauty Myth oh, almost twenty years ago) and in some ways —Heidi Montag, Heidi Montag! — things are getting worse. (If you’ll recall, a lot of us feminist bloggers cottoned on to that back at the end of last year.)

There are two solutions, says Newsweek:

1) Join the club, concludes Jessica Bennett :

When it comes down to it, people get jobs because they “know somebody” all the time–is embracing our beauty premium really any worse? It might be shallow and it might not be fair, but the reality is that whether or not we decide to buy into it, whether or not we spend a lifetime keeping up with an ever-changing, ever-more-disturbing, plasticized ideal, we’re being judged already. So why not use what we’ve got while we ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

Spa Work is not Sex Work. But Some People Are Confused About That.

 

I’ve been writing this post in my head for a couple of weeks now, ever since this whole Al Gore/massage therapist scandal broke . Whatever the true story is there (Tipper says it’s false , yo), it brings up some big, troubling questions about this whole Business We Call Touch.

Jezebel has talked before on the specific issues facing massage therapists, who are trained and licensed, and would prefer you to not use the term “masseuse,” because it has the front-for-prostitution connotation, and they’re already fighting an uphill battle on that because their work is still classified as “adult entertainment” in some parts of the country. I know. ...

 

I’ve been writing this post in my head for a couple of weeks now, ever since this whole Al Gore/massage therapist scandal broke . Whatever the true story is there (Tipper says ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

Beauty School is Not Hot.

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled .]

From this week’s Modern Love essay , “Finding Marriage Without Losing a Self,” by Jillian Lauren:

“You know, when I said beauty school was hot, I was just playing with you,” he said. “I know that place is crappy and mind-numbing. And I think it’s great that you do it anyway. I think you’ve got guts for trying to change your life.”

This essay isn’t really about beauty school. It’s about Jillian Lauren, a recovering heroin addict/prostitute who tries to reclaim her middle-class Jewish Good Girl self via a Brides ‘ Magazine-worthy wedding to the perfect guy, until she realizes that the fairytale ending ...

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled .]

From this week’s Modern Love essay , “Finding Marriage Without Losing a Self,” by Jillian Lauren:

“You know, when I said beauty school was hot, I was just playing ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

The Birk Question, Answered. (-Ish)

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my struggle to embrace the new (or not so new, depending on who you ask) Birkenstocks-aren’t-ugly-after-all trend. And you guys had a lot to say about that. I got a backhanded f*ck you, I got a lot of feministing folks wondering why I would devote so many words to talking about frickin’ shoes already, and I got some fellow shoe lovers saying hell no, we won’t go there.

Well. This should make some of you happy. (Not that last group.)

 

Those are my feet and I’m wearing my first pair of Birks.

I think they look great. From most angles anyway.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my struggle to embrace the new (or not so new, depending on who you ask) Birkenstocks-aren’t-ugly-after-all trend. And you guys had a lot to say about that. I ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

Estheticians are not Doctors.

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled ]

At Beauty U, we’re told this all the time. Like, don’t think that you can diagnose a mole as skin cancer. Just suggest your client see her dermatologist for a check-up. And, don’t expect to learn lasers or Botox — those have to be administered by a doctor, or an esthetician working under a doctor with advanced training. (Read: Well beyond the scope of Beauty U.)

Some of the time, I find this reassuring. Anatomy, cosmetic chemistry, skin physiology and basic electricity each get a dedicated chapter in our Milady’s textbook. That adds up to maybe three weeks, tops, that we spent learning straight-up science and they are ...

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled ]

At Beauty U, we’re told this all the time. Like, don’t think that you can diagnose a mole as skin cancer. Just suggest your client see her dermatologist for a ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

Why It’s All About Skin.

[Cross-posted on Beauty Schooled .]

Salon’s David Marchese has an essay up today about our secret addiction to pimple popping which is worth reading, though I can also summarize it for you in one line: Squeezing your zits is gross, but everyone does it anyway — what’s that about?

So here’s a maybe not shocking answer: It’s because we don’t like our bodies. And more specifically, we don’t like our skin.

Because an awful lot of our body anxieties reside in the epidermis. After all, it’s not your kidneys, lungs, and other internal organs stacking up that make you feel fat, It’s how much skin you can see in the mirror. And whether it’s smooth, or lumpy, ...

[Cross-posted on Beauty Schooled .]

Salon’s David Marchese has an essay up today about our secret addiction to pimple popping which is worth reading, though I can also summarize it for you in one line: Squeezing ...
By beauty_schooled • 13 years ago

To Birk or Not to Birk?

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled .]

Guy Trebay has a little “Noticed” story tucked in the back of the New York Times’ Thursday Styles today, called “Even Macho Toes Like to Breathe ,” about how Birkenstocks have become hip with hipster guys, thanks to the fact that “a posse of American fashion editors” have been having a moment with the thong style Birk (above).

I was going to write more about cellulite today because it’s been the theme of my week at Beauty U (stay tuned, you’ll get it next week) but instead, I have to drop everything and address this.

As I blogged a few weeks ago, I am a fairly shoe-obsessed person, in ...

[Cross-posted at Beauty Schooled .]

Guy Trebay has a little “Noticed” story tucked in the back of the New York Times’ Thursday Styles today, called “Even Macho Toes Like to Breathe ,” about how ...

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