Posts Tagged beauty standards

No Type: Trap Feminism Pt. 2

I’ve been thinking a lot about trap feminism and what it means since I first wrote about it in January. In this introductory piece — which was mostly a purge of initial ideas that I had been bouncing back and forth with friends — I identified some of the makings of trap feminism which included an acknowledgement of women as participants and contributors to hip hop and trap music, active agents over their sexuality and bodies, and conscious players in informal/non-institutional financial transactions. Reflecting back now, trap feminism can be applied much more broadly. Today I find myself thinking about trap feminism as a tool used to identify liberating themes in trap music and facets of it’s surrounding ...

I’ve been thinking a lot about trap feminism and what it means since I first wrote about it in January. In this introductory piece — which was mostly a purge of initial ideas that ...

Seventeen Magazine then and now

Earlier today Bitch media posted this side-by-side image of Seventeen magazine in 1973 and in 2010. As you can see, the 1973 cover features a young Navajo woman with windblown hair, happily looking off camera, engaged in something going on around her. The 2010 spread — with the title “Navajo” — includes  a white woman in a “tribal” print sweater surrounded by more incorrectly-appropriated items. 

Earlier today Bitch media posted this side-by-side image of Seventeen magazine in 1973 and in 2010. As you can see, the 1973 cover features a young Navajo woman with windblown hair, happily looking ...

An open letter to my former dentist

Ed. note: This is guest post from Kiera Butler. Kiera is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Her first book, which is about 4-H, will be published in October 2014. 

Dear Dr. B.,

I’m writing to tell you why I’m taking my business to different dental office. Let me explain:

The last time I had my teeth cleaned at your office, your hygienist told me that the bonding on two of my teeth was coming off, and that I should come back so that you could fix it.

So I made an appointment to do just that. I asked you to take a look at the bonding, and you did. Then you took off your glasses and said, “Forget ...

Ed. note: This is guest post from Kiera Butler. Kiera is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Her first book, which is about 4-H, will be published in October 2014. 

Dear Dr. ...

Watch this perfect parody of Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign

As we’ve written before, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, which tells women they’re prettier than they think they are, has always been bullshit for a few reasons — a main one being that it is “cementing a whole slew of beauty standards even as it pumps up self-esteem.”

And this spot-on parody from Above Average Productions highlights another of the particularly annoying things about it. While purporting to be empowering women to be more confident, Dove’s ads actually promote feminine humility above all else. In Doveland, Alexandra has explained, “the only confidence that’s acceptable is halfhearted: ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think I’m pretty, but I’ve been told I’m wrong, so maybe I am a little.'” 

As we’ve written before, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, which tells women they’re prettier than they think they are, has always been bullshit for a few reasons — a main one being that it is “cementing a ...

Smart isn’t beautiful

Online clothing retailer Betabrand’s new ad campaign has made a splash. Their new spring collection is modeled exclusively by PhDs and doctoral candidates. As founder Chris Lindland wrote in a statement, “Our designers cooked up a collection of smart fashions for spring, so why not display them on the bodies of women with really big brains?”

Online clothing retailer Betabrand’s new ad campaign has made a splash. Their new spring collection is modeled exclusively by PhDs and doctoral candidates. As founder Chris Lindland wrote in a statement, “Our ...

“Photoshop: For that poreless android look you’ll never achieve in real life.”

For her final project in an advanced digital photography class at East Carolina University, student Anna Hill decided to highlight the ridiculousness of beauty ads by creating these mock ads for Photoshop itself. As she explains to HuffPo, ads for beauty products “really are altered so much, they may as well be advertising Photoshop rather than the products they actually sell.” 

For her final project in an advanced digital photography class at East Carolina University, student Anna Hill decided to highlight the ridiculousness of beauty ads by creating these mock ads for Photoshop itself. As ...

On mannequins and plastic surgery in Venezuela, context is key

Are Venezolanas really that much more invested in a limited beauty standard than women elsewhere? As a Venezolana myself, I have to say that this article about the trend in ridiculously busty mannequins in Venezuela – and how that both reflects and affects a new-ish plastic-surgeried reality – made me bristle a bit in its ethnocentrism.

Are Venezolanas really that much more invested in a limited beauty standard than women elsewhere? As a Venezolana myself, I have to say that this article about the trend in ridiculously busty mannequins in Venezuela – ...

“Dove Real Beauty,” self-esteem, and One Direction

Over the weekend, Dove released a new video promoting its carefully constructed brand of “real beauty” self-esteem boosting. The concept is clever. A series of women describe themselves to a forensic sketch artist behind a curtain. Afterward, new friends describe these same women to the same guy and he draws a new picture. Inevitably, the sketches based on the women’s descriptions of themselves are far less traditionally attractive than those based on their friends’ description. The message is clear: we’re prettier than we think.

I feel about this Dove video what I feel about pretty much all of their “real beauty” advertising. It makes me feel better about myself today, but doesn’t help create a better world where women don’t need ...

Over the weekend, Dove released a new video promoting its carefully constructed brand of “real beauty” self-esteem boosting. The concept is clever. A series of women describe themselves to a forensic sketch artist behind a curtain. Afterward, ...

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