Young girls talk about what they really think about body image

Our society sets a standard for beauty that is really unreachable, and it doesn’t only affect women ( 18-30) it starts a lot younger than you  may think.

She knows media brought together a group of young girls and asked those questions about body image. There is such a sense of honesty when you ask kids real life questions. If this discussion was held with older women, I’m sure these answers would have been completely different.  

The first group of girls  (14-16) discussed body image and the media . One girl commented
“You can try to be like these celebrities that have really big butts and  A tiny waist.” Another girl said “Ill look at a lot of pictures and be like Wow , I wish I had that body  but , its not really possible.”   More than ever having a bigger butt is more popular, because so many celebrities are idolized because of theirs. I can’t count how many times a week, I see images on social media of women being praised and admired for theirs. Teenagers shouldn’t be focused on trying to have their bodies look like celebrities they see . It just starts a pattern of not feeling like you are not good enough.

 



Although these images of beauty that we may see may not be necessarily geared towards younger girls (6- 12) they still have an affect on them .  It’s sad to think that an 8 year old may look at herself and not think she’s pretty enough. The younger girls in this workshop left the biggest impression on me. They were so positive, and so confident with their opinions. “Fat people can still be pretty , thin people can be really ugly .”   Another little girl said “Other people may look at you and think that you’re prettier than you think that you are . You shouldn’t be doubting yourself.”   We can learn a lot from these young girls. Somehow as we get older, as girls we may lose sight of that. There is beauty in everyone, and we let society’s image and standard of beauty define how we see ourselves.  I hope you share this video . This can be used to start a discussion at home.  

If young girls don’t learn about positive body image at home , they  will learn it from the media. #hatchkids

Cosmo trys to apologize for racist Beauty Trends article

Earlier this month, social media went crazy after an article in  Cosmopolitan Magazine published early this year resurfaced . The article was titled “21 Beauty Trends that need to die in 2015 “. The article showed  beauty trends on various celebs and models, that Cosmo felt were no longer trend worthy. The celebrities and model images were shown side by side. One image would say “R.I.P” (for the trend they thought needed to die ) and the other image would say “Hello Gorgeous”.  

The controversy about this article was that, the women of color pictured in this article were only on the “R.I.P” side, and only white celebrities were on the “Hello Gorgeous" side. Of course this caused controversy and an up roar on Twitter. Celebrities went on Twitter expressing how they felt about the article. Joan Smalls, a black Supermodel who was featured on the "R.I.P" sides of the beauty trends responded to the article by tweeting  “Really @cosmopolitan , what are you trying to imply  #ThinkBeforeYouPost #Unfollowing ? “

Really??? @Cosmopolitan What are you trying to imply ... #Tasteless #ThinkbeforeYouPost #Unfollowing pic.twitter.com/poai8MKOCg
— Joan Smalls (@joansmalls) April 3, 2015

Cosmo responded to Joan by Tweeting “ Empowering and supporting all women is our mission, and here, we fell short. We apologize and will do better in the future. “ a lot of people thought this apology was not good enough and, it was just there way of trying to save face. Many have also said that this is not new for Cosmo and, that their lack of diversity is no surprise.

@joansmalls Empowering and supporting all women is our mission, and here, we fell short. We apologize and will do better in the future.
— Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan) April 3, 2015

I am not sure if this article was intentionally racist but, there is no excuse for these types of post that can be looked at as offensive to any group of people . Cosmo reaches millions of readers daily and they need to be aware of the pieces they publish. This could have been an oversight that the editor did not catch but, now this has caused a controversy and makes the magazine as a whole look bad. I am not sure who is more at fault the writer who made this piece or, the editor that allowed this to published.

Cosmo definitely fell short on this piece , and the editor added a note on this article , “This article focuses on beauty trends with images that represent those trends. Some images have been taken out of context, and we apologize for any offense. Celebrating all women is our mission,and we will continue to work hard to do that.”  This piece has since been updated.

The question heard around the world.

Your heart starts to pace , your mind is racing , the audience staring at you ,  while you are waiting for the question. "Wait , did I miss the question ?, I have no idea how to answer this question, Why didn't I get the question the last girl got , I could have nailed that.....Just say something , and hope it doesn't sound stupid."

I hope they like me.

I have been doing beauty pageants since I was 17 , and they have been a great pastime in my life. I made friends , I gained confidence , and I accomplished things I never thought I would do.

To people looking from the outside that have never done pageants , probably look at them as pointless, stupid, and maybe even demeaning. I mean who wants to really stand on stage in a tiny swimsuit and be judged by people you don’t know ?

I mean its just really pretty girls competing against each other, for one spot right ?......... Wrong.

Yes , you technically are competing against girls you don’t know for a crown and a title.But to that girl shes competing for so much more. Shes competing for her dream , her future, scholarship money , oppurtunities , and the list can go on and on. Yes the recognition and glam side to it is great, and fun , but theres so much more to it than just that.

I have competed against girls that are educated , talented, career orientated. I have to admit when I compete I have met some of the most ambitious , accomplished young women I have ever met.

Every year the Miss USA , Miss Universe and Miss America is on TV and watched by millions . Viewers are in awe of the beautiful women,  their perfect bodies ,and gorgeous gowns. Due to the pageants being live , theare are sometimes OOPS moments , that sometimes   don’t show  beauty queens in the best light. It can be difficult to be on stage in front of thousands of people and millions at home , waiting on you to answer a question (which can sometimes be controversial topics) perfectly.  One mishap , or stutter  , or mispronounce of a word and social media will have a field day.

Everyone remembers the year when Miss South Carolina Teen USA was in the top 5 and was asked the question: " Why do you think most Americans cant locate the US on a map?"   she boomed her answer and her response  became so huge on TV  instantly !  People looked at her as dumb but she said she was just really nervous and didnt hear the question. 

 The video that got over 60 million views is below.
 

 

As someone who has done pageants and may do another one before I age out ( which is 26 or 27) , I will always have some connection to them , and try to defend them positively.  Of course there is are always good and bad to everything, in one of my future post I will talk about the not so pretty side to beauty  pageants.

 

Till next time…..

Plus Size Beauties

Earlier this year , when the latest sports illustrated  came out , there was something  different in this issue. Yes there were still beautiful women featured in the magazines in swimsuits but , there was something different about one of the women. For the first time ever there was A plus size model featured in the magazine . Model Robyn Lawley who is a size 12, and a very successful model  was featured in the magazine alongside other  non plus size models. The interesting thing to me , was that she does not really look like the image you would think of when you hear “Plus Size” model. She is proportioned well, strikiling beautiful , toned and fit. But according to fashion industry standards she is plus size. She would be looked at as normal /average size to many in America.



Robyn Lawley

Is this the start of something new? A new side of beauty in Fashion? It’s not that, there are not lots of curvier girls, it’s just that, they are not shown or advertised as much in the fashion world. I think adding this model (plus size) in the issue was great, and monumental, and will create a precedent for the future. People like diversity, not just when it comes to weight, but also races, ethnicities, people are different and this diversity shows.

There are not as many plus size fashion agencies, but there are many successful plus size models although we may not hear their names talked about as much. Recently I came across a reality show on Hulu , called “Curvy Girls “ which follows the lives of  4 full figured models .It shows the ups and downs of the plus size modeling industry and the life of a plus size model. It was interesting to see that there are models that are making just as much money as smaller sized models one of the models said "the biggest job I ever booked was 15,000 a day"






( Left : Tess Holiday for Monif C Swimwear , Right: Tess and her husband )

When you think of a size 22 , you may not think of someone who is signed to a major modeling agency but Tess Holiday is. If you do not know who Tess Holiday is , she is a plus size model that has gained tons of popularity through Instagram. She has over 500 thousand followers , and that number is growing daily. She recently got signed to Milk Model Management in the UK. They discoevered her through Instagram , and noticed that she had more followers than most of the models they already had on their roster.

Recently pictures have been released of Tess modeling for Monif C Swimwear collection and the internet has been buzzing about it !  Their have been negative  comments about her weight , and her looking unhealthy but, there are also  so many comments about her being an inspiration.  “Youre such an inspiration !” , “Yesss Beautiful” , are some of the nicer comments. When it comes to beauty ,  people will always have their own opinions , and  it seems that our society is starting to embrace more diverse looks of beauty . Maybe its because we as people are becoming more accepting , or maybe people are tired of seeing the same images of beauty all the time.



False Beauty Image

The 2012 Dove Distortion of beauty Ad , showed how what we view as beauty is not even real. How the image that you may be looking at , that celebrity or model you so desperately want to look like , doesn't even really look like that herself. This ad spoke volumes . It is impossible to reach a standard of beauty , when the standard being shown isn't even real.  

The video is below:

Society, the media, celebrities, the beauty and fashion industry , all of these have influences on what people think the standard of beauty should be. The standard of beauty for a long time has been blue eyes, blonde hair , and a  size 2. This standard to many is unattainable, if you are different a race, weight class, then you don’t fall into this standard. Does this mean you are not beautiful? (Of course not ! ) Because you don’t have certain features,  or the numbers on your scale don’t say what society is saying is beautiful , now what ? Your favorite celebrity whose beauty and talent you admire, may fit the standard of beauty .So what does that say about you when you don’t?  The people who fit that standard are praised and those who don’t aren't, so now you feel you are not good enough. You want to be accepted more, you want to fit into that standard of beauty society has set. So you’ll look up beauty products, look up what your favorite celebrities beauty tricks are, what diet you can do, what procedure you can do , to look like everyone else……beautiful.

Red carpets, cameras flashing, perfect hair, glistening white teeth, flawless skin: these are the images we may see on the red carpet, looking flawlessly and effortlessly beautiful. We at home may not be thinking about, what these celebrities did to look so “flawless”. All we see is the perfect image of beauty , that we all so desperately want and envy ( maybe not everyone). We don’t think about the thousands of dollars they may have put into getting work done (plastic surgery) or ,the excessive diets that they may do ….all in the name of beauty.

Julia Roberts 2011 Lancome ad banned in UK because of too mich photoshop

The beauty industry photoshops images all of the time in ads , billboards, magazines , campaigns a lot of the images we see all of the time. It may be a straighter nose , lighter skin, a longer nose , slimmer thighs , and the list goes on and on. What are we really looking at and admiring? Are we looking at a model , or are we looking at what use to be that model and now an altered image completely ? That image that some teenager is looking at in her favorite magazine, thinking about how “I wished I looked like that”. That’s impossible because the model in the picture doesn't even look like that.

What really is the standard of beauty , who is making this standard , who can  society ever be satisfied when the images of beauty are not real ? 

Kardashian Kraze

(Left to Right :Khloe, Kourtney, Kris, Kim , Kylie Jenner , Kendall Jenner )

Whether you are a fan or not, you have probably heard of the “Kardashians”( unless you live somewhere under a rock). They have not only taken over our tv  screens but also beauty , fashion, entertainment and social media . I cannot go a day without seeing tons of pics  of the Kardashian or Jenner sisters on instagram or see their name as a trending topic on twitter. They are the most talked about topic on social media. How can one family have so much power and influence  you may ask , especially when their claim to fame is anything less than risqué .  Everyone by now knows how the Kardashian klan became famous , if you don’t google will tell you everything you need to know and probably more than you want to see . It has been years since Kims scandal but it seems like she is only getting more famous by the day. There have been plenty of reality stars that have had similar experiences of tapes being exposed but none of them have rose to this level of fame and stardom that Kim Kardashian and her family has by association.

Kim Kardashian ELLE cover

Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West

Is it Kims beauty , her fashion, her sense of style ,the guys she’s dates, her adorable daughter North  ? What is it that makes the world so in awe of her and has made her one of the biggest celebrities today around the world  ? Since Kim has became known to the world, it is without doubt the most topic talked about her is her booty. She has made being curvier the beauty obsession ! Not that girls weren't curvier before   but , she because people are obsessed with her , and want to emulate her looks, hey also want to emulate the look of her booty. silicone butt injections, butt pads, and countless other procedures being done for girls around the world to have this look.

 The Kardashians (Kim, Kourtney, Khloe , and Rob) and Jenners (Kylie , Kendall , Kris and Bruce ) have had one of the most successful reality shows for the last 10 years. According to US magazine they have recently  signed a 4 year $100 million  dollar contract with the E network.  Its obvious this family is here to stay and aren’t going anywhere. Tv show, Clothing lines , beauty products, and other businesses they have made millions of dollars and have become a huge force in pop culture.

 

Kendall and Kylie for Pacsun
 

Not only as a family are they ridicuosly famous , but individually they have all became  household names in their own right. The  Jenner girls , Kendall (19) and Kylie (17) ; daughters to kris  and bruce jenner have their own clothing line with Pacsun, model, and have huge fan bases on Instagram .Kylie has over 18.35 Million and Kendall has over  20 million followers . The sisters are automatic trend sisters from beauty to fashion. Whatever they are seen in or whatever makeup look they be wearing , the world wants to try, and becomes a social media frenzy.

 

I have to admit , I use to be obsessed with their reality show , and I find myself on their instagram pages throughout the week . I do have my favorites and not so favorites , and I am always commenting on twitter about whatever they may be trending for that week (I cant help it !). I am not alone , and im only one of the millions that I am sure do the same. Whether you love or hate them it is certain , the Kardashian empire will not be slowing down anytime soon.

Social media has made beauty gurus the new celebrities .

        Before social media our images of beauty would only be what we saw on tv , magazines , and movies. Today due to various social media outlets and their huge influence on the world ,that has changed. Whether its YouTube , Instagram , Twitter or Pinterest these  social media outlets have become the new paths to becoming  a celebrity or creating a huge following . You no longer have to be a celebrity to have fans or,  to have the influence that celebrities do. There are countless examples of girls on Youtube that are “Beauty or Lifestyle Gurus"  that have tons of subscribers and millions of views .  What is A "Beauty Guru "? you may ask . It is the term used for someone who may do a lot of makeup  tutorial ,  reviews  and most of the time has a lot of followers. Through social media , these gurus have been able to create a following , create business and  even earn enough money to be on social media full time.

Some examples are Michelle Phan who became famous for doing makeup tutorials on YouTube  , she has over 1 billion views  ,over 7 million subscribers, has created  businesses  , had several commercials on TV , and now worth millions !
 

Another example is Bethany Mota who grew a huge following from her makeup,fashion and DIY  channel on Youtube. She has over 8 million subscribers, was on dancing with the stars, and she also had a clothing line recently launched with Aeropastle!.

There are also many examples of people on Instagram who used Instagram as a way to show their  makeup tutorials and photos and have gained huge followings and have used that to start business and other oppurtunities for themselves.

They have become so influential , that advertisers and huge companies reach out to them to promote their products , and create parternships with them.  Before social media existed these opportunities that are now available,  may have only been available to celebrities or people with that type of influence. It is a great marketing tool to use these influential social media stars , that have access to millions of people . Many of the successful beauty Gurus on YouTube have even larger followings than some celebrities. Their fans buy what they suggest, and in a way take their suggestions as a holy grail. It is quite interesting when you think about it , that  with a computer , a camera and social media you can have that type of influence over the people that follow you.

This new social media age that we live in has opened up doors for many and,  also gives people all over the world a look into peoples lives and a way to whatever someone  may put online by using a computer or a phone. It has changed our lives in so many aspects and has become apart of society's daily routine.

In this blog I will discuss the aspects of Beauty in Media , from celebrities influence on the beauty products we may buy to ,  how advertisers may alter or Photoshop models in campaigns . Our society and pop culture have a huge affect on not only the “standard of beauty” but , also the images of beauty in the media that influence us daily .