In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Category: Beauty

Made for me

It’s everything I love in life (Mariah, Elliot and Olivia), and I thought I’d share. Plus, Lauren dared me.

Battling Anorexia Through Fashion Week

Fashion Week in New York has spawned all kinds of conversations about models, thinness and anorexia — including this op/ed in the New York Times urging the fashion industry to promote healthier bodies. The paper makes the important point that the thinness seen in many models isn’t natural, and that these women are being pushed to dangerous extremes:

If the industry needed a wake-up call, it got one last month, when Luisel Ramos, an Uruguayan model who had been advised to lose weight, died of heart failure after taking her turn on the catwalk. She reportedly had gone days without eating, and for months consumed only lettuce and diet soda.

I don’t think anyone expects industry standards to shift immediately. But Madrid has given us some hope, although I’m not sure they go far enough — as Aimee Liu points out in the LA Times, these women need help, not rebuke. While the best-of-the-best fashion models are making a lot of money, the majority of runway models are relying on their bodies for simple survival, and generally aren’t going to be able to check themselves into a treatment center when doing so is expensive and may damage their career. There must be incentives for models to strive to reach healthier weights, and there must be structures in place to help them with disordered eating.

These structures must also be put in place for “regular” women with eating disorders. The vast majority of anorexics and bulimics are not models; they certainly deserve access to treatment as well. But too often, treatment is expensive, inaccessible, not covered by insurance, or only partially covered.

Conversations around this topic are important, but they can be frustrating, as they often devolve into judgmentalism about which bodies are beautiful and shaming women who don’t fit a particular standard — who aren’t skinny enough, or who are too skinny, or who risk their health in order to keep their jobs. Critiquing the systems and social expectations that drive women to this behavior is fine (and when talking about eating disorders, that should obviously also be balanced with discussing genetics and psychological issues). So to preempt any of that, I’ll ask that in the comments section, we focus our discussion on the broader issues, without making comments about our personal opinions about the physical attractiveness of runway models, or skinny women, or fat women, or our ideas of what anorexic women look like.

All that said, I’m at least glad that a paper like the New York Times is covering this issue, and deeming it important enough to editorialize.

A Batch To Match The Snatch

In the “not terribly new news, but icky nontheless” file, a post from Broadsheet about a new specialty product for pubic grooming:

Hey, did you know that in addition to trimming, shaving, waxing, sugaring, laser hair removal, electrolysis and going au naturel, personal grooming options now include a specialized dye for pubic hair? Well, they do! As several alert Broadsheet readers informed us on Wednesday, fledgling cosmetics company Betty Beauty recently came out with a special, extra-sensitive dye “for the hair down there,” available in shades ranging from “Auburn” to “Fun.”

In our porn-influenced, improvement-obsessed culture, it was probably only a matter of time until someone thought to cash in with specialty muff dye. Probably some people are dyeing their nether regions already; the Beauty Betty site claims it’s common in Italy. And the product itself isn’t really any more or less problematic than other beauty aids. Like navel piercing or the Brazilian wax, pubic dye can be seen as a reminder of our culture’s unrealistic, objectifying standards for female appearance, or as an opportunity to be creative with one’s personal canvas. Still, being presented with yet another way to enhance oneself can feel like the last straw; one of our tipsters lamented, “Now we have to DYE our pubic hair?” What will they think of next, special decals for inside the vaginal canal?

I suppose Page Rockwell has never heard of colorists mixing up “a batch to match the snatch” for their clients to take home, so that really nobody but your hairdresser knows for sure. Marilyn Monroe, according to her maid, used to peroxide her pubic hair and then spend the day with an icepack on her ladybits. Though this is the first time I’ve heard of a dye that’s all extra-sensitive and made for the express purpose of matching the carpet to the drapes.

TMI time: I once gave pubic-hair dyeing a whirl. But I figured I’d do something a little more out there than just matching my hair color. So I bought some Jolen bleach and a jar of Manic Panic in a lovely shade of purple. And . . . wound up with a purple pubic mound and slightly tinted blond hair.

That stuff stains.

Thoughts?

Wherein Ann Althouse Shoots Any Credibility She Had Left

From the “chicks just can’t win” files: Jessica from Feministing has the honor of being invited to meet with President Clinton, along with several other bloggers. Said bloggers pose for a photo with Bill. It’s fairly clear that the photo is arranged by height, with the shorter people in the front. Jessica, one of the shorter people there, is in the front row. She stands, back straight, with her hands at her sides like everyone else. She moves slightly over so that she’s not blocking the former President.

But clearly, it’s all about the tits.

Jessica: I’m not judging you by your looks. (Don’t flatter yourself.) I’m judging you by your apparent behavior. It’s not about the smiling, but the three-quarter pose and related posturing, the sort of thing people razz Katherine Harris about. I really don’t know why people who care about feminism don’t have any edge against Clinton for the harm he did to the cause of taking sexual harrassment seriously, and posing in front of him like that irks me, as a feminist. So don’t assume you’re the one representing feminist values here. Whatever you call your blog….

Note that Jessica is posed in pretty much the exact same way (mirror-imaged) as the woman standing next to her. That woman, though, is wearing a black top, so you can’t see the outline of her breasts as well.

Note that Jessica is also wearing a simple grey sweater, with a high neck and cap sleeves. And long pants. And yet Althouse is criticizing her for her “behavior” — which apparently comes down to how she was standing in the photo.

I saw the photo yesterday. I did not notice that Jessica was “posing;” I did not notice her breasts; I didn’t think twice about the arrangement of the photo. Different perspectives, I guess.

Ann’s commenters also jump on Jessica, referring to her as an “intern” — har har — and debating her fuckability. Ann then accuses Jessica of not being a “real” feminist (compared, apparently, to… Ann…), and tells her that she’s misappropriated the word feminism and has done nothing for the movement.

Really, Ann, fuck you. You’re out of line, and this is incredibly shitty.

Perhaps this isn’t the kind of evidence that Ann is looking for, but here’s what Jessica’s done for my feminism: She inspired me to start blogging in the first place. She broadened my perspective as to what even constitutues a feminist issue. She’s shown me that determined women can take their passion and turn it into a career. She has helped to mobilize an entire generation of younger feminists. She’s taken risks, and has been willing to lend her wisdom to the development of our movement. She’s been remarkably successful at a very young age. She’s been a key part of creating online feminist communities, and creating real-life activism and action out of those communities. Her writing has made me think. It’s taught me more than entire women’s studies courses I took. It’s demonstrated that young women are active, intelligent, assertive and engaging. She’s made me proud to identify as a feminist. And she’s one of my feminist heros.

I know she’s inspired many more than just me. And talking about her breasts all the live-long day won’t change the fact that she is an amazing, brilliant, good human being who I’m sure will shape the world in more positive ways than Ann Althouse could ever aspire to.

What Jessica did wrong was show up at a political event in a female body. End of story. Ann, you should be ashamed.

And Jessica, as always, you should be incredibly proud of everything you’ve accomplished.