body image related stuff

AnyBodya website giving women a voice to challenge the limited physical representation of females in contemporary society

About-Face
: Everywhere girls and women look, they see messages about their bodies and their selves, telling them they must be tall, blonde, tan, and sexually available. In fact, a woman can rarely separate her feelings about her physical body from her self-worth, especially in our media-saturated society. And the messages even the youngest girls are seeing and hearing are skewed, sexualized, and sexist.
These messages — part of what About-Face calls the “toxic media environment” — are contributing to a host of girls’ and women’s ills, including low self-esteem, depression, persistent anxiety over weight and appearance, extremely unhealthy diets and exercise regimens, and eating disorders. All of these problems interfere with a woman’s ability to function to the best of her abilities.
About-Face’s mission is to equip women and girls with tools to understand and resist the harmful stereotypes of women the media disseminates. There are three components to About-Face’s program, Education into Action: media-literacy workshops, action groups, and this resource-filled web site. ….

“girl for all seasons”, northern state

song lyrics

“a girl like me”, short documentary by kiri davis

“video”, india.arie

song lyrics

“typical girls”, a documentary film on women in (punk) rock:
“Women were finally seen as equal in the punk movement. If you could pick up a guitar and play it – great. If you could sing and form your own band, even better. Women were finally getting a voice and not just as backing singers. We look at the women who rocked and discuss the great female punk performers – Siouxsie, The Slits, Pauline Murray, Poly Styrene, Debbie Harry and the seminal Patti Smith – and find out how true the idea that punk emancipated women from rock’s macho posturing really is.” – part 3, on poly styrene, riot grrrl, and images of women and femininity in music today:

the butchies modeling for a photo shoot (kaia’s shirt says “PRADA”) :)
Butchies-04-10.jpg

revista maxim impotriva misoginiei. altora.

o reclama de pulafashion si revista maxim din campania “spune nu pedofiliei din showbiz” (“a fi barbat nu inseamna sa-ti cumperi trupuri de copile sarace ca si cum ai cumpara o bucata de carne dintr-un galantar”):

o imagine obisnuita din revista maxim:

mesajul campaniei “antisociale” pulafashion&maxim?

“a fi barbat nu inseamna sa-ti cumperi trupuri feminine ca pe o bucata de carne… decit cind ti le vindem noi.”

vezi:

Protesting Maxim Girl Search [en]

Imaginea femeii in publicitate
“What’s the problem? Facts about girls, women + media” [en]
Center for Media Literacy: Sexist Ads
[en]
Media Watch Hall of Shame
[en]
Killing Us Softly
[en]

“No to sexist ads! An example of successful campaigning” [en]

“gospodina eficienta”

un schimb de mesaje mai vechi de pe lista ladyfest, cred ca discutia merita continuata:


*Daciana Sarbu interzice clipurile cu gospodine*
24 mai 2006

Deputatul PSD Daciana Sarbu a depus la Biroul Permanent al Camerei un proiect de lege privind stoparea discriminarii femeii in clipurile publicitare. Tanara social-democrata se arata deranjata de faptul ca reclamele tv prezinta femeia “preocupata doar de bucatarie si podea, ca si cum acestea ar fi – sau ar trebui sa fie – ocupatiile de baza” ale sexului frumos. in plus, constata Daciana Sarbu, ca femeia “sa spele cu succes” are nevoie de un expert, de cele mai multe ori barbatul, care sa ii indice cel mai bun detergent. Potrivit propunerii legislative a deputatului PSD, preocuparea pentru sanctionarea clipurilor publicitare care discrimineaza femeia ar trebui sa intre in atributiile CNA.

hm. io nu cred ca “interzicerea” clipurilor cu gospodine ar rezolva ceva. problema e la nivel cultural, cum stim si din ideile pulafashion sau chestii gen http://romania.indymedia.org/ro/2005/09/1005.shtml. plus ca asta e numai o picatura din problema mai larga cu misoginia in advertising…

si… de ce tocmai daciana sarbu? :(( psd mare partid feminist. :)

pai la noi cica avem cadru legislativ pentru discriminarea in publicitate si in mass media, evident legislatia e conceputa ca sa fie total inaplicabila, sa nu se aduca probabil prejudicii prea mari companiilor si mediei care catiga gros pe seama femeilor sublime – legea care reglementeza e 202/2002, citez:

articolul 20: Publicitatea care prejudiciaza, dupa criteriul de sex, respectul pentru demnitatea umana, aducand atingere imaginii si onoarei unei persoane in viata publica si/sau particulara, este interzisa.

articolul 21, aliniatul 2: Informatiile distribuite prin mass-media vor respecta egalitatea de sanse si tratament intre femei si barbati si nu vor contine, promova sau provoca nici o forma de discriminare bazata pe criteriul de sex.

Na acum, vreau sa stiu si eu cum se va evalua ce inseama un continut care prejudiciaza respectul pentru demnitatea umana, ca aici intelege fiecare ce vrea…. si ce atinge onoare unei persoane, ca si aici fiecare intlege ce vrea… adica la modul clasic romanesc iar nu sunt criteri clare de definire…. (aceasta definire imi aduce aminte de prima varianta a legii pe harturie sexuala, unde hartuirea sexuala era definita ca si coportament care lezeaza demnitatea persoanei)

evident in legislatie nu e specificat cine se ocupa de implementare, se lasa sa se intelega ca tot anes/ul, dar cu ce buget si cu ce experti?? si care ar fi amenzile??

da, si nu doar problema gospodinelor e problema…
eu ma gandea serios la un momet dat sa ii reclam pe cei de la pulafashion la cncd dar ma gadeam si la legislatie ca daca nu vor fi sanctionti si li se va da castig de cauza va fi nasol, (dar poate nu ar fi cauza pieduta, macar ai putea sa bati din gura ca nu e legislatia ca lumea facuta, nu stiu….)

eu cred ca merita sa ne gindim la ceva forma de protest concret, poate nu numai la adresa pulafashion dar _cel putin_ la adresa lor… ati vazut si “campania uritilor” ce misogina e – sint 2 tipe in reclamele alea asa super super obiectificate si ce mi se pare si mai “misto” e ca ni se da de inteles ca ele sint cumva “urite” cind in realitate sint foarte neurite, dar cica nu ar fi “perfecte si modele” (de fapt sint si modele). bah in orice caz eu atunci cind a fost potop de chestii antifeministe prin presa si alte locuri am sperat foarte tare ca se va organiza ceva ca multa lume parea scandalizata. ma gindesc… am putea sa incorporam un protest din asta si in ce vrem sa facem la toamna – sa fie poate o actiune simbolica in care subversionam cumva imaginea de femeie sublima si/sau gospodina si sa venim si cu cereri concrete despre implementarea legislatiei asteia de exemplu. sa mai discutam :)

da… sint atit de multe de zis. dar pt. mine cred ca punctul principal e exasperarea pe care eu una o simt fata de nevoia pe care par sa o aiba oamenii in romania – oricine – de experti, elite, oameni despre care au auzit ca sint importanti sau interesanti, sau care au o “pozitie” sau “greutate” de vreun fel. deci din cite am vazut eu pina acum asta e o atitudine mult mai exagerata in romania decit oriunde altundeva. si ma scoate din sarite ca pare sa fie o chestie poate si mai pronuntata in “underground”. (adica, non-underground.) impresia mea e ca incepem, pulafashion etc. vor sa fie si super-undergroundul si super-mainstreamul impreuna, doar asa pt. ca li se pare cool. dar si pentru ca este posibil deoarece altii ii sustin la acest nivel – aleg sa nu-i critice chiar cind e clar ca trebuie criticati, le mingiie egourile si orgoliile, ii promoveaza ca “alternativi” si “cool” inclusiv cind ei sint total ne-alternativi si boring. (o chestie frustranta e ca din pacate pt. ei si atentia negativa excesiva joaca acelasi rol. ceea ce spune multe.) plus ca altfel de initiative ori nu exista ori sint invizibile pe linga acest mainstream-underground/underground-mainstream – cam cum e la concerte cind niste tipi inalti se baga in fata si tot restul lumii se resemneaza ca va vedea doar o bucatica de scena, ca deh asta e si “n-ai ce face”.

dar eu daca imi mai zice cineva ca ar trebui sa fim solidari cu pulafashion ca sa sustinem campaniile “alternative” ca oricum sint putine – or fi ei misogini dar sint bine intentionati … o sa incep sa bat. :P cred ca cel mai bun raspuns in situatiile astea e ca daca vrei solidaritate trebuie mai intii sa arati solidaritate si asta e tot punctul cu pf: nu numai ca ei habar n-au ce e aia solidaritate dar isi fac un adevarat _cult_ din faptul ca sint atit de nesolidari, speciali si deasupra publicului aluia timpit caruia i se tot adreseaza in comunicatele lor. deci eu o sa fiu solidara cu pf, sau cu vlad nanca, fix atunci cind ei se vor vor arata solidari cu ladyfest de ex.. asa, din proprie initiativa.

de fapt, alt punct important e ca totusi e vorba de niste oameni care au ceva minte si acces la resurse – a se vedea chestiile pe care le preiau mai mult sau mai putin teoretic (diy? da, sigur, bifat “diy”, arta urbana si campanii anticonsumiste? da, sigur, bifat si “arta urbana” si “campanii anticonsumiste”…), deci daca vor ei _se pot_ informa si educa singuri. chiar nu cred ca e datoria mea sau datoria noastra sa ii educam despre ce inseamna sa nu fii un asshole. de ce ar fi? mie in general nu-mi place sa ma lupt cu morile de vint, mai ales cind morile de vint sint pe o pozitie ferma si constienta de condescendenta fata de valorile la care tin. consider ca am lucruri mai bune de facut, si sint destule alte persoane care merita efortul, chiar publicul larg care macar e publicul larg nu vlad nanca sau dragos bucurenci, vips.

cititi chestia asta, e minunata:

am-iesit-aseara-it-sucked-noroc-cu-24.html

— noul meu blog preferat :)

fete proaste, fete curve

un articol despre prevalenta si popularitatea imaginii de “stupid girl” in pop-culture-ul curent – explicatii, implicatii:

Return of the brainless hussies

From “American Idol” to Paris Hilton to an army of jiggly video stars, vapid females seem to be everywhere these days. Have we really gone this far backward, baby?

During the last week of April, Ellen DeGeneres welcomed Paris Hilton and her four Chihuahuas to her daytime talk show, ostensibly for a special episode about dogs. Once the host had the hotel heiress sitting down, however, she pressed her on a non-canine issue, asking whether she was hurt by Pink’s video for “Stupid Girls,” which mocks Hilton and her shopping-zombie peers for their essentially somnambulant behavior, and which two weeks earlier, DeGeneres had praised on her show. “I haven’t even seen it yet,” said the hotel heiress, in her flat monotone. “But I think … it’s just a form of flattery.”

Any thinking person who has seen Pink’s video, in which she sends up Jessica Simpson’s “These Boots Were Made for Walking” video by humping a soapy car, imitates an Olsen twin in Montana-size sunglasses and Wyoming-size handbag walking straight into the plate-glass door of a boutique, and savagely mocks Hilton’s appearance in a dingy night-vision sex tape, would not confuse the clip with any known form of flattery. Especially if that thinking person heard the “Stupid Girls” lyrics, which go, in part: “They travel in packs of two or three/ With their itsy-bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees/ Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?”

But Hilton is not a thinking person. Or, if she is, she hasn’t let on.

[….] these new, varied and wildly threatening options help to explain and undergird a rejuvenated craze for dumb chic. Perhaps, as social progress propels women slowly but undeniably forward into public spheres of influence, baser human impulses — erotic desire, capitalist greed — dig in, summoning and then clinging to a dusty daydream of the fast-fading ideal woman of yesteryear.

Working on this story, I received an e-mail from a Harvard graduate student who told me that while he’d dated only smart girls, he “liked the ‘idea’ of dating a dumb girl.” The fantasy, the student explained, “is almost certainly formed for us by the media representations of … celebrities [like Hilton, Lohan, and Simpson]. Blonde dumb girls are sexy. And won’t talk back. Add in various shades of male ego/guaranteed superiority notions, and you’ve pretty much got it.” In a world in which male superiority is no longer guaranteed, it becomes a lascivious desire that can be gratified, performatively if need be, by willing women. As Pink trills, mockingly, “Maybe if I act like that/ that guy will call me back.”

But it’s time to put that transactional model for romance out of its misery, and make room in the pop firmament for examples that sound more like Pink’s self-assessment: “I’m so glad that I’ll never fit in/ That will never be me/ Outcasts and girls with ambition/ That’s what I wanna see.”

dupa parerea mea, analiza e rezonabila. (ma mira ca nu spune nimic despre pop-cultura (radical) feminista care exista si ea, reprezentata de le tigre si bust si stitch ‘n’ bitch si hip hop feminist si feminist-blogging si o gramada de alte chestii nu total underground printre care si ladyfest – si pentru care pink-ca-si-feminista este numai o foarte indepartata intruchipare din mainstream.) dar articolul este si mai bun citit in combinatie cu textul “I like Paris Hilton”, care explica de ce la un anumit nivel reactiile “feministe” la tipe gen paris hilton (“e curva deci e proasta si viceversa”) sint de fapt profund anti-feministe:

“More accurately perhaps, I don’t hate her.”

“I can like Paris and agree that some of what she does is Bullshit.”

“I’m not saying Paris Hilton should be the next poster girl for feminism. I am saying the reasons so many love to hate her seem steeped in sexism.”

“If I have a problem with Paris, it’s with celebrity obsession/worship in general and our ass-backwards media that force feeds them down our throat and successfully lulls so many Americans into a general lazy complacency – instead of thinking about or acting on The Real Issues.”

eu cred ca urmatorul punct este si foarte adevarat si foarte important: “attaching the ‘slut’ moniker to Hilton ultimately does feminists more harm than good. When a feminist mocks the so-called slutitude of another woman, she gives the misogynists a green light to do the same” (sau “1) much of the hatred of Paris reinforces anti-feminist norms in essentially deplorable ways, and 2) the hatred of Paris even for the better reasons is clearly over-the-top compared to other rich airheads because she’s an openly sexual young woman.”).