Models Faces Before Photoshop

Check out this video and article at Jezebel showing the transformation of close-up shots of models used for advertising. I can't embed the video here, but its short and as always, kinda shocking how skewed are media images really are. No one's skin is as smooth and flawless as a Loreal ad, not even a beautiful model's.

Check it out HERE.

In Hollywood Your Pants Size is Everybody's Business

Jenna Fischer from The Office is on Redbook's cover for March and in it, she tries to explain why so many starlets feel pressure to stay thin. Essentially, in Hollywood, you are often wearing other people's clothes--whether its a fitting for a role, a red-carpet loan or a shoot for a magazine or interview--your clothing size is something that has to be constantly communicated. You have to let your agent know your dress, pant, swim suit, shoe and bra size, and if that changes, he/she has to communicate that with a host of other folks. She cites this situation as a major factor as to why women in Hollywood try to maintain their "known" figure. Okay, I see this perspective...but does it really explain why so many try to be 0 or 00? This clothes borrowing/fitting arrangement probably does play into the overall formula as to why thin is so crucial to the culture of Hollywood, but it doesn't explain why being a size six is seen as obese, let alone a twelve. Kyle from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills talked about being a size four and how fat that is considered in LA--how sad and deranged is that? Being seriously skinny is not at all the same as being healthy. As a matter of fact, being underweight is more dangerous than being overweight (not obese, but overweight). The carved-out Hollywood ideal (which then gets smoothed out in photoshop) is not healthy for most men and women--only about 10% of the population has difficulty maintaining a BMI over 18 and many if not most Hollywood starlets have underweight BMI's. I'm glad Ms. Fischer is explaining why she feels pressure to stay thin (I don't know how thin she is and in terms of Hollywood starlets, she certainly seems to be thin but not carved out...so not please don't take my post in general to be a snark at Ms. Fischer). This kind of interview is another glimpse into how Hollywood works and that's helpful when trying to untangle our media images and body expectations as a culture.

EXTREME CONFIDENCE!!!

Mediatakeout.com shows a picture of a women with burns on 90% of her body still leaving her life in a sexy bathing suit. I commend her. She is living the life she has to the fullest and not waiting for her body to look different before entering society.

Three Models of Varying Sizes: Is this authentic body diversity?

Glamour, or someone, leaked a couple photos via Live Journal from the body-diversity shoot scheduled to don the June cover of said magazine. The models are, from left to right, Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio, the most popular plus-size model Crystal Renn, and Sports Illustrated hottie Brooklyn Decker. Ambrosio is considered a standard model, Renn plus sized and Decker a glamour model or lad-mag (think Maxim) model. Notice that these are pre-photoshopped, so expect Ambrosio's ribs to be smoothed over, Renn's tummy tucked a bit and Decker's hips curved and waist cinched (those are just my predictions based on standard treatment of models, not that any of these women need to be altered!).

So, is this body diversity? Well, there's no women of color, they are all tall and leggy and conventionally beautiful, but they do wear different sizes. I guess its a step, but its still kind of playing on the "oh, Glamour is so special considering women of varying sizes and not just doing all of its shots with sample-size models like Ambrosio." So, it might be a gimmick they get tired of, not a commitment to long-lasting body diversity.

What are your thoughts readers?

Must Read: Eating Diorders Somehow Still Occuring in Fashion Industry

Check out this in-depth article at Jezebel regarding eating disorders, disordered eating and the unsafe working conditions within the fashion industry. Its well written and researched. My favorite quote:

Agencies need to stop telling women like Coco Rocha "We don't want you to be anorexic, we just want you to look it!" Because too many of them are. In any other job, a worker who developed a serious health problem due to the job's conditions would get workers' compensation. Models get, generally speaking, fired. In any other job, if enough workers were developing the same serious health problem due to the job's conditions, there would be an outcry, and the dangerous conditions would be abolished.

I have to say that because this is a female dominated field and it bolsters the illusion of wealth and glamor, there will be few in sympathy with the author, Jezebel's Jenna's, call to model worker rights, health or safety. Much like prostitutes, models are dismissed (though better paid) as doing unnecessary work (unlike, say a coal miner who gets black-lung and deserves protection). Coal miners, prostitutes and models all deserve safe working conditions. All human beings are worthy of dignity and a shared protection under the law.

In addition to protecting the health and safety of models, we need to consider the health and safety of women and girls.

According to a study conducted by the Girl Scouts of America:

"75% rate fashion as "really important." Almost nine out of ten feel pressure to be thin. And celebrities and models influence girls' self-perceptions more than parents or friends. Obviously, conditions need to change within the fashion industry to benefit the models who live and work in an environment that can be hazardous to their health. But with fashion playing such a crucially influential role in the lives of young women, we need change — larger sample sizes, more diversity in magazines and on the runway, a greater focus on health and better eating disorder screening — for the good of all girls.

Interestingly enough, the vast majority of teenagers would also prefer to consume fashion imagery that has not been excessively Photoshopped, and to buy clothes modeled by people who aren't super-skinny. These sound like specific instructions from a key segment of the apparel market — meaning that change would not only be morally admirable, but remunerative as well. The only question, as always, is whether or not the fashion industry is listening."

Vintage Beauties: Ann-Margret

Photoshop of RIDICULOUS

Just as an update to LisaD's post regarding Ralph Lauren's firing of Filippa Hamilton for being "too fat," I'd like to post the crazy photoshopped images of her (above) and another model (below) which are completely non-human looking. So, now Barbie Doll images aren't enough, you have to be a Bratz Doll? With freakishly large heads and stick-thin figures? Great, what's next? It is Halloween season, maybe let's go for the full-fledged skelton-chic? The thing about these images is that they are SOOOOO poorly photoshopped that you can tell how ridiculous and non-representative they are, but the majority of photoshopped images that are marketed to women and teens are a bit more subtle and therefore even more insidiously dangerous to our collective psyches regarding beauty industry standards and reality based beauty (or normalacy). Ralph Lauren will not get a dime from me--not that I could afford or fit into his clothes, but he does household goods (towels, shower curtains) and paint. So, dear reader, if you are fed up by the tryanny of the photoshop wand, consider avoiding RL products or drop them a line HERE.

What is your shape?

Above is a graphic of the different body shapes. The above shapes are also known by other names such as:

• Apple (triangle downward)
• Banana or straight (rectangular)
• Pear or spoon or bell (triangle upward)
• Hourglass shape (triangles opposing, facing in)

What is your shape? Let is know in the comment section. I am a Spoon. My exact measurements are 47.5 -42- 51.5.

Here is a link about how to dress these body types when they are also plus sized.

Call Me Fat!

Nicole Eggert is BACK IN BAYWATCH! from Nicole Eggert

Thank you Funny or Die! So, apparently Nicole Eggert of Baywatch fame has been hounded by the tabloid media for gaining a few pounds over the past fifteen years and instead of doing a celebrity diet endorsement deal or developing an eating disorder, Ms. Eggert worked with the people over at Funny or Die to produce this pretty hilarious video. It starts out with the lame premise that two regular dudes want to get kissed by a hot female lifeguard, so they fake drowing and Ms. Eggert runs out to them (in her bikini) but they are SOOOO offended by her "still way thinner than regular woman body" that they shoe her away, only to drown in reality. They do all the gratuitious hot woman running on the beach shots of her abs, butt, and boobs and they have the Baywatch theme music in the background--its really kind of hard to accept that she's supposed to be "fat." The humor really comes out in the douchebags (two very not-hot "regular slubs") judging her. Anyway, its worth a peak.

Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

Eating disorder activists Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei's have written a new book, Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

The book deals with the anxieties and fears women have regarding pregnancy weight and the celebrity baby-bump watching phenomenon that is making these fears (and expectations of losing "baby-weight" two weeks after giving birth) more and more common.

Jezebel gives a good account of the research found in the book here. But reading Jezebel's comments kind of freaked me out more than the snippet of the book!

Here's a couple:

as a recovering anorexic that didn't tell her doctor about her ED past (because of insurance issues, but that's a whole other post!), i completely agree that pregnancy & the associated weight gain/loss
obsession can wreck havoc on you. i was pretty seriously underweight when i got pregnant and ended
up gaining 42 much-needed pounds. and of course, getting scolded by my doctor and nurses.

i became so fixated on the weight that i had a severe relapse. as in, i was back in my pre-pregnancy
clothes 2.5 weeks after giving birth because i simply didn't eat. and even my family, who knew about my
ED, were just so impressed and constantly cooing about "how quickly i lost the weight!". it wasn't until
months later that anyone realized i was back to being under 100lbs.

so please, if you know a friend of family member has/has had an ED, try to talk to them and make sure
they aren't absorbing these terrible messages.


Another:

I will admit that part of the reason why I don't want children is the weight gain and everything else it
does to your body.

I'm heavy, but short and shapely (think a shorter, much darker version of Joan). I'm finally at a place
where I'm mostly comfortable with my weight. I finally stopped weighing myself every other day, but
that's only because I found out that my scale is off by several pounds and haven't purchased another
one.

I know this isn't realistic, but my goal is to simply stay the size I am now for the rest of my days.
Knowing that a pregnancy can alter my body and make it impossible to get back to my smallest size just
isn't acceptable for me. And my skin scars at the tiniest thing. So my future child would cause me to
become this great big whale with authentic markings and push me into the official "Plus Size" section,
preventing me from ever slipping into designer clothes.

I just made myself really depressed. And realize that I have serious body image issues. Damn

WOW! Seriously, wow! I really do want to send out healing energy to those two commenters--so in no way by quoting from them do I want that taken as criticism and I'm really glad that they shared regarding this issue. Birth and pregnancy is a major life-transformation as well as physical transformation and adding this crazy making celebrity obsessed standard of bikini body ready two weeks, a month, six weeks into the equation is cruel and dangerous. We've covered this issue before, but in times like these, where a Senator states in a committee meeting on CSPAN that maternity coverage isn't necessary in a health-care package, we really do need to take some stock in how birth and pregnancy are viewed, in pop-culture and in those important value statements, health-care budgets (yes, your country's budget is a statement of VALUE).

The anti-abortion advocates like to sweep under the rug the fact that serious complications from pregnancy can result in a woman's death or her overall health (think permanent blindness, diabetes, the diminishment of heart, kidney function, and liver health, let alone a host of other problems). This move to systematically hide the side-effects of a complicated pregnancy is political--only dirty sluts have abortions, afterall, goes the refrain. Coupled with celebrity baby-bump culture, healthy and wanted pregnancies (and the realities of birth, unaided by baby-nurses or nannies) can be quite shocking to new mothers (and supportive fathers). Healthy pregnancies, pregnancies that encounter complications--both are extremely hard on the body and sometimes spirit, but that has to be swept under the rug, hidden from view. Considering that a sitting male Senator doesn't see the necessity for maternity coverage to be included in mandates for healthcare policies, its little wonder that the realities of pregnancy and child-birth are so removed from the cultural framework.

The pressures for perfect baby-bumps (which I think means, stick thin arms/legs, perfect basketball like roundness about the abdomen--and if you gain too much weight, which most celebrity watchers thought Salma Hayek did, you get ridiculed)--are now considered standard for all women. Nothing ever goes wrong in pregnancy--those slutty feminists need to shut up already. And of course, healthcare policies don't need to cover a silly thing like maternity care, isn't that elective, like a nose job or breast enhancement anyway? Ugh, the stupid burns. I think that studies and books like "Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?" are needed and whether or not you intend, or never intend, to become a biological or adoptive mother, think about checking out Mom's Rising an advocacy group that seeks to enact progressive policies that support work/life and family balance--ideas that are good for single, child-free people as well as marrieds w/ children and single parents as well.

Photos of Children

In this article, Photo of Spanish Prime Minister's daughters highlights privacy concerns for world leaders, they talk about the privacy of children. The gist of the article is that Spain has a law that political children not be photography under the age of 18. Well with the Internet age of the new White House. The Spanish Prime Minister family and the President Obama's family took a photo and uploaded it to the State Department's Flickr page.

Well some in the blogosphere have labeled the girls as goth in the photo.

I feel there are two issue here that should be evaluated.

1. The use of sharing on Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, ect.
We need to always be mindful of what we are putting out there. People can use our images in bad ways. Examples:

Photo of Woman’s Son Used in Online Adoption Scam


2. Judging children in public.
Words hurt. So don't be calling out children on their looks. They can't offer a rebuttal.

Is Fat Acceptance a Cop-Out?

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In my opinion Fat Acceptance is not a cop-out if a size 12/14 refuses to try to become a size 00. I think the whole Fat Acceptance is about refusing to fit into an Advertisers mold.

I don't think people who advocate Fat Acceptance are looking for people who have high blood pressure and diabetes to continue to gain weight.

Fat Loss with Cosmetic Surgery

For those who are out of control and the seceret behind many of the celebrity bodys. Her are list of fat loss cosmetic surgeries.

Laser Liposuction – a targeted and precise liposuction procedure that can get rid of excess fatty tissue around the waist, thighs, buttocks, arms or any other part of the body. Smart Lipo is one popular body contouring procedure, a treatment that gets rid of fat pockets by breaking up the fat cells and releasing them into the body. Smart Lipo treatments can be combined with other bodysculpting procedures for enhanced results.

Mesotherapy – a series of injections filled with medication and vitamins are designed to break down cellulite and fat cells. Mesotherapy is a popular fat loss treatment in Europe, and can be found in hundreds of medspas and cosmetic surgery centers in the United States. The injections can dissolve fatty tissue, and can be combined with massage therapy to improve lymph flow and drain the body of excess fluid.

LipoDissolve – another non-invasive procedure that treats fatty deposits with a series of injections, the chemicals in LipoDissolve may help to dissolve fat and improve the skin’s appearance. The broken down tissue is shuttled away through the body’s elimination system, and the treatment can be used to treat the thighs, upper and lower arms, abdomen, waist and even fat deposits on the back.

I don't recommend any surgeries. My goal is to try to improve the body I got with diet and exercise and live with the body that results from that. Surgery is not worth the risk of death for me.

For the body conscious, 'cankles' offer another focus for obsession

Cankles? What are cankles? We've heard about saddle bags, muffin tops and love handles, but it seems that some women and men of the 21st century are now focused on the chubby joints of their lower extremities.

Zinszer has seen patients try to alter their cankles. Some people turn to ankle liposuction, which can cost anywhere between $4,000 to $8,000, depending on how extensive the ankle-shaping need is.

People need to get a grip. We can't be doing cosmetic surgery on the ankles. I bet 99% of the world is to busy to looking at your ankles.

More To Love: More Crying and More Stereotypes

So in the Second Episode. There were some "fat stereotypes" played to the hilt.

1. Being picked last for teams. So they award the last person picked by given her a solo date.

2. First dates in Swimsuits. So you have to cry. Please many men are happy with however they can have sex. But 99% of all men don't want a woman who they have to puff up 24/7.

3. Then Kristian goes off on Malissa in the confessional about not being fat in high school. What is up with hating on someone based on when the got fat in his/her life. On the real being overweight is hard whenever it happens. I actually think it is harder for the formerly skinny to turn fat because they can see the dramatic change of how people treat them.

4. Here is the racist part of the episode. He says to Christina on the Vegas date, that he loved her dark skin. If he was really in to dark skin her would have put some woman of real color on the show.

5. It is psycho how these chicks talk about this guy is the one after one week on a show.

6. The only good thing about the second episode they stop posting the women's weight when they talk.

7. And as you recall from my previous predictions I said he would get rid of the remaining older woman. Here was the elimination breakdown.

Melissa – 21 – Beverly Hills, Calif. – Plus-size model

Heather – 22 – Ankeny, Iowa – Cocktail waitress

Christina – 23 – Brighton, Mich. – Student

Amanda – 23 – Los Angeles – Student

Magali – 24 – Los Angeles – Teacher -Eliminated on 2nd episode

Bonnie – 25 – Portland, Ore. – Make-up artist/Stylist

Danielle – 25 – Los Angeles – Theater company technical director coordinator

Natasha – 25 – Los Angeles – Rocket scientist-Eliminated on 1st episode

Kristian – 26 – Wallington, N.J. – Substitute teacher

Lauren – 26 – Atlanta – Event planner

Malissa – 26 – Los Angeles – Waitress

Mandy – 26 – Long Beach, Calif. – Fitness and dance instructor

Tali – 26 – New York – Artist and motivational speaker

Anna – 27 – Los Angeles – Plus-size model

Natalia – 28 – Dallas – Make-up artist -Eliminated on 1st episode

Sandy – 30 – New York – Dancer -Eliminated on 1st episode

Vanessa – 32 – Los Angeles – Criminal defense attorney -Eliminated on 2nd episode

Michelle – 32 – Orange County, Calif. – Production -Eliminated on 1st episode

Shari – 34 – Los Angeles – Corporate trainer -Eliminated on 1st episode

Arriane – 37 – Santa Monica, Calif. – Entertainer -Eliminated on 2nd episode


I think on the real. They should rename the show to More Insecurities.

Lizzi Miller: Glamour Does Something Right

Glamour Magazine has been receiving boat-loads of fan-mail in response to the image above of Lizzi Miller, a plus sized model in her undies showing a little belly pouch, in a body-confident manner in their September issue. Look at the joy on her face! Lizzi is between a size 12-14 (so then, actually a bit smaller than the average American woman) and she is gorgeous. One thing that is particularly remarkable about this image and the one below is that Glamour isn't going out of its way to praise itself for having a non-sample sized model on the page. It isn't a "very special" article or spread loudly proclaiming their righteousness by opening the magazine up for a more diverse representation of body types. Its just an article and a photo. So well done Glamour and keep it up (although next time, how about a woman of color plus sized model?)

TV Show: How to Look Good Naked

The show "How to Look Good Naked" allows for a body image rediscovery.

Here is the process.

1. Woman describes herself. Mostly woman focus on the negative.
2. Host describes the positive.
3. Host allows woman to line herself up among 6 other woman to compare her size to hers. Most of the time the woman places herself to be much bigger then she actually is.
4. Host places a giant poster of the woman without head so strangers can comment on her looks. Strangers always rank/describe woman better then she does in step 1.
5. Woman get make over from professionals starting with new underwear. Most woman are wearing a bra two small for them. Then new outfit, hair and makeup.
6. After the makeovers, they take a semi-nude photo that is then placed up in a major trafic area for the world to comment on.

I have seen the show a couple of time and it does allow woman who have a warped sense of self gain some presepective by getting out of their own head.

‘Phantom fat’ can linger after weight loss

Body-image experts say it’s not uncommon for people, especially women, who have lost a lot of weight to be disappointed to some extent to discover that they still aren’t “perfect.” The excess fat is gone when they reach their goal weight, but they may have sagging skin, cellulite or a body shape that they still deem undesirable. Like Hicks, some even continue to see themselves as though they are overweight.

Experts say part of the problem in our body-obsessed culture is that many women — and increasingly more men — have highly unrealistic expectations of what weight loss can do for them. Too often, they think hitting their ideal weight will make them look like a swimsuit model in a magazine, and they’re disappointed when that’s not the case.

I have been blessed to be delusional. When I look in the mirror, I always look smaller then the scale says I am. The only time I can see is my true size is in a picture with measuring reference.

I take a lot of pictures in front of doors. So when I can't see the door around my hips. I have to accept that I am fat. It is a hard realization, so what I do when I can, is pose in open spaces with no references then I look smaller again.

I am also blessed to know that most of my problems are caused by my perception of events and the rest are due to economic issues. So I have no beliefs that my life will be better when smaller/thinner.