Miss Bimbo and the Decline of Body Image
I feel sorry for young girls.
I'm not trying to be patronizing or condescending - after all what would a man know about such things?
However the other day as I sat and watched music videos with my daughters we discussed how women were portrayed.
Our conclusions were not good.
9 times out of 10 women were pretty much eye-candy or wriggling booty. Even where the main artist was a woman - it seemed as if artistic skill alone was not enough. She had to "value-add" to her singing with seduction and sex appeal.
Little Miss Bimbo
Virtual fashion game Miss Bimbo has hit the press recently. The game boasts over 1.2 million French users and 200,000 British users. From ABC News."Miss Bimbo's" users -- who are primarily teenagers but are as young 8 -- create virtual characters known as bimbos, dress them, groom them and can even navigate them right onto a plastic surgeon's operating table.
The games creators wanted to emulate real life. To this end, you can give Miss Bimbo a boob job. If she gets fat from eating too much - you give her diet pills. Maybe if she is pretty enough she can attract a rich boyfriend.
Why does our culture celebrate mediocrity? Why do we put superficiality on a pedestal? Popular media is like a mirror - but the mirror is cracked. Spend too much time looking into it and you will believe a lie about yourself.
A body is an overcoat. Look after it to have a long and full life - but it does not define who you are.
So what happened to feminism? Well here's something: New research (from Body Image Journal) made some interesting conclusions.
...feminists were more likely to positively perceive a wider range of body sizes than non-feminists.
Basically - women who described themselves as feminists were far more forgiving (than non-feminist women) when judging the physical attractiveness of very thin or very overweight women.
Perhaps we can all learn something from this. Equipping our children with the ability to dissect popular media messages is a start.
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INSANE.
Reply"You can navigate her right onto a Plastic Surgeons operating table"!!
Sick
Oh my - how horrible.
ReplyMy daughter will be born in July. I'm so worried about how to get her through the society we have in tact. (I had problems with eating disorders and poor body image when I was younger, though thankfully I'm completely over that mindset so I won't pass it on....) But what does our society tell these young women? Not that you can aim to be anything, but that whatever you are is second key to your appearance. Ugh. And you can't keep them wrapped away from it forever-- I mean, it gets to them younger and younger. Girls of an age where my friends and I wore whatever our parents had as wear so we'd at least match and be clean, now demand fashions and emulate celebrities in clothes that would make me blush.....
I see something like this with popularity, and it just scares me.
The youngest person I've done corrective (cosmetic) surgery on has been 14 years old. She had a jaw deformity and was teased continuously at school and was very affected by it. Before I had even seen her, she had been going to a psychologist for this. In this case, I was willing to do the surgery, which turned out well. Personal responsibility is important in all of our lives,, both in our own health choices, and our workplace choices. If someone was navigated onto my operating table, I can just as easily, navigate them off!
ReplyI had jaw surgery at 15. Mostly it was medical (I had a bad overbite that would cause lockjaw), but the surgeon also did some cosmetic changes for my chin to improve my smile (I was so unhappy with it). Because it was mainly medical I never considered it cosmetic, but as a teenager, that was part I really cared more about. I remember telling the surgeon I wanted to like my smile.
Raising a daughter in this day and age definitely scares me! I also had body issues and eating issues when I was a teenager. I just hope my experience helps me navigate my own daughter through that time.
ReplyThat study, however, showed that both the self-identifying feminists and the ones who didn't identify as such all rated the underweight body type as the most attractive. So while the feminists were kinder to the overweight body types, describing them as attractive too, they still subscribed to the same exact beauty standard.
It makes me very sad, but once in a while, something gives me hope, like the 13-year-old girl who was part of a family who was on Wife Swap. She self-identified as a feminist and held her ground during 1 week with a pageant mother who offended her at every opportunity.
ReplyMiss Bimbo, for kids? It sounds like an SNL skit.
Do I want the one dressed like the transvestite, or the one dressed like a dominatrix?
ReplyIt`s sad but body image and plastic surgery are a part of real life so we as parents must teach our kids a balanced way of life and with a little ,OK a lot of luck they will make good choices.
ReplyZack, you probably know this, but many of the less cosmetic work that plastic surgeons do such as helping people with serious burns is really wonderful stuff. Really, anyone in any field, who does exceptional work is a blessing for all of us :-)
ReplyI watched the today show on March 27,2008,and was listening to the young lady with the eating diorder. I too have an eating disorder in the way that I am 5'2" and usually like to weigh 90-92lbs. I now way 108 and think I am a fat pig. Eveyone says you look fabulous and in the back of my mind I say yes because I am fat. I know this is all in the back of my head, but should;nt I weigh less?
ReplyNo, you shouldn't weigh less. At 108 and 5'2", you're at the very bottom of average...much lower and you'll be underweight. It's one thing to have body issues, but there's good science out there that can reassure you that you weigh just what you ought to weigh.
ReplyShe is absolutely right.
judi, you need to find some help for the way you think of yourself. You deserve to be happy with yourself.
Replyit's really hard explaining the feeling, but I totally get how you feel. I'm 5'3 and 104, but I would also want to be 90. And the thing is, I've never felt like I had a problem because all the girls around me are at least that skinny (albiet I'm living in Japan right now). When I'm in NY I'm ok with being just 98.
On topic though: I literally cannot believe this exist. I heard about it before too, and still can't believe its not a joke.
ReplyOh my
ReplyModern culture is based upon the wonderful principles of greed and obtaining possessions....which include women. Who's to blame? This never leads to any happiness long term. Honestly why do people care so much about what others think? That is the route of the issue. Being healthy is one thing (in terms of lowered bodyfat), trying to look a certain way only because the opinion of others is how we base our happiness on....well that is only a problem each person can make a choice and solve for themselves. One day people may like us....one day they may not...it shouldn't matter. Once a person can overcome that it doesn't matter what crap is portrayed in modern culture...cause it just doesn't matter anymore. People stop giving attention to it...it will go away. Happiness only comes from within...not externally as that is just a quick stimulus soon to be gone.
ReplyYou just said it yourself, women are viewed as property. And property is only judged by its appearance.
The only way to change the body image issues is to create an egalitarian society.
ReplyWhat in the world does an Egalitarian society have to do with appearances? Are you saying that you'd marry someone who, in your opinion, was unattractive to make society more equal for those who are deemed by society to be unattractive? Who are you kidding!!!! Not everyone has the same ideas of beauty and attractiveness, but I can guarantee you, no one would chose to spend their lives with someone they feel is "unattractive" inside or outside. As far as women being property, get over yourself! If you're talking about the workforce, appearance (other than general hygiene) is not an issue, except for modeling/acting. There are plenty of people at my office who do not meet the "Ms. Bimbo" form of beauty (including myself) and no one I know is treated as inferior because of it. We're valued for what we can do for our employer, not what we look like while we're doing it!
ReplyAs far as the "property" comment, I am a female and have never, ever felt like anyone treated me as property. You need to figure out for yourself the reasons you are not happy with your position in life, solve those issues and make yourself happy, instead of blaming society and its treatment of you for your unhappiness.
Excuse me? Did I say people have to marry unattractive people cause that would be egalitarian? Maybe you should have checked a dictionary first.
"Egalitarian
–adjective
1. asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life."
So, an egalitarian society is one in which men and women are considered equals. And also, young and old, any skin color, any religion, etc.
Also, it has a lot to do with looks, cause as Mike OD pointed out, women are still judged solely on the basis of their looks, and that happens because they are viewed as property. If they are viewed as "lesser than" men, then our society is clearly not egalitarian.
You still make 75 cents to the dollar that men doing your job make, you know. So women are not equal in the workforce.
I won't even bother to comment that you think that feminism, which is the crazy belief that women are not worse than men, is caused by psychological problems. Sure. I only want a fair society because I'm unhappy with myself, don't you know? If I made more money, I would think "screw everybody else, I'm doing fine, who cares if they make less!". So being selfish is clearly the sign of happiness; showing concern for others is a sign of unhappiness.
Blaming society for one's problems means adopting a victim mentality, and thinking that that is the way things are and that we can do nothing to change them, we should just accept them. Challenging society's view of women, like the author of the blog post does when he analyzes the music videos with his daughter, is the opposite of that. So is working towards an egalitarian society. Being completely happy with the way things are, no matter what they are, is the kind of apathy that leads to great horrors in the world.
Replyjudi broad I know EXACTLY what you mean!!!!! Wow I thought i was the only one who thought that.
ReplyNot that i'm surprised, but the way to achieve all of those goals in the game is by spending money.... which you get from using paypal. Wow! What a rip off! I can't believe any good parent would use their credit card for this tripe... it makes me want to believe this is the ingenious project of some sociology student, though I doubt it.
ReplyYes, you are right. Today's pop music is nothing but disposable junk without any real musical substance. Today's artists rely way too much on their sex appeal and appearance, rather than true musical talent. Take a look at Britney Spears for example, would she have been able to make tons of money if she was really overweight and not sexy. Don't think so. Look at her issues now as she struggles with her appearance and lack of musical talent (does she actually know how to play an instrument?).
Musicians with real talent like Alanis Morrisette don't rely totally on their sex appeal.
Where have all these musicians gone?
ReplyThis game is just plain sick. I've seen plastic surgery shows like Dr. 90210 where these horrendously rich women get boob jobs and buy a boob job for their 17 year old too. I'm genuinely concerned for the girls growing up in today's culture. I mean, when I was a kid we had Barbies, but my mom was really great about telling us that those dolls were incredibly unrealistic (she pointed out that Barbie had deformed, perma-high-heel feet, boobs with no nipples, and arms that don't bend, among other things). Now they have Bratz dolls, games like this, music videos selling sex on a stick, and who knows what else. It seems like almost the only hope you have is to shelter your kids from the media entirely. Of course, that's not realistic, but limiting exposure is a little step you can take to prevent the media from brainwashing your kids.
ReplyHonestly, I don't get all the hate directed at the beautiful celebrities. Ya'll just envious of their perfect bodies and faces.
ReplyIt looks like the only specific celebrity "hate" in this thread is directed toward Britney Spears, and I'm pretty sure no one here is envious of her squishy body and spotty face.
Your acerbic comments are usually on the ball. Get on your game, man! I need my fix of clever and snarky judgmental only you can provide!
Reply...that should read "judgmental comments"
ReplyAdmittedly my form has been spotty recently. Working on it.
ReplyNobody was "hating" Britney Spears either, it was just mentioned that her fame had a lot to do with her looks, and that now, with looks gone, so is her musical success.
ReplyI'm not surprised by this at all. I'm a kindergarten teacher and I have 5 year olds telling me they are fat and on a diet. Something needs to be done.
ReplyDid anyone hear in the news how an 18 year old girl in Florida died from getting breast augumentation? That is so sad...I hate how we are a looks-obsessed culture. There are people I know who are attractive and beautiful, but the media would say otherwise just because they don't look like celebrities.
ReplyThe cause of death in this unfortunate incident was malignant hyperthermia. A vary rare problem associated with the use of inhalation anesthetics or depolarizing muscle relaxants. If I was asked, I don't know why they chose to use a full general anesthetic when this procedure can be done, and is usually done with deep sedation. I do not know who decided on the anesthetic method. This is not a comment as to whether the procedure was a good thing to do, but only to clarify why the death occurred.
ReplyShe also wasn't getting a breast augmentation, she was getting surgery to correct inverted nipples, and a prosthesis on only one breast, since she had a severe asymmetry.
Just to clarify that this wasn't a young girl who wanted to look a swimsuit model, it was just a young girl who wanted to feel normal. Not that it matters, since death is always a risk when you have anesthesia, whether it is for emergency surgery or plastic surgery. I just think the fact she was a blonde cheerleader is making people get a bit of schadenfreude out of this, as if she died from being too vain, and that is disgusting.
ReplyEvery death is a tragedy.
ReplyActually, I disagree. Death is part of life. When it is an accident that takes a young life, people feel more strongly about it, though.
Reply"However the other day as I sat and watched music videos with my daughters we discussed how women were portrayed."
Thank you. Thank you for spending time with your daughters. That's what needs to be happening in order for this decline in body image to stop. Girls (and boys too, I'm not trying to leave them out)need to know that they have people who love them despite what they look like. Just the simple act of discussing body image with your daughters is doing more good than I can image. I hope other people follow your example.
ReplyYou're welcome. It's impossible to shelter kids from anything. And if you do this - they will probably rebel against those controls anyway. IMHO it is better to be alongside the children and to help them cultivate a critical and questioning mindset.
ReplyWe've opted to not have children, and it's stories like this that make me feel like we've made the right decision for us. This whole culture just scares the hell out of me. And you can do your best to instill good thinking into your own child.... and then she goes to school, makes friends, and it all blows to hell. It just takes one nasty little girl to look at your precious daughter and call her fat to start the downslide. :p
ReplyThank you so much for this wonderful post, it was much-needed.
ReplyFirst, you stated egalitarianism would solve the issue of judging people by appearances- i.e., their beauty (or lack thereof), physical appearance, etc...all factors which I used when choosing my mate, so that's where I pulled in marriage. You stated it would solve the body image issues created by this little game, Last time I checked, ugly and fat people are working in this country so it can't be that the workplace is hiring and firing based on appearance. If you meant gender, not appearance, then its your misstatement, not mine.
Your statement that women are treated as property is astounding. Neither my husband nor my previous or current employers have ever done that. And for your information, at my job, EVERYONE at a certain experience level is paid the SAME without any regard for gender. So I'm not making $0.75 for every dollar a man in my position makes. You are drinking the radical feminist kool-aid. Now, if women in my profession choose to work part time to make more time for their children, that is different. They make less money, but they do not perform at the same level so it is unfair to characterize employers as treating them differently because they are paid less for less expectations/production. A male who works part time in my field would be treated the same as a female working part time, both would be paid less than others at the same experience level working a full time schedule.
Secondly, I don't think feminism is caused by psychological problems, just that your skewed view of the world is. I am actually thankful for the early feminists who paved the way for me to make the choice to work and to work in the highly regarding field in which I work, its just the recent women who demand more than equality that piss me off. Women in America are not treated as property, unless they chose to be. And if they chose to be, who the hell are you to tell them they are wrong. Last time I checked, feminists were about providing women the right to CHOOSE how they wanted to live their lives, not to have their lives dictated by some one who is unhappy with their life and wants to make others just as miserable.
If you claim you want an egalitarian society where people are not judged on their appearances, then why is it that you believe its okay to judge those who are smaller in size, prettier in the face, have better hair, fewer wrinkles, etc. . . And why would "Miss Bimbo" or whatever the game is called, bother you? If you truly judge all people equally based on their appearance, the blond, well endowed girl with the tiny waist shouldn't be treated any differently than the chunky brunette (FYI- not my idea of beauty, just following along with what I assume you believe are society's ideals for beauty). If someone wants to achieve a different level of beauty than you do because they have different priorities, who the hell are you to tell them they cannot? I'm so sick of it always being okay to pick on those who are either more furtunate or harder working than those who are less fortunate. If its wrong to judge the less attractive one, then its wrong to judge the prettier one, yet people like you do it every day. You shouldn't judge a well-endowed, skinny, blonde model type any differently than an average sized brunette who maybe has a few lines on her natural, un-botoxed face. Please stop hiding your jealousy of those women behind a false claim of feminism. I am a working woman, who does not meet society's definition of beautiful- not well-endowed, brunette, no plastic surgery, no botox or other extreme measures have been performed on my face - but somehow I've succeeded on my own merits, no rich mom and dad to help me pave the way either. And I haven't played the "feminism" card once. Women can and do achieve as much, if not more, than men, but its women like you who make false claims against society in the name of feminism who keep holding us all back and keep women in the role of victim instead of success story. Its your own personal failures that have held you down, not a man and not society.
I want to live in a world where I am treated based upon how I treat others and how hard I work, not the same as the driveling snot down the street who whines about the unfairness of society, when if she'd open her eyes and actually work at succeeding in life, she'd figure out that the opportunities are there for the taking, whether or not she is beautiful in appearance.
ReplyThis is nearly a book in length, but here it goes anyway:
I did not say that would stop people from being judged by appearances, just that, as Mike OD pointed out, this affects women more markedly cause they are still somewhat viewed as possessions. The sheer numbers of ED patients that are women versus men, or of women undergoing cosmetic surgery versus men, will be enough to show that women are more affected by it.
It is not specific to marriage or the workplace. Those are not the 2 only places where it can exist. It is in media messages and societal messages, which then affects how people view themselves and think what they are worth as human beings. So it is not a matter of "you'll only find a job if you are pretty" (although pretty people do, on average, make more, but that is one stance in which it works for males and females - for reference, read "The Survival of the Prettiest"), or that true egalitarianism will only be achieved when the pretty marry the ugly, as you assumed. It is the fact that, since women still feel they are less than men, cause they make less and still face prejudice, they feel more pressure to look "the part" (the "ideal woman" you see portrayed in the media over and over again, and that we all bought as ideal, so much that the self-identifying feminists in the study Jim quoted in the original blog post, while kinder to the slightly overweight body shapes, voted the underweight woman as the most attractive, exactly like the non-feminists, so we all believe the same thing here) than men do, and the numbers I mentioned in the first paragraph prove that.
You could make an analogy here with the fact that as African-Americans made social advancements in society (although still not fully equal, either), some of them stopped feeling pressure to straighten their hair to conform to white beauty ideals. There is still a way to go here too, cause in 2007 a Glamour magazine editor gave a lecture in which she stated that natural textured African-American hair was "unprofessional". Yet I'm sure white men with curly hair feel no pressure to straighten their hair to look "professional". Women's knowledge, or intuition, let's say, for those women who never really stopped to think about whether they are equal, but can sense or fear they are not, that they still not on an even playing field professionally or educationally (a lot of research shows science and math teachers favor male students as of high school, which explains the lowered performance of female students after that point, and vice-versa - a true self-fulfilling prophecy), leads them to focus on the one area where they think they can be more powerful than men, and that is sexuality. The only jobs where women outearn men are strippers and models. That is a message right there.
The fact that they focus on this "powerless power", to quote Helen Mirren, sets them back. I'm not talking about merely looking good, cause that is human nature, I'm talking about things like pretending to be stupid cause good grades for girls are "uncool", playing a game called Miss Bimbo (if that is not choosing to be stupid right there, I don't know what is), and looking up to someone like Paris Hilton, who, while being a self-made millionaire, is a millionaire from trading on her sexuality and according to herself, by faking being dumber than she actually is. That is a powerful message there too.
I don't necessarily subscribe to Naomi Wolf's theory that this is a conspiracy to set women back, but it is at the very least a symptom of the inequality they feel. It is a sort of feminist backlash that began somewhere in the 90s, and makes us think, as Pink wrote in "Stupid Girls": "What happened to the dream of the girl president?/ Now she is dancing in a video next to 50 Cent". We went from Riot Grrrl to Girls Gone Wild. Ally McBeal showed that the path to professional success is paved in miniskirts and sex in the workplace - that is a long way to go from Mary Tyler Moore. This game is a symptom more than a cause for body image issues. The fact that this can be made and parents can buy it for kids is a symptom that the parents already subscribe to the values in the game.
I'm not unhappy with my life or have a victim mentality in the least. I just think that the fact that you are doing well and not facing difficulties for being female, and I am doing well, does not take away from the fact that that is not what is happening in many other fields, and that this feeling of inequality is causing horrors to a generation of young girls out there. To impart positive change, you have to keep a critical view. Criticizing things is not the same as "woe is me, I'm a victim, there is nothing I can do about it", it is right the opposite, it is "Things could be better, so what can we do to make them better?"
The same way you say I'm drinking the feminist kool-aid, I could say you are drinking the backlash kool-aid of "It has all been done, we are already equal, now let's watch The Bachelor". Feminism is indeed about choice, but when I mentioned property, it is not really a choice that women can make if that is a view of women that permeates all of our society. It is not like the "opting-out" choice.
Thinking that things could be better is "being miserable and wanting to make others just as unhappy as I am"? How so? If you aim to improve things, you don't want to make others unhappy, you want to make them happier. Of course, if you mean they'll be unhappy by just knowing that things could be better, then that current happiness is more like denial, isn't it? (since you seem to love the pop psychology thing)
How do I judge people who are better looking than me? I don't even judge the ones who spend money, energy, and risk their lives trying to be better looking. I judge the reasons that contribute to their feeling that they are worthless if they are not better looking, not the people. Miss Bimbo bothers me because it is a symptom that now, young girls are already being raised by a generation of moms that grew up thinking that sexuality is the only value, the only worth a woman has, and that is sad. At the very least, it is sad because it is taking the legacy of the feminist movement and pooping all over it, for lack of a better term. And that even the women who are not pooping all over it, like you, intelligent women who should know better cause they are not trading on their sexuality, think that discussing feminism nowadays is the same as discussing abolishing slavery, a pointless discussion, so you take the advances that were made for granted, all the better so that they can be slowly taken away from us.
The Girls Gone Wild thing is a great example of this culture, since these are mostly college girls who are willing to perform sex acts and show their naked bodies for a t-shirt, for a male-owned company to make profit. While one could say that a woman who models nude for a high paycheck in Playboy magazine and parlays that into a successful career, like Jenny McCarthy did, or into investments that will later support her, owns her sexuality, these college students do not. Aside from that, there is the fact that if you intend to be a professional later on, since I'm sure not all those girls can be party girls who don't go to school or drama majors, that it is more important to them at that moment to be thought os as "hot" or desirable than it is to consider any future impact on their careers. Imagine a future CEO or judge whose bare breasts are on the cover of one of those DVDs - would she be taken as seriously? But that is all less important, even to these college educated women, than to be considered sexy by the male gaze.
I'm not saying women cannot succeed without trading on their sexualities or trying to fit this beauty ideal - thousands of them do, maybe even millions. I'm just saying that those numbers are narrowing. I also reiterate that I am not jealous of better-looking women at all, and that I don't think it is wrong that beautiful people trade in their apperance for jobs like modeling or even others where you deal with people, like sales. Smart people also use their intelligence; you have to use all your abilities and qualities. Men use their looks too, in jobs that involve people - however, I don't think men would consider using their sexuality as a work weapon like women now think it is ok to use. A good-looking man will dress well, groom himself to impress, but he wouldn't come to work in tight pants that highlight his shape, or with an unbuttoned shirt to show his chest, or in shorts, all of which are the equivalents of women who wear very form-fitting pants, cleavage, and miniskirts to the workplace. All of these would be virtually unseen in the 1980s, but a combination of a more casual work environment, in general, with the post-feminist backlash of "it is ok to use sexuality to get things!", made it happen.
And although I believe it is irrelevant, but you think that all my opinions are caused by being a professional failure, I'm a business owner and I do well managing it. It is a business I started myself, not a family one, and while I now have 2 male partners, I am managing partner with full decision power. So I haven't faced these prejudices in a way that has interfered with my career, but I have seen them anyway. I've seen them in the revolving door of young female employees who have quit because they are engaged, or refused to take fully-paid professional training because "I'm not going to have a career when I get married, anyway". I've seen it first-hand, but not as a victim of it. I've seen it when I hired a sex worker who wanted a career change, and after 3 days, she showed up battered by her former "boyfriend" (I'm guessing pimp), who then came to my company to threaten us all if I didn't stop giving her a chance. Calling the police was not an option, since he was a police officer himself. I've seen it whenever I advertise for a job opening, and I get resumes of men of all ages, whether they have relevant experience or not, even of people who spent 20 years as pastors or beverage salesmen, and that I advertise at the colleges that have IT courses, where women usually make up 40% of students, and I get around 3 female resumes for 100 male ones.
ReplyBravo!
The problem is that most people who assume that there isn't gender inequality have a narrow world view. They see only what they experience in their daily existence and do not empathize with the challenges other's face.
A white woman who is married and employed is likely upper middle class. She is probably treated with the respect and because she assumes everyone else is just like her, doesn't understand that single women, women of color, or the poor are treated vastly different.
If she is paid the same as her male co-workers, she assumes everyone woman is paid the same as a man. If her husband treats her as an equal, she feels all women are treated as an equal.
The fact is, the world is a much larger place than the coffee shop, an SUV, the gym and where ever you go to earn your paycheck.
And that is really the problem, the media has created this view of the world which is very, very narrow. And this includes our standards of beauty, which really should be called "standards of acceptance."
Women around the world do not enjoy the same rights as men. Some can't vote. Many girls are mutilated. Women are killed. And for the majority of third world countries, women are legally and philosophically considered property. And yet many American women simply ignore this fact because they are happy in their own lives. They can't be bothered with someone else's problems.
It really comes down to a matter of selfishness, I'm afraid to say. It is easier to claim someone is jealous of their good fortune than to expose themselves to the harsh realities that the world is not a wonderful, happy place for most people. It is easier to rationalize the motives of the individual offering the criticism than it is to determine whether the criticism is valid.
A book I read recently pointed out that body type was the last acceptable form of discrimination in our society. Since Black and Hispanic cultures are not as obsessed with thinness, being slender has become a euphemism for rich, white and elite. You can't slam someone for being a Mexican, but it is acceptable to degrade that same person for being fat.
In reality, the people who make derogatory comments about people's weight, body type or beauty wouldn't dare make fun of someone who is handicapped, has acne or even scars.
Sadly, I think you very cogent response will likely fall on closed minds.
ReplyYou are absolutely right, Kandace - except I think it is even *worse* than you mentioned.
The numbers for domestic violence, assault, sexual assault, rape, and murder against women in the United States alone show that women are still considered property by many, in a country that is miles ahead of many others when it comes to legal equality (in the First World, too - don't get me started on the latest horrors in the Australian legal system when it comes to violence against women... gang rapists of a 10-year-old mentally disabled girl being sentenced to probation alone was the most egregious example). So if the law hasn't even significantly minimized this problem nearly 100 years after the universal suffrage, it is not realistic to imagine that the problem is solved even in your own backyard.
Going back to your example, if she makes as much as the men who work with her, maybe the female secretaries and assistants in the same company don't. Maybe women who apply as security guards there have their resumes tossed without a look. Maybe her best friend isn't treated equally by her husband, and is expected to do all the housework, or worse: physically and/or verbally abused by him. Maybe the woman on the treadmill next to hers on the gym just had to hear an offensive catcall as she walked into the gym, or was groped on her way in. Maybe, when she stops by the coffee shop, she doesn't realize that the part-time female worker who made her coffee for the last month has just been fired because she was pregnant.
There is so much still going wrong right in front of her.
ReplyI totally agree with what you are saying regarding women on television these days! It is so sad. I blog about the same kind of stuff, check it out: tiffabee.wordpress.com. I just started it so feel free to make comments! Keep up the great blogging!
ReplyMy friend needs help. She is 5'2'' and weighs 115 pounds. She thinks she is fat. We are the same height, but I am 95 pounds because I inherited my grandmother's fast metabolism. She looks at me, at super models, at her dieting friends. She only eats fruit.
ReplyThat is scary. I will be very cautious with my own children in talking to them about plastic surgery as it seems to be so common that it isn't even a shock anymore if someone gets procedures done, even at an early age.
ReplyIt seems Margeret Thatcher plays Miss Bimbo :S -lol.
http://www.vg-reloaded.com/modules/articles/2407.php
Take a read on the thirteen1 forum too, (linked from that story, Miss Bimbo have been speaking out about the controversy).
ReplyI think the game little miss bimbo highlights the negative aspect of free will, free market, and capitalism.
I remember seeing the creators of the game in an interview, and I know they are making tons of money.
It's ashame that some entreprenuers make money at the expense of our youth. I wish they were more responsible, but I guess freedom of speech and expression let's them do whatever they want.
I personally think the game is a diservice to women and our youth.
Replyomg that makes me go berzerk, mentally. and more of a feminist.grrr.
Replyit actually physically makes me a bit sick..
ReplyThe more the media makes of Miss Bimbo the more popular it will be. It is just a way to make money a gimmick.
People said that the Barbie doll gets girls to go out and have a boob job, but it does not. It is just a game and I am sure that most that play it are adults.
ReplyThe bimbo dolls are a lot older for some of the people that play them. Boob jobs and face lifts? Come on! There are kids playing this and they might start to ACT like there bimbo.
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