Pop-Culture | Posted by Talia on 12/28/2011

Down With Photoshopping

the (evil) power of photoshopping

Retouching photographs of models in magazines and newspapers has been a point of controversy in the publishing industry ever since technology like Photoshop has become readily available. Most magazines, especially ones dedicated to fashion and/or celebrity stalking, have no qualms about retouching “imperfect” pictures. I think this practice is absolutely reprehensible.

There are instances when it’s appropriate to retouch photograph. For example, if a person in a photograph has red eye or some stray hairs, or the lighting isn’t good, or if there’s some other imperfection that doesn’t change the concept of the picture to a ridiculous degree, I don’t see a problem with that. I do take issue with pictures retouched to the point that the original subject is unrecognizable or completely changed, especially in…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Francheska De La Cruz on 09/28/2011

When History Repeats Itself

a future anorexic? who knows.

You know the saying that history can repeat itself? It sounds cliche, but it’s kind of shocking when it happens to you in real life.

Before I was a proud feminist/atheist/vegetarian I was unfortunately anorexic. Yet no one in my family seemed to notice the signs, even though when I think back they were pretty obvious. I would constantly check myself in the mirror and talk about dieting and weight loss. I would secretly go online and read fasting tips on anorexia sights. When my family discovered my notebook full of “thinsperation” I had a total meltdown and decided those days were over and I would come to respect my body and those of others for what they were.

Lately I’ve been noticing the first signs of…

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Feminism | Posted by Katherine C on 07/27/2011

A Feminist Image In The Eye Of The Beholder

"Beyond Betty"

I don’t remember how I set out to do this painting. What I do know is that it was the first non-commissioned artwork I’ve sold, and that is was my first explicitly feminist-based painting that got any attention.

Beyond Betty, named after Betty Freidan, author of the second-wave feminist classic The Feminine Mystique, was exhibied twice at a local retirement community gallery- once as part of a group show for high school seniors, and once as part of my International Baccalaureate candidate show. In the small town where I live, people who had seen it came up to me in the street and, even more frequently, at church. “What were you trying to say?” “Is it making fun of Christianity?” “Is it about eating disorders?” “Is it about world hunger?”…

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Feminism | Posted by Alexa S on 06/8/2011

Breaking My Rules

One Rule: Counting Calories

For over a year not very long ago, I had a plethora of very strange rules for myself to follow. I could only eat certain things at certain times. I had numbers that dictated my actions, numbers of calories and daily intake percentages and pounds. It was a suffocating process; luckily, I never followed my regulations enough for it to impact my health. Still, it affected my mind quite a bit.

Perhaps more damaging to my self-esteem was my body image. Unlike the majority of the population, especially teenagers, I really don’t enjoy food very much. This made any disordered eating-type behaviors extremely easy for me.

Most of my friends are exceptionally thin, as in magazine-ad thin. Most of them are athletic and/or naturally thin; as far as I…

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Feminism | Posted by Chelsea B on 05/25/2011

Fat Is Not A Personality Trait

It sickens me that one of the most common issues plaguing young females today is that of body image distortion.

I say this as a person who once hated her body so much she welcomed the idea of going to extremes to obtain perfection. Whether it was by starving, purging, or over-exercising, if it “guaranteed” perfection, I would do it. It never occurred to me that the perfection I had in mind would never be obtainable. Nor did I realize that recovery would be a life-long struggle to relearn what it felt like to be full.

A year ago, I decided it was time that self-loathing relinquished its firm grip on my life. I did not consult a psychologist because I thought of my recovery as a journey I would need to…

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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 05/17/2011

Looking Back: Advice For Teenage Feminists

Whaddup Class of 2011?!

Technically, I am done with high school. My classes are over. My AP tests have been taken (just barely…I pity the person grading my Stats AP). I am just a few weeks and random final presentations away from the day I actually graduate. My high school experience was less than ideal (and, really, whose isn’t?) but a funny thing happens when you reach this point in time (or, at least, a funny thing is happening to me). You start to feel nostalgic and sentimental anyway.

Maybe it’s the constant stream of slide shows consisting of childhood pictures that are presented. Maybe it was the bonding our senior class experience while planning senior pranks. Maybe it was the realization, every time I talked with somebody, that, “Huh, I didn’t realize…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/29/2011

Endangered Species Summit: Our Generation and Body Image

The Endangered Species Summit – an international movement focused on improving the way women around the world view and treat their bodies, in the media and beyond – took place last month. There were branches in London, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Sao Paul and New York. I was lucky enough to be involved with the New York branch thanks to the incomparable Courtney Martin, who is a goddess (and who flawlessly planned the NYC summit). I had the daunting task of representing our generation on the Intergenerational Panel, which also included such amazing women as Jean Kilbourne, Erica Watson and Rachel Simmons. So, you know. No pressure or anything.

Needless to say, it was an incredible experience, but more than talking about my impressions, I figured I’d share the video of the speech I…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Cherokee S on 01/20/2011

Get Thin or Die Trying

Kenneth Tong

In outrage, my mum showed me an article in UK newspaper The Evening Standard and told me to read it. More or less, after finishing the article, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe what I had just read. What was it about, you ask? Well, if you have been alive on Twitter over the past week, the online universe has blown up over one certain former Big Brother contestant, Kenneth Tong.

Young, impressionable girls already have enough pressure on them as it is when it comes to their bodies and being deemed ‘beautiful’ and ‘attractive’ in the eyes of society, but when Kenneth Tong, with his idea of introducing a ‘Size-Zero Pill,’ fires attack after attack, claiming that girls who aren’t a size-zero are “disgusting,” and, “to be skinny is…

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