1. 12:33 27th Aug 2010

    Why You Must See Unretouched Images, And Why You Must See Them Repeatedly I’ve been a bad blogger on here lately, as one Miss T pointed out, so I probably missed the part of this whole thing where all Tumblr’s feminists were up in arms re: these photos of Jen Aniston. There are many times when Jezebel really gets on my nerves, but this is NOT one of them. The standard of beauty in our society is pretty much unattainable. It can be harmful, especially to young girls, and even to generally confident women who really do know better (I’m sure I’m not alone in that category). So please, please, please take this to heart: “But remember that every day, a young woman somewhere sees one of these overly polished pictures for the first time…and has no idea that they’re not real. She may very well have no idea that most waists don’t really bend without a roll of flesh, that a 40-year-old woman actually does have some wrinkles, that no mascara will make one’s lashes magically long enough to tickle her eyebrows. What the girl does know is that the pictures show What Is Beautiful. She thinks they are reality. And maybe she doesn’t have someone in her life to point out that this is complete and utter bullshit. So we’ll do that, and we’ll do it over and over again just to make sure that everyone knows what’s up. And as long as we’re on the topic of bullshit: the degree to which the female-targeted media industrial complex wants to keep these images away from you is shameful.” And this, too: “They will fight to keep you from seeing a naturally gorgeous woman before she’s been properly Photoshopped. Her gorgeousness is not enough; she must be superhumanly gorgeous. And there are whole legal teams who make their living making sure you have no choice but to to look at a lie. Lord knows that I’m not perfect, that there are days when I simply do not like what I see in the mirror. And there are reasons for that that are deeply personal and reasons that are rooted in a youth spent immersed in these images. On those bad days, it’s not easy to give myself a reality check, but I know it’s all wrong, that it doesn’t have to be this way. And if we don’t make a fuss, if we don’t scream and shout and pull out our hair every time we find more proof that we are being cruelly had — that’s just another day that nothing changes. That’s just another day that some young woman is force-fed a lie.” And don’t forget to remind one of those strong, beautiful women in your lives that she really is beautiful. It makes a difference. Read more: http://jezebel.com/5619903/why-you-must-see-unretouched-images-and-why-you-must-see-them-repeatedly?skyline=true&s=i#ixzz0xpBnINir

    Why You Must See Unretouched Images, And Why You Must See Them Repeatedly

    I’ve been a bad blogger on here lately, as one Miss T pointed out, so I probably missed the part of this whole thing where all Tumblr’s feminists were up in arms re: these photos of Jen Aniston.

    There are many times when Jezebel really gets on my nerves, but this is NOT one of them.

    The standard of beauty in our society is pretty much unattainable. It can be harmful, especially to young girls, and even to generally confident women who really do know better (I’m sure I’m not alone in that category).

    So please, please, please take this to heart:

    “But remember that every day, a young woman somewhere sees one of these overly polished pictures for the first time…and has no idea that they’re not real. She may very well have no idea that most waists don’t really bend without a roll of flesh, that a 40-year-old woman actually does have some wrinkles, that no mascara will make one’s lashes magically long enough to tickle her eyebrows. What the girl does know is that the pictures show What Is Beautiful. She thinks they are reality. And maybe she doesn’t have someone in her life to point out that this is complete and utter bullshit. So we’ll do that, and we’ll do it over and over again just to make sure that everyone knows what’s up.

    And as long as we’re on the topic of bullshit: the degree to which the female-targeted media industrial complex wants to keep these images away from you is shameful.”

    And this, too:


    “They will fight to keep you from seeing a naturally gorgeous woman before she’s been properly Photoshopped. Her gorgeousness is not enough; she must be superhumanly gorgeous. And there are whole legal teams who make their living making sure you have no choice but to to look at a lie.

    Lord knows that I’m not perfect, that there are days when I simply do not like what I see in the mirror. And there are reasons for that that are deeply personal and reasons that are rooted in a youth spent immersed in these images. On those bad days, it’s not easy to give myself a reality check, but I know it’s all wrong, that it doesn’t have to be this way. And if we don’t make a fuss, if we don’t scream and shout and pull out our hair every time we find more proof that we are being cruelly had — that’s just another day that nothing changes. That’s just another day that some young woman is force-fed a lie.”

    And don’t forget to remind one of those strong, beautiful women in your lives that she really is beautiful. It makes a difference.


    Read more: http://jezebel.com/5619903/why-you-must-see-unretouched-images-and-why-you-must-see-them-repeatedly?skyline=true&s=i#ixzz0xpBnINir