tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post1097931859735858341..comments2024-03-27T06:58:00.659-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: They're in My Brain! Media and Body ImagesMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-5049803912014647472012-05-31T09:57:28.978-05:002012-05-31T09:57:28.978-05:00"But when the creators of the 'art' a..."But when the creators of the 'art' are marketers, the goal seems much more sinister because their image of the 'better' and always unattainable human being is predicated on a profit motive"<br /><br />Yes! I think you've really cut to the heart of this conversation exactly. I honestly think there's a space for art to do both, and I even think that there's a place for this type of fantasy creation (maybe even to sell thing; it doesn't HAVE to be so predatory). But the problem is that media is under such a narrow band of control (<a href="http://www.balancingjane.com/2012/05/media-and-illusion-of-choice.html" rel="nofollow">have you seen this infographic</a>) that there's not much space for competing narratives. I can switch from reading Toni Morrison all day to reading some Hemingway and turn off (or at least change) the lens I'm filtering my thoughts through, but when all of our media is controlled by such a narrow band of people, we don't get that option. <br /><br />I'm hopeful that independent media on the internet can be a solution. I'm seeing a lot of great online shows and websites that offer alternative lenses, and maybe their popularity will even push some to the mainstream. <br /><br />And I do watch Mad Men, but only on Netflix, so I'm woefully behind at the moment.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-47400060213193895472012-05-31T09:24:37.767-05:002012-05-31T09:24:37.767-05:00I saw this related article on Jezebel yesterday: h...I saw this related article on Jezebel yesterday: http://jezebel.com/5914173/tv-makes-girls-feel-like-crap-about-themselves-but-does-wonders-for-white-boys.<br /><br />It's nothing new, but the title is provocative and, I think, supports what you're saying here. In some senses we're talking about life imitating art, which can either be mind-expanding (as, perhaps, in the case of your narrations) or self-defeating and destructive. And so really you're getting down to the very, very old argument (I'm thinking Philip Sidney 'An Apology for Poetry' and so forth) of what art "is" or "should be." Should it present the world as it actually is or should it present the world as its author or creator would like it to be? Sidney meant that poetry (or art) should create a world better than nature or reality in order to 'teach and delight'-- and to make us better human beings. But when the creators of the 'art' are marketers, the goal seems much more sinister because their image of the 'better' and always unattainable human being is predicated on a profit motive--'you probably can't have this body or this awesome life, but you can buy this perfume and it will help approximate that life for you.' <br /><br />Do you watch Mad Men? You absolutely should because it's right up your alley!Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08401939214993567704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-11519440143909454892012-05-31T07:02:20.202-05:002012-05-31T07:02:20.202-05:00I hadn't heard of this, but I looked at the ga...I hadn't heard of this, but I looked at the gallery, and I think those women look beautiful and confident. If it's about grabbing attention, then I don't think it's any different from the attention that ANY woman grabs when wearing a bikini. I think we've been programmed to see a body that doesn't fit the thin ideal and to say "Gross!" without thinking about it. <br /><br />I think we also use health and fitness as a justification for that reaction, but body image and health are NOT intertwined as closely as we like to think they are. For one, health is not a moral imperative. <br /><br />People are allowed to be unhealthy if they choose to be. For two, we don't seem as invested as a society in placing that moral imperative on people who meet the body ideal and are obviously unhealthy. I know several people whose bodies are thin but who eat nothing but junk food and never exercise. We make jokes about those people: "Haha. I don't know where you put it all!" But someone who works out and eats healthy and has a larger body is seen as lazy and ridiculed for any body confidence. It's insane to me. <br /><br />While I don't always agree with everything in the Fat Activism movement (I think it's an individual's right to choose to lose weight and I hate when people are demonized for doing so, for instance), I think that <a href="http://kateharding.net/faq/but-dont-you-realize-fat-is-unhealthy/" rel="nofollow">this list from Kate Harding</a> does a good job of summing up some of the main issues. <br /><br />I know that's a long-winded answer to your question, but I think that the "fatkini" movement gives women the opportunity to feel good about their bodies and to show that confidence to the world. Could they be using it to draw unhealthy attention? Sure, but so could a woman with a thinner body. I think they could equally be using it to feel confident about themselves, and I would never say it's my place to decide which it is, just as I would never say it's my place to tell a thin woman in a bikini that she shouldn't wear it because of the attention it would draw.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-74528332738639669162012-05-31T01:16:54.824-05:002012-05-31T01:16:54.824-05:00I'd love to get your take on the recent (semi-...I'd love to get your take on the recent (semi-recent) "fatkini" movement. While I wholeheartedly support and approve of the "healthy" body vs "skinny" ideal...I feel like this is something meant to simply grab attention in all the wrong ways. Not female empowerment... more along the lines of the journalist who said "I'm too attractive."<br /><br />http://www.xojane.com/fun/gallery/fatkini#2C.J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-60443704618877949482012-05-30T22:26:11.950-05:002012-05-30T22:26:11.950-05:00I have noticed in the past that I get all crazy if...I have noticed in the past that I get all crazy if I immerse myself too much in a particular tv show, start seeing the world so warped!Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18393576098661721077noreply@blogger.com