Breast Implants in the Context of Everything

November 11, 2009

Cosmetics (s)kill

Filed under: Breast Implants — NWHN @ 11:23 am

Since I was a little girl I have always liked nice cosmetics. I used to love to play with mother’s make-up and pay a lot of attention in choosing nice-smelling and good-looking soap and shampoo. But, when I was a teenager, my mum warned me about the damage that cosmetics could do. She explained me that she read that some toxic substances (parabens, aluminum etc) are in some cosmetics and that I should really avoid them as they were carcinogen. I felt I was a bit annoyed by what my mother told me as it mainly means that she did not want me to buy the same, fashion and very advertised, products as my girlfriends. I did not really felt that these substances could be dangerous because everyone I knew was not worried about them, except my mother. But, because she was my mother and I had to obey her I follow her advices. Now, that I am a young women, I still like to use cosmetics as they often make me feel prettier. I still buy products without parabens because it has become a kind of habit.
Yesterday, I was doing some research for a health information request we got at NWHN and I found a really interesting article on Cosmetics and Breast Cancer by the Breast Cancer Action (that can be found at http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=cosmetics-and-breast-cancer).
What I found is the confirmation of my mother says: some ingredients in cosmetic products can be dangerous and we need to be cautious when choosing them.
Actually I learned that testing is voluntary and controlled by the cosmetic manufacturers. Because of that, many ingredients in cosmetic products are not tested for safety and can pose serious health risks.
According to the Breast Cancer Action, many cosmetics contain chemicals known as parabens and phthalates, which recent studies indicate may be linked to cancer development.
• Parabens are chemical preservatives that have been identified as estrogenic and disruptive of normal hormone function. (Estrogenic chemicals mimic the function of the naturally occurring hormone estrogen, and exposure to external estrogens has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer.)
• Phthalates are known to cause a broad range of birth defects and lifelong reproductive problems in laboratory animals exposed to these chemicals during pregnancy and after birth. Phthalates are also known to be hormone-mimicking chemicals, many of which disrupt normal hormonal processes, raising concern about their implications for increased breast cancer risk. They are often found in perfumes and are more difficult to detect than the parabens. All cosmetic products are normally required to give to consumers the ingredients contained in the product. But, this rule does not apply to perfumes as the ingredient list is considered as secret. Sometimes the only way to find out if there are some phthalates in your perfume is to e-mail or call the perfume company.

Cosmetic companies argue that these chemicals are not harmful because only used in very small quantities. However the timing of exposure is very important. When we really think about it, since our childhood we are exposed to lots of comestic products. So even a very small dose of some chemicals can have serious consequences in children and young women who are still developing.
When I got back to my apartment after reading this, I just checked some of my products (mainly make-up) to see if I was using some of them with parabens and phthalates. I am. I thought that I was protected against the harmful effects of some chemicals because I already made sure that my skin care products- deodorants-shampoo were paraben-free. But, harmful chemicals are really everywhere, even in some eye-shadow or mascara.
So, I decided that I was going to change my actual make-up products to organic ones. It is a really good excuse to buy some new make-up and it’s good for my health. I don’t really like the idea of poisoning myself every morning by putting some face brush. I encourage everyone do to the same. Breast Cancer Action provides a list of cosmetic brand that don’t use phthalates and parabens. You can also find some organic cosmetic (brands that are not really more expensive than the other ones) in classic make-up/ cosmetics shops.
Moral of the story: Always listen your mum

Sarah Gondy
NWHN intern

Comments (0)

October 23, 2009

The Wax

Filed under: Beauty, Body Image, Culture and Society, Women — NWHN @ 7:17 am

I don’t think I ever have or ever will understand the appeal of having a hairless vagina on a post pubescent female who one the one hand desires to look like a women and have large breasts and a big butt, but on the other hand wants her unmentionable area to look like that of a seven year old girl. Don’t get me wrong– it’s not that I have anything against the whole concept of being hairless or not- it’s just that I don’t really get it.

When I was younger and shaving was still a novel pastime, I am pretty sure I took much better care of my body hair situation than I do now. Now at days I wait weeks, even months before I summon up enough energy to put a razor to what has indeed turned into something similar to that of a grizzly bear’s leg. I stuck only to shaving and I still have a scar on my leg from one of my first times. With the exception of the only time I attempted to use NAIR. I was only to be suffocated by the smell and not follow the directions exactly, leaving a very traumatized and confused 15 year old. Now, as a teenager who started getting hair on her armpits in the fourth grade, I knew I had to take care of business in order to fit in. This meant wearing makeup (my first few years included my Mimi from the Drew Carey show phase), dating boys, and looking all the ‘right’ ways. But how was I supposed to know what to do? I grew up with two older brothers and two foreign parents completely unaware of the importance of beauty and poise in an American girls early teenage years. This of course led to the shaving of the eyebrows which in turn led to no eyebrows and my dad throwing away all the razors in the house, the tanning lotion incident where I looked like an oompa loompa for 2 weeks, the sun in incident which bleached my hair white and when my dad asked me about it I said: “no dad, its natural,” the many hair dye incidents ranging from fire engine red to black to scarecrow, and the list goes on. But for now, I will elate you with the pubic hair stories.

I was fifteen at the time when my friend persuaded me that shaving was a dangerous and deadly issue in regards to the vagina area. I was terrified. Had I just been lucky that my parts were still intact? Would the next experience prove to be vagina fatal and leave me with a body part that would be the next revelation in the scientific community? This was a matter of life or death. I simply HAD to get waxed.

I went with my friend to her usual waxing salon. It was a small sanitary place which I imagined to be similar to a ward unit in a mental hospital. My friend went into a room, took her clothes off, lied down on the table, and spread her legs like a dog basking in the hot summer sun. It seemed like a piece of cake. The ladies who preformed the task seemed to know what they were doing and my friend Jane* was completely fine and relaxed. Soon enough, it was over. And, then it was my turn. As I took off my pants and lied down on the table requirements my heart began beating quickly. Was I ready for this? Did I really want these nameless women to put hot wax on the hair in the areas surrounding my vagina and quickly rip it off? Yes… I was sure I did. I won’t lie and say it was as appealing as getting sushi, but there was some level of curiousity. I began to get nervous and told them I was having doubts. My friend quickly shushed me and told me I will be fine. “Just breathe,” she said.”It doesn’t hurt and it will look so good in the end!” The workers reaffirmed that they had done this hundreds of times and this was a quick and painless process. So they put the first layer of wax down… put the cloth strip… and pulled.

Now firstly, I want to explain something about relativity. Merriam- Webster defines relativity as” the state of being dependent for existence on or determined in nature, value, or quality by relation to something else.” Understandable, but I want to put emphasis on the key words: by relation. Now I want to go back to the affirmations that this was to be a quick and painless process. YES. It was to be painless… IN RELATION to having every limb pulled off your body by razor sharp teeth or YES, it was to be painless in relation to having your brain paper cut in the same spot over and over again. But painless in relation to enjoying my Saturday afternoons reading and drinking tea like I had for the previous months? I think not.

Needless to say, when I left the waxing salon I was not only bleeding, but every employee laughed at me and asked me if I was still alive. They had heard my screams from the other side of the building, and chose to continue sitting passively albeit possible a child was getting abducted and dissected by aliens in the other room.

It was evident that I would never wax again. Until I met Michelle, a terrific friend whose judgment I trusted almost more than my own. She told me how she had been getting waxed for years and when I shared my story, she sat there horrified, but listened. She told me that she would not pressure me but that I should maybe try one more time since it sounded like the first place I went to was the equivalent of living in Soviet Russia. I agreed. And so months prolonged and I avoided going to the salon until one day I decided I must conquer my fears or die trying.

Michelle and I went to the waxing salon where they served be the best tea I had ever had in my life. It was a homemade ginger and honey recipe. I knew right there and then they were winners. They were extremely kind, understanding, and knowledgeable. They had many pamphlets to read that were produced by the company and they gave advice as well as what to do while the process was happening. This was it. I was going to once again make a choice to have hot wax smothered close to my genitals for beautification purposes. Almost 9 years after the first incident, I was ready to get back on the horse…. And so I went In.

The process went a lot more smoothly and comfortable than what I expected. There was soothing music, a perfect temperature, and a squeezable toy cow I held while I got my women-ness ripped out of me. The lady could not perform a Brazilian because apparently my skin was much too sensitive. So sensitive, in fact, that they had to use pregnant women wax on me with herbs and my skin still became very agitated. So I settled with a bikini with just a little bit of, as the French say, la raie des fesses (my butt crack for all you non French speakers).When the process was complete I looked down at my new piece of art and smiled. It looked really great! I could finally understand why women did this. I mean, the process was still extremely painful, but this time I was able to take a codeine or two before the ripping began, so I was not as aware to the rippage. The smooth skin lasted for several weeks and even remained soft until then. I was impressed.

I have not entered a waxing salon since March, although I have thought about it and mentioned it in passing several times to my friends. I rediscovered NAIR, which made life much easier when I felt like living up my childhood again, but that’s only when the moon turns very, very blue. Until then, I’m fine with what I have. I realized that if I ever wanted to feel young I would finger paint or eat ice cream from the tub. I am happy with my body being natural and I refuse to give in to the idea that bareness means sexiness. In the end, it’s a body choice. Just like how I choose not to eat meat or I choose to listen in on my neighbors having sex. But, I don’t need to get a Brazilian when I already have the whole Amazon.

Gal Perelman

Comments (0)

September 25, 2009

Brains v. Boobs

Filed under: Body Image, Feminism — NWHN @ 9:16 am

In my “all girl” family (I have only sisters), prejudices against women do not really exist. My parents have always required us to obtain good marks at school and have always considered that we could indeed be both pretty and intelligent. I thought that it was like this for pretty much everyone with a similar background. That was until I started to make my own way in the world and started to work during my summer holidays.

I used to be a waitress at a golf restaurant in France. One time I finished work and was hanging around reading a book while waiting for my parents to pick me up. I decided to say hello to a friend of my parents who was chatting with a 60 years old man. I still had my book in my hands and the man said to me, “Ha, you have a book, is it to look intellectual?” I was astonished. Just because I was wearing a skirt and have lovely boobs, he couldn’t believe I was reading a book and not only because I liked to read but also because, yes, I was intellectual.

Unfortunately for him I had just read a book by a famous French feminist, Gisele Halimi, a few days prior and was really angry about any kind of male chauvinism. I let him know that I got really good marks on my final high school exam and was about to enter the best political sciences school in France so I was definitely what one could call an intellectual. He mumbled a few words telling me that good marks on the final high school exam did not really mean something nowadays. But my mother, who had just arrived, cut the conversation short telling him that I had always received good marks and worked hard and that they were really proud of me.

This experience really made me think about how feminism is still important nowadays. Discrimination is still prevalent against women and one of the most common prejudices is believing that boobs equals unintelligence.

Women, for the same job and an equal level of competence, are still paid less than men.
Even if women get better marks at university, it still doesn’t mean they get the best jobs. According to my research, in 2009 only 12 Fortune 500 companies and 25 Fortune 1000 companies have women CEOs or presidents.¹
And if a woman succeeds she has to face lots of criticism, either people will denounce her “inappropriate” lack of feminism, say she is acting like a man and that she is a merciless dictator, or they say her looks got her where she is, and that she is not legitimate.

What does this mean? That women are completely dull after we leave college? That we should not dress the way we want? That if we succeed it’s because we are heartless evil creatures?

Of course not!

What it means is that we live in a chauvinistic society that continues the domination of women. That’s why being silly is often associated with women rather than men and successful women are often criticized. From my point of view, this is the old adage at play that women should be the pretty caregivers of the children and men should be the intelligent breadwinners of the household.

Gender stereotyping is still prevalent with children. Little girls are complimented with “look how pretty you are,” much more often than “what a smart little girl” while boys are told how clever or big they are. I have been asked if I obtained such good grades at school because of my charm. Although the question was not meant to be an insult, I was really hurt. After all the hours I spent working hard so I could study in the university of my choosing, how could someone just assume that I passed my exams because of the way I look? Fortunately, most of the exams I passed were written ones so no one could really argue that I did not have the aptitude.

Sarah Gondy

Comments (0)

July 24, 2009

Off With Her Top — Or Not?

Filed under: Breast Implants — Tags: Body Image, Breasts, Culture and Society, Feminism, Women — NWHN @ 7:59 am

When I headed down to Miami this past weekend for a last-minute summer getaway, I figured that an afternoon at South Beach would provide for some excellent people watching. There’s something about the smoldering heat, vibrant culture, and crazy cast of characters that combines to make the city a “see-and-be-seen” kind of place. But when I stepped out onto the beach, armed with flip-flops, sunglasses, and SPF 500000, my eyes were met with a little more than I had counted on seeing: breasts. Tan boobs, small boobs, round boobs, wrinkly boobs – they were dotted along the beach on full display, perched atop happily sunbathing women whose relaxed posture seemed to suggest that topless sunbathing was the most natural thing in the world. For me, however, it required some further thought.

“Can they just do that?” I whispered to my boyfriend, a Florida native, as we lay down our towels between other partially-clad sunbathers.

“Sure,” he shrugged, “why not? People do it here all the time.” And then, with a little smirk, “You could do it too.”

Could I? Of course I could, but another question loomed larger in my mind: Would I? And if not, why? I certainly don’t consider myself an adherent of extreme modesty, and my tiny blue bikini was evidence of my comfort with bearing skin to the world. Furthermore, it was hot, and the idea of exposing more skin to the cool ocean breeze seemed pretty tempting under the mid-July sun. But although my hand drifted up several times to the string around my neck, I never quite got up the nerve to untie the knot and bare my breasts to the beach.

Why? This question danced in my head as I lay (quite happily, I might add) on the warm sand and listened to the pounding of the waves. What is it about women’s breasts that elicits such intense emotional reactions in America? It seems that most women are unsatisfied with the pair they’ve got, and most men are satisfied to be within 20 ft of just about any pair at all. Men go topless all the time, displaying their chests (fit, flabby, and everything in between) without a second thought. But when women do the same, they risk ridicule and unwanted attention, and in many cases even arrest for “indecent exposure.” Indecent? Really? When did the upper ventral regions of our torsos, the combination of fat, tissue, and mammary gland, become so sexualized and scandalous that they were deemed indecent for public exposure?

It wasn’t always this way, and in many regions of the world today it still isn’t. Prior to the arrival of Christian missionaries, female toplessness was the norm in traditional cultures of North America, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In some European societies, an exposed breast was a status symbol for aristocratic women because it implied that they could afford a wet nurse to breastfeed their children and thus could maintain youthful breasts. In the mid-fifteenth century, respected French painter Jean Fouquet painted the Virgin Mary with her left breast uncovered, a critically acclaimed piece of art. A topless virgin? Oh, how times have changed.

map

Even today, there is a sharp contrast in the way topless women are perceived in America versus in other parts of the world. When I brought this up the other day with a friend who recently moved here from France, she agreed that the French have a different attitude towards the whole business of bosoms. “For years, it’s just been more acceptable. [A topless women] is not something to stare at.” Even in France, however, there may a be a cultural shift underway against bare breasts: a recent French poll found that 24 percent of women were perturbed by toplessness on beaches, and this is increasingly true among younger women. As the number of French females between 18 and 30 who are against topless suntanning grows, elderly women – participants in the original women’s liberation movement – make up the majority of those who bare their breasts. In this article, a swimsuit saleswoman speculated that toplessness is no longer seen as a feminist act, since young women are now devoting their energy to the struggle for equal pay and work-family balance. A French historian adds his perspective, asserting that going topless used to be about liberation and a return to nature, but now is linked to a harsh, intolerant emphasis on perfect, sexualized bodies.

Whatever position you take on this age-old matter, it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. A new wave of pro-topless advocates is taking root in the United States, with organizations such as GoTopless.org speaking out for a woman’s constitutional right to publicly bear her chest alongside men, and organizing national topless days across the country. If you live in New York, Chicago, Venice Beach, Austin, San Francisco or a host of other cities, you may want to check out one of many scheduled top-free rallies on August 26, 2009 (the 89^th anniversary of women’s suffrage). On the other hand, you may decide that toplessness is not for you and choose instead to cover up this summer with a tank top, bathing suit, sundress, or whatever it is that makes you feel your best.

As for me, I guess I’d say that my beliefs are a work in progress. I know for sure that I would not feel comfortable going topless on my way to a college lecture, picking up groceries, or strolling around my neighborhood – even on a hot summer’s day. Like it or not, I am a product of my society, and I know that bearing my chest in such a public way would take me far outside my comfort zone, making me feel vulnerable and uneasy. Just as there are some skirts that I deem too short, some shirts that I feel are too low cut, there is a limit to how much skin I feel comfortable sharing with the world – and I’m working on figuring out exactly where mine is. The beach is different story, however, and I think that it could be the perfect environment for me to break free of everyday boundaries and conventions, and dare myself to bare. I’m going down to Florida again in a few weeks, and this time I just might give those bikini strings a tug. If so, I’ll be sure to remember this valuable advice from GoTopless.org: “DON’T FORGET TO PROTECT YOUR BREASTS WITH SUNCREEN !!!!”

Comments (3)

July 8, 2009

High Heels: The Eternal Dilemma

Filed under: Body Image, Culture and Society — NWHN @ 11:01 am

My summer internship at a women’s health advocacy organization has presented many new challenges and experiences, but none quite as frustrating as the issue of footwear. As a college student who rarely ventures past the flip-flop or tennis shoe, working in DC has forced me to enter previously uncharted territory: the world of the high heel.

High heels are a basic essential of the sophisticated, business casual look. Heels add height, subtract pounds, emphasize good posture, make legs seem longer and make that amazing clickety-clack noise that just screams I’m a professional, working woman. They not only change how others perceive you, but the way that you feel about your body and yourself. But at what price do these benefits come and is it worth it? As I limped home after my first day at work, blisters near bursting, this question was at the forefront of my mind.

I realize that this isn’t a particularly new lament. Women have been facing the prospect of uncomfortable and unhealthy fashion for centuries, and complaining about it since feminism was born. The response to those complaints has classically been that fashion is not oppression, it’s liberation. It’s a tool that the modern woman uses to make herself feel confident and powerful, feminine but capable, and to make her look and feel her best when she walks into that board room or struts her stuff on Wall Street or K street or Fifth Avenue.

That argument has worked in the past for some things. Take the word bitch, for example. This term, once exclusively derogatory, now has a feminist magazine title to its name and a place in the every day language of a generation of young women. In this way, women reclaiming and reveling in an instrument of oppression has turned it into something that, once hurtful, is now empowering.

So the question then is: can this type of feminist empowerment be applied to the high heel? Can the positive effects that heels have on the way a woman feels about herself justify the pain that must be endured? I say no. The harm of the high heel is not just an occasional blister, callus or corn. It’s tendonitis, knee osteoarthritis, hammertoes, chronic knee pain and back problems. Unlike the hurtful meaning behind the word bitch, these harms cannot be erased or reversed by a new mindset or set of values; they require medication and surgery to correct.

I know this stance doesn’t leave us ladies many options, and I’m not about to launch into a one woman crusade to rid the planet of stilettos and pumps. I will say, however, that fashion shouldn’t be only about looking good or even just feeling good, but doing both in a way that’s good for us.

Comments (1)

April 22, 2009

Spring Famine for Summer Fun?

Filed under: Beauty, Body Image, Life, Media, Women, Women's Health, teens — NWHN @ 4:13 pm

With summer only around the corner the dreaded bathing suit season is almost upon us. All over, women are scrambling to find the next super diet that will shed those winter pounds quick and easy. Many of the super diets have been around for quite awhile and get passed from woman to woman through word of mouth. The cabbage soup diet seems to be a very old and popular one. I have been told about this diet from many women ages 18 to 60. It requires you to eat cabbage soup for about three days, yes, nothing but cabbage soup. Its purpose you may ask? I have been told that it jumpstarts your diet. Now, no woman has ever been able to explain the magical mechanism by which the diet works; however, they all swear by it. My best guess is that only eating a ton of roughage and broth cleans out the pipes and empties the stomach. Another popular get thin quick scheme involves a diet of salmon and grapefruit for a couple of weeks. Nothing but protein and acid, this just does not appeal to me.

Besides these natural diets there are a slew of diet drugs on the market that are supposed to speed up weight loss. Since most women forget that bathing suit season is coming until spring is in full effect the fast part is extremely important. For faster results many women turn to drugs like Hydroxycut, Dexatrim, and Xenadrine. Now there are drugs that target women specifically like Slim Quick, Estrolean, Tight Fem and Curvelle. These products are supposed to be formulated just for women. So why do we do it. Why are women starving themselves on crazy diets and exposing themselves to range of non FDA approved drugs in order to fit in a bathing suit. Whenever I go swimming I see a ton of men, gut out, cellulite glistening (yes men have cellulite), and so hairy that they look like they are wearing fur. At the same time women of all shapes and sizes are hiding behind cover-ups, dresses, towels, shirts; anything to hide their bodies. I say no more! This swimsuit season dare to be you. To bare your body in its “I have been hibernating” all winter glory. Hey, if you would like to go to the gym and tone up, or just shake off the winter grays go for it! But refuse to kill yourself worrying about this or that jiggly part. Don’t starve or expose yourself to various side-effects in the name of the vanity. Love yourself, be yourself. And remember only a dog wants a bone.

Comments (1)

April 9, 2009

Coffee, no sugar, no (s)cream

Filed under: Beauty, Body Image, Culture and Society, Feminism, Uncategorized — NWHN @ 12:50 pm

When I walked into Starbucks yesterday, a group of men at a nearby table kept staring at me until I wondered what was on my shirt. Finally, one of them looked me right in the eye and mouthed three words I couldn’t make out. “What?” I replied, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. “It’s your fault”, he repeated. “Walking around with those legs.”

I was stunned; partly because I’d never been sexually harassed at Starbucks and partly because I didn’t know it was a crime to appear in public with my legs uncovered. (I assure you, it was a standard knee length dress not that it’s okay to harass anyone because of what they’re wearing.) So, I did the only thing I could that would not cause a scene and call more attention to myself - since my legs were apparently singing a song by themselves. I stood by the door and waited for my co-workers to finish ordering their coffees and then walked out with them and thanked them for suggesting the trip to Starbucks since it had sparked an idea for a blog: the costs and benefits of beauty to a woman in modern society.

Looks can get you in the door at a job. According to a 2008 study, interviewers are often unconsciously influenced by the attractiveness of new hires and this can influence the outcomes of pay negotiations. Check out this study which examines the “halo effect” at www.sciencedaily.com. Conversely, younger women, especially those who are more attractive or shapely are often encouraged to wear clothes that play down their looks and/or sex appeal so that they are not perceived as unprofessional.

It is universally accepted that no matter how charming an unattractive woman is, her more attractive counterpart will usually find herself with more opportunities for dates and ostensibly, for love and sex. On the other hand, encounters based on a woman’s appearance are often highly sexually charged, disrespectful, and possibly dangerous. The phenomenon of street harassment (which I thought was more prevalent on the streets of poorer cities than inside of Starbucks) has actually claimed women’s lives and shouldn’t be brushed off as merely a rude come-on.

There are other advantages and disadvantages to being perceived as attractive. Women have to spend a lot of time, money, and energy working on their hair and make-up and shopping. This is not to mention the expense of any medical procedures or surgeries - like breast implants - they may resort to in order to alter their appearance. Although these expenses are expected and even demanded, they are also looked down on and people think you are frivolous when you invest in them. I understand this resistance to consumerism and commercialization of women’s bodies, but I can’t help but think that the labeling of fashion and beauty as frivolous is another way to devalue women’s culture. It keeps us continually spinning around while we try to find that perfect balance of being beautiful, making it look effortless, and living the rest of our lives.

So the man at Starbucks got me thinking about how my looks operate in everyday life. While he just saw a pair of curvy legs, and according to experts like sociobiologist Nancy Etcoff, made the leap to fertility and sex, I thought about how many more people had smiled at me that day pleased with my dress. I don’t think they were all looking at my legs. They were noticing that I was happy and smiling, which I can’t help but be when my hair is fairly neat, and I am wearing my yellow spring coat with a pair of heels.

It’s a tradeoff. While beauty is certainly self-expression and a personal art more than anything, it is also a kind of kowtowing to societal mandates. Women who aren’t slaves to their beauty regimen are generally either regarded as having given up or being exempt from the rule that says we have to worry about our looks – e.g. older women, disabled women. (These women are not typically considered sexual or on the market.) But there is a third route where women acknowledge that their looks matter, not so much for the purposes of attracting many potential mates – you just need one good one – but simply because people of any sex feel good when their outsides match their insides. People should feel that their ideas of what is beautiful are reflected in the way that they look. I have a friend who calls people who show no ingenuity in their style “mannequin dressers”, because it looks like they got their fashion tips from a store display. While I don’t dye my hair blond or wear a weave or diet, as the standardized ideas of beauty say I should, I invest in my beauty as heavily as most other women. I just do it my own way. Beauty is not entirely a social construct, as some would have us believe. It’s an actual quality that even children recognize – babies have been shown to gaze at the faces of more attractive people for longer. Who doesn’t get joy out of beauty? In the end, I had to conclude that beauty (and the pursuit of it) is a lot like the sugary coffee I condemn others for buying at Starbucks. A luxury that few can afford because of the expense to pocketbook and peace of mind, but one that most people enjoy nonetheless. They think they need it because it feels so good.

Comments (3)

March 15, 2009

Victoria’s Secret’s New Models

Filed under: Beauty, Body Image, Breast Implants, Breasts, Celebrity, Culture and Society, Life, Media, News, Plastic Surgery, Research, Uncategorized — Tags: Victoria's Secret — Krista @ 3:47 pm

Photobucket

I recently got in the mail my new “Swimsuit” issue from Victoria’s Secret. It never fails…for the past 10+ years, around this time, I get this issue in the mail. For those of you that know me, you know that I have been a fan of Victoria’s Secret since I was a teenager. Each and every year I’d wait for the new line of Victoria’s Secret swimsuits to come out. Then, inevitably each year I’d flip through the pages looking at the swimsuits that I could never wear. The girls in the swimsuits always had large implanted breasts, and I knew I could never fill out one of their suits.

As most of you also know, one of my biggest reasons for getting breast implants in my twenties was so that I could finally wear one of the Victoria’s Secret swimsuits that I yearned after for so many many years. Last spring, when I got the Victoria’s Secret swimsuit edition in the mail, I didn’t even look it…I threw it straight into the trash, determined not to let it get to my self-esteem (for those of you that don’t know, my implants were removed in 2007.) But, this year when I got this issue, something caught my eye. For the first time in as long as I could remember, the model on the cover did not have breast implants, and did not have large breasts for that matter. So, I decided to take a peak inside. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Victoria’s Secret had about 10 or so new models that I’d never seen before. Yes, they still had a lot of the same models, with the breast implants that they’ve had for many years. But low and behold, the new 10+ models did not have breast implants and did not have large breasts!

I must say that I was very happy to see this. As I have mentioned in a post before, I really feel like breast implants may FINALLY be making their way out the door. After 2+ decades of what has seemed like “breast implant hysteria,” we may finally be making our way out of all this nonsense.

I’d like to thank Victoria’s Secret for showcasing models without breast implants that have small breasts. I realize that Victoria’s Secret is where women in America look to for how and we are supposed to look (like it or not,) and I think it is great that they are moving towards showcasing natural, still absolutely beautiful models. It makes those women out there, like me feel like it is okay to have small, natural breasts. It makes us feel like you don’t have to possess large, implanted breasts to be beautiful, small breasts are just as beautiful as large breasts, and MUCH prettier than fake ones!!

Yay Victoria’s Secret!!

Photobucket

Comments (11)

February 24, 2009

Fair and Flawless

Filed under: Beauty, Body Image, Culture and Society, Media, Women's Health — NWHN @ 2:35 pm

A few weeks ago, I watched a Tyra Banks show about skin bleaching. Women of color around the world will often apply lightening creams to their skin if they think it is too dark, but this episode focused specifically on Black women in the United States who use skin lightening creams. What surprised me was not the topic, which I had already heard of, but the way that the show was set up. Much like a confessional talk show where people are being blamed for sensational and immoral acts, these women were vilified for the choices that they made about their own bodies. I was taken aback by how angry people became as if they themselves were being attacked by the women onstage instead of the other way around. During a commercial break, the Tyra show asked people to call in to the studio if they were offended on behalf of their race by what these women were doing. Don’t get it twisted.

The women onstage did not go back in time to create the brutal centuries-long systemic racism that values fairer over darker skin. Where is the hotline to call in if you are offended by the way that people of color have been denigrated and denied our full rights since the founding of the country? Ms. Banks did not address the issues of systemic racism in the U.S. at all, much less get into how the areas of the world where these creams really thrive - Africa, the Caribbean, India – are mostly countries that were colonized by Europeans. Obviously if power and status are associated with a physical trait that can be passed easily genetically, then that trait will become desirable. I was surprised that no one voiced the connection on the show, but until we do and then examine the effects on our psyches, individually and nationally, we will continue to blame women for the decisions that they make which impact their health. No one makes their decisions in a vacuum.

Many of the guests on the show described being treated negatively their entire lives because of the shade of their skin. People who have grown up with a sense of self-esteem, (which comes from nurtured by friends, family, and society) are more likely to feel comfortable going against the grain and having the confidence to create their own beauty ideals. The women on the stage were trying to be beautiful in the only way they knew how, much like women who dye their hair blonde or those who go on harmful diets in order to lose weight. No one questions these practices, although one is racist and the other extremely harmful to women. (A naturally blonde woman has to be White and therefore the most beautiful women are by definition, White) A wise social reformer pointed out that there is no way that we can grow up in an environment as sick and twisted as the United States – with all of its multiple oppressions and materialism – and not come away with some sort of infection. In other words, no one escapes unscathed or without coping mechanisms, no matter how unhealthy. While the skin creams that women use for lightening are potentially cancerous, it is also harmful to act like the problem is entirely in their heads and that they would benefit from a giant dose of “go girl” feminism.

Now I have to give Tyra some credit. She invited a doctor to talk about the possible health dangers of these “blemish creams”. I say possible because there has really been no research done on the products per se; they are simply known to contain harmful ingredients. Mercury can cause membranous nephropathy, which is a kidney disorder. Acne, eczema, and fungal infections are also risks. (For a complete list, visit http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2004/march/skinlightening.htm) It was apparent, however, just by looking at these women’s faces, many of which were scarred and raw in appearance, that “blemish” creams are not a viable beauty aid so much as a psychological salve.

Although it was upsetting to hear, in the year 2009, that many Black women still feel the need to apply dangerous chemicals because they think of white people as prettier, bleaching creams are more a symptom of the problem than the actual issue. When people don’t value their bodies, it is because they don’t value themselves. Now that the President is Black and the first family is of color, I expect the sale of bleaching creams to go down as people of all races see that brown skin can garner status and respect. Light skin, like blonde hair or a size 2 body, was never inherently beautiful. It was just a way, biologically determined and completely beyond our control, of being easily classified by others who could then determine what group a person belongs to (Whites, young people, etc,) and how much respect they should be given.

We do not yet live in a utopia where everyone is considered equally beautiful and the pursuit of beauty does still devour a good deal of everyone’s time, but the face of ideal beauty is growing to include more and different people. Michelle Obama has been embraced as a strong, beautiful fashion icon and her daughters, who could not have bought a doll with their skin tones fifty years ago, are now idolized by millions of little girls. We are living in a time when we can make up new standards of what is attractive – based on who is in power and what they look like– or finally decide to embrace everyone’s beauty.

Comments (5)

February 11, 2009

2 Year Explant Anniversary!

Filed under: Breast Implants — Gretchen @ 10:03 pm

Let the party begin… it is my 2 Year Explant Anniversary! 2 years since my painful journey began and started coming to an end. Told you I would be here to blog about it. Rather than ramble & reiterate all that I have said before.. I think it will be good to list the pros & cons of this terrible journey.

Cons:

Went through hell for 9 months - sick as heck, no memory, foggy, body pains, dimentia, chills, blurry vision, a sezuire, a coma, the list goes on….
2 scars under my breasts
Scary memories that will last forever.. and the scary things people tell me that happened that I have no memory of
Seeing breast implants seen as such a great thing in the media and how women’s beauty is portrayed
Missed1 yr of work & life
Lost my apartment & ruined a relationship
Found out who my real friends were
Frusteration that nothing is being done about this crisis
Lost a lot of money & got into debt trying to get better

Pros:

Appreciate life now & don’t take it for granted
Help other women either make the right decision or comfort them and help them in sickness, as they find my site
Am able to save some money now to buy a house one day
Got into a wonderful new relationship
No more anxiety.. I have been through the worst.. now I am a brave woman!
New challenging job that makes me happy!
Became closer to my family
Found an amazing Dr. who helped me get better
Have met tons of amazing women who love & support me
Feel beautiful the way I am!

The list goes on & on.. but that felt good and I just wanted to share my anniversary of getting my implants out with everyone. The worst decision I ever made was to put those objects in my body.. and the best thing I ever did was to take them out

Comments (6)