August 2008
1 post
On hiatus.
July 2008
7 posts
NYTimes : In Novels for Girls, Fashion Trumps... →
“Heroines no longer become women through romance, they become feminine through consumption.”
“If you are creative and dissident you should ignore the free market…seek small...”
– Nawal El Saadawi feminist writer & doctor speaking in Madrid at the World Congress of Women, July 4th 2008
“Our history will be what we make it. […] To a very considerable extent the...”
– Edward R. Murrow RTNDA Convention Chicago, October 15, 1958
The Beauty Myth & Teenage Girls : Gossip Girl →
“Thanks to the point-and-click shopping on its Web site and the fees it charges some brands to be featured in the series, “Gossip Girl” has been able to profit from its power to generate trends. It is not the first show to collect revenues from product tie-ins, but it probably is the first to have been conceived, in part, as a fashion marketing vehicle.”
The Guardian (UK) : Now, the Backlash →
The sex industry is booming, the rape conviction rate is plummeting, women’s bodies are picked over in the media, abortion rights are under serious threat and top business leaders say they don’t want to employ women. It all adds up to one thing … an all-out assault on feminism. But why? And what’s to be done about it, asks Kira Cochrane
June 2008
14 posts
NYTimes : A Girl's Life →
ScienceDaily: Cosmetic Surgery Procedures To... →
NYTimes Blog: Many Normal-Weight Teens Feel Fat →
Sexism Watch : Wimbledon
“It actually seems like the situation is getting worse, with women players struggling to get a mention if they don’t conform to some picture editor’s exacting arse standards. Never mind the talent round, here’s the swimsuit contest.”
by Marina Hyde, The Guardian (UK), “A trouser-rubbing timewarp that needs no new balls.”
Amy, the artist formerly known as buxom →
“She burst on the music scene three years ago lampooning the image-obsessed world of celebrity.
But after taking up an alarming fitness regime, Amy Winehouse has dropped four dress sizes and there are fears that the 22-year-old has succumbed to the pressures of showbusiness.”
Sexism Watch: International Herald Tribune's...
The original article:
A daughter of France’s ‘lost territories’ fights for them By Steven Erlanger Sunday, June 15, 2008 […] Sarkozy, who as interior minister three years ago called the rioters “rabble” and “scum,” has put three women from immigrant backgrounds into his government, including the state secretary for human rights in the Foreign...
“A woman who wishes to conform to her culture’s ideal, in this age of feminist...”
– Kim Chernin, “How Women’s Diets Reflect Fear of Power“ The New York Times, October 11, 1981
Beautiful, but different: The quiet, fat... →
“What we need to know to make democracy work for all Americans is compromised by...”
– Bill Moyers speaking at the National Conference for Media Reform, June 7, 2008
June '08 - Status Update
I have finished the research/writing part of the film.
I have done An Inconvenient Truth/Al Gore style presentation twice in front of friends & acquaintances, showcasing all of the film’s themes. Got great feedback.
I’m currently getting in touch with potential interview subjects and assembling the technical material (video/audio stuff).
Will start filming soon…
May 2008
1 post
April 2008
27 posts
Censoring Women's REAL Bodies
“In Women and Self-Esteem, Linda Sanford and Mary Ellen Donovan report that the majority of females studied in therapy groups over a five-year period habitually downgraded their worth, and poor body image was a central factor in their self-rejection. […] Most viewed their bodies inaccurately. They distorted reality in two particular ways: either they saw themselves as having the wrong...
Viva Zapatero
This is a bit off topic – has nothing to do with looksism/body dysmorphic disorder, the cosmetic surgery epidemic, or ads about ineffective beauty creams. It is, however, a very important feminist issue – after the latest elections in Spain, Prime Minister Zapatero has formed a new cabinet, with women outnumbering men. The biggest cause of rejoicing for me was the appointment of a 7 month...
I ♥ Mark Kermode
By tradition, every Saturday morning I download BBC Five Live’s Movie Review podcast by Mark Kermode. I have been doing this religiously for years, when I lived in the States, while vacationing in Japan, or Italy, and now that I live in Paris. I listen to it on my iPod, while cutting up vegetables or during a run to the corner bakery shop; I try to avoid noisy places because I...
"Your Body, Your Voice, Your Power" →
via Feministing.
Technically Speaking.
Lately, I’ve been asked quite often how/when the actual filming will take place. I have been certain of a few things: that the film must be shot in HD and that I would have to wait for NAB 2008 to be over before making definite plans about which HD camera to purchase (my current camera is SD). NAB is well under way, with quite a few exciting announcements from the likes of Sony and...
Yay! A Little Step Forward (Airbrushing Ban)
On a depressing day that saw Italy’s wealthiest man / king of all media / no. 1 weasel come back to power there have actually been some positive feminist news: according to Folio,”Magazines in the U.K. face a potential ban on digitally altering celebrity photos [and] the American Society of Magazine Editors is considering a panel discussion about best-practice guidelines” (see...
Implants Out →
via Our Bodies, Our Blog
The Observer (UK) : All the pout with none of the... →
“Quick-fix cosmetic treatments have doubled in Britain in the last year. But with recent health warnings, is the lunch-hour jab really safe?”
The Independent (UK) : Botox: The Brain Pain →
“Researchers from the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Neuroscience who injected botulinum toxin into the faces of rats found that it moved away from the site of the injection and could be detected just days later in brain stem cells. The poison was not only still present in the rats’ brains six months later, but was able to travel from one region of the brain to...
Times UK : Looks Aren't Everything? Don't Kid... →
“People measure themselves against a mythical ideal and then remodel themselves...”
– “Beauty Bound” by Rita Freedman (1985)
Stats, Stats, Stats – Botox
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), in 2007 the number one nonsurgical cosmetic procedure was the Botox injection – 2,775,176 of those to be precise. But the real interesting numbers behind Botox concern its cost: – a vial costs manufacturers about $40 – it is sold for about $400 to doctors – doctors can generate a revenue of up to $4000, charging as much as...
L.A. Times : Cosmetic surgery business sags as... →
“After years of steady growth, the multibillion-dollar industry has hit a rough patch. Consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending.”
Week 5 : Almost There / "The Sound of Music" vs....
The research part of the film is almost over – as I have already read more than a dozen seminal books about feminist theory, media criticism, and – more importantly – the beauty industry. I’m currently finishing up Rita Freedman’s “Beauty Bound: The Myth in the Mirror” and I’m waiting for Margo Maine’s “Body Wars” to arrive at the library. As soon...