Is it Possible to Resist the Pressures of the Beauty Industry? — Gloria
media is so strong. Media overpowers our conscious minds, no matter how hard we try to hang on—our knowledge of what is right, who has an agenda, what we are really worth. Marketing is powerful and beauty culture is powerful and men’s control of the narrative is powerful and a lot of people are making a lot of money teaching us that we live in an u
... See moreLindy West • The Witches Are Coming
The default assumption tends to be that it is politically important to designate everyone as beautiful, that it is a meaningful project to make sure that everyone can become, and feel, increasingly beautiful. We have hardly tried to imagine what it might look like if our culture could do the opposite—de-escalate the situation, make beauty matter le... See more
Jia Tolentino • Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
sari and added
“I think this is like a widespread public health issue, and the way to start solving it is has got to be part of a bigger collective political movement, really, focusing on solving the inequality of beauty versus the insecurity of beauty, and once the inequality of beauty is addressed, the insecurity will naturally follow that pattern”
Zeynab Mohamed • Can Beauty Be A Source Of Joy?
Natalie Audelo and added
Sterling Proffer and added
Mainstream feminism has also driven the movement toward what’s called “body acceptance,” which is the practice of valuing women’s beauty at every size and in every iteration, as well as the movement to diversify the beauty ideal. These changes are overdue and positive, but they’re also double-edged. A more expansive idea of beauty is a good thing—I
... See moreJia Tolentino • Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
wasn’t a part of it. Today, the concept of beauty has become askew in a way that’s harmful to many girls and women. Most of my weight-loss clients hold themselves up to photos of supermodels in magazines, which have been Photoshopped for hours. Media also shapes what we believe is possible as far as overcoming our existing challenges. Movies contin
... See moreGrace Smith • Close Your Eyes, Get Free: Use Self-Hypnosis to Reduce Stress, Quit Bad Habits, and Achieve Greater Relaxation and Focus
Beauty, or our idea of it, is always rooted in deep desires, capitulations, and pathologies. It makes certain things so obvious. How we spend the present trying to secure the future, and thus squander what’s in front of us. How we fail to appreciate what we may later understand as an experience of unbelievable plenty: unlined skin, spare time on Sa
... See moreEric Switzer and added
Naomi Wolfe, journalist and author of The Beauty Myth, writes, “A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in history. A quietly mad population is a tractable one.”