Valeria Lukyanova: Russian 21 year old uses Plastic Surgery and Cosmetics to look like a Barbie

This past weekend, I was searching the web, and I came across something very strange. 21 year old Valeria Lukyanova, a famous Russian model, has gone through various surgeries and cosmetic treatments to look EXACTLY like a barbie doll. Her proportions are so unrealistic it is almost impossible to believe she is a real person. Here are some pictures of Valeria:

Photos from Google Images!

To me, this is disturbing. Why would someone take such extreme measures as to want to look EXACTLY like barbie? I think it is a reflection of the poor ideas of beauty portrayed in the media and the negative body image perpetuated through almost all media and institutional reinforcement. It’s sad that people are so unhappy with themselves they feel the need to do something like this. What do you think about it? Comment below and let me know!

What is beauty?

This is something I wrote during the summer, when I was feeling judged for my lack of “femininity” and my choice not to shave. ENJOY! Image found on: http://weheartit.com/entry/20787414/via/imaginepeace (:

It seems like nobody ever questions what they are doing. Why am I wearing makeup? Why do I shave? Why do I want to be skinnier? Whenever I ask someone to think about these questions, their immidiate response is usually something like “I do these things because thats what girls are supposed to do”. Well, says who? Society. The reason so many women/girls do these things is because of socially constructed ideas of beauty. We are socialized to believe there is only one way to be beautiful. We see it everywhere. So many of us do change, or wish we could change the natural state of our bodies just to conform to what is considered to be the right thing to do.

When we do these things, it is like we are saying it is okay to oppress us in this way. It is okay that we are made to feel like we are not good enough. It is like we are saying all we are good for is “being beautiful”. I am a girl and I deserve respect. I am not my body. I am not my bra size or the size of my jeans. I am not a shade of lipstick. And i am not here for you. I am not here to please you and look the way you want me to look. I am sick and tired of having other girls ask me why I dont shave, or why I dont wear more makeup, or why I dont dress differentely. I dont do those things because, why should I? I am me. I am not a product of the media and the messages I get around me.

I am my own person and I will do whatever I am most comfortable with. I am not my appearence, I am my mind. I am my thoughts. I am my feelings and ideas, not my clothes or my hair, or any other part of my physical appearence. I have a voice and i refuse to be silenced simply because I am a girl. I refuse to be seen as nothing but boobs and a vagina. I refuse to be seen as a sex object. I am a person and I have views and ideas I want to share. I am tired of being looked down upon by girls who think and act the way a socially-stereotyped girl is supposed to. Those girls are not any better than me. I am just as much of a woman as they are. I’m tired of people making a big deal about me not shaving my legs. I am tired of being laughed at. Because you know what? The joke is on you, I am fighting against sexism and stereotypes and I just want to be me. Whoever that may be.

Our gender “norms” are fucking us over, because not all women are the same. We are all so different and we are all so beautiful. I hate hearing girls talk about other girls who dont dress “girly” or dont wear makeup, or dont shave. And saying they are “guyish” or making the assumption that they wish they were a guy, just because they dont look like a socially-stereotyped women “should”. I wish these people would open there eyes and realize that we are not meant to be alike! Being different is beautiful. And beauty is not makeup. Beauty is not long hair. Beauty is not having shaved legs or wearing a dress. Beauty is not your body, but the volume of the soul that it carries. It breaks my heart to see so many girls struggling with low self-esteem or feeling like they are not good enough. Fuck what people say! Your not to fat. Your boobs are not to small. Your not to loud. Your not ugly. Your not to emotional. None of that. You dont need to change. EVERYONE is beautiful!!!! And for someone to come and tell you that your “ugly” or “not good enough” is just so wrong. Because no one has any right to define what beauty is and tell you that you arent it. Everyone has beauty in them. No one has the right to tell you to “act like a lady” or to change the way you look. Because not all women are meant to be the same. You are all so beautiful, i promise.

I am beautiful

This is the third submitted piece, a poem about self-acceptance by a transgender woman.

I am Beautiful

By: T. Swan

I am beautiful

–

I won’t believe otherwise

Nor be swayed by their lies

I have a will of my own

This woman has grown

I don’t care what they say

I will have a great day

I look in the mirror and see myself

Without any riches, without any wealth

But I’m happy being me

Because that is who I see

My soul is old, yet my style is bold

And if I am told that I am cold

I know that it’s untrue

So it cannot make me blue

My body and mind are entwined

I’m a girl who’s worth the world

–

Special today is soup

But you’re special every day

Are you now in the loop?

Your anxieties at bay

–

Unmitigated freedom

It’s your time to lead them

The ugly people, beautiful in the light of realization

And their new lives bring them immaculate elation

–

Bra strap digging

My sail’s rigging

I must fly my flag

But there’s no drag

In having this gift

So I hitch a lift

To somewhere greater

See you all later

My features change

But it’s not strange

It’s me as I am

Can’t you understand?

Caterpillar grown

Blackbird has flown

All of us go through this

Transcendence, change, bliss

Scary at first

But stagnating is worse

Do you comprehend now?

I hope you see how

I live my life

Despite my strife

So that you can, too

Men want to look good to!

According to recent studies, men are getting cosmetic surgery just as much as women are! According to George Roman, who owns a cosmetic surgery clinic, the men do it to look more young and fresh. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that in 2010, the number of men getting botox went up by 9% in comparison to 2009. Usually when you think about cosmetic surgery, you think of a woman getting a boob job, or botox, or any other kind of surgery or treatment to make herself look “prettier” and “younger”. But now, men are doing it to. Now, men want to look younger as well. What are your views on this? Why do you think more men are beginning to get cosmetic surgeries and treatments? Comment below or e-mail me what you think about this. Thanks (: Image from: http://www.economist.com/node/21547268?fsrc=scn%2Ffb%2Fwl%2Far%2FbeautyandthebeastsIN

Thinspiration Vs Fatspiration

What is thinspiration/fatspiration? Well, thinspiration refers to the promotion of eating disorders and leading an unhealthy life in the hope of losing weight. There are many websites, such as tumblr, which have “thinspiration” pages, encouraging girls to lose weight. In my opinion, it is beyond gross and horrible. Thinspiration has images like these to “encourage” girls to lose weight:

These images are from: http://alleinbesitz.tumblr.com/post/7793767322 and http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thinspiration

In my opinion, thinspiration buys into socially constructed ideas of beauty, unattainable beauty standards, eating disorders, and low- self esteem. How could that make anyone feel good about themselves? Isn’t there anything better to do than sit around worrying about calories and exercise?

Now lets talk about Fatspiration. Fatspiration is a body acceptance/fat acceptance blog. It is meant to show people that they can be beautiful at any size! It shows images such as :

The way I see it, fatspiration is meant to give confidence and self-worth to people that are not unrealistically skinny. But heres the big question:

Is Fatspiration just as unhealthy as Thinspiration?

Some people say that fatspiration promotes leading an unhealthy lifestyle. It encourages people to eat whatever they want and not care about exercise. Some believe that fatspiration is JUST as unhealthy as thinspiration. In my opinion, fatspiration isn’t MEANT to promote living unhealthily, it is meant to help people accept their bodies no matter what their size is. What do you think about it? What are your views on thinspiration and fatspiration? I’d love to hear what you have to say! Comment below or e-mail me and let me know what you think! Thanks (:

Top 5 most SEXIST songs

The way I see it,  the majority of popular pop and hip hop songs are sexist. A lot of them degrade and sexualize women, not to mention portray them as sex objects. In this post, I want to give you a list of the top 5 songs that I think are most sexist!

1. Kill You- By: Eminem

In this song, Eminem sings lyrics such as “Bitch, Ima kill you” and “Just bend over and take it like a slut, okay ma?” According to Dr. Michael Cobb, “Sexism is imbedded in the culture we live in, and hearing rap music can spontaneously activate pre-existing awareness of sexist beliefs.” The song “Kill you” is sexist because it perpetuates violence towards women. He sings about the girl like she is nothing but a sex object and calls her names like “slut”, “bitch” and “whore”. In my opinion, Eminem is horrible! In his album “Marshall Mathers” he calls people racist, homophobic names and even threatens his mother in one of his songs.

2. Baby It’s Cold Ouside- By: Frank Loesser

Many people view this song as a cute and sweet holiday song. If you listen to the lyrics, the girl says things like ” I really can’t stay, I must go away” and he keeps saying “Baby it’s cold outside”. She even says “The answer is NO”, yet he ignores this and keeps persisting. She wants to leave, but he wants to get laid. This song perpetuates rape culture, and it is an example of a woman being pressured into something she doesn’t want. Throughout the song, she keeps trying to leave, but the man says things like “Don’t hurt my pride”. He refuses to take no for an answer and pressures the girl into staying with him. Not so romantic now that you really think about it, right?

3. Monster- By: Kanye West

The video for this song is more sexist than the actual lyrics. In the video, there are half naked, lifeless, mutilated women, wearing perfect makeup and high heels. I think the video is horrible! It seems pretty sexist to me, but what do you think? Can one eroticize  death without being sexist?

4. Under My Thumb-By: The Rolling Stones

The way I interpret this song, he is controlling her and looking down on her, for she is “under his thumb”. Some argue that this song is not sexist, but it is simply about an unhealthy relationship. Thoughts?

5. Wives and Lovers- By: Burt Bacharach & Hal David

This song has lyrics like “Hey little girl, comb your hair fix your makeup, soon he will open the door” and “Better wear something pretty..time to get ready to love”. These lyrics imply that women must do their makeup and “dress pretty” to be able to get a man. The way I see it, it also implies that all women are good for is being beautiful.

Those are my top 5! I interpret them as sexist, but of course it depends on how you look at it! I would love to hear what songs you think are sexist and why. Comment below and let me know! Thanks (:

Beauty is a socially constructed Idea

In our society, ideas of beauty are socially constructed. The cosmetic industry makes money off of our insecurities. We develop insecurities from the false perception of beauty we see in the media, all around us. And what do people find attractive about hype and massive media? Material stuff? Unreal people? 66% of adoloscent girls wish they were thinner, when only 16 of them are overweight.

Girls are indoctrined at a very young age that Barbie is how a woman is supposed to look. NOTE: If Barbie was life-size she would stand 5″9 and weigh 110 pounds, 96% of what is considered a healthy weight for her height. Her measurements would be 39-18-33 and she would not menustrate due to inadequate levels of fat on her body. These body ideals are reinforced every day on Tv shows and movies, magazines, and more. We mutilate the natural state of our bodies in order to be deemed acceptable.

Many women do things like shave and wear makeup because that is the “feminine” thing to do. But i am tired of hearing that. Because self-identity goes far beyond appearence. What you choose to do with your body has nothing to do with who you really are. Can you not shave and not wear makeup and still be feminine? Yes, you can! Wearing a bra, shaving off your body hair, ect is not natural. We now see it as normal since it seems to be what the majority of us are doing, but when you really look at it, is that how women are, naturally? It’s easy to forget that women have hairy legs and armpits because we never see them in their natural state. As Carolyn Mackler says, ” What body hair needs is more visibility. It needs a publicity agent and a marketing campaign. It needs models and actresses to flounce around with hairy legs and pits. When those trailblazing, unshaven singers and songwriters stomp onto stage, it sends a loud and clear holler into the hairless vacuum. It propels us to see it, to think about it, and to actually make the connection that this is a real woman, not in reverse.”

Unfortunatley, not to many people share this opinion with me. So all I have to say is, just be you. Do whatever YOU feel like doing. Don’t do things simply because that is what “a girl is supposed to do”. Challege gender roles. If you go along with these unacceptable and unattainable beauty standards, it will just keep growing worse and worse.

Women are beautiful, women should feel beautiful! All of us. No matter what. The goal for so many girls is to be a size 0. The reality? Size 14 is average for a girl in the US. So why do we feel like we are never good enough? Why do we feel the need to compare? Embrace who you are!! Not the size of your breasts or the gap between your thighs or the hair on your legs. Who you REALLY are. The cycle of socialization has to stop somewhere, so the best thing that we can do is be ourselves, our natural selves, not the us that has been brainwashed. Not the us that buys in to the media and these binary gender roles. The us that will take a stand and do whatever we are comfortable with. Think about what you are doing, question yourself. Next time you pick up the razor, ask yourself, why? Or next time you put on a revealing outfit to make yourself feel beautiful, ask yourself why? Why is that seen as the only way to be beautiful? It can be scary and different to step outside of what we have always known, and challenge it. But it is so important if we want to make change. We need to get in touch with our true selves and really think about who WE are.

Bitches and Sluts ect.

Have you ever thought about what it really means to call someone a slut, whore, bitch, or any other degrading put-down? These words are so ingrained in our language, but are they really necessary? I hope this video will get you thinking about it!