As you may recall from last week’s article on 5 questionable quotes from Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, there has been considerable controversy surrounding this company. From the graphic advertisements, to child thongs, to shirtless in-store models, A&F seems to have a penchant for the extreme. Recent backlash has targeted Abercrombie’s discriminatory sizing policy: [...]
Tag Archives | Beauty
Why Disney Princesses Are Too Sexy for My Daughters, and 5 Heroines to Admire Instead
If you watched the movie Brave and then saw the recent corporate rendering of the willful protagonist, Merida, you may have been taken aback. The film’s Merida was modeled after the 13-year-old daughter of director Brenda Chapman – she’s wild, sweet, and pretty but in an unglamorous, un-womanly way (as would be expected of a [...]
5 Questionable Quotes on Sex, Weight and Beauty from Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries
Ask your grandparents if they’ve heard of a company called “Abercrombie & Fitch” and they are bound to say something about a hunting and fishing retailer. Pull away the current steamy, semi-pornographic ads and teeny bopper vibe, and you’ll find that A&F was actually once the “Greatest Sporting Store in the World,” according to the [...]
Redefining Beauty and Brains as a Middle-Aged Hippie
When I was much younger people saw me as being so beautiful or so smart. Some who knew me very well, actually saw both. I strove at all costs to have my intellect be recognized as my principle asset and, heaven forbid, someone would relate to me as ‘just another pretty face.” To some degree [...]
Has Science Discovered the Answer to Eternal Youth?
Ours is a culture that values youth and childlike beauty above anything else, even to the point of neglecting our elderly population. Not only do we covet the strength and flexibility of a spry body, but we obsess over youthful beauty and go to inordinate lengths to maintain it well into aging. Well, forget about [...]
Down with Fat-Shaming: 8 of the Worst Ads for Self-Esteem (Slideshow)
The tragic statistics about body image and eating disorders apparently haven’t been drilled into our brains enough for us to definitively take a stand against fat-shaming. With Dove‘s recent beauty campaign, Israel’s recent ban on underweight models, and endless discourse on bodies, plastic surgery, and celebrity diets, it is troubling but certainly eye-opening to see [...]
The Real Risks of Wearing High Heels (Infographic)
Heels can inspire confidence, bring you closer to your beau’s face, and effortlessly dress up a plain outfit. As any woman – or man – who has encountered the spiky devils knows, they can also turn a perfectly good pair of feet into a mangled, puffy bundle of pain. So why do we insist on [...]
Sex, Cosmo, and Karl Marx (5 Hilarious Mash-ups)
You may know the magazine Cosmopolitan as a titillating and dare-we-say trashy indulgence – a women’s magazine dedicating to sex, beauty, and celebrity fashion. Because that’s all women care about, right? Regardless of how enthusiastic or critical you may feel for the publication, there are some aspects of its history that might surprise you: 1. [...]
Is Plastic Surgery Making Women All Look the Same?
Does anyone watch beauty pageants anymore? In a way the tradition seems stale and outdated. But with shows like “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and “Pageant Place” the culture of beauty contests is surprisingly alive and well. Obsession with physical beauty is nothing new in human cultures, and even body modification for aesthetic purposes has [...]
“Dove” Parody: Men Think They’re Better Looking Than They Really Are
There has been an outpouring of supportive messages surrounding Dove’s recent body-positivity ad. When it comes to body image and beauty, our community readily comes together to band behind women and promote self-love. Men, on the other hand, often get left out of these discussions, though they are by no means free of self-esteem issues [...]
