Thursday, January 12, 2012
The next revolution in beauty
Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
"This commercial isn’t real, and neither are society’s standards of beauty." -- Jesse Rosten
My favorite line is "results so dramatic they're almost unreal(istic)." And it's true. How sad is it, that you can't believe anything you see anymore. Thanks to Jesse Rosten and his crew for sharing this message.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Mixed Messages
"She's one of my best friends.
She believes in me.
She has awesome style.
She inspires me.
Together we can dream big.
We can go to the moon, dance with the royal ballet,
nurse a puppy back to health, open a bakery, teach the next generation.
She shows me that I can be anything. And that's everything."
This beautiful message almost brought tears to my eyes.
And then I realized it was a commercial for Barbie. Go ahead, watch it.
I have mixed feelings about this ad. On the one hand, I feel like girls should be saying that about their own mothers, friends, or heroes. Barbie shouldn't be replacing actual people as inspiration. Girls should seek encouragement from within their home and family, right? But on the other hand, what if they don't have a good role model in their home or life? Do we leave it up to Barbie to fill in the gap? A plastic doll? Hold that thought.
Apparently Barbie has 125 careers and counting. Have you heard about her latest adventure?
Meet tokidoki Barbie, complete with pink hair, an off-the-shoulder top, super-mini skirt, too-tall stilettos, a cactus dog named "Bastardino," and an anorexic figure slathered in tattoos -- some of which you can only see if she's undressed. What kind of message is Barbie sending now?
Apparently she's being marketed as a "collector's doll" and won't be found in toy stores. But no matter what Mattel may claim, a Barbie is a Barbie -- little girls can't tell the difference between a "girls'" Barbie and "collector's" Barbie. Since she is so "inspiring" and has "awesome style," I fear some girls will see this Barbie as acceptable, or worse, someone she wants to be.
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy Barbies. Let's just make sure our girls are getting the right messages from the right sources. A doll shouldn't be the positive role model in a girl's life. You can be her best friend that believes in her, the one that inspires her to dream big. You can be the one that shows her that she can be anything. And that's everything.
She believes in me.
She has awesome style.
She inspires me.
Together we can dream big.
We can go to the moon, dance with the royal ballet,
nurse a puppy back to health, open a bakery, teach the next generation.
She shows me that I can be anything. And that's everything."
This beautiful message almost brought tears to my eyes.
And then I realized it was a commercial for Barbie. Go ahead, watch it.
I have mixed feelings about this ad. On the one hand, I feel like girls should be saying that about their own mothers, friends, or heroes. Barbie shouldn't be replacing actual people as inspiration. Girls should seek encouragement from within their home and family, right? But on the other hand, what if they don't have a good role model in their home or life? Do we leave it up to Barbie to fill in the gap? A plastic doll? Hold that thought.
Apparently Barbie has 125 careers and counting. Have you heard about her latest adventure?
Meet tokidoki Barbie, complete with pink hair, an off-the-shoulder top, super-mini skirt, too-tall stilettos, a cactus dog named "Bastardino," and an anorexic figure slathered in tattoos -- some of which you can only see if she's undressed. What kind of message is Barbie sending now?
Apparently she's being marketed as a "collector's doll" and won't be found in toy stores. But no matter what Mattel may claim, a Barbie is a Barbie -- little girls can't tell the difference between a "girls'" Barbie and "collector's" Barbie. Since she is so "inspiring" and has "awesome style," I fear some girls will see this Barbie as acceptable, or worse, someone she wants to be.
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy Barbies. Let's just make sure our girls are getting the right messages from the right sources. A doll shouldn't be the positive role model in a girl's life. You can be her best friend that believes in her, the one that inspires her to dream big. You can be the one that shows her that she can be anything. And that's everything.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
An Easter Declaration
As much as I enjoyed egg hunts and baskets of goodies with my 15 month old son this Easter, nothing truly compares to the true joy I feel for my Savior Jesus Christ and the real meaning of this holiday.
I add my testimony that I know He lives. The words of a hymn written by Samuel Medley embody my beliefs perfectly.
Text: Samuel Medley, 1738–1799. Included in the first LDS hymnbook, 1835.
Music: Lewis D. Edwards, 1858–1921
Job 19:25
Psalm 104:33–34
- LDS.org
I add my testimony that I know He lives. The words of a hymn written by Samuel Medley embody my beliefs perfectly.
1. I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.
2. He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.
3. He lives, my kind, wise heav’nly Friend.
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing.
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.
He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing.
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.
He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.
4. He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!”
He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!”
He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!”
Text: Samuel Medley, 1738–1799. Included in the first LDS hymnbook, 1835.
Music: Lewis D. Edwards, 1858–1921
Job 19:25
Psalm 104:33–34
- LDS.org
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps
This is too good to pass up or paraphrase.
Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye.
Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10" (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her "Xtina" phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes.
You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word "Juicy" was written on her backside.
Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. ... I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she's not even in middle school yet.
Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing the "Ashley," a push-up bra for girls who normally are too young to have anything to push up. Originally it was marketed for girls as young as 7, but after public outcry, it raised its intended audience to the wise old age of 12. I wonder how do people initiate a conversation in the office about the undeveloped chest of elementary school girls without someone nearby thinking they're pedophiles?
Push-up bikini controversy
What kind of PowerPoint presentation was shown to the Abercrombie executives that persuaded them to green light such a product?
That there was a demand to make little girls hot?
I mean, that is the purpose of a push-up bra, right? To enhance sex appeal by lifting up, pushing together and basically showcasing the wearer's breasts. Now, thanks to AF Kids, girls don't have to wait until high school to feel self-conscious about their, uhm, girls. They can start almost as soon as they're potty trained. Maybe this fall the retailer should consider keeping a plastic surgeon on site for free consultations.
We've been here with Abercrombie before -- if you recall, about 10 years ago they sold thongs for 10-year-olds -- but they're hardly alone in pitching inappropriate clothing to young girls. Four years ago the popular "Bratz" franchise introduced padded bras called "bralettes" for girls as young as six. That was also around the time the good folks at Wal-Mart rolled out a pair of pink panties in its junior department with the phrase "Who Needs Credit Cards" printed on the front.
I guess I've been out-of-the-loop and didn't realize there's been an ongoing stampede of 10-year-old girls driving to the mall with their tiny fists full of cash demanding sexier apparel.
What's that you say? Ten-year-olds can't drive? They don't have money, either? Well, how else are they getting ahold of these push-up bras and whore-friendly panties?
Their parents?
Noooo, couldn't be.
What adult who wants a daughter to grow up with high self-esteem would even consider purchasing such items? What parent is looking at their sweet, little girl thinking, "She would be perfect if she just had a little bit more up top."
And then I remember the little girl at the airport. And the girls we've all seen at the mall. And the kiddie beauty pageants.
And then I realize as creepy as it is to think a store like Abercrombie is offering something like the "Ashley", the fact remains that sex only sells because people are buying it. No successful retailer would consider introducing an item like a padded bikini top for kindergarteners if they didn't think people would buy it.
If they didn't think parents would buy it, which begs the question: What in the hell is wrong with us?
It's easy to blast companies for introducing the sexy wear, but our ire really should be directed at the parents who think low rise jeans for a second grader is cute. They are the ones who are spending the money to fuel this budding trend. They are the ones who are suppose to decide what's appropriate for their young children to wear, not executives looking to brew up controversy or turn a profit.
I get it, Rihanna's really popular. But that's a pretty weak reason for someone to dress their little girl like her.
I don't care how popular Lil' Wayne is, my son knows I would break both of his legs long before I would allow him to walk out of the house with his pants falling off his butt. Such a stance doesn't always makes me popular -- and the house does get tense from time to time -- but I'm his father, not his friend.
Friends bow to peer pressure. Parents say, "No, and that's the end of it."
The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he'll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn't allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.
Maybe I'm a Tiger Dad.
Maybe I should mind my own business.
Or maybe I'm just a concerned parent worried about little girls like the one I saw at the airport.
In 2007, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?
A line needs to be drawn, but not by Abercrombie. Not by Britney Spears. And not by these little girls who don't know better and desperately need their parents to be parents and not 40-year-old BFFs.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.
Amen.
Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps
April 19, 2011 8:52 a.m. EDT
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye.
Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10" (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her "Xtina" phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes.
You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word "Juicy" was written on her backside.
Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. ... I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she's not even in middle school yet.
Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing the "Ashley," a push-up bra for girls who normally are too young to have anything to push up. Originally it was marketed for girls as young as 7, but after public outcry, it raised its intended audience to the wise old age of 12. I wonder how do people initiate a conversation in the office about the undeveloped chest of elementary school girls without someone nearby thinking they're pedophiles?
Push-up bikini controversy
What kind of PowerPoint presentation was shown to the Abercrombie executives that persuaded them to green light such a product?
That there was a demand to make little girls hot?
I mean, that is the purpose of a push-up bra, right? To enhance sex appeal by lifting up, pushing together and basically showcasing the wearer's breasts. Now, thanks to AF Kids, girls don't have to wait until high school to feel self-conscious about their, uhm, girls. They can start almost as soon as they're potty trained. Maybe this fall the retailer should consider keeping a plastic surgeon on site for free consultations.
We've been here with Abercrombie before -- if you recall, about 10 years ago they sold thongs for 10-year-olds -- but they're hardly alone in pitching inappropriate clothing to young girls. Four years ago the popular "Bratz" franchise introduced padded bras called "bralettes" for girls as young as six. That was also around the time the good folks at Wal-Mart rolled out a pair of pink panties in its junior department with the phrase "Who Needs Credit Cards" printed on the front.
I guess I've been out-of-the-loop and didn't realize there's been an ongoing stampede of 10-year-old girls driving to the mall with their tiny fists full of cash demanding sexier apparel.
What's that you say? Ten-year-olds can't drive? They don't have money, either? Well, how else are they getting ahold of these push-up bras and whore-friendly panties?
Their parents?
Noooo, couldn't be.
What adult who wants a daughter to grow up with high self-esteem would even consider purchasing such items? What parent is looking at their sweet, little girl thinking, "She would be perfect if she just had a little bit more up top."
And then I remember the little girl at the airport. And the girls we've all seen at the mall. And the kiddie beauty pageants.
And then I realize as creepy as it is to think a store like Abercrombie is offering something like the "Ashley", the fact remains that sex only sells because people are buying it. No successful retailer would consider introducing an item like a padded bikini top for kindergarteners if they didn't think people would buy it.
If they didn't think parents would buy it, which begs the question: What in the hell is wrong with us?
It's easy to blast companies for introducing the sexy wear, but our ire really should be directed at the parents who think low rise jeans for a second grader is cute. They are the ones who are spending the money to fuel this budding trend. They are the ones who are suppose to decide what's appropriate for their young children to wear, not executives looking to brew up controversy or turn a profit.
I get it, Rihanna's really popular. But that's a pretty weak reason for someone to dress their little girl like her.
I don't care how popular Lil' Wayne is, my son knows I would break both of his legs long before I would allow him to walk out of the house with his pants falling off his butt. Such a stance doesn't always makes me popular -- and the house does get tense from time to time -- but I'm his father, not his friend.
Friends bow to peer pressure. Parents say, "No, and that's the end of it."
The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he'll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn't allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.
Maybe I'm a Tiger Dad.
Maybe I should mind my own business.
Or maybe I'm just a concerned parent worried about little girls like the one I saw at the airport.
In 2007, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?
A line needs to be drawn, but not by Abercrombie. Not by Britney Spears. And not by these little girls who don't know better and desperately need their parents to be parents and not 40-year-old BFFs.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.
Amen.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Miss Representation
Dearest Daughters,
I really really want to see this.
Miss Representation was a selection at this year's Sundance Film Festival. From the organization's website: "Miss Representation explores women’s under-representation in positions of power and influence and challenges the limited and often disparaging portrayal of women in the media."
Take a minute and check out MissRepresentation.org, especially read up on how you can help change this trend.
I really really want to see this.
Miss Representation was a selection at this year's Sundance Film Festival. From the organization's website: "Miss Representation explores women’s under-representation in positions of power and influence and challenges the limited and often disparaging portrayal of women in the media."
Take a minute and check out MissRepresentation.org, especially read up on how you can help change this trend.
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