More Than Meets the Eye

Growing up as a teenager in today's society, I often feel pressured to appear a certain way in order to feel "accepted." It's challenging to keep up with such pressures, especially with the multitude of other stress triggers, such as balancing school work, friendships and family. Too often, I find myself waking up in the morning focused on what I look like before going to school, rather than checking in with my mental health. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love clothing and fashion, but I do believe it is necessary to find a happy medium between focusing on physical appearance and emotional stability. 

Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend a religious retreat called "Kairos." This is a four day retreat, focused on developing friendships and spiritual relationships. Kairos is about furthering and bettering yourself by allowing you to share and develop connections with your peers in a more meaningful and enriching way than perhaps is possible with the multitude of distractions we have in our everyday lives. While on the retreat, I showered once, never applied make-up and wore clothes that most would not consider "stylish" or "aesthetically pleasing." In turn, I found myself happier. Without focusing on my appearance, I was able to focus more on important aspects of life, such as developing outstanding bonds with my peers and adults. 

Recently, I found a song by India.Arie called "Video" that I believe relates to this idea of appearance. My favorite lyric in this song is, "my worth is not determined by the price of my clothes." I believe that India.Arie does a wonderful job in this song challenging the societal pressures of appearance. She reminds us that beauty should not be determined simply by what we wear, but rather how we treat others and how we view ourselves. We're all beautiful in our own ways, and we need to embrace that beauty rather than conform to what society tries to dictate to us through media or other outlets.

As I write this post today, I find it interesting to notice how big of a role appearance plays in our lives and what I can do to change this so that emotional health and forming relationships with others outweighs aesthetics and appearance. I hope that through this blog, I am able to help my readers develop new perspectives on the role of appearance in our lives, and therefore challenge the societal pressures that come along with it. I would love to hear any feedback from my readers about the role appearance plays in your life, or just society in general. 

Halloween Costume Sparks Controversy

Over the past few weeks, I noticed on my Facebook page that many of my friends were posting campaigns to remove a Halloween costume from HalloweenParty2013.com. After further research, I came to learn that the costume featured a skeleton dress with a measuring tape belt and a badge labeled "Anna Rexia." The website went further to create a tagline with the costume stating that, "You can never be too rich or too thin." Below is a video that discusses the costume:                            

In turn, this Halloween costume has faced a vast amount of criticism and illustrates the issue of making light of body image disorders, including anorexia. The video above demonstrates backlash against the costume by including comments from others, including an Independent blogger. Her comment includes, "A skeleton costume is understandable – traditional even – but attempting to turn Anorexia into something sexy by throwing it on a plastic, fake boobed, airbrushed, blonde sex bomb? There are no words." 

I, too, was outraged by this Halloween costume. The idea of making fun of a serious illness that affects nearly 8 million Americans is uncalled for and unnecessary. In addition, I agreed with the blogger's comment that illustrates the issues of identity and appearance through figures that misrepresent the average female. It is important to note how the media is sending the message that the values of girls and women lie in the appearance, because this can cause women to feel worthless and disempowered. 

Throughout my investigation of this Halloween costume, I've realized the incredible role of media and the impact it has on appearance. Without the backlash of bloggers and commentators, or the coverage of mainstream news media, including Huffington Post, the "Anna Rexia" Halloween costume would have been deemed acceptable. While I am disgusted by the creators, manufacturers, and sellers of this costume, I am also proud of the multitude of people that stepped up and acted upon their feelings by speaking out against the costume. 

Through blogging, online campaigns, and other discussions, I hope that people continue to raise their voice and awareness of the dangers of the media, therefore teaching media literacy. So, readers, I challenge you to do the same. Whether you comment on my blog, sign an online petition, or simply speaking to friends and family, my goal is to engage others and teach them to recognize the power of the media in terms of our perspectives on appearance and identity.