Beautiful Doesn't Mean Perfect

Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed the other day, I came across a post from a friend titled, "Because Who Is Perfect?" Intrigued, I decided to examine this further. The video below comes from Pro Infirmis, an organization for the disabled. The group created a series of mannequins based on real people with physical disabilities in attempt to raise awareness for people with special needs.  

As a fashion lover, I immediately related to the impact of the industry on aesthetics and appearance. With smooth, plastic bodies lining the windows in nearly every retail store, our perception of beauty is incredibly skewed. I'm sure that many of my readers can relate to the internal and external pressures we face to look "perfect," whatever that even means. I found that this project is important to recognize because of its efforts to include body diversity, thus abandoning the "cookie cutter" mentality of beauty in terms of weight, height, body type and age. 

As an English student, I saw the relationship between this video and some of the essential questions we are discussing in class. Specifically, I related it to the question, "how do we understand others' experiences?" Using the idea of empathy, this project from Pro Infirmis allowed me to notice and value the struggles individuals with disabilities face, as well as the pressure that the media places on people to be perfect. As we discussed in my English class, empathy is important to learn for developing relationships in a multitude of situations. Promoting the acceptance of people with special needs and combating the idea of perfection increases empathy by provoking reflection, as the video above illustrates by showing a wide range of reactions from people as they walk by the store front. 

As readers, I hope that you found this video interesting and take some time to reflect on the power of empathy. Typically, those who are able to feel empathy towards others have more successful and caring relationships where communication about emotions is prevalent. I know that empathy has many pros and cons, which is why I would love to hear your thoughts on a few of the questions that were raised for me when discussing empathy in class and delving further into it with this blog post. 

• What does empathy do to us? What does empathy do for us?
• How does empathy impact our identity?
• Is it possible to be too empathetic?
• How does appearance shape our identity?
• What does perfection mean to you?

Through the Veil

In my English class, we are reading a memoir called "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi. With a group of Islamic women, Azar Nafisi teaches forbidden Western classics and explores the connections between the characters in the novels and the Islamic women. This powerful memoir demonstrates the tyranny in Iran coinciding with the liberating literature.

"Reading Lolita in Tehran" heavily discusses the role of appearance in the lives of Iranian women. Nafisi, the author, was fired from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear a veil. Through her book group, Nafisi allows the women to shed their mandatory veils and robes, loosen their hair and relax without the oppressive nature of the Revolutionary Guard, who constantly criticize women for their appearance. In both "Persepolis,"a movie we watched for both Social Studies and English, as well as "Reading Lolita in Tehran," women are punished for wearing colorful socks, as they are seen as "sexually appealing," a threat in Islamic culture. Listening to the perspective of Islamic women on the veil has opened my eyes to the complexity of the veil debate.

Currently, politicians across the world are discussing where women should be allowed to wear veils. This controversy brings up a multitude of questions and viewpoints. While some view the veil as limiting, other see it as empowering. The cloth is assigned so many different roles in society that it is difficult to understand its true purpose. From Texas to Paris, the veil has gained prominence and been the center of attention of court rulings, workplace issues, and debates on whether or not it should be banned.

Ultimately, it is important to recognize both viewpoints in the veil debate in order to better understand why such controversy has been brought to the floor in the first place. Many non-Muslims involved in the debate view the veil has a symbol of repression. This idea is especially prominent in societies like Iran and Saudi Arabia, where women have second class status to men. Many Muslim women, however, believe that by wearing the veil they are following God's wish. In addition, many Muslims believe that wearing the veil is a way of staying true to their culture and rejecting Western temptations.

An Islamic girl protests her right to wear the veil.

I have found it difficult for myself to pick a specific view on the veil debate because I am not familiar with what it is like to wear a veil. I cannot even imagine what it is like to have restrictions on what I wear, especially from a government source. As readers, I hope that you have learned more about the impact of veiling. I would like to hear your thoughts on the veil debate and question "To what extent does our appearance impact who we are?" 

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.