Don't Believe The Hype

Jaguars, Mini Coopers etc

 
 

Wow. 

They must really be going for the smart, educated 18-35 year old female demographic with this one. 

Ooh la la, c'est le celebrity hype... en francais!

Apparently North American girls/young women aren't the only ones suffering from growing up in a culture that rewards women who look good far better than those who do good.

Say Bonjour to La France, where the Cannes film festival was held last week.  Glamour factor: HIGH

"I want to be part of the jet set crowd. I want to be a VIP," said 15-year-old Claudia Sorrentino, wearing a miniskirt and skinny top as she scanned Cannes' main Croisette boulevard for famous actors and producers" reports a yahoo news article

"Be special," said her friend Jamila Smoini, 19, who works in a home for the elderly in southern Toulon while dreaming of a Hollywood career. "Even before the festival, we think about what to wear, how to style our hair."

"It would be my dream to be on the front cover of a magazine," said 15-year-old Amelie Bonfigio, starting a timidly voiced song with Lisa as bemused tourists stood by."

And finally this quote, that really disturbs me:

"To be honest,  Paris Hilton is my perfect model," the energetic teenager said, referring to the media-savvy hotel heiress. "She has charm and is classy. She has everything. We have nothing, really," she added."

Next year I am SO jetting to Cannes so I can hand out copies of All Made Up and hold guerilla support groups or something.  Because if a generation of French girls is growing up thinking that Paris Hilton is the perfect role model and that they have nothing, then how can I sleep? 

These girls' quotes reveal how essential it is that as a culture we start to celebrate other women, to make sure women of other accomplishments and talents (beyond being thin and photogenic) get the same glamour and financial rewards that stars do.  Because until they do, teens will keep on seeing that being a celeb is the best, surest pathway to a great life.  And who can blame them (or us?) for wanting that for themselves?

Way more about me than you've ever wanted to know

An interview I did with New York Newsday newspaper ran yesterday under the title "Ex-Model Gives Inner Beauty Tips"... so hopefully tons of people took a minute out of their busy days honoring those who have died for our coun--I mean barbequeing--to read all about me.

I like the fact that the reporter included that so many of us who are out to change the (including me) are only "almost" over all these influences.  I don't think that positions me as 'weak'... I think it's just reality. I  mean, so many of us are influenced by what we see and want some of it at the same time that we are frustrated by it and try to resist it. It's like in that TLC video for the song Upretty, where the overweight girl has photos of models and stars plastered around her room to inspire her, but she seems to know that she'll never look like that, so she stuffs herself to numb the pain.

I've never been in that situation, but I think it illustrates just how complex and powerful these issues are....

Yesterday was QUITE a day!

First: I did a radio interview with Murphy and Jo in the Morning in Denver... and they were great.  They really cared about talking about celebrity hype and the problems young women face because of it.

THEN: I went on Breakast Television and chatted about body image, media imagery etc

AND LATER: I went to a reading with Marain Keyes, author of Sushi For Beginners... and let me tell you how A-MAZing she is.  She's smart, adorable, LOL funny, zany and so thankful for her success.  She talked about being an alcoholic at age 30, trying to become a writer and just how grateful she is to meet her readers.  Plus she's this tiny sprite of woman who wears really loud colors and has a sassy Irish accent.

Best part:  I gave her a copy of All Made Up---and SHE had ME autograph it for HER.

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Now that my book is out, people are asking me more and more what I'm reading, and what books out there I think are worth checking out.  Hard to keep up with everything even thogh I read A LOT, but I put together a list on Amazon of some of my favorites.  It's called "       Best Books on Body Image, Girls, Self Esteem and Pop Culture."   Some of the books are FOR girls and some are ABOUT girls.. but either way, I've read every one I listed (and can probably quote you from them!) and think they are important and fun books.  I hope you'll check it out.  I'll be adding new books that I think make the cut as I keep reading... and would love to check out any suggestions you might have. 

 

I'm posting crrrrraaaazy early today because I've been up for hours and have already done television AND radio interviews with Vancouver BC and Denver Colorado.  Whew.

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Remember back in the day when I mentioned something about actress Natasha Richardson and her negative self talk that she blabs about all the time?  Well, I found the picture that I mentioned of her that was in the New York Times magazine....  And here's what the caption says:

"My feeling beautiful has always been linked to being five pounds less."

Grrrr.  I mean, I know that we all feel that way and celebs are allowed to, too.  But it just seems so irresponsible to me for women who are held up as icons to blab about stuff like this.

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But speaking of being five pounds less, this blog's resident male reader, Ran, emailed me yesterday about an important new book that's coming out.  (Wait.  What?  There are other important books out there besides mine?  Shut UP!)  It's called  Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food and it's by Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.  Chew on This is aimed at 9- to 15-year olds and it takes on the fast food and soda industries, the realities of meat production, junk food additives, and the sorry treatment of fast food restaurant employees. It gives teens an inside look at the history of the fast food industry, and enough information to start making wiser choices about the food they eat.

I'm totally into this book and plan to get a copy ASAP since nutrition and lifestyle are so closely tied to body image issues in our culture.   It seems to me that the more kids and teens know about being healthy and what healthy actually is (cause it's not what's pictured everywhere!) the better they will be in their own bodies and skins..... Plus just as eating disorders are a manifestation of body issues, so too is obesity for some people. 

If you read this before I get to it, email me about it!  I'm dying to hear what you think....

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And finally, I'm off to see Chick Lit writer  Marian Keyes tonight.  I'm looking forward to it since she's an amazing success.  But to be honest, I haven't read any of her books yet.  Sushi for Beginners is the most famous, I think.  I'm going because I'm a firm believer that Chick Lit...at least some of it  (I don't really go for all the Sex in the City/I can't find a man themed stuff) is important because it's closely tied to young women's reality today.  I HATE it when I hear people say "Oh, that's just Chick Lit"  or "That's a chick flick"  as if things that have to do with women's lives are a) boring b) irrelevant and c) allowed to be dismissed in such a crude manner.

Will report back on what Marian is like and where her work seems to fit into the whole debate....

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and finally fo real.  I've heard from some teens who are just finishing All Made Up and who tell me they want to post their thoughts and opinions on that blog.  But no matter what age you are, if you've read the book and have some rants you'd like to share... I encourage you to head on over to the Back Talk Blog and speak up!

Doncha love it when good things happen?

Hasbro toys has announced it's not going to go ahead with it's Pussycat Dolls line of toys for girls

The company issued the following statement:

“Hasbro and Interscope have jointly agreed that Hasbro will not move forward with the line of dolls based on the recording group, The Pussycat Dolls. Interscope’s current creative direction and images for the recording group are focused on a much older target than we had anticipated at the time of our original discussions, thereby making a doll line inappropriate for Hasbro.” (Note: Interscope is the record label that created and manages the Pussycat Dolls group.)"

I can't stop thinking how great it would be if the whole song was re-written with smart lyrics ie:

"Doncha wish your girlfriend was smart like me

Doncha wish your girlfriend was successful like me...

Doncha?"

Anyone have some snappy suggestions?

 

Media imagery + girls = pressure; girls + pressure = drug habit?

  I want you to blow this photo up.  Go on.  Just click on it.  And look at what she is wearing.  Check out all the details.  The thong; the hankerchief top; the bra...

And then explain  everything to me.....

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In other news:  Did you know that a study came out pretty recently that says teen girls are catching up with boys in the use of illicit substances and alcohol and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use?

That's bad... but what's even worse is the reported reason that girls' usage is increasing.  From the study's press release:

"Many girls experience a dramatic transition during early adolescence, marked by a decline in their self-esteem and self-confidence. And girls are more than twice as likely as boys to report depression. Indeed, surveys show that young females tend to use alcohol or drugs to improve mood, increase confidence, reduce tension, cope with problems or lose inhibitions. Another often-cited reason among girls for their substance abuse is weight loss. In fact, girls' use of diet pills is up to four times that of boys."

So one interpretation of that is: Girls are turning to drugs to deal with weight loss and body image issues.

The Pussy Cat Dolls: Rock n' Roll Role Models or Part of the Problem?

Sorry I missed posting yesteray! 
I took a mental health day (makes it sound like I live on the edge doesn't it? ;-)

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    The very excellent non profit group Dads and Daughters has launched a new action against Hasbro toys for creating a new line of dolls based on The Pussy Cat Dolls, that singing group famous for  anti-sisterhood anthems like "Dontcha Wish Your Girl Friend Was Hot LIke Me."  They also dress like real ladies as you can tell, and have even helped create a "sexual cabaret show" in Los Angeles.

Apparently, Hasbro, which owns brands like Playskool, Milton-Bradley, Play-Doh and My Little Pony,   plans to market the dolls to girls as young as six.

Susan Linn, Harvard Professor and author of  the A-Mazing book called Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children from the Onslaught of Marketing and Advertising, is also speaking out against Hasbro's decision to partner with the Pussycat Dolls.  She's calling Hasbro "irresponsible"  and I think that just about nails it. 

I'm not against sexy images (although I think that women who use this technique as a form of empowerment are sorely mistaken)  but I am against marketing these images to impressionable girls who end up using them as benchmarks because they aren't offset by enough images of other accomplished women.

The good news is that DADs makes it easy to tell Hasbro how you feel.  Just go to this page of their website and follow the directions for sending an email directly to the president of Hasbro toys.  I'll be doing it TODAY and I hope you'll join me.

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And as an aside note, I HATE when the word "pussy" gets used all tongue-in-cheek.  Like do the P-cat Dolls really think they are blazing a trail of liberation, or even humor, using it as part of their name?  Because all it does, in my POV, is underscore that no matter what they sing about, they are primarily their female parts.   Which further advances the tease dynamic that implies "I'm as sexed up as possible (I'm taking to you Jessica Simpson and the early, teen Brtiney and a million other pop culture icons) but I'm really just a chaste. 'good girl."   

And speaking of the P-word, there's this ad campaign running right now for Mini Cooper cars that says "Cheetahs Are Pussies"  (ie  Jaguar cars aren't as cool as Mini Coopers").  I gotta find a billboard and snap a photo.

The problem with using the word this way, in my opinion, is that it normalizes it.  And just as now people are like "Hey Beeeyotch!" as a term of endearment.. I fear that's what's going to happen next with the P-word.

What a mess

The media finally catch up

Two interesting articles have appeared in the past two days about celebrity hype.... 

One had the good sense to quote me and mention  my book All Made Up: A Girl's Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty.

Check out a great deconstruction ("Pop Singer Makes Slaving for Beauty Look Ugly") about Pink and Stupid Girls at Women's eNews  and another smart piece about media aimed at young women ("Return of the Brainless Hussies") at Salon.com  (Note:  to read a full article at Salon you either have to be a subscriber or get a 'day pass' which is free.  All you do is click to read the article, but before seeing the rest of the text you have to look at a full page ad.  Perfect time to check your email and then continue to the rest of the piece.  It's well worth it!)

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And I just wanted to say how COOOOOL my national radio tour has been.  Like when I was on the Leeza Gibbons show and she kept saying "I LOVE this book."  Or when I got on the line with DJ Karen Clauss KSMG FM in San Antonio.... and she cancelled on me on the spot because she wants to be bring me on for a whole half hour sometime in the next few weeks instead so we can really get into these issues and how they affect young women. (I'll keep you posted about when that's supposed to air).

It's been fantastic... and encouraging to know that the media--the entities that shape our pop culture--are taking about these important issues...

And hi to all my new readers who have come on over from Mariska's blog!  I'm having a blast reading all your smart comments... so thanks for posting!

OMG

And these people are held up as role models?  And we care what happens to them?  And people dream of being like them. looking like them, acting like them, living their lives?

Watch this video of Paris Hilton and Brandon Davis ranting about and laughing at Lindsay Lohan only if you want to be mortified that people like this are on our planet--AND that the world is on a first-name basis with them, while other people, particularly other accomplished women, are largely ignored. 

It is absolutely untenable that these are the people who are considered our "ruling class"/ trend setters/ taste makers/people who matter/people who are on the A List/people who get to cut the line at clubs etc

She's an idiot.  And he's gross and offensive.  ESPECIALLY his crack about Lindsay being "poor" because she is only worth $7 million, while he's got an oil fortune behind him.

Truly, I think I need to take the rest of the day off.....