From her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes:
"Thank you to the foreign press for recognizing this show and this character who is truly bringing a new face to television... and such a beautiful, beautiful message about beauty that lies deeper than what we can see. It's such an honor to play a role that I hear from young girls on a daily basis how it makes them feel worthy and lovable and that they have more to offer the world than they thought. It's such an honor to play this role...."
This speech makes me cry.
It makes me think of all the emails and letters I opened as an editor at teen magazines (or that I still get thru my site and blog) from girls who so desperately want to be like what they see in the media. They want the same affirmation and attention for themselves... and who can blame them given the images, icons and beauty standards that dominate our pop culture. I truly hope that America and her character Betty continue to make such a positive impact.
******
Yep.. that's what I think... and I said so today in an article titled "Breaking the mold: Winning actresses Ferrera, Hudson give beauty a new face" in today's Chicago Sun Times.
This is my bit, but I totally recommend checking out the article in full:
...That's the message touted by 35-year-old Audrey Brashich, media awareness activist and author of All Made Up: A Girl's Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype ... and Celebrating Real Beauty (Walker & Company, $9.95). This former teen model is encouraged that Hudson and Ferrera are being celebrated, but "what I'm waiting to see is whether in Jennifer Hudson's real life or the 'Ugly Betty' character there ends up being pressures on them to conform [to mainstream standards] or for the character to buy in a bit more."
When Brashich leads middle and junior high school seminars, she makes girls aware that advertisers, marketers and media have a financial stake in their constant unhappiness with their bodies.
"I try to reinforce the way they are today is real beauty," says Brashich, who lives in New York and Vancouver, B.C. "It's the standards we need to work on changing and altering and fixing."
Pretty cool, hunh?
Comments