Friday 4 February 2011

What’s the price of beauty?


I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today other than the next installment of the Black History Month. Then I took a gander through the catalog of movies just added to Hulu.com. Why yes I procrastinate regularly. Anywho, I happened on this film and thought hmm that sounds pretty good let's see what it's about.

I wish I could say I am surprised by what the gentleman in the film "America the Beautiful " discovered, but unfortunately I'm a woman living in America, a black woman living in America. There are few woman who look like me on the cover of magazines, and whenever they are, it's a 'weight-loss' edition.  Very few times have there been dark skinned black women, who were over a certain size or who are even not airbrushed.

One of my favorite actresses came out after her magazine cover came out and called them out on the airbrushing, perhaps you remember it? Kate Winslet, set the record straight, and pissed off a lot of people in the process, yet she was very brave to stay true to herself and to be honest with her fans, by letting them know, those were not her legs.   There have been many different instances where celebrity women have called the beauty editors out for their editing of the women and showing what is not a real standard of beauty, considering the average size of American women is 12 and the average Hollywood 'starlet' is a 0.

Recently there were reports of models collapsing and being rushed to the ER because they were having tachycardia (elevated heart rates) due to the not eating properly. There were several women who died, and a high ranking model who slipped away due to anoxeria.

Now all you have to do is google binge eating and you will find websites which advocate on ways that help you keep the weight off. these sites are run by young women who have no idea the damage they are truly doing to themselves. All for that 'perfect body'.

It's sickening that in  a country where so much food is available people are willing to starve themselves to death to have this 'perfect body'. Which is never truly perfect. yes I know for many of these women it's about control, there is generally something in their lives they aren't in control of and eating or not eating is the only thing they have control over.

Is this the kind of society we want? Where our daughters die because they are seeking an unrealistic image of 'perfection' that is re-enforced daily by tv, music videos, ads in magazines, even by their friends who have also being suckered into the ideal?? What is going to happen in a few years when or if these young women survive and realize that they have damaged themselves to the point of infertility? How many millions if not billions will they spend chasing the dream of something they had for free before they recklessly threw it away??

And let's not pretend it's just the girls, young boys are hurting themselves too chasing the dream of being 'buff and rippled' like the latest "Hollywood heart throb". I have had the displeasure of working with and helping young men who have downed Red bull with Viagra a the age of 20-26 and created an erection that has lasted well over the four hour limit, which means they are really dumbing down themselves as brain cells die off due to all the blood going in one direction, simply so they can 'f**k like porn stars'. @_@

Then there are the young men who are using steroids, and although it's not talked about in the press as much anymore it's still there, every once in a while we will get a young man who has a heart attack (also called an MI) out at 26, due to the elevated blood pressure and heart rates, massive swelling (edema), or they are bleeding out due to an accident, that should be relatively minor, but because their blood doesn't clot properly anymore, it's a big deal. Or they could be throwing clots like hell.  Not to mention the shrinking of the testicles which increases the infertility risk, but their not worried about that they are sexy.

"I pick things up and put them down"---planet fitness

Sigh the sad part, I rode the train into New York sitting in front of two such young men who were talking about it, about how much better they look now than before, how much more defined their muscles were, and until that moment, i must admit I was one of the women who had ogled their fine physiques when they entered the train, but knowing they got it from drugs killed any attraction they had for me.

i know there are no easy solutions to these problems, but we have to face them, change the way our advertisers are allowed to market to us, and we can change the way our children and ourselves are viewed, or view what true beauty is. Yes it's real nice and pretty to look at, but what it takes to get there is not. if you have signs or symptoms of any of the eating disorders, please seek help. if you recognize yourself saying some of these things in front of your children please stop, we are the only ones who can break the cycle.

Steroid image from esteroid.com ( I don't co-sign any of the shiggity they are spewing on their page,O_o but the image was perfect and i have to give credit where it is due so there I linked it )
Information about effects of steroids can be found on the Partnership for a Drug-free America website. More medical information can be found here.

Be Blessed


1 comment:

  1. I couldn't agree more. I'm actually pleased that I and most of the women in my family have junk in our trunks so my son can see what real women look like.

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete

I love my readers, and your comments help me to know how you feel, so please share.
Thank You and Goddess Bless.