"I will put hostility between the Serpent and the Woman" (Gen 3:16a). Ever since the dawn of humanity women have been oppressed by a forces of society and culture which are ultimately controlled and influenced by dark forces beyond our ken. One major battleground today in the Western world concerns the topic of beauty.
I typed in beauty into Google's image search, in order to see what sort of beautiful imagery would come out. Out of the 20 images which came back, 19 were of women. The word "beauty" in today's society seems to be synonymous with women. Indeed, we could be more specific and say its young pretty women, primarily Caucasian, that seem to be associated with the word beauty. If you do a regular Google search, most of the results concern cosmetics and make-up. Therefore I conclude that the beauty on the web is primarily about young women using cosmetics to look more attractive.
It really saddens to me see what the Western world and Media have done to women. It more than saddens me, it actually makes me angry if I stop to think about. Why is the media hell-bent on destroying the self-esteem of women? Continually, whether you buy a men's magazine, a women's magazine, or any type of magazine for that matter, our senses are assaulted with touched-up, brushed-up, artificial images of women. Many of you have probably seen the Dove video, but to clarify what I'm talking about, you can watch it below:
I also hate how the Media seems obsessed with skinny girls. Most men I know do not voice a preference for skinny girls. Its getting to the point where my eyes are hurting from watching gaunt near-death looking "celebrities". Its one of the many places in culture and society where the media do not represent the views of the majority. In fact, the media rarely does. Noam Chomsky has been banging on about this for years. The Media represents the opinion of an elite group in society who have their own interests, desires and preferences. This group, in my opinion, have little virtue to speak of, and unfortunately influence and control a lot of the world. Just think how much control the Western world is under when it comes to issues of the self-esteem of young women. In fact, the super-modelling world, which is my opinion is almost completely in the domain of darkness, is just completely out of it. These days a women who would be considered normal is now a "plus-size model". WTF???
So now ladies who are perfectly fit and normal and created by the hand of God are "plus-size". And that's meant to be a positive message? Excuse me whilst I puke.
So WTF is wrong with the modelling and fashion industry? I submit to you that one of the problems is that in reality a small number of homosexual men are running the industry, and it is their desires and aspirations which are flowing down to the catwalks, and in turn shaping the mindsets and self-image of millions of women and young girls around the world. Now before I get lynched, let me clarify that I am not saying that someone is evil or wrong because they are gay or lesbian. Neither am I saying that this is the only or root-problem with the industry. But according to a recent article in The Times newspaper:
"The fashion industry is 70% gay men, and their opinion far outweighs the 30% of women and straight men,” says another international stylist. “Projecting that little-boy fantasy is one that gay designers go back to more and more.” It’s the straight men who are pushing for a healthier vision of beauty.
The Latest Modelling Look: Sacrificial Virgin
Now I am sure there are plenty of gay men and lesbians that have a positive and healthy vision of beauty. But the problem is that the the people calling the shots in the fashion industry do not. As a direct consequence of their sexuality they prefer the girls to look pre-pubescent, under-developed, and boyish. This is completely and utterly wrong.
Nancy Hayssen, a "plus-size" model (i.e. a normal looking girl) has blogged on this very topic.
Ladies, women, girls, listen up: we have been deceived...Men don’t like sticks or bones. Men like women who have some softness to their bodies, a curve or two or three...most of the fashion industry today is controlled by GAY MEN. Seriously. Now, that’s no complaint about gayness...What do gay men know about female beauty and sexuality? Are you trying to get gay men to look at you and say you’re beautiful, or do you prefer straight ones?
Again, to clarify, this is not an anti-gay rant. Rather, I believe Nancy is saying that young women should not be trying to look like what the Media says a women should look like, since that look is basically defined by a small number of warped-minded gay fashion experts, who know nothing about femininity or about what a regular guy finds attractive.
I'll leave you with another Dove vid. "Enjoy".
6 comments:
man, I'm so glad you are blogging on this. And I hope there are women and men of all age, class, geography, sexual orientation or whatever reading this.
Kelly Osborne and the team from the Radio 1 breakfast show recently did a before/after photo shoot showing their pics before and after they'd been air brushed. Kelly did one of herself if she were a 'size zero' to prove to the nation that she is better the size she is!
As someone who struggled with an eating disorder growing up (at 13 I measured 5ft 2" and weighed 6 stone ) I got really paranoid when I started to get healthier, hit puberty and people commented that I was putting on weight. They were complimenting that I looked better, but all the media messages told me putting on weight = getting fat = unacceptable
I've also sat with my teenage sister in tears as she believed being 5ft 8" and a size 12 made her fat and ugly - in reality she has a fabulous figure that many girls would love to have, and she has it without even trying. All she sees is stick thin girls in all the teen films and tv shows and magazines though.
It makes me sick.
Amen! For once this makes sense of your blog name.
Just one point I don't agree on:
The word "beauty" in today's society seems to be synonymous with women.
Of course! Woman are beautiful, but men are handsome. I learned that basic language distinction in primary school.
As a direct consequence of their sexuality they prefer the girls to look pre-pubescent, under-developed ...
I wonder if your campaign would get more attention if you avoided any suggestion of being anti-gay and instead suggested that the people promoting this are some kind of paedophiles.
I'd love to include your Beauty Conspiracy article on my "Sexy at Any Size!" Blog. I think my audience would love what you have to say!
Thanks Nancy, I'd be honoured.
Thanks Peter for dropping by. Regarding your comment on "beauty", I take your point, and will follow that up in my next post. But why shouldn't pictures of animals or sunsets appear when I search for beauty?
I also take your point regarding how to refer to the warped-minded people running the gig. Its a sensitive issue, and I did try to walk the line rightly. I may revist my comment about homosexuality in my next post to tweak it a little.
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