Proof!

It's been a definitely disturbing trend for magazine covers to be very heavily airbrushed. This is something I found to be so interesting, the before-and-after of a Faith Hill photo shoot.

I hope people recognize the serious problems within society, that this is necessary to sell magazines. She looks amazing in the original image.


Her arms are thinned out.

Her waist is slimmed down.

Face is airbrushed.

Chest & wrinkles lightened.

It's sad that this is more
'beautiful'.

Frustration...

Reading through so much information on gender roles and stereotypes in advertising has been such a frustrating evening. It is not that what I have read is new information, or lessons I had not considered, rather the knowledge and openness to the blatant distortion of women's bodies in advertising. I find it extremely disturbing.

I have found article after article where people have struggled with ad exec's, because they will not change what works for them. Which is sadly, sex. The woman has become a commodity, no longer a human being. Allow me to illustrate, this excerpt is taken from Gender, Race and Class in Media: "...Ads sell a great deal more than its products. They sell values, images and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be." (G. Dines, J. Humez, 1995 pp. 121)

It doesn't take more than a few minutes of browsing through a woman's magazine (Cosmopolitan, InStyle, Glamour, Self) to realize the advertisements are aimed at shaping consumer mindsets. The goal is perfection, the product claims to give perfection, and the consumer should be looking for perfection. There is no disclaimer to mention that the images shown are airbrushed and touched up by professionals.

No wonder girls have such distorted body images.






I will leave you with a short narrative....

I am taken back to a friend who I will call B. She majored in fashion at a small, liberal arts college, where she would often get into political arguments. There she insisted that she was a feminist to the core. After four years of these arguments, I chose not to fight with her. In our senior year, she was voted director of the annual fashion show. In this scene, she took her place very seriously. The model casting call was my last meaningful encounter with her. After she spoke about the size of the models over dinner, and dramatically chose the thinnest models so that the clothes would 'hang' properly, I was done. I am so fed up with the fashion industry, and the anorexic image that has become something young girls aim for. It makes me sick to think that people I loved and cared about had such negative body images, and promoted that for others to compare with. What an opportunity for change wasted.

Goals...

The short goal of my project is to educate myself, and the community about body image and the effects of visual culture on the public. The long-term goal of my project is to create awareness and change the way people view the body; women in particular.

If you have any questions, comments, etc. feel free to email me at eyesforseeing@gmail.com. I will be glad to add any ideas people would like to contribute into my research, and then into this blog.

Billboard Projects

The purpose of this project is to keep students looking at their world, and how they are to change it. The (re)education piece is sending an important message to the current media that their style of news, representation, and consumer-driven messages will not be tolerated by today's youth. We are (re)educating the community with positive, healthy messages.


Project Idea: Billboard Project

• Students will research issues to create a (re)educational billboard informing the public of their ideas for change.
• By educating the public of the things that students are noticing, and wishing for change in their communities.
  

Materials:
-InDesign would be ideal, but Paper and Pencils will work just fine.
-Create a template for a billboard (Or use mine! Feel free to download my templates)
-11x14 paper would be a great size, especially for hanging throughout the halls
-Paper, Pencils, Markers, etc.

Class Lesson Guidelines:

1. Introduce lesson and allow time for researching issues
2. Decide on the issue, as well as the best location of the billboard (ex. rural? urban?); start a series of thumbnail sketches for ideas
   
3. Work Day
4. Work Day
5. Work Day
6. Present final results to the class

(re)Education

Welcome to my first blog!
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My hope is that eventually this can be a site where people will bring their ideas, messages, and promises for a changed future.

I want this to be a meeting place for teachers and students to ArtSpeak-- I will be glad to post any work with a message. I will also be posting classroom project ideas that teachers can use to create awareness within their classrooms.

Check back, as the sight is very much under development!