"you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; "
(Psalm 139:13-14)
Two separate items have set me thinking today, first was the Texan Beauty Queen apparently stripped of her title for putting on weight (though there seems to be a bit more to the story than that) and second a friend's post on face-book about his daughter's desire for a Barbie for her birthday...
"Seventeen-year-old Dominique Ramirez claimed pageant officials in Texas had told her to "get off the tacos..... and pageant director Linda Woods said the teenager had turned up to a bikini shoot overweight, making the pictures "unusable"." At 5'8 and weighing 129lbs (9st 3lbs) most ideal height/weight charts would put her within the low side of the healthy/ideal wieght range. Reality check- she is not fat!!! She may not be the idealised stick like models currently idolised by T.V., films and glossy magazines, but she is NOT fat!
On to Barbie, the much vilified yet long surviving symbol of womanhood, loved by some, and hated by others, her impossible shape and usually blond hair has made her a recognisable figure in so many ways. It has been proved that if the original Barbie was real she would not be able to walk, her over-sized boobs and tiny feet would make that impossible!
This, with no apologies is from Wikkepedia :
"One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman tomenstruate.[14] In 1963, the outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat."[15] The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965 along with a pink bathroom scale reading 110 lbs.,[16] which would be around 35 lbs. underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall.[17] In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model!"
An almost impossible figure remains however, and recent attempts to give her a more serious make-over have been criticised as patronising, this is from Feminist Looking Glass:
Well, I guess everyone can stop worrying about the stereotype of women not being as proficient as men with computer technology and games. There can’t be any more stereotyping since Mattel has now come out with its “Computer Engineer Barbie,” the125th version. It’s hard to believe, but, supposedly, the Barbie designers worked with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineers to “ensure that all of Barbie’s clothing and accessories were well designed to represent a realistic female computer engineer.” It must be true–you can tell she’s a computer engineer by the glasses and the pink she is wearing. No stereotyping there. No stereotyping from the 126th version (“News Anchor Barbie”) either, is there?
Note the impossible heels and the large amounts of pink, obviously pink glasses are a must, add to that the fact that the tiny waist and high heels remain a feature, can the manufacturers really wonder why they are not taken seriously???
So why on earth do women continue to put up with these idealised stereotypes, anorexia is still common amongst young women , and more increasingly all age groups as we struggle to become the skinny shape that we are told is attractive. Recent research for long running TV programmes between the late 80's and the early 2,00's like Friends proved that the female actors had obviously dieted and often dropped 2 dress sizes over the years; crazy when none of them were fat to begin with! The media demanded they change...
My own beautiful daughter who was well within the healthy weight parameters was called fat by a hospital consultant because she wasn't a "stick", her current G.P. has acknowledged her sporty physique, and why is that surprising for a young woman who swims. runs, cycles, and sails???
So what can we do?
Well we can speak up! This is from Any-body:
Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:
THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?
A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
To Whom It May Concern:
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who's skin is all scaly and smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me... I want to be a whale.
And the thing is, that many of us who are described as whales are simply normal women, we come in a variety of body shapes and sizes, and if we ask our normal men/women partners rather than the media they will tell us that we are beautiful...
I end where I began:
"you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; "
(Psalm 139:13-14)
AND I AM HAPPY!
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