Now here is my idea of thinspiration.

See the difference.

What is important to point out about this, is that people,  and women especially who suffer from anorexia or other eating disorder have a mental illness. It is not uncommon for one who suffers from an eating disorder to also suffer from another psychological disorder called “body dysmorphia”. The mayo clinic’s definition of body dismorphia, “… is a type of chronic mental illness in which you can’t stop thinking about a flaw with your appearance — a flaw either that is minor or that you imagine. But to you, your appearance seems so shameful and distressing that you don’t want to be seen by anyone. Body dysmorphic disorder has sometimes been called “imagined ugliness.” (mayoclinic.com) You can click here to read more about the disorder. What is frightening about this mentality is that it often can lead to one perceiving themselves as large or “overweight” when in reality the person is thin, and often unhealthily thin. Such is suspect behind these ideas and images one might cling to as “thinspiration.”

What can be said about this in regards to the media? A lot of “thinspiration” images come from young hollywood. You have thin celebs such as Kiera Knightley and Nicole Richie who are often photographed and these images reach people with anorexia and other disorders and are taken and held up to an enviable light as inspiration or a goal to be  just like them, look just like them. Those are only two examples of celebrities but there are many celebs who have made drastic weight loss changes in their lives, but their lives aren’t private their images are among many that can be considered thinspirational to young women who idealize them.

The pressure in hollywood to look good at all costs is high. In my opinion it seems like young hollywood in an effort to keep up with the jones has also lost more then just weight, they’ve seemed to have lost their sense of confidence, and sense of self. Look to Lindsey Lohan, she was a beautiful talented young actress on the brink of her career, and then she literally lost a ton of unnecessary weight. Is it because the pressure was too strong in the hollywood scene, was she influenced by the media’s’ ideal’ image notion, or was she the rise and fall of her own destruction and despair? I wouldn’t know, no one can really know, because in most cases it is a number of things that happen to a person to make them lose control, that can affect one mentally, but it’s important to point out that the media is not innocent, and certainly does not help with this seemingly increasing social problem.

Below is a thinspiration video, that one girl made to motivate herself and friends and posted it on YouTube.

If that video isn’t evidence enough of what the media and our culture is capabale of influencing upon young women, then I’m not sure what is.

Lady Gaga has certainly demanded a lot of attention for herself. I think she represents a good and different part of popular culture, the part that a great deal can identify with. The part of us that feels weird, the part of us that feels like an outcast, not belonging, the person who gets made fun of,  the person who ultimately is misunderstood. Lady Gaga is not unlike Marilyn Manson in this respect. Although his music wasn’t “pop” he certainly was a popular music icon for his time.  He appealed to the kids who weren’t in the popular crowd, he represented an outlet in his music that matched how they were feeling inside. Lady Gaga I feel does the same thing in her music and performances. Below is a clip from “Ellen’s” show, in which Ellen interviews Lady Gaga about her music.

Lady Gaga doesn’t shy away from explaining her music and herself as being different. She goes on to say “…I want to create a space for my fans where they can feel free and they can celebrate…” and further on to say “…I like to create this atmosphere for my fans where they feel like they have a freak in me to hang out with…”.

Although Lady Gaga has been embraced by quite a large following, she is hated by others. Just the other day co-workers of mine were talking about the American Music Awards and their opinions of Lady Gaga’s performance. Most of them were appalled and disgusted by her, and think she is overly sexual and strange. I’m not sure if age has much to do with their critiques but they were all over the age of 40, two women, and one male. My male co-worker, explained that he thought she was awful but was curious as to her biography and “googled” her and then supplied the information that she was an “upper east side kid” and was a “musical type prodigy at piano at a young age.”  Which I thought was pretty interesting for someone who is “uninterested” in her music. That’s generally the appeal Lady Gaga has on many people that see her performances, she demands attention, whether you like her or not. That kind of power is something to consider in our Pop-cultural world. She has her hands in all aspects of pop culture and makes giant statements about it, without straying too far from pop musical roots, which in and of itself isn’t overly serious.  Below is an interview, where she explains her video for her song, “Paparazzi” and address some of those sentiments.

Another group that may have some beef with Lady Gaga are feminists. You can click here to watch and read Bitch Magazines (feminist magazine) thoughts and reader’s comments to an interview Lady Gaga has with a Norwegian journalist. The journalist seems to get under her skin when he asks her two questions, first “Are you scared that sexual references can undermine your music?” and secondly “Are you a feminist?” Her responses are quite confusing. Her answer to the first question would make feminists and women alike proud, literally expressing an example of sexual double standards for males as oppose to females. Yet when she is asked the second question she expressed that she is “not a feminist” and that she “loves men”. In my opinion her sentiments are quite stupid, to associate feminism purely with man-haters, which whether realizing it or not helps promote such a ridiculous stereotype about feminists as a group is nearly unforgivable. However below is an excerpt from an article (you can click here to read the whole article) in which Lady Gaga addresses her issues with feminism.  She explains in the article,

“There’s a stigma around feminism that’s a little bit man-hating. And I don’t promote hatred, ever. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate women who feel that way. I’ve got a lot of gay women friends that are like, ‘Put your clothes on.’ People just have different views about it. I’m not wrong. I’m free. And if it’s wrong to be free, then I don’t want to be right. Things are changing. We’ve got a black president, people.”

That quote pretty much cleared up my indecision surrounding Lady Gaga either being slightly dumb or extremely careful.  It seems as if she is trying to remain unlabeled and popular. While it’d be great if she claimed herself as the feminist she kind of is, especially when she has a lot of feminist sentiments to express, however I think her role as a pop star has definitely demanded her against that label for her reasons above and also to remain “cool”.

 While Lady Gaga is definitely over the top, and maybe overly sexual and maybe slightly crazy, we have to ask ourselves this, why is she so popular then? Why does popular culture stick to her like a magnet? She might be controversial to some, but what great artist wasn’t?

Women’s Entertainment Television or better known as “WeTV” is a channel completely devoted to programming that women would find interesting and enjoyable. The WeTV misson statement or what the TV station represents according to their website is as follows:

“WE tv’s programming gives viewers compelling perspectives on women’s lives that range from provocative to extraordinary, including signature series like “Bridezillas” and critically-acclaimed original documentary series such as “High School Confidential.” WE tv’s public affairs initiative, WE Empowers Women, is dedicated to creating programs that foster and celebrate women’s strength, confidence and diversity. ”

According to the WeTV website the following are their original series airing currently and their correlating descriptions:

       Amazing Wedding Cakes: Get ready to enter the world of high-end cake making, from larger-than-life designs to  the over-the-top personalities who create them.

       Bridezillas: A comedic look at how brides-to-be go from sweet to certifiable while planning their big day.

       High School Confidential: 12 girls. 4 years in the making. The critically-acclaimed original documentary series about real life high school.

       I Want to Save Your Life: This series follows Charles Stuart Platkin, a nutritionist and public health advocate, on an incredible mission to bring Americans back to a healthy lifestyle.

       Little Miss Perfect: It’s a journey into the world of children’s pageants, featuring Michael Galanes, a national pageant director for more than 10 years.

       My Fair Wedding: Celebrity party planner David Tutera transforms what could be a disaster wedding into a platinum style affair.

       Platinum Weddings: It’s the show that captures the drama and decadence of wedding planning on an extraordinary budget.

       Raising Sextuplets: The series follows Jennifer and Brian Masche, parents of sextuplets as each child develops their own personality.

       The Locator: In this emotionally powerful series, Troy Dunn reconnects loved ones who have lost touch over the years.

       Secret Lives of Women: An unapologetic look at females who conceal behaviors and professions that push the boundaries of “normal” society.

If all of these shows premises were combined into one women, we would start off with a girl who is a beauty pageant winner, who then becomes a high school student with issues, who then became obese in need of being “saved”, who then grows up to be a wedding obsessed mother of sextuplets that lives a scandalous secret life.

Ok I left out any mention of the show The Locator. Perhaps this made-up women also had an estranged father she wanted to reconnect with.

So that analysis is clearly extreme. The point I am trying to make is how do these popular shows truly represent women? While some episodes of a few of these shows bring to light certifiable/exceptional women’s topics that are deserving of the spotlight when separated from the overall WeTV picture, such as episodes titled “Mothers of Murderer’s”,  “Eating Disorders”, and “Hostages” from Secret Lives of Women, and episodes from The Locator, Raising Sextuplets and High School Confidential. Yet when you view the overall line up of the programming and look at each show’s individual episodes 90% of these programs and episodes are based around a topic that a) portrays women in a negative or not so great light and b) has some element of sensationalism.

Is this what we should expect from Women’s Entertainment Television or the redeveloped “Enpowering Women” sentiment the station has adopted? Do we need this type of drama to be entertained? What kind of social messages does this station send out to its audience which is (if not all) majority female?

Maybe I’m an unhip 25-year-old female, but I’d rather be given the option to watch something inspirational and positive, then something negative and sensational about the lives of women, especially on a Network devote to women.  Yet I couldn’t sit here and say I haven’t seen my share of Bridezilla and other like shows either. That leads me to consider… Am I a walking talking contradiction? Does popular television have an addictive substance embedded within it? Or do we have double standards for the depiction of our fellow women on television? Or rather is television not at all a reflection of society and only valued as entertainment with little moral obligation? Do we even take the media seriously anymore? So many questions, not enough answers.

Below are three video clips from WeTV programming. First is ”Little Miss Perfect”, second “High School Confidential” and last but not least ”Bridezilla”. Through these three clips you can get a small sampling of how females are portrayed on this particular TV station, and just so conviently a developmental persepective from child to teenager to adult.

Apparently Fast Food establishments have added a healthy portion of  sex to their menus as well as generous side dishes such as crispy golden sexism, hot off the grill sexual objectification, and good old fashion soft serve porn. These types of advertisements have recently been bombarding all facets of the media, be it Print Ads, TV Ads or in our more modern times Viral Video. The idea or marketing tactic that “sex sells” isn’t new or foreign to media consumers but what is new is the lack of tact, tastelessness and blatant pornography that has been injected like anabolic steroids into these advertisements for fast food. It’s so much sex being sold to the public that I wouldn’t be surprised if next to the ketchup and mustard would be a container filled with condoms. Just what does sex have to do with 800 cal burgers in the first place?

Example one being the Burger King Advertisement above, for their “Super Seven Incher” Sandwich, with the rather large text across the Ad stating “It’ll Blow your Mind Away” and the very suggestive picture of a blonde model with her mouth wide open and the phallic looking sandwich positioned in such a way that there is only one thing that comes to mind. After finding this Ad and reading several different articles about it, Burger King had put out a statement and informed the public that this Ad did not run in the US. However, the internet is universal and just one Google search for sexually suggestive Ads can turn this gem up, in that respect then, I do believe Burger King your Ad has reached the US.

The next two examples are for Carl Jr. and Hardees, which are two different Fast Food establishments but are owned by the same company. The Carl Jr.’s Advertisement features Audrina Patridge, chowing down seductively on a massive burger in a bikini on the beach. The Ad for Hardee’s features Padma Lakshmi eating another massive burger that’s dripping sauce on her as well as her pulling up her skirt and licking her lips suggestively. These Ads seem to be trying to target men, because it’s rather offensive to women with their blatant use of sexual objectification and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking  what do super thin super models and popular television hosts have to do with 800 cal burgers? The sentiments that come to mind are “Yeat right, there’s no way she eats THAT!” For women, these commercials are jokes in more then one way.

It’s a no brainer that men like to look at women in limited clothing but what is also offensive is that Hardees and Carl Jr’s Advertisers think nothing of  the intelligence of their consumers. It was as if their thought process was more or less “Hey let’s put hot chicks in our Ads eating burgers in a sexy way, all men will love this.” As if men are so simple that they will buy anything a scantily clad women is trying to sell. That isn’t clever, it takes no skill to come up with a concept like that and at the end of the day you are putting off half of your potential consumers: women. Plus their ending note, “More than just a piece of meat” just seals the deal in case there were any hesitations. Way to be contradictory, way to go.

If you thought the above Advertisements were offensive, or even if you didn’t, then there is undisputedly another fine example of sex being sold, almost literally. To the side is a picture taken from a Viral Video titled “Two Girls one Sub.” In which Quizno’s Sub is featured. I think the picture speaks for itself. But in case you wanted to see the actual Viral Video, click here. Further background information and a male bloggers perspective on the video, click here. The commercial was apparently produced by Playboy and Quizno’s denied having anything to do with it. However, it seems impossible that Quizno’s didn’t at least have knowledge of the video since it definitely showcases their logo very clearly.

Below is a Pepsi commercial from the 1990s featuring Cindy Crawford. This is a good example in my opinion of using “sex appeal” to sell a product. There’s nothing wrong with a woman being portrayed as sexy, the problem comes along when women are portrayed in a way that makes it clear that they are just an object to be used for sex. It’s not such a fine line as Advertisers would like us to believe.

Princess Peach

Nintendo is most famous for their video game series “Mario World”. These games are played by many children, teenagers, even adults still enjoy their Mario fix from time to time, whether you are male or female, the “Mario World” games appeal to everyone. From the beginning, the plot of these video games is for Mario and Luigi to save Princess Peach who has been captured by an evil character called Bowser. Most of us are familiar with this game, and plot. After recently viewing and playing the game “Super Paper Mario” for Wii, it occurred to me that Princess Peach, was evolving. I was very much impressed by Nintendo’s choice to incorporate Princess Peach as a playable character and not just the damsel in distress, that the male characters are trying to save. I believe it is definitely overdue for Nintendo to portray Princess Peach in a light that allows her to be on equal playing field as Mario and Luigi, especially because Nintendo is such a popular gaming system for children.

I did some further research to find out what other games Princess Peach’s new and improved identity might be showcased and to my delight I found a game centered completely around Princess Peach and her quest to save Mario and Luigi from capture, how progressive! The game is called “Super Princess Peach” and it is for Nintendo DS. Below is an advertisement promoting the game, in which it shows female children in Princess Peach dresses, running through a number of army drills and crawling on the ground in mud. I was incredibly impressed.

However, after reading up on the game some more I realized that just because Nintendo is marketing the game in a way that suggests women are strong, and heroic, their methods in this game to put it lightly are insulting to women. If you have played traditional Mario World, you know that Mario can jump on the heads of his enemy’s and also gets bigger with a “magic mushroom”, can shoot fire when he gets a “flower” and can even fly when gets a “feather”. In actuality Mario’s powers are unlimited and are physical abilities.  One would assume that Princess Peach’s powers would be equally significant since she is now the star of this particular DS game, however Nintendo has decided to grant Princess Peach with the powers of….Emotions.

Emotions

Yes, emotions. What is Nintendo trying to say? Females can be hero’s too because they  have the ability to cry and somehow that “power” will get you through to the next level? I doubt you’d ever see Mario or Luigi shed any tears to fight off enemies. What interests me the most about this is that their advertising commercial (youtube video) for this game is completely opposite of what the game is actually portraying, which definitely plays into stereotypical views about women and their “emotions”. It is interesting because many people, perhaps parents as an example probably viewed this commercial and thought that it was a great/progressive game for their child, without even knowing how misleading it actually is.

In comparison the Japanese Television Advertisement that aired did not shy away from the fact that Peach uses her emotions in the game as her powers. You can check out that Advertisement here.

While Princess Peach has come great lengths in “Super Paper Mario” for Wii, it’s as if she has taken several giant steps back in “Super Princess Peach” for DS. I find myself wondering if this is an example of art imitating life, I certainly hope not.

My favorite character of the moment from a Television drama is “Blair Waldorf” from Gossip Girl. What I love about this character is that she is very complex. Throughout the show you get to know Blair more and more as you go along. First there is her outer shell, very snobby, controlling, and just plain rude. Then through more trying episodes you see her family life, and relationship issues, you see her insecurites quite clearly while that be her defense mechanisms or eating disorder. However there is a third part to Blair that is most fascinating, it is the part of Blair’s personality that Blair doesn’t even know exsists. You can really see throughtout the show that Blair is trying to find herself, even if she doesn’t realize it. Especially now that Blair is attending NYU and out of her element, she is really struggling to try and get back to controlling people, planning up schemes, and generally putting on her bad girl in good girl clothes facade, but her old tricks do not work as easily as they used to because whether Blair knows it or not is evolving as a person/character.

Much the way many females do when they go off to college. The friends you had in high school or the hobbies you kept, start to morph and change when you are influenced by new surroundings and are able to really ask yourself, “What am I interested in?” There is less social pressure to do the things you usually did, because that’s what you were known for. This development I believe is crucial to any females personality. Although Blair as a character should hardly be looked at as a role model for teens or college aged females, what Blair’s character does offer is development, and for some viewers she may even be relate-able. But what I do believe female viewers love the most about Blair Waldorf is she is her own, uncompromising, strong, and selfish.Yes I said selfish because sometimes it is so wildly refreshing to see a female television character that is so completely into herself and that is someone who makes no excuses for what she wants or how she acts and has more ambition that any of the characters combined on  Gossip Girl, well perhaps with the exception of Chuck. But “Power Couples” is a whole other topic for next time.

If you want to see episodes online of Gossip Girl and get to know Blair better you can check out this link.