As my 10-year old daughter handed me her sleeping bag and pillow after the spa party, I noticed that her nails were decorated with multi-colored stickers. She said that she knew I worked in environmental health and wouldn’t want her to get her nails painted. I cringed but simultaneously rejoiced. I had officially become “that […]
Body Image
Body image is a person’s perception of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings, positive, negative or both. Because of negative media representation and prevalent gender stereotypes, many people of all genders struggle with body confidence.
We Heart: Students Wearing Scarlet Letters to Protest a Sexist Dress Code
Young women at the Charleston County School of the Arts in South Carolina have been pinning homemade scarlet letters to their clothing to protest a school dress code policy they say is sexist. Organizers of the protest say they don’t oppose a dress code, but disagree with how it is disproportionately enforced with girls, while boys are given […]
H&M: Where Pseudo-Sustainability Meets Diversity Porn
The world’s second largest fashion retailer recently made a deliberate move to attract members of the world’s second largest religion, and people have taken notice. More specifically, H&M featured a Muslim hijabi woman for a split second in this video advertising spot that deftly disguises a sly cost-saving measure as an eco-friendly call for “sustainable fashion.” The […]
New Print Mag CRWN Celebrates Black Women’s Natural Hair
Thanks to social media, lovers of natural hair have an endless number of forums to celebrate the beauty of their locks, braids and curls. One only has to search the hashtags #NaturalHair or #TeamNatural to be inundated with a stream of natural hair selfies and haircare tips. As wonderful as the web is, there’s something special about […]
A Model-Free Ad Campaign We Can Get Behind
You may have heard about Target using “real” women in its 2015 swimsuit campaign, or aerie publishing unretouched images of its models. And there’s been tons of great exposure for plus-size models this year. All of these efforts are steps toward a more realistic media landscape, and we’re really loving the latest move: an empowering ad campaign from clothing retailer The Limited. The […]
Teen’s Collarbones Launch Controversy Over Dress Code
Stephanie Hughes, a student at Woodford County High School in Kentucky, found herself in the principal’s office on the very first day of school this year. Her crime? Exposing her collarbones. Stephanie’s mother, Stacie Dunn, arrived at the school to to find “a group of female students standing in the office due to being out […]
Is Serena Williams’ Body More Important than her Record?
Serena Williams just won her sixth Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam title. The world number-one singles player has won almost as many Grand Slams as the rest of the Women’s Tennis Association combined. She is literally and figuratively on top of the world. But it seems like the media would rather talk about her body than […]
The Problem With Lauren Conrad’s “Body Positivity”
In a recent blog post entitled “June Shape Up,” crafty fashion and beauty mogul Lauren Conrad informed fans that her editorial team will no longer use “body-shaming terms” like “skinny,” “slim” and “thin,” and will instead replace them with words like “fit,” “toned” and “healthy.” Unfortunately, that’s not all. In the same blog post, LC […]
Dove’s Real Beauty Isn’t
Dove released its latest video last Thursday in their now-decade-old Campaign for Real Beauty. But Dove’s ideas about Real Beauty are making me Real Tired and Real Crabby. Viewers are treated to yet another series of earnest, young-to-middle-aged, multicultural women confiding to the camera how they really need to work harder at feeling beautiful, for Dove […]
TSA Ends Practice of Racially Profiling Black Women
Under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Transportation Safety Administration will no longer subject Black women to unnecessary hair searches. The TSA finally addressed the issue after multiple complaints from Black women who felt they were being singled out arbitrarily for additional screenings. The agency has also agreed to further train employees on […]