The address above is to the 2016 Pirelli Calendar, a calendar which has displayed pictures of what the media claims to be the "perfect" female, usually showcasing actresses and models, since 1963. This year, the first in the calendars history, we see a shift. Amy Schumer, Patti Smith, and Yao Chen are among the women featured in the 2016 calendar. Many people have responded extremely positively to the change of the featured females, going for artists, comedians, musicians, and intellects rather than women picked solely based off of their looks. Other people have responded saying this in fact is not a feminist victory because a main reason people are claiming it is a victory is due to the fact that not size zeros are finally being featured. I think that it is a huge step in the right direction. We want as many images out there as possible of women being praised for their achievements and their minds and not simply because they are considered beautiful. We need more examples of women of all shapes and races and ages and sizes being comfortable in the skin that they are in. That attitude conveyed through photographs encourages us all to love ourselves and to stop feeling like we aren't measuring up in one way or another. Do I think that there needs to be way less of an obsession with the way that women look? Yes I absolutely do but we are a long way away from that so we need to take examples of women being shown in a positive light and celebrated for being who they are as a victory.
I think that there is a lot of space for debate on this topic-look at the pictures in the above link and let me know what you think.
This article taught me that women in Saudi Arabia are treated more like property than human. I think it is ridiculous that women are not allowed to travel places without having a male accompany them. Women are capable of going to places without having a male present. There is no need to have men traveling with women. I also thought it was absurd that women could not purchase Barbies, especially when statistics say that mostly women collect them and play with them. I do not understand why they would not be able to purchase them if Barbies’ main aim of consumers is primarily female. When it comes to fashion magazines, I think it is wrong that one fashion magazines are censored and two women can only read censored magazines. I find it sad that women in Saudi Arabia cannot approach men the way that women in America do. They should be able to freely communicate with the opposite sex whenever they want. I also think that females of all ages should be allowed to wear as much or little make up as they please. As long as they feel confident and beautiful that is all that matters. Women should be able to freely express themselves with the clothes they want to wear and the make-up they want to wear. It should not be an issue that women want to wear whatever they want and the fact that it is one of the biggest problems in Saudi Arabia is ridiculous. It also should not be an issue that women want to wear make-up. Make-up can be an art and Saudi Arabian culture should be more accepting of it. I feel that women should be able to do whatever the men can do. Saudi Arabian culture should be more accepting of equal opportunity and equality in general. Women should not have to ever feel inferior to men and should always feel accepted. They should never be treated like property, let alone feel like they are property. They are much more than that and the Saudi Arabian culture should be aware of that. Women should have the same value as men and be treated as equally as the men. There is no need for them to be treated differently than men. There is no need for women to feel less than men and men should never put women down. They should be more open minded towards women because women are capable of doing things that men can do.
ReplyDeleteMagazines should feature all different types of women. It should not matter what size clothes they wear or what skin color they have. Whether the female is a size zero or a size ten, she is still beautiful. All magazines should feature different types of women and should stop using Photoshop to enhance the way they look. Recently American Eagle Outfitters has stopped using Photoshop and I think that all stores should join in this movement. Young girls all over the world look at the women in the magazines and strive to look like them. Girls have developed eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia due to the want to look like the women in the magazines. Dove is also another brand that has used women considered to be “bigger” to market their brand. They are still beautiful no matter what size they are. When brands use women that are curvier, statistics show that more women buy that brand. They feel more connected with the brand because the models are just like them. Overall, brands should always incorporate different sized women of all different races to market their brand. The use of Photoshop should also stopped being used so frequently. I believe that if brands did both these things, the demand in their products would sky rocket. It sad that young girls look up to their role models and try to be so much like them to the point where they develop an eating disorder. Society needs to promote that no matter what size females are they are all beautiful. No matter what race a female is, she is still beautiful. Beauty comes within and beauty is all different shapes and sized. Not only should females be viewed like this, but males too. Feminism does not only pertain to women, but men as well. Feminism is about equality for both genders. It does not side with only one gender. Contrary to popular belief, feminism is for both genders and society needs to understand this. I think if more of society learned this then equality of genders would not be as big of an issue of it is in today’s world. Younger generations should be taught this in school so they will grow up being more open-minded to issues like feminism. I think the main problem in today’s society is that not many people are open-minded and accepting of other’s difference.
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