Vogue Magazine announced this week that it would "no longer work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder." It's a decision being lauded by eating-disorder advocates as "a huge step forward" and to a point, it is. Vogue is a hugely influential power in the fashion industry, and one might hope others would follow their lead, and reduce the amount of exposure the average young person has to unrealistic and unattainable standards of beauty. And while it would encourage those in the modelling industry to maintain a minimum Body Mass Index (BMI), I wonder about the ethics of the industry itself creating such impossible standards in the first place, and then refusing to further employ those who to attempt to reach them. Rather than shutting them out and dashing their dreams, should the underweight models previously employed by Vogue and its associates not be offered help they need to tackle the immense physical, mental, and emotional problems of eating disorders beset upon them by their employers' requirements? It seems wrong to me to be publicly passing judgement on these young men and women for fulfilling an ideal that a few months ago was considered a non-negotiable to work in their chosen field. Just this gal's opinion.
As anyone who knows me is aware, I'm a terrible, slavish devotee of Sephora. I follow them on Facebook, I get weekly email updates, I have a Sephora app on my iPhone, and I get into the store at least a couple times a month. But I really, really want them to stop trying to make this tangerine thing happen. Calling it The Color of the Year doesn't make it that. Tangerine is NOT the new pink, and it shouldn't be worn on your face. Period. The average person on the street can't pull off orange eyeshadow or orange lipstick, nor should they attempt to. I'm usually a HUGE fan of people taking risks with their cosmetics, so my feelings on this must be fairly deep-seated....
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| Not. Pulling. It. Off. |
I'm generally not a fan of reality television, and even less a fan of the low-budget, vaguely exploitative tone it's taken recently with shows like Swamp People, and the fantastically-named "Hillbilly Handfishin'". There's sometimes a feeling watching these shows like they're attempting to portray their subjects as sideshow attractions "Look at these rednecks and how different they are from us!! What a bunch of yokels!!" But God help me if I don't frigging love Duck Dynasty on A&E. It's about a family of men with beards (most of whom are married to normal, cute ladies), who made a huge amount of money making duck calls. They now seem to spend a huge portion of their time (the men anyways) getting their camo gear on, and going out hunting and having misadventures. Surprisingly, it is a truly joyful and hilarious thing to behold. I hugely recommend it.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful week :)
