Victoria's Secret too sexy??

The headlines are buzzing this morning. Apparently the CEO of Victoria's Secret thinks the company is getting too sexy. Ya think? I shouldn't be sarcastic about this, because this is a good thing, but still, how come it too so long to figure this out? Oh wait, because their sales were dropping and people were actually complaining. It's about time. Way to go!!

I'd never thought I'd see the day, when Victoria's Secret would think they were too sexy. Now they are talking (we'll see if this actually happens) about fixing up their image and going back to their original heritage. This means toning down the sexy ( sometimes trashy) image, and trying to target an older market, not just teens and college women.

Well it's about time. And while you're at it, how about making bras (that are cute and attractive) for women who have naturally larger cleavage. I'm not talking about big bazooms bought from plastic surgery that can hold their own, and don't need actual support. I mean real honest to goodness 100% flesh.

At the risk of sounding like a prude, I have to admit it's embarrassing when I'm watching t.v. with my husband, and a Victoria's Secret commercial comes on. I do not enjoy watching their scantily clad models straight from the pages of a porn magazine (they might as well be), glide across my t.v. screen in all their glory. Wait just a minute here, I didn't invite these sex kittens, why are they invading my living room?

Talk about feeling horrible about yourself. And you know what? The commercials never fail to come on when we are eating dinner. Which means both of us are watching. Naturally I change the channel, because seeing them strutting around in barely enough fabric to cover a hamster, sets my teeth on edge. The whole spiral of I'm ugly, not good enough, too fat, what does my husband see in me, starts whirring through my head and then I can't shut it off.

I then decide I will never eat again, and vow to look as sexy as them (through my weight loss and exercising everyday), then of course I will be able to fit into their clothes, and my husband will find me attractive, and... guess what? That was their intention. To make me feel bad enough about myself, to go out loose weight and be able to purchase their products and of course the diet and exercise industry will benefit as well. Sneaky bastards. This is how eating disorders and negative thoughts about ones body starts.

Really this kind of advertising should be banned. With hope, maybe it will be someday...

Anyway, this is great news about Victoria's Secret, and gives me hope that other stores and advertisers will follow suit. Honestly things are getting way out of hand, pretty soon models will dispense with clothing all together.

It's all about progress. One step at a time right?

I'd like to thank the media...

For how I perceive my body. And not in a good way. Now I know that I shouldn't blame others for my problems and issues, but in this case I most certainly can. You see I was happy with myself once. I accepted the way I looked and even though I knew I wasn't cheerleader material or as pretty as the popular girls, I was still acceptable. I always seemed to have a boyfriend, so I must have had some sort of attraction right?

It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I really started paying attention to the messages that woman were receiving from the media. I would devour the fashion magazines like any girl, and once I was done reading, without fail I would go on a self improvement spree. Beauty products, clothes, shoes etc. Call me dense but it took me quite a while to figure out the connection. After reading the magazines, I would always feel a sort of self loathing about myself. I wasn't pretty enough, I needed to loose weight, the clothes were ugly and outdated etc. Obviously the magazines intention got across loud and clear, and almost unseen too. Very good marketing and sure to bring in huge sales among the various fashion and beauty industries. Good for them, but not good for the average woman. At what expense are they profiting? By lowering our self esteem? By having pre-pubescent children dieting? Eating disorders? The answer is yes. This is what's happening to our society. It is a very real problem.

I do understand this is a two way street. The diet, beauty and fashion industry need to make money. They have found a way to do so, and it works very well. For them. However, woman are increasingly becoming more and more dissatisfied with themselves and are turning to drastic measures to reach a goal of perfection that is impossible. (Folks, plastic surgery used to be for the people who really needed it, like burn victims). Now it's so common it's advertised in magazines and on television. What kind of message are we sending? Especially to children, who are growing up to think that getting botox or a nose job is just as common as your yearly physical checkup.

That bring me to the low self esteem issue. I'm sure it is affecting women and their current or potential relationships. It doesn't help either that men, or I should say boys, are raised on a certain idealized vision of beauty at a very young age. What with the abundance of porn, magazines, videos, and internet, all easily available, they are getting an eyeful. Let's not forget movies and television, mainstream magazines, commercials, and last but not least video games. These all show women to be very sexy, skinny and beautiful in a way that the average woman does not even closely resemble. Men's perception of beauty is greatly skewed. Especially since these women couldn't attain that beauty themselves without excessive dieting (to a dangerous level in some cases), a crew of beauticians, personal trainers, airbrushing, and many other factors. Men are learning a perception of beauty that regular women can't compete with.

I can hear the roar of protests from men all the way from here. Well so what, it needs to be said, and I for one and gonna spread the word..

If you want to check out a cook link on this topic, click on beauty and body image in the media

My body and me..

Here's the thing. I know I'm supposed to love myself for who I am. The problem is, I don't. I have a very hard time viewing myself as someone who is attractive. Even though plenty of people have told me so, I don't believe them. Why? Because I know the real truth of what I look like without clothes, and folks it isn't pretty. Besides it's always relatives and friends who tell you, how nice you look etc. Here's a clue: These people have to say that. They are your friends, they don't want you to feel bad.

So it won't come as a huge surprise when I announce that I have a rather large issue with my body image. That is why I'm writing this blog. I thought if I wrote how I feel, maybe, 1. it wouldn't seem so bad since I would be getting the emotions out and not keeping them inside, kind of like therapy, and 2. maybe by writing this other people who have this problem can relate and realize that they aren't alone.

I know this is a big issue among women. And it's not surprising, in this age of technology. The way the media bombards us with their idea of the perfect (yet highly unattainable) vision of beauty is shameful. No wonder eating disorders are on the rise, and children as young as nine start their first diets. Absolutely incredible. Women should not be made to feel they are ugly, just because they don't look like a supermodel. I'm starting to wonder if the diet industry isn't directly linked with the fashion industry. It makes perfect sense. The fashion world promotes women and clothes that are unachievable by the average woman and the diet industry reaps the benefits as millions pour money into their services in order to be skinny. Tell me there isn't a connection somewhere.

Clearly something needs to be done, we cannot have a society that has nine year olds dieting and people becoming anorexic/bulimic, because they don't fit into a size zero.

For the moment though, check out www.mediawatch.com, they are a great site to check out how women are exploited and things you can do to help.