Thoughtful Thursday ..... It Really Is All About the Bass!

http://modcitymag.com/were-all-about-that-meghan-trainor/

A while back I wrote a blog about sexism in advertising and there was a video about how the "perfect" models we see in magazines are photoshopped to perfection. While I appreciated the woman giving the presentation I am not so sure she would hold the attention of young women of the world.

This however will:

I LOVE this song/video! I love the fact that while they are singing about boys that will appreciate their "booty" the women in the video are not sexualized, they are confident, they are happy, they are having fun. They are being sexual in a subtle refreshing way. They are not saying - eat all you want and become unhealthy, they are saying be happy with what you are born with and don't make yourself sick trying to be something you are not. That is at least what I got out of it.

It reminded me of the impact this Dove Soap "Real Beauty" project had on me the first time I saw it:

Dove also commissioned a study on "beauty" and women's concept of beauty. The below comes from the study's conclusion:

The study demonstrates that authentic beauty is a concept lodged in women’s hearts and minds and seldom articulated in popular culture or affirmed in the mass media. As such, it remains unrealized and unclaimed. This idea of beauty appears to have been replaced by a narrower definition that is largely located in limited ideals of physical appearance. It appears that the word “beauty” has – in many ways – become functionally defined as “physical attractiveness.” This definition of beauty is powerfully communicated through the mass media and has been assimilated through popular culture. It is this ideal that many women measure themselves against and aspire to attain. However, because this ideal is extremely difficult to achieve, women find it difficult to think of themselves as beautiful. This can contribute to unhappiness and low self-esteem and self-worth – especially among those women (often younger) who are more likely to take their cues from popular culture. 

It is almost reminiscent of Lady Gaga's "Born this Way" video in which she performed sans outrageous costumes in response to people who had called her ugly, who had said she looked like a man. This was another anthem for the youth to instill a belief that they are ok just the way they are (granted, Gaga is not as happy & uplifting as "All About the Bass").

Each time I hear an anthem song, or see a real beauty campaign I think to myself, this is it, things will change. But then I turn on the television and I see commercials telling women & girls of all ages that they need more make-up, or anti-aging cream to be attractive & keep their man. I open another magazine and see another unrealistic example of perfection women are supposed to aspire to. 

But with every new anthem there is hope .... there is always hope! 

May 10th is World Lupus Day

I have again been on hiatus. I had promised myself that I would be more focused and habitual with my blog. I mean there is so much to write about:

The John Edwards Trial

Syria

The 2012 Presidential Campaign

The US Supreme Court Decision regarding the Healthcare Reform Act

The ridiculous need for a debate on gay marriage

Greece, France, and the future of the Euro

Chen Guangcheng

And last but certainly not least ..... the New Jersey Tanningbooth Mom

And this is what I believe is part of my overall problem these days .... there is just so much to comment on and write about .... where is one to begin?

So, why have I come out of my slumber .... World Lupus Day!

                       

In 2011 Julian Lennon became the Global Ambassador for the Lupus Foundation of America. He wrote a new song for Lucy (you remember her, the girl with kaleidoscope eyes). Lucy Vodden, Julian Lennon's friend, for whom he drew a picture and the Beatles made history, died of complications from lupus. Julian Lennon decided he would make sure the world remembered that Lucy and he released a single a few years ago that raised money for research. If you have not heard the single, I highly recommend you do: Lucy.

While a lot of people have questioned her diagnosis, Lady Gaga has also done a great deal to bring lupus to the everyday vocabulary of people. Her parents opened a restaurant in New York to honor Lady Gaga's aunt who died of lupus.

And more recently, Nick Cannon started a video blog about his experience with lupus. It is vitally important for him to talk about his experience with lupus nephritis since the disease is more prominent in people of color, and it is more serious in men.

There are countless celebrities who have been diagnosed with lupus, or who have supported education and research. But today I am asking that people who read this blog become celebrities in their own right.

I have spent many blogs talking about what life with lupus is like. I have talked about the symptoms, the frustration, the insight, the fears and the exhaustion. But today I would like to talk about the hope. Hope for a cure, for better medications, for more comfortable treatments, for more people to get it. Like with cancer and AIDS and heart disease, if people start talking, if people start caring, if people start educating themselves, maybe, just maybe life for those with lupus will get a little bit brighter!