beau·ty :
Pronunciation:
\ˈbyü-tē\
Function:
noun :
the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.
I have to admit that I was disappointed in "Brave" as a whole, after seeing it in the theater last summer. That said, I was not disappointed one bit in the lessons it had to offer young girls and their families. One thing I don't remember thinking even once was that Merida was not "attractive enough" to be a princess. I find it absurd that I'm even typing those words, but it is apparently that very idea that has sparked Disney to do something absolutely disgusting and deeply saddening in my eyes. The image you see above is the "new and improved" Merida who supposedly looks more like a princess now. I know that the sexualization of fantasy characters is nothing new, and I know that it seems to have gotten a lot worse in the comic/sci-fi/fantasy realm as geekdom has suddenly turned to "chicdom". But this is Disney. This is a movie with a lesson for young girls, only now that lesson will include that to be that brave and "unique", one also has to show some skin, have a perfect figure, and have the face of a supermodel. I find it highly ironic that by making these changes to Merida, they have taken away everything that made her look unique; everything outwardly that made her an individual and made that individuality beautiful. Based on the number of signatures, I'm relieved to see that there are still people out there who have not given into the societal monster of unattainable physical perfection and ultra-sexualization. I can only hope and pray that these same people will be able to put their signatures into practice in real life.
Below is the link to the petition. I hope that you will sign it. I also have a link to a little article from an Orlando newspaper noting that Merida's creator is appalled at these changes and is in fact, among those who signed the petition. Props to her from me. She is fighting to keep true beauty alive. https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave
This is incredibly powerful and so true. If you haven't seen this, please take a couple minutes to watch it. If you've already seen it, please watch it again.
I'm fairly certain that I have maybe one or two followers who actually take the time to check this long ago neglected blog with the hope of finding some new and inspiring food for thought, but nonetheless it's on my heart (not merely my mind) that I take a few minutes today and speak to why I haven't been blogging. There are always the usual suspects ; overworked, too long a commute without yet having a car, trying to keep some semblance of a personal life, sleeping, eating....you know how it goes. But I am not ashamed to say that I am currently on a very tedious and seemingly precarious journey with myself, and it hasn't left me with much to write about in the vein of true beauty and self worth. Many details are not up for public discussion, but lest anyone get any false ideas about how I got to the place I am now, it is not due to any singular person or specific situation. It has as much to do with years and years ago as it does the recent past and even the present, and it is not necessarily a negative place to be. It is, however, an extremely difficult one. As I'm writing this, I wonder if I've ever suggested taking the time - the true and necessary time- needed to learn to be okay with oneself in any of my past blogging. I'm sure that many- if not all- of my truly beautiful interviewees have alluded to this in one way or another during our discussions, but the magnitude of that step is often lost in the day to day struggles, or in many cases, an unbelievably painful life event or long term battle. I'm not sure where this road I'm on is leading, but I feel I've been given the gift of knowing that I need to devote this time to me, whether I believe I'm worth it right now or not. And that's where I am. I honestly don't know how often I'll be writing. I have a pretty big itch to do some interviews but sadly, it's much harder to find the right people in my current home town. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely people here who embody beauty in the full and true meaning of the word, but I have a strong gut feeling that they also need to have a healthy level of self-worth and a kind and loving attitude toward themselves in order to benefit from the interview process. Small towns - I'm reminded after being in the city for so long- tend to breed insecurities at a higher rate, so we'll see. I may also post a link or two to articles I find that are relevant to society's role in our views of ourselves and positive ways we can combat the negative side of this aspect, but again, it depends on where I am. Regardless, I hope that as I continue to take this time for myself, you will be inspired to do the same in whatever way is best for you. I do appreciate your continued positive thoughts, as I hope you appreciate mine, but please join me in viewing this as a positive beginning. I hope to be "in touch " again as soon as I can, and hopefully my growth in my own self-worth and true beauty will finally be where it needs to be to inspire others in the way my heart has always hoped to do. Something's comin', something good....if I can wait.
Today is my birthday. It has obviously been quite some time since I have written, but I wanted to take a minute today to say a special thank you to some of the most beautiful people I know - my friends and my family. Anyone who grew up in or near the Pittsburgh area is extremely familiar with the favorite holiday commercial I have posted below. As a little girl, I loved it because it seemed to fill me with the magic of the season every time my eyes lit up at the TV. As an 18 year old - a mere month before I nearly died - it became of symbol of those people "lifting me up" to beat my anorexia when I was too weak and sick to do it for myself. That commercial meant everything to me. But this year, the first time I saw it I left the room and cried. It seemed nothing but a cruel reminder that I would never get to the top of that metaphorical tree that I long for in my heart, because I'm not good enough. Not special enough, beautiful enough, sexy enough, successful enough, young enough, fun enough - you name it. After all,if anyone else believes it or says it out loud, it must be true, right? My friends and family have endlessly begged to differ,yet I only heard and saw the negative, relived over and over in my mind. I saw that commercial again last night, and I suddenly saw it through different eyes. I realized that that tree has been reaching down to lift me up the entire time. That tree is the most beautiful tree imaginable because it is made of my family and my friends. People who TRULY know me and love me. No matter who or what pushes me to the ground, they continue to lift me to the top and encourage me to sparkle and shine by being myself, no matter how many times I fall or get pushed back down. Do I really believe that I am worthy in my heart? Not yet. But I did much more so at one time, and I don't think anyone that special would be wasting their time holding me up until I can do it on my own if it wasn't possible to feel that way - and maybe even more - again. So, thank you -from the bottom of my heart - to each of you that make up that beautiful, beautiful tree. I wish only beauty, true joy, and peace of mind and heart to you - at Christmas time and always.
Anyone who watches any sort of national news program in the US has- I'm sure- already seen or heard excerpts from this anchor woman's four minute response to an email she received stating in a nutshell that she is a bad role model because of her appearance. Even with our presidential debates in full swing, this story is still all over the internet and eliciting some very strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Despite my former longtime battle with the scale, my reason for sharing this video has less to do with the particulars of the situation and more to do with Jennifer's extremely powerful and equally eloquent message to both bullies and those who are affected by them. I cannot stress enough how VITAL this message is in today's society and hope to broaden and increase my personal activism on such topics with Ms. Livingston as a true inspiration. And a big thank you to her (and her husband and colleagues!) for providing me with an AWESOME reminder.
An EXTRAORDINARY organization. Please take the time to visit the site this week in honor of National Suicide Prevention Week 2012, if you can. The link below will take you there.
After my last post I was bothered by the fact that I was yet again, posting something that was really only relevant to females. I'm a woman, I write what I know as they say, and as indicated by more recent posts, I don't currently have the time and emotional wherewithal necessary to cover all that I still eventually hope to when it comes to true beauty, ridiculous societal ideals, and how we so often (myself included) buy into the latter due to poor self-image. But a lot of my lengthier posts, despite speaking from a woman's point of view, were (I believe) relevant to men as well, with something positive that could be taken away by the reader regardless of gender. That said, making my last post female specific was nagging at me for some reason, and it caused me to recall a video I came across several months ago. I was - you guessed it - quite busy at the time, so I shared it with my boyfriend, bookmarked it, and vowed to post it as soon as possible. I want to say that was March...it's now September. Many of you are familiar with the brilliant "Evolution" commercial made famous by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. I even shared it on this blog a while back. This is a personal response from a young man who chose the very same topic for his thesis, only this time he focused on how much of that pressure to be perfect is put on men, and how often society on the whole, sweeps it under the rug and pretends like it doesn't exist. His explanation at the top of video is far better than anything I could offer, so I'll let it speak for itself.
For the record, I do sincerely hope to get back to including as many different voices into this blog as I can. I realize now how "spoiled" I was with my access to outspoken, diverse, truly beautiful individuals while living in NYC. They live here too (!), don't get me wrong - I know because I'm fortunate enough to know a few of them already - but doing an interview is a whole other ball game, mainly because there's no subway to hop on at all hours of the day and night! At any rate, I hope to have that opportunity sooner rather than later, and I can't wait to share those voices with you when I do. In the meantime, if you have anything to share, please don't be shy in shooting me an email and expressing yourself. I still have a few emails starred in my inbox from those of you who were so kind and generous enough to share your thoughts and future blog contributions with me. I haven't forgotten about you, and I will post them for sure. In the meantime, please take a few minutes to watch the video below. This is not an easy thing to talk about, especially among men, so I applaud not only the young man who was courageous enough to bring this to the forefront through his thesis, but also those who are not ashamed to watch, understand, and learn to love themselves as they are.
