attention girls: embrace your inner...

[Cakes488]

I think we need to change the phrase "real women" to be "all women" - designers do not design for "all women".

It's what is meant by saying they don't design for real women anyway.

OK Tramp...LOL wait that nickname is not gonna work LOL LOL.

OK All women...but when I say real women I'm opposing that against these images we see on TV, mag's the big screen etc. Where everybody and everything is perfect...... Because they are not real women!

So I see you're point Aurian..I do. I hope you see mine.

 

[trampledamage]

I think we need to change the phrase "real women" to be "all women" - designers do not design for "all women".

It's what is meant by saying they don't design for real women anyway.

OK Tramp...LOL wait that nickname is not gonna work LOL LOL.

OK All women...but when I say real women I'm opposing that against these images we see on TV, mag's the big screen etc. Where everybody and everything is perfect...... Because they are not real women!

So I see you're point Aurian..I do. I hope you see mine.

I understand cakes - and indeed the women we see in adverts aren't real - Bears Discover Fire posted an interesting dissection of all the retouching that would have been done to some photos of Zoe Saldana, just innocent stuff like "well if she has her arm like that, then you have to take out the bulge of her muscle" - and if Zoe Saldana gets 'shopped, then there's no way clothing adverts aren't altered to make them "more" perfect!

But there are size sero women, and it's as unfair to exclude them as unreal as it is to exclude the rest of us.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I know exactly what you mean, guys. I'm looking at the Nordstrom August catalog and it's all woman with no bosoms and can't be any more than size 2! When the average woman in the US is size 14, there's something seriously wrong with that picture. At my smallest, I was a size 8. And I've got an hour-glass figure!

 

[WillsBabe]

My 15 year old niece has been staying with us for the last couple of weeks. The other day we were in a clothes shop. My niece is about 5.2" and a UK size 6 (very petite). She picked up a dress with a "large" label and said, "Who sizes these clothes?" The dress would just about have fitted her (ie it was just about big enough). What was interesting from my perspective is that for as long as I can remember I've been looking at clothes sizes in boutiques and non-chain stores and beating myself up that even the "large" sizes are too small for me. It took a 15 year old to give me some perspective on the topic!

 

[An Officer]

^ It's crazy isn't it?! I'm glad you noticed that the sizes are screwed up for everyone and not just you!

They do say that consumerism is built on dissatisfaction with the self... you buy more to feel better, but that never really works, so you keep buying even more because you want to feel as though you're "worth it".

The thing is, if we were all perfectly satisfied with our shapes, sizes, and general image, there would be very little demand for fashion and beauty products... we'd all be happy to go au naturale with our faces and hair, and have only a couple of outfits to change between. Advertising needs to drum up a sense of constant dissatisfaction and need, in order for consumers to dig into their pockets.

 

[Kestra]

I dunno, I'd love to be able to do without makeup and skin care products. Actually, I cut out my whole skin care regimen and have taken to just using a bar of soap. It's wonderful.

But dressing up is kind of fun! I mean I have a few staple outfits, but I have to admit to liking frilly things and constantly wanting more dresses.

 

[WillsBabe]

The thing is, if we were all perfectly satisfied with our shapes, sizes, and general image, there would be very little demand for fashion and beauty products... we'd all be happy to go au naturale with our faces and hair, and have only a couple of outfits to change between. Advertising needs to drum up a sense of constant dissatisfaction and need, in order for consumers to dig into their pockets.

This is what I've been telling my niece. She's started using lots of foundation. Her skin looks lousy with it and much better without it. I've been telling her that consumerism is an industry built on creating dissatisfaction. The worry for me is that the older I get the more I buy into it. Once upon a time I barely noticed.

 

[JustKate]

I love skin care products...cosmetics not so much. I don't like to have a lot of goop that I smear on my skin and it stays there. Yeah, yeah, yeah - all these foundations claim to be good for your skin, but I just don't buy it. Or them. "Flawless" skin that comes out of a bottle just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I dunno, I'd love to be able to do without makeup and skin care products. Actually, I cut out my whole skin care regimen and have taken to just using a bar of soap. It's wonderful.

But dressing up is kind of fun! I mean I have a few staple outfits, but I have to admit to liking frilly things and constantly wanting more dresses.

Same here. I don't wear much make up anyways but I would love to wake up and not have to look in the mirror and want to vomit at my morning face.

 

[Kestra]

This is what I've been telling my niece. She's started using lots of foundation. Her skin looks lousy with it and much better without it. I've been telling her that consumerism is an industry built on creating dissatisfaction. The worry for me is that the older I get the more I buy into it. Once upon a time I barely noticed.

Foundation is evil. It will just make her skin worse, generally speaking. I use it to cover up disfigurations but I loathe it, really. Try what you can to make sure she doesn't set down that path.

 

[trampledamage]

It's funny - I guess I missed the stage during my early teens (or whenever it happens) that girls start to experiment with makeup. By the time I was interested, I was too old to get away with making beginner mistakes so I just didn't bother (actually to be more honest, that's more along the lines of didn't dare try!).

I've never worn any make-up. Some days I wish I could, especially when I'm having a really bad skin day, but laziness generally wins out. Soap and water are my skin care routine

 

[Kestra]

So the guy at the post office asked me today if I'm pregnant yet. "It's been a year!" he says. Either a) I am fat and look preggers or b) people don't know how to mind their own business.

Possibly some combination of the above.

Also I'm adding the following in, because it accurately describes how I've felt for the past 24 hours.

 

[trampledamage]

So the guy at the post office asked me today if I'm pregnant yet. "It's been a year!" he says. Either a) I am fat and look preggers or b) people don't know how to mind their own business.

Possibly some combination of the above.

Also I'm adding the following in, because it accurately describes how I've felt for the past 24 hours.

Actually if he's saying "It's been a year" then the problem is you aren't fat enough! Obviously he's someone who thinks a woman should be pregnant straight after marriage, and you just look too svelte.

Still need to bop him one on the nose for being so rude though!


(one of the pleasant side effects of being fat before being pregnant is no-one dared ask me if I was pregnant, just in case! Plus I have an ability to project a mental no-go zone surrounded by razor wire, no-one comes close to me )

 

[Kestra]

I like your explanation so much more than mine!

I do like being friendly with people, so I suppose I have to deal with situations like this. I sometimes feel I should go around with a sign that says "I don't want babies right now!"

 

[trampledamage]

It's worth a try!

 

[Aurian]

So the guy at the post office asked me today if I'm pregnant yet. "It's been a year!" he says. Either a) I am fat and look preggers or b) people don't know how to mind their own business.

Possibly some combination of the above.

Also I'm adding the following in, because it accurately describes how I've felt for the past 24 hours.

*pets Kestra*

It is either what trampledamage said and your not fat enough, or he was just plain hit with the stupid stick that morning. Well, actually he was hit with it no matter how one looks at it.

 

[May 20]

I'm going with B, but I also think that he has no clue that what he said might be offensive. He's happy for your marriage and wants you to have a family. While I understand that now isn't the time for you, he doesn't know that, so he's being curious. Tactless, but curious.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

So the guy at the post office asked me today if I'm pregnant yet. "It's been a year!" he says. Either a) I am fat and look preggers or b) people don't know how to mind their own business.

Possibly some combination of the above.

Also I'm adding the following in, because it accurately describes how I've felt for the past 24 hours.

Oh I think he's just being friendly and a tad too traditional thus expecting marriage = babies.
You could always try and wrong foot him by leaning on the counter, looking him in eye and saying 'I don't know what we're doing wrong ~ I mean we're having sex 4 times a day, maybe I should stand on my head for longer afterwards?'

 

[Kestra]

The people at the post office don't just know me, they know my parents! I could never say something like that!

 

[K'Ehleyr]

The people at the post office don't just know me, they know my parents! I could never say something like that!

But you would totally embarress them and therefore get free stamps for the rest of your life