Lets get rid of Skinny Model Sterotypes!

What is a Model?

noun

1. a standard or example for imitation or comparison.

2. a representation, generally in miniature, to show the construction or appearance of something.

3. an image in clay, wax, or the like, to be reproduced in more durable material.

4. a person or thing that serves as a subject for an artist, sculptor, writer, etc.

5. a person whose profession is posing for artists or photographers.

 

          It is quite clear in our society today "thin is in" and being skinny is more acceptable in modeling opposed to the average curvy girl that eats whatever she wants. I decided to look up "Qualifications to become a Model". Most of the answers were the same.

 

• You have to be at least 5'9 in height.
• You have to have a beautiful face with clear and fresh healthy skin.
• You have to be very skinny with small hips. 

Although plus-sized models exist because, lets face it, obesity is a huge epidemic in our country, there is a qualification for plus-sized models as well. It seems as if there isn't a place for the "average" looking girl in size. There is a huge problem with what society views as beautiful. If we got rid of skinny model stereotypes there would be a huge drop in the diseases such as anorexia and bulimia.

 

Anorexia: An eating disorder characterized by markedly reduced appetite or total aversion to food. Anorexia is a serious psychological disorder. It is a condition that goes well beyond out-of-control dieting. The person with anorexia, most often a girl or young woman, initially begins dieting to lose weight. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is thought to be secondary to concerns about control and fears relating to one's body. The individual continues the endless cycle of restrictive eating, often to a point close to starvation. This becomes an obsession and is similar to an addiction to a drug. Anorexia can be life-threatening. Also called anorexia nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging, or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed (purging), typically by vomiting, chewing and spitting out food (not swallowing it and absorbing calories), taking a laxative, diuretic, or stimulant, and/or excessive exercise. One of the many reasons people engage in this behavior is pre-occupation with weight and size.

 

Many young girls today are looking up to these models as role models of beauty which can be dangerous especially when models are too thin.



                                                      When is skinny TOO skinny???
 

Since when was being too skinny beautiful? Seeing nothing but skin and bones is not only scary but she is not portraying a healthy figure. From the looks of the image above, I see her selling her skeletal physique. It is quite clear that even the belt she is wearing is way too big for her own waist.



Models in the 1980s and 90s


 

Eric Smith; a destined murderer

             It's always a huge shock that young innocent minds are capable of vicious behavior such as murder. How is it possible that a young thirteen year old boy received so much pain in his early life to inflict harm on a four year old boy? Eric M. Smith is an American criminal who was incarcerated for the murder of a four-year-old boy named Derrick Robie in Steuben County, New York. Eric was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to the maximum term available at that time for juvenile murderers which was a minimum of nine years to life in prison.

              In his early life, Eric Smith enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, Red and Edie Wilson; Red said "He'd always come in and give us hugs and kisses. He liked being a clown." However, Eric Smith had been diagnosed by a defense psychiatrist with intermittent explosive disorder, a behavioral disorder causing individuals to act out violently and unpredictably.  This disorder is characterized by extreme expressions of anger often to the point of uncontrollable rage, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. Therefore, on August 2, 1993, Eric Smith was riding his bike to a summer day camp in a local park and 4-year-old Derrick Robie was walking alone to that same camp. Eric saw Derrick  and lured him into a nearby wooded area. There, Eric strangled him, dropped a pair of large rocks on the his head, undressed his body, and sodomized him with a tree limb. What could possibly have been going on in young Eric's mind that he would take the life of an innocent child?

              According to court documents, Eric was often tormented by bullies for his freckles, thick glasses, long red hair and one he had protruding, elongated ears. These were believed to be a side effect of medicine his mother had taken for her epilepsy when she was pregnant. Clearly, he was born looking different from the other kids in school and was constantly bullied for it. He was born with this mental disorder in which he acted out violently on a poor innocent child.  Eric Smith is now 33 years old and has been denied parole six times since 2002, most recently in May 2012. The parole board cited a concern for public safety in its decision and Robie's parents opposed his release. Eric Smith is eligible for parole again in April 2014.

             Does Eric Smith actually feel remorse and regret for his unforgivable actions?  If he has an extreme mental disorder that allows him to act out in uncontrollable rage, how can he be sorry for that? How can he feel bad about something he was born with and couldn't handle at that very moment? Is he a victim of his own crime? He apologized on television to Derrick's parents and family. He stated, "If I could go back in time, I would switch places with Derrick and endure all the pain I've caused him. If it meant that he would go on living, I'd switch places, but I can't." Finally,  at the end of this statement, Smith states that he cannot bare the thought of "walls, razor wire, and steel metal bars" for the rest of his life. Evidently, he is feeling sorry for himself that he has to pay the price of spending his life in jail for his actions. He is playing the victim and feels he is entitled to be released on parole.
                 

Cheers?

Alcohol plays an important role in many lives. It is there for you when you are having a depressing day or an awesome day worth celebrating. Either way, people look for any reason or excuse to drink a bottle of wine or a cold case of beer. Personally, I am conflicted about this topic. First of all, alcohol is not meant to be abused under any circumstance. On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing wrong enjoying a social drink every once in a while. But let's be serious, alcohol abuse is a serious problem. Too much alcohol results in harm to your body, mind and behavior. But what do advertisements have to say about their product?

 

"Pursue your Daydreams". Does this mean you have to drink Cuervo tequila to build up the courage to go after that man or woman of your dreams to make it a reality? According to Jose Cuervo, yes you do.

 

 

According to this ad, Guinness is good for you! The more Guinness you drink the more power you gain! The only power I see will be in a powerful beer belly. Yes, an abundance of alcohol will result in gaining weight.

 

This advertisement promotes Mecallan Whiskey as leading a more "colorful life". This is very ironic because too much alcohol will cause a person to completely black out and forget. Instead of flying out into the night sky, you will be stumbling out of the bar and not have any control over your own body.

 

 

Jack Daniels is saying you will have great sexual encounters by drinking their Tennessee Whiskey. Maybe you will get lucky with that hot girl you've been eyeing all night across the bar. But what alcohol really does is affect your decision making and importantly your vision. Your overall visual performance may be altered since drinking heavily impairs brain function. You may have blurred vision or double vision due to weakened eye muscle coordination. So that sexy girl you bring home from the bar wakes up next to you being someone you don't remember even talking to. Looks familiar?

 

 

Pro-Marriage/Pro-love

This is a collage I made about Pro-Marriage. These days people rush into marriage or get married for the wrong reasons. Marriage should be sacred and meaningful. Only get married if you truly love someone and believe in dedicating your entire life to your spouse.

Puerto Rico!

        On March 2, 1917, United States granted Puerto Ricans U.S. statutory citizenship.

Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory with Commonwealth status whose residents are U.S. citizens by birth since 1917 (CIA World Factbook, 2012).
• While its residents are U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans cannot vote in the U.S. general presidential elections because Puerto Rico is not a state (U.S. Constitution).
• Currently, more than 10,000 active duty military personnel from Puerto Rico serve across the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration).
• Since 1917, more than 200,000 American citizens from Puerto Rico have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, serving in every conflict since World War I (Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration).
• Puerto Rico will award a total of 23 delegates after Sunday's primary -- 20 at-large delegates will be allocated proportionally while the last three will remain unbound to any candidate (CBS, 2012).
• Puerto Rico's total population is 3,998,905 (CIA World Factbook, 2012).
• The unemployment rate in Puerto Rico is 15.1 percent (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012).
• More than half - 51.6 percent - of Puerto Ricans have private insurance coverage (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).
• More than 20 percent of Puerto Ricans have a bachelor's degree, whereas only 16 percent of Puerto Ricans residing in the mainland have a bachelor's degree (Pew Hispanic Center, 2010).
• Florida is gaining a net 7,300 Puerto Ricans a year, far more than any other U.S. state (U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2011).

 Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage to the newly discovered lands.

Official language in the country is bilingual , English and Spanish, though Spanish is dominant. Puerto Ricans have their own version of the language and mixed with Native American. It is estimated that nearly 90% of people speak mostly Spanish, most speak English, but are afraid to use it, as only 10% of them speak it fluently.

 

 

 

Coquito Ingredients (makes 5 cups):
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup white rum
1 cup of water
3 cinnamon sticks
4 egg yolks, well beaten
Ground cinnamon for decoration

 

Recipe:
In a blender or food processor combine the milks and the rum.
Boil the water and the cinnamon sticks, then allow to cool to room temperature (don’t forget to remove cinnamon sticks),
Combine all of the ingredients (except ground cinnamon) and beat well using a blender or food processor.
Pour the Coquito into glass bottles and refrigerate until you are ready to drink.
Serve the chilled Coquito and add cinnamon to decorate




 Joaquin Phoenix Puerto Rican Actor

 

Modern Times

                                In the film, Modern Times, we immediately see Chaplin working in a factory at an efficient and quick-paced manner. They are constantly moving and do not stop at any cost. To ensure production does not slow down, the bosses are endlessly breathing down their necks and watching their every step. During the film, Chaplin never seems to catch a proper break. He briefly attempts a private moment in the bathroom where he can catch his breath and relax until he is abruptly interrupted by the head boss demanding him to get back to work. While work is in progress, the head boss is introduced to a new invention which is designed to eliminate a lunch hour for the workers and allow production to never stop. Suddenly, it is "lunch time" and Chaplin is chosen to have the ultimate eating machine experimented on him which results in a failure amongst the bosses.

                      Based on Chaplin's character, he portrays the ultimate nightmare for any employee working for a demanding and competitive employer displayed in the film. He is consistently
pressured to keep up the speedy pace along with the other workers. In a bad dream, if you are constantly haunted by the same person, there is a fear of not being able to get away from them. For example, Chaplin enters the bathroom for some refuge until he is mortified by the huge sight of his boss's face yelling at him through a surveillance camera to get back to work. This waking nightmare can cause major stress on a person and affect their working performance. On the other hand, based on the other characters, it is quite obvious that employers will do anything that is necessary to improve their company or business, even if that means mistreating their employees.
                    Clearly, they do not respect their workers or even give them the courtesy to visit the bathroom without being disturbed. The common phrase, "Time is money" is an appropriate one in Modern Times. They are racing against the clock to get work done as fast as possible and coming up with the twisted idea of allowing their workers to eat without ever having to STOP working. Finally, it is pretty ironic that the film is called "Modern Times" with the symbolic message that employers and bosses have created for themselves. Even before modern times, any strong authoritative figure such as an employer will always have the upper hand with the power to hire and fire whoever he or she wants.

                   

Building Blocks

 

                       Dreams can be very powerful. One morning you wake up from an inspirational dream which can easily motivate you to accomplish goals you have set for yourself to achieve. On the other hand, your dream can be a complete nightmare which can allow you to conquer whatever struggles you may be facing in your daily life. Anyone can dream of having a happier and brighter future, but these privileged things happen to people who strive to work extra hard to get there.
                        In the Invisible City, Zobeide, the foundation is described as men of various nations having the exact dream of a wondrous woman in the night running through an unknown city. They all end up losing her and as a result, the men are inspired to build a city identical to the one in the dream, except they designed it differently to make it harder for their dream woman to escape. The woman in their dream represents all the hope, happiness and financial pleasure that all these working men from different nations hope to gain from life. In order for their dream to become a reality, they do all they can in hopes for this extraordinary woman to return and never escape again.
                        Unfortunately, this mystery woman never makes it back to the city leaving the men to continue on with their working lives and later forgetting the woman had ever existed in their minds. After reading Zobeide, the message is quite clear that no matter how hard you work for something, nothing privileged is ever guaranteed. You can only hope for situations to get better and ultimately life becoming easier for the respectable people who work for it every single day. Regardless if dreams come true or not for the working class, they will continue to work, push through and carry on into the next day of the same routine just like the men in the city of Zobiede.

Balance scales

 

                           What is sexism? Sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex. Sexist attitudes may stem from traditional stereotypes of gender roles. Sexism does not only slow the growing of the economy, it increases the rate of crime and also gender-based violence. Although many people have fought for equal rights of women and men, sexism still exists in this modern world.

                 While reading Eutropia, we see these men becoming bored or tired of the previous city within Eutropia, that it is so easy for them to pick up and move into the next city. Despite all the cities being "of equal size and not unlike one another", the men become weary and can no longer bear their living situation and decide it is now time where they move on into the next city where they start fresh with a brand new job, wife, home and friends.
                     Now, how can this relate to sexism? In the most simplest way, he described these men becoming bored with their living situations from the current city and moving into the next city where they establish a new job, home, friends and wife. Why is it so easy for a man to put his wife in the same category as something that is so replaceable? The concept of the men living in Eutropia is that a wife is so disposable and can easily be replaced by a new wife who can perform the same duties and tasks as the last wife did.
                    Sadly, there are many men with the same concept of the way they perceive women today. One issue that stands out to me relating to sexism in our modern world is the existence of arranged marriages. The idea is to have a woman who can cook, clean, wash and have children. The woman doesn't have a choice or a voice in the matter. Another issue is the danger of benevolent sexism resulting in hostile sexism. The small comments or remarks made by men can easily turn into something violent if the thought of women as being incompetent or needing a man's help all the time doesn't change.

Zemrude's Eyes

                       Zemrude is a city of whatever you perceive it to be. It is not the least bit deceiving to anybody that walk the streets of Zemrude. It states in the first line, “It is the mood of the beholder which gives the city of Zemrude its form.” It is based on the mood you give to this city that results in what will come screaming back at you. Nevertheless, he does come to the conclusion that in the end, after walking down the same streets redundantly, everyone will come to see Zemrude in the same perspective.

                       I pictured Zemrude in two different perspectives. There was the optimistic, glowing and happy city where the people would look up and see the sun shining on all the colors of the city that made it a happy and comfortable place to live in. On the other hand, there was the pessimistic, dark and sad city where the people would look down and see the black and damp pavement. The people looking down sees no color or happiness. The author describes that everyone living in this city end up in that negative view of the city. 

                        As I read Zemrude over and over again, it makes sense why Italo Calvino would categorized this city under “eyes”. This city is based on how the inhabitants “see” the city. Initially, they see the city in one perspective but then they end up seeing the city with eyes looking down and what they portray the city to be for what it really is. Meanwhile, the city had always remained the same in a sense that it physically hasn’t changed yet the eyes gazed upon it has changed its complete outlook on the city over a period of time. It makes me feel the way us as people are easily deceived by bright shining lights to later be disappointed to the truth of a particular matter. 

                     This city can relate to any place that we have once visited or resigned in that we initially felt happy and optimistic about. We look up to it as a beautiful and colorful place that we are proud of. After walking through this place a bunch of times you start to see all the imperfections and ugly parts to the place that we didn’t see before. We end up feeling lost and unhappy with the place we were once proud of. This makes me wonder what the author is stating about humans and the way we “see” things. In conclusion, I feel like this is a portrayal of how a majority of people always seem to  end up unhappy or dissatisfied  with something or some place that always remained the same and hasn’t changed.  

The City of Signs


                        Think of yourself walking through a living house that had bright yellow post-it labels sticking to every piece of furniture, necessity, luxury and every piece of item that were necessary in a successful living home. It sounds a bit more distracting rather than a helpful gesture. When I envisioned myself in Marco Polo's shoes walking through the city of Tamara, it seems like a city full of necessary signs that are placed for everybody's convenience to produce order. Without these signs available, the city would lack function and order. Also, Marco Polo explains how even without a signboard, certain figures or "things" would signify its importance by representing other "things". Therefore, every piece of landmark, place, figure or statue would have its own special meaning.
                       Formally speaking, when Calvino writes about Tamara and the "signs" used, I feel like he is communicating to the reader to have an opinion about people's daily social practices. We go about our daily lives seeing what we may believe should result in an automatic reaction, response or specific practice that we fulfill without question.
                       What I thought was ironic about what Calvino wrote in the last paragraph was "You leave Tamara without having discovered it" because Tamara is a city full of signs. I feel like the reader can easily relate because we have all had our fair share of "signs" we have encountered, yet we slip through the cracks of not really understanding or grasping what the root of a situation may be. That can also relate to going back to a house full of bright yellow post-it signs. The sign labeling the toaster, the microwave, the couch or the T.V. would be a huge distraction of the feeling and comfort of the house itself.

Adelma

Adelma

                           The written piece, “Adelma”,  is a chilling and frightening look into what Marco Polo portrays life after death would be like. According to the writer, the city, Adelma, is a dark, gloomy place haunted by the living dead in which they live their daily lives knowing that they are damned for sadness, as they “arrive dying and where each finds again the people he has known.”
                            Throughout the entire piece, Marco Polo explains how everyone seemed familiar to him. For example, the sailor on dock resembled a deceased man who had soldiered with him and the girl lowering a basket from a balcony was identical to a deceased girl from his village who had killed herself over love. It was as if he was walking in the city of Adelma amongst the already dead, especially when he saw the vegetable vendor as his grandmother. It is self-explanatory to the reader that his grandmother is deceased yet he had recognized her here, in the haunting city of Adelma.                  
                            In conclusion, the best way I pictured Adelma in my mind was seeing it as if it were a bad dream. In your dreams, you encounter faces you have never seen before, yet they are a representation of people that are in your everyday life. Except, he was comparing the living and the dead. These people living in the city of Adelma reminded him of people that had already died which is why  he relates Adelma to an unhappy life after death. I agree with the writer in a sense that when you meet new people in your life, it is very rare to hear someone say, “I have never met anyone like him or her before.” We blame human nature for comparing people that we already know or have known to people we meet for the first time by finding similar traits, qualities, expressions, etc. Nevertheless, Adelma allows the reader to create an imagination of what life after death is by using faces we have once known.