Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Campaign For Real Beauty?, TV programme and website

[Kitten]

This campaign spearheaded by a soap company has been going on in Ireland and the UK for a couple of years. They are selling more products because of it but I, and lots of other women, really like their attitude to advertising and body image.

The website here has lots of different info including a survey they completed about body image in 10 different countries which included the US.

BBC's The Money Programme made a short documentary (30 minutes may be very long for some) on this campaign and other beauty campaigns.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5074642.stm (article)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/programmes/?id=money_programme (you can download the BBC programme to view until 7 July)

[Kitten]

Another interesting piece on how looks obsessed we are. Here's how some women deal with their less-than-perfect looks.

One created a website called Love Your Mark

In your face
By Denise Winterman
BBC News Magazine

In a world obsessed by looks, those living with facial disfigurements often find things a struggle. But they are now learning they can be different and be happy.

At just eight years old Beverley Fulker started wearing thick, greasy foundation to hide the port wine stain birthmark on her face.

"My face looked as if it were covered in mud because of the amount of make-up I put on. It looked awful but I didn't think I had any other option, it was still better than showing my birthmark."

She continued to camouflage it for a further 28 years, until two years ago. Now she has set up a website called Love Your Mark to encourage others to embrace their birthmarks as part of who they are and start feeling better about themselves.

People from around the world started contacting her through the site and she soon realised that those with prominent birthmarks experience the same problems. She also realised there was no one saying it was OK to be yourself, to embrace your mark instead of hiding it.

"As a child, I would have been ecstatic if I had been able to meet others with birthmarks," says Beverley, from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. "I want to make it easier for children and adults to face the world."

Often the biggest problems people with birthmarks experience are psychological. They can have low self-esteem and be cripplingly shy.

Top psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, who has studied and written books on body image, says what Beverley is doing is hugely important and positive, especially in an era when everything is distilled down to being thin and beautiful.

"Very little of a woman's worth is measured by anything but how she looks," she says. "This minimises a woman to just what the size of their bums and boobs are.

"When I studied facial disfigurements I thought there would be a correlation between the size of a disfigurement and how affected people were by it, but it doesn't work that way. People with the smallest mark can be hugely traumatised.

"It is all about how you choose to see yourself, which is why this website is so important. To be happy people need to change the way they think of themselves, rather than sit there waiting for a new laser to be invented that will totally remove a birthmark."

Problems often start at a young age, when people become aware they are different. Treatment can include laser surgery, injections or drugs, but success depends on the individual. Some birthmarks can never be removed.

BIRTHMARKS - Caused by small blood vessels not draining properly, so blood pools just under the skin

One in 10 children born in UK have some kind of birthmark

If left alone, 70% of marks gradually fade away

"I was raised by loving parents who never made me feel my birthmark was anything to be ashamed of," says Beverley. "I was such a confident child, always out making friends. I think subconsciously I knew I'd never seen anyone else with a birthmark like mine, but it didn't matter.

"It was only when other kids started calling me names when I was about eight that things changed. I instantly wanted to hide my mark and I asked my parents for plastic surgery. The hospital told said it would be a big job and suggested camouflage make-up. I started using it immediately."

She finally threw her make-up away at the age of 36 after seeing a documentary about a woman with a birthmark similar to her own.

"The woman felt as if her birthmark had ruined her life," says Beverley. "I just knew I had to do something, I wanted to get across that a birthmark was nothing to be ashamed of. None of us are made of plastic, no one is blemish free. I wanted people to know you could have a birthmark and be confident."


Sarah Kaye says up until she logged on to Love Your Mark, the advice she received was all about covering or removing her birthmark.

"I don't blame people for that because those were the questions I was asking them," she says. "To find people who are confident and leading successful lives is inspiring.

"I never showed my birthmark to people because I'm afraid they'd find it repulsive. It was like someone going out without their clothes on, I felt naked without my make-up. Now I am learning to accept myself and it is quite liberating. You realise not that many people are staring at you after all."

Love Your Mark is for anyone with a facial disfigurement, like Beverley Hammett. She had nitric acid thrown in her face after she was mistaken for another woman by a hitman hired by the woman's estranged husband.

"I have always remembered that if anyone has a problem with me looking a bit different, it is their problem not mine," she says.

"I come from a family where we were brought up thinking it mattered more to be a good person than to have good looks. It's what you are like on the inside that counts."

If just one person starts seeing themselves in a more positive light after contact with people like Beverley Hammett, then Love Your Mark has done its job.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5194394.stm

[Trisha27]

Love Your Mark is for anyone with a facial disfigurement, like Beverley Hammett. She had nitric acid thrown in her face after she was mistaken for another woman by a hitman hired by the woman's estranged husband.

Oh my god... :(

[poopstain]

Oh my god... :(

Well. It's too bad we didn't find any treasure on the subway, Phillip.

Oh. Hello, Ugly Bob.

Hello, Terrance. Hello, Phillip.

My God, you're looking hideously ugly today, Ugly Bob.

How come you guys say stuff like that?

Because you're God-damned ugly, Bob.

I know, but-

Ugly Bob, your face looks like somebody tried to put out a forest fire with a screwdriver.

I can't help how I look. Besides, it's not what on the outside that matters, it's what's on the inside.

No it isn't. Ha HA HA HA!

[Wickedjack]

I dont think that women who are overweight should be praised, and I dont believe women who are underweight should be praised either. Both conditions can lead to serious health issues and in extreme cases early death. I think we shouldn't campaign natural beauty but healthy beauty and not have overweight or underweight models, because girls should strive to be at a healthy weight.

As far as face disfigurment, that sucks and there's nothing they can do about that, so I think a support group is wise.

[Trisha27]

Oh my god... :(

Well. It's too bad we didn't find any treasure on the subway, Phillip.

Oh. Hello, Ugly Bob.

Hello, Terrance. Hello, Phillip.

My God, you're looking hideously ugly today, Ugly Bob.

How come you guys say stuff like that?

Because you're God-damned ugly, Bob.

I know, but-

Ugly Bob, your face looks like somebody tried to put out a forest fire with a screwdriver.

I can't help how I look. Besides, it's not what on the outside that matters, it's what's on the inside.

No it isn't. Ha HA HA HA!

I said "Oh my god..." at the fact the woman had fuckin' acid thrown in her face. :wacko:

[poopstain]

I said "Oh my god..." at the fact the woman had fuckin' acid thrown in her face. :wacko:

Well that's gotta suck, sorry for her

my reply was to the general concept of image and self esteem, not the acid thrown in the face, from that light I sort of took yer OMG quote out of context, so please excusea me monkey shines, or not.

That T&P bit on the concept of beauty is pretty classic, though (and who knows what might have happened to ugly Bob......)

[Trisha27]

I said "Oh my god..." at the fact the woman had fuckin' acid thrown in her face. :wacko:

Well that's gotta suck, sorry for her

my reply was to the general concept of image and self esteem, not the acid thrown in the face, from that light I sort of took yer OMG quote out of context, so please excusea me monkey shines, or not.

That T&P bit on the concept of beauty is pretty classic, though (and who knows what might have happened to ugly Bob......)

I know. Just a bad piece to quote when you were replying on the whole general thing.

"Very little of a woman's worth is measured by anything but how she looks," she says. "This minimises a woman to just what the size of their bums and boobs are."

I always wanted a smaller ass, until I learned that the larger bums are quite popular these days. Even for guys. Look:

Men's Padded Butt Brief

"The Go Softwear Padded Butt Brief is from the daring and stylish Go Softwear men’s underwear collection. Made from a body-hugging stretch cotton, this Go Softwear brief is geared toward men who want to add a little extra to their butt areas." :lol:

They make them for women too. I don't mind my ass anymore. I quite like it actually. Booty never hurt anybody.

[Kitten]

I hate reality TV as a rule but I really enjoy this makeover programme.

How To Look Good Naked

It contains no surgery and no dieting! It advises women to look at themselves realistically, dress attractively/sexily to suit their body shape and to stop comparing themselves to stick thin, perfectly airbrushed celebrities. And the presenter is great fun - it's not the bullying style of the 'What Not To Wear' girls.

At the end he persuades the woman to be photographed naked - in a very, very coy way. They then project the coy naked photograph onto the side of a large building in the middle of London and get woman in question to stop passers-by and ask them - 'do you think I look good naked?' while pointing at the photo...

I'm serial.

[nobby]

I love make-over shows that don't use "extreme" means to improve someone's looks. It's a shame that the media continues to put women on a pedestal who, in real life, wouldn't make you look twice. Hours of make-up, a team of stylists and the right lighting and air-brushing can do amazing things.

Speaking of amazing things, there are men's underwear that are essentially ball-underwire! Just the way women's bra's have underwire or structural support to lift and separate, there are men's underwear that....brings the "profile" front and center! I wonder how comfortable they are? I don't have a yam-bag, but I'm assuming that it's a pretty sensitive area to be looping through an elastic sling--adjustable or not. :sp-cartman:

[rinygrin]

Pretty much, i don't believe in healthy weights, considering it's changing every so often from...being overweight is unhealthy or it does raise up how long you live. I could care less on someones looks, so much as their choices don't involve snacking on their own vomit.
It annoys me to see others go on about healthy weights and yet, deeply...is their really a healthy weight? I could care less anymore.
I'm overweight, at 16, and at times, i can't looking myself in the mirror, and its not because the fact i'm overweight, more so, I can't seem to walk down the street with peoples eyes going up and down. I get so paranoid from horrors of my childhood, i get nervous walking by myself.
Theirs so many overweight people in north america, yet everyone seems to ignore this, by looking on television and etc.
I've tried so hard with various things, like walking, eating more vegies and fruits, and trying to cut out red meat. And even more so, you still see yourself as a ugly blob. So frankly, anyone who brags on the healthy weight of a 20 year old women, no one has the same body shape. Legs are bigger, waists are slimmer. It's like judging on someones bone weight. Theres only so much people can do.
I'm not bothered by being overweight...more so I'm afraid of being more so obese.
Sorry if that sounds completely lame...
What's even worse, I've been ridiculed by someone 2x my size!
So I don't even know how to feel about 'natural beauty'.
I find more so, the small features like eyes, lips, noses make someone have that natural beauty...as to the figure.

[Trisha27]

Speaking of amazing things, there are men's underwear that are essentially ball-underwire!  Just the way women's bra's have underwire or structural support to lift and separate, there are men's underwear that....brings the "profile" front and center!  I wonder how comfortable they are?  I don't have a yam-bag, but I'm assuming that it's a pretty sensitive area to be looping through an elastic sling--adjustable or not.   :sp-cartman:

Hahahaha! :sp-cartmanlaugh:

[Kitten]

I love make-over shows that don't use "extreme" means to improve someone's looks.  It's a shame that the media continues to put women on a pedestal who, in real life, wouldn't make you look twice.  Hours of make-up, a team of stylists and the right lighting and air-brushing can do amazing things.

In the programme I mentioned that's not the case. It's about confidence and saying 'fuck off' to the so called ideal that the media, advertising and fashion have created. The photographs of the women at the end (ie in their coy naked pose) are well lit and they are beautifully made up but there is no air brushing at all.

The point of having the image projected 30 feet high onto to a building in London and stopping passers-by to ask 'do you think I look good naked?' proves to be liberating, fun and suprisingly revealing about other's preceptions of the person's self-image.

So I don't even know how to feel about 'natural beauty'.
I find more so, the small features like eyes, lips, noses make someone have that natural beauty...as to the figure.

Images of women, their faces, parts of their faces/facial features, bodies and part of female bodies are used for more often in the press, media, advertising etc, so I believe there is more pressure on women to conform to an ideal they had little or nothing to do with creating.

I think it also takes some time after puberty for both men and women to grow into their bodies and feel comfortable in their own skin.

I think my Mam is beautiful - genuinely, and she's 68. I think all three of my nieces are stunningly beautiful (ages 4, 6 and 10). I think I'll do, if ya know what I mean.

What really annoys and some times angers me is that women and even young girls are more and more heavily influenced by celebs and how perfect/gorgeous they look when all we can judge them on is a expertly made-up/groomed, perfectly lit, minutely air brushed photographs that are completely unrealistic.

I was browsing through magazine stands in one of Dublin's biggest and busiest magazine shops yesterday trying to decide if I should get the current issue of Time on what's happening in the Middle East; however, this issue is actually depressing me it seems so hopeless.

Instead I decided to linger at the huge and vast Women's magazine section and see what's mush was available there. Every conversation I heard between friends there was in awe at crapology I find somewhat disturbing - 'Beyonce looks great, you know she actually starved herself to get that thin?' etc.

There were at least three mags with real life stories about women who had starved themselves to look like Posh Spice. They all ended up in hospital.

BUT everything was in EXTREMES - they person who lost 6 stone (85 pounds) to get to a normal size; the woman who was hospitalised when she was less that 6 stone and nearly died. There was little or nothing about normal, healthy, everyday sizes and women.