Adios Barbie

Is “Bo-tax” Unfair to Women Who Want Their Looks to Compete? (1)

Feminism’s Face-Lift

Alexandra Suich, The Nation
Can a tax on breast enhancements and liposuction be channeled to benefit the public good?
During the Senate’s debates over who should bear the cost of the nearly $900 billion healthcare bill, there emerged a surprising suggestion: plastic surgery patients. A proposed tax, dubbed the “Bo-Tax” after the wrinkle-reducing injections, would add [...]

Is Airbrushing On Its Way Out? (0)

By Sharon Haywood
In March 2009, Kim Kardashian’s cellulite made headlines. The paparazzi didn’t snap an illicit photo of her sunning poolside, but rather, Complex, a men’s lifestyle magazine accidentally published an unaltered photo of the reality star. For those who work in the entertainment industry, it had always been common knowledge that photoshopping is standard [...]

Study: Black Girls 50% More Likely to be Bulimic than Whites (0)

In 2005, The New York Times published an article called “Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream.” The article explained that “more blacks and other minorities have been seeking help from eating disorder clinics” and that “[n]o reliable numbers exist for how many minority women suffer from eating problems, but experts suspect that cases are increasing.”
Yesterday, I [...]

How Does It Feel? Men and Body Image (1)

by Chris Godsey
Brad Pitt is a beautiful man. I’m a male, I’m straight, and I don’t mind admitting that Brad’s body, especially in “Troy” is an impressive sight. Same with D’Angelo, in that powerful, sexual “Untitled (How does it feel?)” video from some years back; he’s a put-together dude, and there’s no reason to deny [...]

Jennifer Jonassen: A Sizeless Star (6)

By Sharon Haywood
“It’s important for me to portray being fat as beautiful,” said Jennifer Jonassen, a 40-year-old up-and-coming plus-sized actress, dancer, and writer intent on breaking sizeism barriers in Hollywood. Originally from Brooklyn, New York she worked in various off-Broadway shows from the age of 18 to well into her thirties. With the exception of [...]

Something Other Than Other (0)

by Andrea Chia and Jerry Henry
New parents and interracial couple Jerry and Andrea have endured their own share of discrimination growing up.They hope their newborn son can grow up identifying as something other than “other”.