The Woman: Part Two- The Twig Phenomenon

So now we have established what a real woman is I'm going to talk about why they now feel the need to be slim. I have to be honest I did get a serious amount of writers block whilst doing this and wrote several articles which I decided were all awful longwinded and boring. So sorry for the delay and I hope this isn't to terrible. If it is though you could use it as an insomnia cure and then I'd still feel good knowing it had a purpose!

 So after a great deal of thought I eventually came to the decision that the main reason girls want to be thin is because they are growing up with a lack of *drum roll please* ROLE MODELS!

Don't get me wrong there are a great deal of people out there who are deemed 'role models' but it's another one of those 'real woman' phrases. It's a load of bull. No one has defined what a role model is and those who are supposed to be one don't actually seem to have done a great deal for society. It seems to me that having views that match everyone else's so you can fit in has become more important than expressing and being true to yourself. The people that should be considered role models are often considered uncool by today's youth. (Think Mary Portas, the Queen etc.)

"I am not a role model."

To me role models should have 4 main qualities:

1. Treat themselves and their bodies with respect and both  their mind and body should be healthy (obviously there are factors out of our control e.g. coughs, colds)

2. Exercise their right to speak freely

3. Don't bully, condemn or ostracise people for shallow or unimportant reasons

4. Accessible to people from all generations and walks of life

At the moment I have 2 people who stand out to me as role models. The first of these is GAGA! Now you may think I'm jumping on the bandwagon here but she is an exceptionally clever lady. She's found a way to be heard by the people who currently need it most. I mean how many 14 year olds read the news and listen to politics? Now compare that with the number who watch MTV, listen to the radio or read gossip magazines. Music is a great way to be heard by people all over the world and her music isn't offensive to the ear, my mum would listen to it, and that makes her accessible. The message her music carries in inclusive and aims to stop prejudice.

 You only have to look at her twitter feed to realise how much attention she pays to each of her 24 million followers, something I'm not sure any other famous person does. She's grateful for fan art and all the little things they do for her, be it say they love her concert or send flowers for her sick friend. She's like a modern Mother Teresa except she cures low self-esteem, not leprosy. She dresses how she wants and doesn't give a rats arse what people think. After many tabloids declared she used to be a man she didn't go running OK! magazine demanding they do a feature on her saying it wasn't true. Although she didn't say this I imagine she may have said something like this:

"What if I was a man? I'd ROCK a penis and it would be the best god-damn cock in the world!"   

She respects herself and that is cool.

 So Gaga if you ever see this, you rock and please keep populating the world with little monsters.

My second role model is someone you have probably never heard but someone you need to know about. Her name is Lori Smith ,also known as @lipsticklori, and she describes herself as a 'sex positive LGBT feminist.' She may not be so accessible to everyone due to her extreme opinions but her articles are always superbly written and she's not afraid to say what she thinks. I personally think she's brilliant and I love her sex related pieces because honestly who doesn't enjoy sex, be it with themselves, one (or several others) or their favourite adult shop purchase!? She represents and speaks out for a minority (the B's and the T's), oh and did I mention she has a super sexy burlesque alter ego @misslollypops.

Clearly she is just an awesome person who is proving that it's possible to be a combination of a confident sex loving minx and an intelligent interesting feminist writer. Her blog should be put on the curriculum for sex-ED. End of. Read it here. Right now.

If you have someone with these qualities that you feel you can relate to as a role model please leave a comment and let me know. We need to find these people and make them known so young people have someone to look up to who's main aspiration isn't to look like a twig.

Ellie x

The Woman: Part One - What is a real Woman?

There are a great deal of things in this world that really wind me up. Today it's the size issue in society and the use of the phrase 'Real Women.' It's a phrased that has become used by large corporations in advertising campaigns to sell anything from body lotion to underwear. After reading an inspiring blog post from 'The Lingerie Addict' I wanted to share my opinions.

A popular marketing campaign representing 'Real women'

Nearly two years after leaving an all girl college I can tell you my views on this issue have done a full 360. Bullying was rife in the school and with that came a great deal of self-esteem problems and eating disorders. To some extent this tainted my views on what a woman should be. I felt that in order to be successful one had to be a super slim 6. Why? Because that's what all successful people there looked like. (However I came to realise eventually that popularity wasn't success.)

The slim size 6 many girls aspire to

I was then seduced by all this 'real woman' advertising and came to believe a woman should be curvy with boobs and hips and a little waist. A traditional hourglass shape. In my mind though this woman still had no flaws, no saddlebags no squidge over the top of her bra and PERFECT soft dewy skin. I don't fit this image either though and I'd like to be considered a real woman.

So eventually I came up with this:

"A REAL woman is a female who has completed puberty"

That's it. Simple really isn't it? However I'm more than aware that after puberty you can still have tits that look like two aspirin on a plank. Does it make me feel less like a woman? No! The best thing about this is that is includes everyone. You can have silicon bits, inky bits, scars, stretch marks and all the rest. Take a look at "My Body Gallery" , if you can give me one reason why anyone on there isn't a real woman I'll eat my (metaphorical) hat.

It's simple. Body shape is fashion. Being a woman, that's biology. Period.

An honorary real woman!