Infected by Silicone Shrapnel
- Details
- Category: Treasure Addis-Mills
- Published on Tuesday, 28 September 2010 19:28
- Written by Treasure Addis-Mills
I was recently traveling from Austin to San Diego on Southwest and needed something to read. As I browsed the mini-mart inside the terminal, I came across Cosmopolitan magazine. Usually, I don’t read beauty magazines (they only make you feel ugly), but I figured, what the heck, let’s go for it and get some entertainment during my 3 hours in the air. As I flipped each page, I couldn’t help but come to some conclusions:
1. If Wal-Mart can afford to have a 5 page spread printed on extra think, cardstock-like paper, then they should definitely have enough money to properly pay their vendors and care for their employees!2. While scouring through all the lively sex facts they listed (99 in all…apparently that’s all there are…or maybe that’s all there are for this edition), I don’t think that “Exploring your spirituality, whether by reading a spiritual book or learning to meditate, could improve your sex life” is a sex fact. It’s not like the Bible condones sex, particularly if it’s out of marriage. Cosmo was reaching for that one. And calling them facts is pretty funny in itself. Facts typically don’t contain the word “may.”
3. There was a great article on Shakira where she tried telling readers to be themselves and it’s the true self that will make a person happiest, not trying to live up to someone else’s standards. But it was quickly downgraded by the fact that the entire magazine is dedicated to advertisements that tell readers they are not perfect the way they are, and that this shampoo or this makeup or this hair product will make women look better, be beautiful, and bring them the happiness they deserve. Basically, the only way to please yourself is by pleasing others. I really wanted to believe in you, Shakira, but the other 130 pages dulled your message. I couldn’t help but think of the Flobots lyrics from the song There’s A War Going On for Your Mind: “There's a war going on for your mind; Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks; Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel.” And a line from their other song Handlebars: “And I can make you wanna buy a product…”
4. One of the more disturbing articles I found was on cosmetic vaginal surgery. The article was not advocating for it; what I found most appalling was the fact that there are actually doctors out there trying to make a buck off making women feel imperfect because their vagina does not look like Paris Hilton’s vagina. News flash: there is no “perfect” vagina. Stop making women the targets of campaigns that try to change them! We are all unique and should not be carbon copies of this Plato ideal of the image in the cave. Women: be proud of who you are, what you look like, and don’t let anyone make you do something to your body only to please some ideal that isn’t even approachable. All the bodies in this magazine have been airbrushed and digitally touched up!
Damn…the shampoo that promises to straighten my hair on page 76 looks quite good… “And I can make you wanna buy a product…” Why must beauty magazines and society in general make me feel ugly for being me? Maybe I should create a magazine that portrays women in a real light; where they show off their cellulite legs, pimple scarred faces, wide hips, and less than satin-like hair.
I’m not saying that women can’t feel good by looking good; I’m asking for a realistic portrayal of women in ads and magazines that all women can aspire to be. I ask that women be portrayed in a realistic light so that our society, our daughters, our friends, our selves do not feel depressed when we look in the mirror and do not have plump lips and high check bones. I don’t think it’s right that my 10-year-old niece is talking about going on a diet because she’s fat (and she’s not).
