Menstuff® has compiled information on Looksism. noun, 1978,
prejudice or discrimination based on physical appearance and
especially physical appearance believed to fall short of societal
notions of beauty Merriam-Webster
.
Source: Postsecret.com
Source: Postsecret.com
France May Ban Promoting
Thinness
The Power of Personal
Appearance
Canadian dept. store pulls catalog filled
with super-skinny models
Make-up is Ugly
Blogs about
Looksism
France May Ban Promoting Thinness
The French parliament's lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone - including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites - to publicly incite extreme thinness.
The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks.
Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards.
Poll Question: What do you think of the proposed French law to ban anything that publicly encourages extreme thinness?Total votes 29,667.
Good idea - 79%
Bad idea - 9%
Mixed feelings 12%
The bill was the latest and strongest of measures proposed after the 2006 anorexia-linked death of a Brazilian model prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the repercussions of using ultra-thin models.
Conservative lawmaker Valery Boyer, author of the law, argued that encouraging anorexia or severe weight loss should be punishable in court.
Doctors and psychologists treating patients with anorexia nervosa - a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight - welcomed the government's efforts to fight self-inflicted starvation, but warned that its link with media images remains hazy.
French lawmakers and fashion industry members signed a nonbinding charter last week on promoting healthier body images. Spain in 2007 banned ultra-thin models from catwalks.
But Boyer said such measures did not go far enough.
Her bill has mainly brought focus to pro-anorexic Web sites that give advice on how to eat an apple a day - and nothing else.
But Boyer insisted in her speech to lawmakers Tuesday that the legislation was much broader and could, in theory, be used against many facets of the fashion industry.
It would give judges the power to imprison and fine offenders up to $47,000 if found guilty of "inciting others to deprive themselves of food" to an "excessive" degree, Boyer said in a telephone interview before the parliamentary session.
Judges could also sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose "excessive thinness ... altered her health," she said.
Boyer said she was focusing on women's health, though the bill applies to models of both sexes. The French Health Ministry says most of the 30,000 to 40,000 people with anorexia in France are women.
Didier Grumbach, president of the influential French Federation of Couture, said he was not aware how broad the proposed legislation was, and made no secret of his strong disapproval of such a sweeping measure.
"Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny," he said. "That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France."
Marleen S. Williams, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Utah who researches the media's effect on anorexic women, said it was nearly impossible to prove that the media causes eating disorders.
Williams said studies show fewer eating disorders in "cultures
that value full-bodied women." Yet with the new French legal
initiative, she fears, "you're putting your finger in one hole in the
dike, but there are other holes, and it's much more complex than
that."
Source: Devorah Lauter, news.aol.com/health/story/ar/_a/france-may-ban-promoting-thinness/20080415102209990002
The Power of Personal Appearance
The vast majority of Americans, 90%, are confident in their looks. In fact, 75% say they like their wrinkles, that wrinkles are part of their identity. Many say that appearance is important enough to consider making changes. But only a slim minority are actually considering invasive facial procedures like Botox injections.
The worldwide Gallup survey of more than 5,000 adults in five countries examined both the motivating forces and barriers to improving facial appearance through various treatments and procedures. The poll was commissioned by Allergan, makers of Botox.
"People feel quite positive, good about themselves," says Nancy Etcoff, PhD, social psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of Survival of the Prettiest. "When they consider facial treatments, it's only small positive changes they want to make."
Body image and a sense of one's own attractiveness are part of one's self esteem, Etcoff adds. "People higher in self esteem are more likely to use appearance-enhancing procedures. There's not the negative motivation that one always assumes."
In fact, people with low self-esteem should really see a psychotherapist to understand why, says Etcoff. "They shouldn't go immediately to appearance-enhancing procedures." Among the Gallup findings:
Around the world, most people like their looks. Australia tops the list with 95% of Australians approving of their image, followed by 88% of the French, 87% of Canadians, and 85% of Americans.
How important is physical attractiveness? In the U.S., 49% said that it was "somewhat" important, while 32% said it was "very" important."
Brazilians topped the vanity charts; 61% said that looks are "very important." Brazilians were also most confident in their looks and also more willing to have treatments to improve appearance. Their reasons? To get a promotion, help save a relationship, find a job, find a partner, please their partner, be more attractive, look younger, feel more confident, and -- most of all -- to please themselves.
Americans expressed a bit less confidence, with 48% saying they were "somewhat" confident while 41% were "very confident."
What kept anyone from having facial surgeries? Fear of side effects and safety concerns were the primary reasons in all countries -- except Brazil.
People have concerns about Botox as well. They are worried that with Botox, they will not have good facial expressions, says Debra Jaliman, MD, dermatologist with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Jaliman counts actresses and newscasters among her patients. "We do what I call "Botox light" -- a version so they can frown subtly, yet it diminishes deep lines; it allows some brow movement," she says.
To find a good facial surgeon, ask other people in your community
which doctors they've been to. Make sure the doctor has the proper
credentials and that they've performed the procedure multiple
times.
Source: Jeanie Davis, http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1689.54414
Canadian dept. store
pulls catalog filled with super-skinny models
Simons released their 36-page fall catalog in stores as well as
inserted into newspapers last week. Almost immediately, the
Quebec-based retailer got over 200 customer complaints about the
emaciated look of the models wearing their Simons TWIK brand. Not
exactly the kind of response you want from a fall catalog. Before the
public outrage could really boil over, company president Peter Simons
made the decision to pull the catalogs, saying that the images are
"destructive to a more vulnerable portion of the population which is
exposed to anorexia."
Source: www.stylelist.com/blog/2008/09/02/canadian-dept-store-pulls-catalog-filled-with-super-skinny-mode/?icid=200100397x1208775647x1200484742
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. -- Charles Gordy
It's time to break the Laws of Attraction. -- Gordon Clay
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