#NerdsUnite: The Ramblings of a Raconteuse (Women, Weight, & Hollywood)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Helenna. We met on twitter not too long ago, and she's totes mcgotes one rad chiquita banana with a flare for all things flair! That's right, Helenna here is what we call an artsy fartsy nerd. She's a poet, into all things dramatic arts, and she's going to come on board to write each week about her love of said drama. Well not like actual drama drama, like some cat fight shit - but you get the idea.

I only have one thing left to say ... HIT IT HELENNA!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Helslevy

I’ve talked specifically about the sexualization of women in the media before, but a bunch of conversations I was having this week inspired me to talk about beauty and Hollywood.

Just like my previous post , I realize that this entry is somewhat ironic.  While it’s true that I oppose many of the ridiculous standards for what is considered beautiful in Hollywood, as an actress, I am also caught in the zeitgeist.  

So, where did this latest train of thought come from?  

Well, one of my best friends posted this photo on facebook the other day: 

We then went on to discuss the fact that a number of women at the Golden Globes seemed very very thin.  Specifically women who in the past had always seemed to be a healthy body weight, and we discussed the fact that it must take only eating celery and working out like a mad woman 5 hours a day to stay so small.  

I then found an article in the Hollywood Reporter about: 

I don’t know about you, but I’m really OVER hearing about women and weight. 

I’d be lying though if I said that I didn’t care what I looked like on camera.  I do.  I think everyone does to a certain extent.  The camera adds 10 pounds and is not very forgiving.  Hence my being caught in the zeitgeist that is the Hollywood standard of beauty and the main reason that I participated in the Body Heart Campaign a couple of years ago.  

Body Heart  is “ is a movement encouraging women to celebrate the ART of their own form. We believe our bodies are walking works of ART meant to be celebrated and cherished.”  It is a powerful campaign, and I wanted to be involved because I think it’s important that all women love themselves just the way they are.  

And the big question for me is, if we as women stopped buying into this current ridiculous standard of beauty that is unattainable for most women, could we shift everything around?  

What’s astounding to me is that women are so hard on other women.  We buy the trashy magazines and pick apart the celebrities that are in them.  Why do we do this?  On one hand we’re upset with society and this standard of beauty, but then on the other hand, we turn around and perpetuate it all by being so critical of everyone and of ourselves.  

So what are your thoughts?  Do you think the Hollywood standard of beauty is shifting, or are we no better then we were 10 years ago?  Is this a never ending battle?  Tweet me out at @helslevy or leave me a comment here.  I would love to start a discussion.  But before I sign off, I’d like to leave you with this awesome video…

#xoxo
hels
aka) Helenna Santos Levy

Comments

[Hayley]

Wow.. This article definately made me think as a young woman who struggle with body confidence. I've recently lost over 9stone and still feel too 'large' compared to females that we are constantly made to look at via media. I should be proud of the weight i've lost but i'm still always feeling like I still need to lose more instead of owning who I am now; not being big headed but I am an awesome person on the inside.

Its also worrying that alot of photo's in the magazines are airbrushed so much that if you met the person in real life you wouldn't recognise them. Young girls need to be made aware of the fact that alot of the time the people in the pictures are not what they are in real life, and even eventually try to release advertising out there without the need for airbrushing. I see on websites and blogs young girls, some not even teenagers, who are already starving themselves and trying to achieve an image what not even the female in the image can achieve.

Sorry for the large ranting email, its basically a Thank You to the site and to Helena for the post :)

Hayley
#Nerdsunite

xx