Comments on: “Body Lexicon” for Aging Female Bodies

By: When “Normal” Is Not Good Enough » Sociological Images

When “Normal” Is Not Good Enough » Sociological Images — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:02:02 +0000

[...] telling us that our bodies are abnormal and by telling us that they are normal. Normal bodies are icky, we’re told, your body should appear, as much as possible, as if it is not a body at all. I [...]

By: Seabird

Seabird — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:57:36 +0000

This stuff shows up all the time, but not so blatantly. Whenever they point out how smoking prematurely ages “people,” or how sunlight prematurely ages “people,” the “people” they show in photos are always women. I even found it in a text book for a speech class a few years ago. Somehow, in the pages of a speech text, there was a photo of twin women in their forties, one of whom had smoked in her life and the other who had not. The differences in their faces, in my opinion, had little to do with smoking and everything to do with who had had the more fortunate life, had endured less heartache, etc.

It’s always something. When I was in my twenties and early thirties, my boyfriends always complained that I was too fat. Now that I’m approaching fifty, and have the same body type I’ve always had, I hear that I am too thin, which I think means too flat, but I never ask them to specify. They build their egos by tearing down ours. It’s a fact of life, and I don’t think it will ever change.

By: 08.03:top.10.reads « must be spoken, made verbal, and shared.

08.03:top.10.reads « must be spoken, made verbal, and shared. — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:27:52 +0000

[...] Sociological Images » “Body Lexicon” for Aging Female Bodies. [...]

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:49:30 +0000

Claire F:

They want women to hate their bodies; the eye cream doesn’t sell itself.

Men still are largely exempt.

For similar reasons, I disliked the Dove “Real Women” campaign. If it’s OK to have some flesh, why is cellulite cream being sold?

By: Eneya

Eneya — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:15:14 +0000

How can anybody can learn to love himself, when they portraied the same things that all commercials try to “cure”?
I do not understand. Reverse psycology may be or just another planned humiliation.

May be to learn to love ourselves they just need to stop learning us to hate ourselves with all those absurd standarts.
Because nobody is born with selfhatred but is taught.

By: Bitch Wrinkles, Bingo Wings, And Vampire Dinner Lips: Are Women Really Celebrating The "New Body Lexicon?" [Age Rage] by Funny Celebrity . info

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:40:03 +0000

[...] Gwen at Sociological Images writes, “The article presents itself as an antidote to women’s obsession with their [...]

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:08:12 +0000

As an illustration student, these pictures give me something to ruminate on…… I would never want to offend anyone with my drawings, but sometimes it’s difficult given what’s wanted by the art director, publication, etc. I think the person who drew these was having fun with them and dashed them off rather quickly in a somewhat thoughtless manner. It really shows in their work.

By: Gexx

Gexx — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:26:40 +0000

which me made = which *can be* made

By: Gexx

Gexx — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:25:51 +0000

I think the crepey cleavage is a reference to the fabric called crepe, which me made stylishly wrinkled.

I haven’t heard of any of these other than crows feet, which I’ve always called laugh lines.

By: Elena

Elena — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:39:46 +0000

“The cure, ladies, is to laugh.”

Patronising much?

By: Claire F.

Claire F. — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:22:40 +0000

The problem with the media’s “we want to help women accept and love their aging bodies” line of thinking, is that if they stopped running stories about cankles and ran fewer advertisements for eye cream (for those crow’s feet!) maybe women wouldn’t hate their bodies so much in the first place.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:56:27 +0000

Slideshows are easy money for Web-based publications: they’re popular with readers (breezy and quick to read) and they’re spread out over more pages = more pageviews = more ad impressions. I’m posting this anonymously because I was just told that one of the places I write for wants fewer in-depth articles and more slideshows. It makes sense economically on my part as well — slideshows take less effort than actual articles — but I’m a little bummed about it, as they’re more or less substanceless.

Anyway, my point in terms of the issues raised in this post is that a lot of pubs are putting pressure on their writers and editors to churn out slideshows, so who knows what sort of crap you’re going to get.

By: Deaf Brown Trash

Deaf Brown Trash — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:38:09 +0000

and yet no mention of aging men’s bodies, either. WTF.