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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Victoria's Secret, Body Hate, and Confused Thoughts

Greetings, all!!  I know I haven't posted in a few months, but work has been so hectic I haven't had a spare moment to allocate to the blog.  That said, I do have a moment now and would like to address a phenomenon in our culture.

Today is Thursday, December 6, 2012.  On Tuesday, December 4, 2012 millions of viewers across the nation tuned into CBS to watch the yearly spectacle of scantily clad Victoria's Secret angels parade themselves down the catwalk amid performances from today's superstar icons, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, and Rihanna.

I don't know why, but I look forward to this show every year.  I don't know if it's the overall production spectacle of the thing that makes it an "oh my goodness can that possibly be real life??" hour for me; I don't know if it's the fact that I  have a need to further ingrain self-deprecation and loathing into my mind's constant record player by watching the models, lamenting over their bodies; I don't know if, deep in the recesses of my consciousness, the only reason I watch it is because I enjoy complaining about it the following ~364 days until it takes place again.

Here are a few thoughts on the entire situation, and while they may seem opposed, understand that's because minds are complex things and I don't feel they should be censored (well, to a degree!!).

1.)  I get frustrated with people (myself included) who tweeted things such as "Their bodies are so perfect, it gives me motivation to [insert diet and exercise regimen here]" because I want everyone (myself included yet again) to come to the realization that beauty is not defined by your weight, muscle mass, height, body structure, or anything else physical, and that everyone is beautiful in their own way because God made them like that (Psalm 139:14).

2.)  I also get frustrated with the people who tweeted (I was a bit of a twitter troll during the entire show) things to the effect of, "That girl is too skinny, someone feed her a hamburger." or "I like my girls to be real, not to be fake twigs who all have eating disorders and who look horrible."

The statements in number 2 above are the ones that irritate me more than any, even though at first glance they seem harmless or even possibly positive.  The thing that bugs me with those statements is that okay, yeah, there are probably some of the VS angels that have eating disorders, but if you take any group of 12 (or so) women, statistics show that approximately (or at least) 3 of them will have eating disorders of some kind.  And no, I don't like it when girls' and women's only desire is to look like the rail-thin models, HOWEVER what I think a lot of people don't realize is that there is a large probability that several of the models do not have eating disorders, despite being thin.

The thought process behind that last statement is that if all the models were doing was starving themselves, a.) they wouldn't have the energy to showcase their lingerie with such powerful walking and emphatic posing (all in 5-inch heels) because they would have no energy on which to draw.  ALSO, the majority of the models, if not all the models, have extremely toned muscles.  Note I didn't say *big*, I said *toned*.  And if you are just starving yourself a la eating disorder, yes, you will be most likely be thin, but your muscle mass will be depleted and you will just look sickly.  These VS models have rigorous exercise regimens that they have to follow in order to maintain their "angel" status and get paid millions of dollars a year (yes, that's right).  So they work hard and it's not right to hate on them.

It's also not right to hate on yourself.

One last thought, and this is just because it bugs me--I personally HATE the objectification of women we see far too often.  However I LOVE watching the VS Fashion Show.  Tell me how THAT makes sense!!  This is a concept I'm still trying to unpack, so I may write about it later, but I just briefly wanted to make note of it here.

So....VS Fashion Show....what are you thoughts either on it or on anything I've written above??

God bless,

Becca