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Beauty
Airbrushed culture Males are affected too
Beauty Secrets Secrets revealed Beauty top tips
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Spring / Summer 2013 Edition
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Negative Truth
Photographic exploration 34
Battle Of The Sexes Gender preconceptions Binge drinking
A Place To Turn Body Gossip CALM
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oday’s digitalised society enabled the formation of an ‘airbrushed culture’. The airbrushing tool, usually achieved with the use of Photoshop, has allowed the fascination with attaining ‘perfection’ to dominate imagery. On average we see five thousand ‘photoshoped’ images a week. It is argued that airbrushing is sometimes used to get the colour balance to reflect a more real representation. Therefore it is not always used in a manipulative fashion, which is acceptable. Photo-manipulation of body images however represents an untruthful world of photography. It is evident that this airbrushed culture has an affect on society. Body dissatisfaction in the UK is high, particularly among young people, and what is reiterated by society is the aversion of this “unobtainable image the
media has created.” Routine objectification and sexualisation of images in the media and other cultural institutions can lead to anxiety, shame, self disgust, undermined confidence and discomfort with one’s own body. Therefore it is important to raise awareness that these images are not the ‘real’. They are in fact an illusory creation that should not be idealistic figures. With the help of campaigns today it highlights what society would rather see and educates a positive attitude, along with offering support to those in need. Principally what is found to be attractive by one person is not necessarily attractive for another. H.G.Wells stated “Beauty is in the heart of the beholder”. Therefore as long as you feel beautiful other people will see that. With these ‘photoshoped’ images you should see what you want to see, not what you are told to see.
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“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.� Kahlil Gibran
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ighty percent of British men hate the way they look. However body image campaigns are always targeted towards women. With preconceived gender roles, men are perceived to be unaffected by airbrushed, unobtainable imagery. But this is not true. Statistics show that males are three times more at risk of suicide than women, with seventy percent of suicides being men. This demonstrates just how vulnerable men are and they should be considered in the same way as females.
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“Be yourself. The world worships an original.” Ingrid Bergman
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Don’t worry about reusing old makeup wipes, or even using them at all... you might as well just keep your makeup on 24/ 7.
Make sure you apply a thick layer of powder if you want to hide your natural complexion and gain a bright orange glow. Don’t worry about those smudges you leave on glasses and by the end of the night having lipstick smudged all round your mouth… the colour is hot!
Use for those blemishes... that were probably caused by wearing this anyway… but it does do a great job of covering up those every day natural imperfections.
How to get the black PANDA style for your beautiful eyes… Firstly the black eye shadow and eyeliner should be applied liberally using a 2cm radius around the eye.
When achieving your smooth legs… don’t worry if the razor looks slightly orange, that’s to be expected from the left over tan you still have on!
Secondly, to assist in achieving that bold PANDA style, remember to apply several thick layers of mascara until your eyelashes form into one big clump.
A top tip for your makeup utensils… make sure you use them right up until they break… get the maximum use out of the over-priced products!
Or for an even more extreme look you can additionally apply fake eyelashes. 27
This season’s trend is all about covering up the natural skin tone and creating an orange glow. Nothing can beat that patchy tanned look with the smell of fake tan that comes with it… perfect for a night out! Two great options are:
The Real Side of Perfection: #’s beauty secrets depict a humorous truth, but the main point is that you look how you want to look. Instead of advertising the normal perfect imagery of beauty cosmetics, the real side to achieving this idealistic perfection is displayed in the images of used tools and products. Beauty products can be used as a mask, which in turn can provide a confident and empowering feeling. There is nothing wrong with that, but when you are able to embrace and love your natural self, it becomes easier to expose the real you. An integral driver is to feel confident and to be happy within yourself. The famous quote, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, summarises how the perception of beauty is subjective. Beauty cannot be defined as it is based on a personal opinion. Always be aware of what Photoshop can do when looking at imagery in advertising and the media. The images should never be looked at as idealistic or real. Behind the airbrushing reveals a different story. You should see what you want to see, not what your told to see. 28
The ‘Dove summer glow nourishing lotion’ allows you to continuously build up that orange glow to reach that tantastic final colour.
Or there is Sally Hansen’s ‘Airbrushed Legs’, which gives you instant results. It is always best to choose the shade that is 10 times darker than your natural skin tone, as you want your tan to stand out in a lovely bright mahogany shade!
Beauty Warning: Always use gloves to apply the tan, as orange palms give away that you have applied it yourself and not had a professional spray tan!
“Happiness and confidence are the prettiest things you can wear.� Taylor Swift
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“The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.” Maisy Powell
negative is produced when using a manual camera that takes film, rather than the digital cameras that are vastly used today. A raw negative is the most truthful and purest form of imagery. It captures and records the real. It is the image before any manipulation and airbrushing. Negatives cannot lie, but photographs can. Therefore this ten paged photographic article was created to present the beauty of an untouched image formed by negatives. The originality of photographs can be lost in translation and it is important to remember, when looking at a re-touched photograph, what the original image would have looked like. You should see what you want to see, not what you are being told to see.
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“In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.� George Orwell
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ender Preconceptions Preconceived gender roles have been through an evolutionary transition where attitudes have changed through history. We are lucky in society today that equality is implemented in most societies, but of course, like many things in life, there are still improvements that could be made. Today we can see ‘house-husbands’ as well as ‘house-wives’ which, up until the 1970s, would have been frowned upon. But women now have a choice. Historically, in television and magazines, women’s roles were depicted into the common stereotypes, targeted towards women to infiltrate that their role is to their families as a mother and wife. It created pressures from all sides to conform. A pivotal change for women was fighting the right of equality with men.
Although Women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom began in 1832, it was only after the first world war that the Representation of the People Act 1918 was passed, enfranchising women over the age of 30 who met minimum property qualifications. The Representation of the People Act 1928 extended the voting franchise to all women over the age of 21. This allowed the evolution of equality seen in society today.
The acceptance of homosexuality and the recent passing of the legalisation of same-sex marriage is further gratification that in society today we can be our true selves and be proud of who we are. It is important to never change yourself for anyone just to please them. If they don’t like who you are, maybe you should change those people around you.
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inge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is most common amongst sixteen to twenty-four year olds. There is a danger when you are young of it developing into a habit.
Studies show that those who drink a lot in their teens and early 20s are up to twice as likely than those who are light drinkers to still be binge drinking 25 years later. Studies also show that drinking a large amount of alcohol over a short period of time is significantly more detrimental to your health than if you frequently drink in small quantities.
“I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.” Salvador Dali
“Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.” Katrina Scott
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“A problem shared is a problem halved” is a statement of great importance. The action of talking to someone and sharing thoughts, feelings and worries is an integral device. It not only makes you feel better, as if a weight is lifted from your shoulders, but that person maybe able to help solve your problems. Friends and family are a brilliant resource to turn to, but there are also campaigns set up to help and for added support.
Two campaigns that provide just this are ‘Body Gossip’ and ‘Campaign Against Living Miserably’ (CALM). Both are excellent organisations, which if you feel you need further support or information, they provide a great place to start. Additional information about these two organisations and their contact details are provided on pages 52 to 55.
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Body Gossip is a positive body image campaign that is working to banish body shame, encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves and rock their very own brand of gorgeous. The campaign is a great way to share any body issues or find inspiration from what others have said. Body Gossip invites people to write something about their body and send it to them. They then pick a selection of the pieces, which can be performed in live events by their celebrity cast, made into short films for the YouTube channel or published in the Body Gossip book. In September 2012 they launched their first ever Body Gossip book. The book is an anthology of more than 300 of the stories they had received from the public since the campaign began six years ago. The stories are written by men and women of all shapes and sizes, ages and races from all over the UK and cover everything from birth to ageing, pregnancy, sport, diets, illness, disability, ethnicity, sexuality, tattoos - anything body related! Some of the pieces are funny, some moving, some are controversial; but they are all inspiring. The book contains a foreword by Mr Body Confidence himself, Gok Wan, as well as entries from their celebrity supporters including Alesha Dixon, Jermain Defoe, Craig Revel-Horwood
and Anne Diamond. This can be purchased via their website http://www.bodygossip.org. They aim to teach self-esteem to individuals all over the UK, run University projects nationwide, and pioneer a healthy, celebratory attitude towards diverse beauty ideals. If you feel inspired to write your own body story or how you feel about other people’s bodies, or even the bodies in the public eye, they would love to hear from you. Your story could be chosen to be their story of the week, performed by their celebrity cast in a future live theatre event, made into a short film or published in the next book.
For further information: Website: http://www.bodygossip.org Blog: http://www.bodygossip.org/news Join their Facebook group: www.facebook.com/bodygossip Tweet them at: @_BodyGossip
Body Gossip is run and organised by people who are passionate about positive body image and who work for free to spread the message. At the centre of the Body Gossip Campaign are founders Ruth Rogers and Natasha Devon. An actor and a writer, these former class mates have both had personal experience of the detrimental effect of society’s obsession with body image.
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BodyGossipRuth founded the campaign in 2006 while studying acting in New York, and experienced first hand the pressures to look
“perfect”. She returned to the UK determined to start a movement that challenged this battle for perfection, that allowed real bodies to step into the limelight. Meanwhile BodyGossipTash was launching her own body confidence campaign in schools and colleges, having overcome an eating disorder (this has now become ‘Gossip School’). In 2008 Ruth and Natasha with their two campaigns joined forces to create this helpful organisation seen today.
WHAT BODY GOSSIP IS UP TO... Award winning ‘Gossip School’ endorsed by Gok Wan Gossip School teaches a self esteem class aimed at teenagers of both genders aged 11 right up to sixth form, college and university level. This is to help body confidence and self esteem get back into the public eye. It provides a platform for students to be able to consider and share their thoughts and feelings. Gossip School has now been delivered to more than fifteen thousand students over the UK. Research shows that 70% of girls and 30% of boys, aged 11-19, cite their relationship with their body as their “number one worry”. It also shows that body insecurity prevents young people from raising their hand in class, expressing an opinion, partaking in physical education lessons, or even turning up to school or college. Body Gossip find this unacceptable. Therefore through Gossip School it has enabled students to tackle and overcome issues such as eating disorders, self-harm and lack of confidence. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of bullying by encouraging students to have respect for themselves and for each other. To book a Gossip School class, or to request further information, you can call 0787 946 8882 or email natasha@bodygossip.org
The images below show the first Body Gossip book held by Craig Revel-Horwood and stills showing the film clips from their website.
Body Gossip on Tour Body Gossip on Tour (BGoT) is taking the Body Gossip message into Universities across the UK. The scheme encourages students to hold their own BGoT event within their own university. The objective of BGoT is to encourage students to think and talk more openly about their bodies. They will then worry less about their body image in the future. Many young people consider their bodies to be inadequate. Body Gossip on Tour is challenging this head on! For more information on hosting your Body Gossip on Tour event, please contact us at: bodygossip@srsh.co.uk
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For further information:
Website: www.thecalmzone.net Join their Facebook group: www.facebook.com/theCALMzone Tweet them at: @theCALMzone Free Magazine: CALMzine
The campaign against living miserably exists to prevent male suicide in the UK. Suicide accounted for the deaths of more young men in England & Wales in 2011 than road death, murder and HIV / AIDS all combined. They believe if men felt able to ask for, and find, timely and appropriate help when they need it, then hundreds of male suicides could be prevented in the UK. CALM believe that there is a cultural barrier preventing men from seeking help as they are expected to be in control at all times. Failure to be seen as such equates to weakness and a loss of masculinity. However this is not the case. The bravest thing to do is to talk about it and CALM is a service available to help you. CALM is a national charity with a helpline that takes calls from across the UK. They launched their ‘Merseyside CALMzone’ in 2000. Since then suicide in that region has dropped year on year among young men and sits below the average for the North West and England and Wales. Their approach is for, and on behalf of, men. They are not there to represent health professionals or the mental health industry. Their service was created by young men who seek to work with men they respect, feel comfortable with, and trust to get their message across.
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The statics are shocking. Men are three times more at risk of suicide than women. In 2011 for example, 76% of suicides in England and Wales were men. Whilst smoking and knife crime make the headlines, suicide doesn’t. Most men who take their own lives are not in contact with any agency and do not identify with much out there. From their research in 2012 with YouGov we know that 26% of people have seriously, or very seriously, considered suicide and it’s pretty equally balanced between genders. What is disturbing, is that it is men that often go ahead and actually take their lives. This gender balance in suicide is largely reflected across the world. CALM seek to offer immediate support to men who are down or in crisis, challenge a culture that prevents men seeking help when they need it, challenge the stereotypes that prevent men talking about the issues they face, and push for organisational change, so that there is better support for those seeking help.
WHAT CALM IS UP TO...
TOM, DICK & HARRY: 3 Young Men a Day On March 24th, the artistic talent of Soulful Creative graffiti writers Koze, 45rpm and Richt, withstood arctic temperatures to paint a huge billboard on London’s Old Street with their very special and pertinent message: TOM. DICK. HARRY. Every day three young men end their lives. Help stop male suicide. Suicide is something that every Tom Dick and Harry
LIVERPOOL HALF MARATHON A big congratulations went to Sefton Park Cricket Club who ran the Liverpool Half Marathon in full cricket gear, in memory of their friend and team mate Alex Miller. As a result they raised over £3,500 for CALM. Fund raising
may well think about, regardless of how successful, talented or popular they are. This is a toxic legacy which impacts on all communities. Only 1 in 10 of us are aware of the scale of the problem, so together with BMB, JCDecaux and Soulful Creative, they have set about raising awareness of the facts in the most creative and eye catching way possible. This great tribute event got the issue raised on Sky News.
events like these, along with public donations, enable this campaign to run and provide this essential service. CALM believes it is brilliant to see so many people who have done so much to get their message out there and enable their phone lines to keep going.
THE FUNNY WAY ROUND Jayne Toyne is preparing to sail solo NON STOP for an incredible 2,200 nautical miles around the coast of Britain, with the aim of raising smiles and funds for the CALM helpline. Jayne is planning to pass through 11 ‘HaHa’ gates, each one releasing five minutes of comedy for the public and Jayne herself to enjoy. An amazing challenge! FOR MORE INFO For lots more information on past and future events, visit their website http://www. thecalmzone.net/category/events/. If you wish to donate to CALM, any financial support is hugely appreciated as they are not funded by Government. From public donnations recieved so far they have recently been able to expand
their helpline to seven days a week. They would love to be able to double their call capacity and to run until 3 am every morning. With a cost of around £3,500 a week to run the helpline, donations are essential. This can be done via the website http://www.thecalmzone.net/donate/. And from CALM it is a big THANK YOU.
Talk to CALM Open 5pm-midnight, every day of the year. Nationwide: Call 0800 585858 London: Call 0808 802 5858 Calls are confidential and anonymous. The helpline is operated by SJ Helpline Services, a Community Interest Company set up to support the work of CALM by providing dedicated helpline services. Calls to the London number are free. Calls to the National number are free from payphones and from mobiles on 3, Virgin, Orange and Vodafone networks. Text Service London: Text CALM1 to 07537 404717 Merseyside: Text CALM2 to 07537 404717 For texts, they don’t charge, but your service provider might. Calls won’t show up on your phone bill.
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