ME-SO-SOUP
1
Editors Letter Hi everyone, if you have gotten this far then I must be doing something right! If you are confused about the title don’t be, it’s called ME-SOSOUP. Why, well beause evryone as there own ingridents that makes them unique, creating there own personlised soup.I knew that I wanted to create something that inspired everyone, I wanted it to allow people to share their differences and to show people just how beautiful they are. To show people that everyone is different, and is a hybrid in their own way! This issue is about exploring those differences in men and women and making everyone aware of how normal these traits are. From loving your acne to struggling to love and appreciate your beautiful bodies. For example, the article about the affects the fashion and beauty industry have on men, a very unexplored area that not a lot of people are familiar with. Or maybe the review on Hanna Moon & Joyce Ng: English as a Second Language, which gives a look at the different ideas of beauty in other cultures. If all this pointless waffling as interested, you in any please fill free to read the rest of my zine. Which will hopefully inspire you to accept your insecurities and love the amazing and beautiful for person you are!
Interview
1
With Rozz Torres
Rozz Torres is a micro influence from Venezuela, she has vitiligo and uses her Instagram to spread self-love and awareness to others. She has around 3,000 followers and her page consist of pictures of her and the model work she has done. She has labelled herself as an alternative model and has work with many small companies in Venezuela. I came across her on my news feed under one of the hashtags I follow, her picture of her siting by a lake. It highlighted her vitiligo and I was captivated by how confident she looked. I knew she would make a great addition to my zine as she was someone that was unique in her own way. what does confidence mean to you? Confidence means being happy with who you are without having any fear of who you are. Even if you have a particular defect or you are different to someone else, without fearing or doubting your beauty. To trust yourself, and to accept and love who you are. Why did you start your Instagram account? As I said before I have always been confident with my self and my body, but I know not everyone out there is. For me Instagram was a perfect way to spread my message about self-love and self-acceptance. I wanted to inspire people who where struggling with their self-acceptance, by showing them that they are beautiful no matter what. When did you get followers on your page? I got followers when I started using the account correctly. Not so much personal and private but publishing using hash tag according to my content.
Would you say that vitiligo affected your confidence? My confidence was not affected because I grew up with my vitiligo and they taught me that this was the way I was. That they loved me, and I should love me even though I was different than some other children. I taught other children in my class about my vitiligo, all the way through my time at school. What advice would you give to someone who is not so confident as you with their body? That they should accept themselves no matter what. That they can live a happy life and achieve their dreams even if they have a condition like me. Do you think social media can have a negative effect people’s confidence and selfesteem? No, because beauty standards now are not as systematic as it used to be. In terms of social media, I feel that everyone is creating their own content, people are choosing to use their platform to motivate others. I think it is more about the choice you make as a viewer in term of who you are following and what you are exposed to. How would you describe yourself and what you want to do for people with vitiligo? I would say that I am indescribable, that my differences make me unique, and unlike anyone else. I want to inspire people with my views on vitiligo and to use myself as an example, as to how someone can accept there flaws and love themselves.
1
What kind of reaction did you get from other people? I often get told by people that I have helped become much more confident with themselves, and that makes me feel good. I can see changes in their attitude they visible look more confident and happier. Obviously, there are a few trolls and people how don’t support me, but overall it I get mostly positive reactions. What are your views on conventional beauty standards? I feel as if they our currently being demolished by the idea of “alternative” beauty standards, people are realising that everybody is beautiful. Which makes me quite emotional as I have always struggled with society’s beauty standards. The idea that “real” beauty is now becoming popularised and that everyone isn’t “perfect” is so pleasing to me. Do you think there is enough representation of people with vitiligo in the mainstream media? There is a lot more now than there was, and it feels mw with joy, we have been able to motivate people to how the world that they are not afraid of who they are! In an ideal world, what would society’s beauty standards look like? There would be no standards, we all shine on or own. Everyone’s beauty will stand out, people will show how unique and different they our as individuals.
After speaking to Torres I have gained a whole new appreciation for people that have vitiligo. Her view on beauty amazes me and It has made me rethink my idea of beauty standards as a whole. You can tell she really loves her skin and body and it is so inspiring. I really hoped you loved reading Torres views as much as I loved speaking with her, so no that note I hope this interview inspired you as much as it did me!
1
Male Sophrosyn
the virtue on which they insisted was sophrosyne , knowing the limits which nature fixes for human conduct and keeping within them.
When I think of men in the media the first thing that comes into my mind is adverts that feature someone who is seen as ideal or perfect. I mean these men look like Greek Gods, am I right? But how many people do you know that look like that, not many that’s for sure. This means that it’s not hard for men to be easily affected by the pressure of the perfection they see online. But not all of that Is real, many social media and reality stars are paid to promote brands. So, a lot of the content broadcasted is fake, creating a false reality for people to look up to. That’s not the only problem, the idea of toxic masculinity has become a big problem in recent years. This can have serious affects on men, as they felt as if they must act tough and hard to be more manly. This leads to a lot of men not speaking out and they often hide their feelings, I mean statistics show us that men are more than three times as likely to commit suicide. Which is a figure I was surprised to hear! Believe it or not, even though Eating disorder occur more in women, one and three men will suffer with one. Which surprised me as I haven’t and don’t hear stories about men and boys that do suffer form an eating disorder. A lot of males have misconceived notions on the body image so tend to suffer with different types of eating disorder. One of the main disorder’s men suffer from is something called bigorexia. This is when men desire to have big muscles and with become obsessed with going to the gym. This can be linked back to the pressure they get from the fashion media.
1
After writing and researching into this subject, my eyes have been opened. I now know the pressure men face when it comes to there mental health. I hope my article has helped you gain a better understanding on this subject, and to help and promote these issues with me!
The adventures of Gary
with Katy Charlton
editorial photos
Gary, where do I start with start with Gary. Well in short Gary is Katy loveable sidekick, they have been together for as-long as she can remember. They have stuck together through tick and thin and slain many demons that have come across there path. She cannot live with out Gary and he cant live without her. He is one of the many ingredients that make up her own soup, and without him she wouldn’t be the beautiful person she is today.
1
Beautiful Battle Scars by Ismhan Afrah
1
I decided to collaborate with an Illustrator has I wanted something that highlighted and made a feature of my model scars. The aim of this piece was to blend the beauty of nature with the beauty of her scars. She wanted it look like the trees and flowers were sprouting from her, this was to represent the beauty she held within. I love how it turned out as I feel that it showcases my models scares and really shows the beauty it them.
Review of English as a second langaue; Hannah Moon & Joyche Ng Set in the Somerset house a very historical and British building Hannah Moon and Joyche Ng showcase English as a second language. Both originating from South Korea, they met at Central St martins in 2010. Which makes the title of the exhibition have so much more meaning as English was there second language. The had to completely had to change and adjust to their new-found life in western society. This really translates into this exhibition, I felt that I got to understand them and get a feel for the views they had on western culture. The exhibit itself is split into three parts, with two of the being focused on pieces made by Moon and Ng separately. These consists of many photographs taken from fashion spread they have done for magazines such as AnOther and Dazed. Throughout I could see how they have blended both cultures together with many of the models being from different backgrounds. With the photos being produced over four years, it shows how everyday people incorporate their culture in to their everyday life. A lot of the pictures are taken of normal people that share similarities to the photographers. Giving the me an inside look at to what the photographers felt like. You can see the confusion in these people faces, as they are trying to live in a foreign place.
1
It almost made me question myself and how I saw my body to almost question my own individuality. With all the models having their own sense of uniqueness, no pieced looked the same. They created their own style that was completely their own and I loved that. Which was interesting to me as I got to see another side of beauty. It allowed me to rethink my own interpretation of beauty. The final instalment was pieces made and taken by both Moon and Ng, which was directly connected to Somerset house. As you may know Somerset house is an old navy headquarters and has deep routed British history. I was amazed how the took the traditional British elements of the house and again blended it with Asian culture. I noticed that many of the photographs included both Asian cultural signs and symbols. This created a direct link to the person background, giving the photographs a backstory. I was immediately drew to them and wanted to know more about the person in the picture. Overall the whole exhibit gave me and major look into the beauty standards of these many cultures. With pieces telling me a story, of how the person came to create their own individuality. I would highly recommend these exhibit as it allowed me to open my mind to both fashion and beauty. It made revaluate my idea of individuality and gave me new ideas as to how I could express myself. So, if you are struggling to except or embrace your weakness maybe check out this exhibit. Hopefully it will inspire you as much as it inspired me!
1
1