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In this Twitter News Moment, a Polish student reacts to accusations that she is pretending to be black, and transforming her look to appear so.

In a new picture, the teen has a darker complexion, braids, and a curvier body than a previously posted one. Many people are claiming she underwent surgery to attain these new features, but she argues that it is all natural.

The news brings back a conversation about the current form of “blackface.” Instead of white people intentionally and clearly painting their faces black, they are casually over-tanning their skin and seems to almost transform their ethnicity. This form of cultural appropriation is disheartening because again, white people are being celebrated for traits black people have been victimized for.

Another user in the conversation points out how the “globalization of beauty” makes the ideal beauty standard even more unattainable. The different features that are considered beautiful are now from a mix of ethnicities and so it is impossible for any one person to obtain them all.

This begins a new conversation regarding what is a beauty trend/goal vs. what is a cultural’s tradition. Transforming beauty ideals forces a society to decipher this question.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1070305392213798917

Text: https://celebrity.nine.com.au/2018/12/05/10/39/beyonce-ed-sheeran-global-citizen-festival-outfit-debate-gender-standards

The contrast between clothing choices between Ed Sheehan and Beyonce at the Global Citizen festival sparked out-roar between fans; many claiming it shows a double standard between men and in women regarding success and expectations.

The two performed Perfect, Beyonce in a grand, pink while Sheehan in jeans and a t shirt (pictured above. While normally this would be overlooked, the juxtaposition allowed for fans to uncover a deeper meaning/concept. The woman in the duet had to prepare 10 times as harder to do the same show as the man.

In this case, the attention is more heavily placed on Beyonce because of her choice of dress. While I think Ed Sheeran should be free to wear what he pleases and it is not very critical in the case of music performers, I do think woman have higher exceptions placed on them compared to men in everyday life, especially in the workplace. Learning from this situation, it is important to judge and focus on the talents/skills of a person, rather than their gender. And as always, women and men should be treated equally.

Article: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/shortcuts/2018/dec/04/jameela-jamil-war-on-airbrushing-beauty-fashion

Jameela Jamil (pictured below) has been in the news quite often recently. “The Good Place” actress is known for her acting but also for her activism for feminism and realism in the media.

She recently called out many celebrities for advertising harmful products like detox teas to their young audience. Jamil stated that these promote unhealthy eating habits and inspire young girls to starve themselves. In this article, Jamil explain how airbrushing is harmful for the self-esteem of all women as well, and should be stopped.

Airbrushing, with its ease in accessibility thanks to smartphone app is growing tremendously. I agree that it provides women with false standard of beauty that are unattainable. The force to stop it must be strong, which is why Jamil efforts are so important and influential.

Jamil’s bravery to call out specific prominent women is extremely respectable. Like we discussed in the beauty and hegemony unit, for the false beauty standards to diminish, each and every woman must be brave enough to call out problems when they see them. With her platform, Jamil is making great strides towards a more honest and healthy society.

The projected look of the new Disney character, “Mira.”

Disney recently announced their next Disney Junior show, a mystery cartoon starring a South Asian young girl and as well as entire character list and cast.

Article: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/mira-royal-detective-disney-junior-1.24189348

The show, better late than never, is a symbol of the rise in representation in the media, specifically for young people. People of South Asian decent have been irresponsibly and unacceptable left out of television, movies, and major media forms. This show, comprised of actors such as Hannah Simone and Frieda Pinto, will allow girls like me to see themselves as important individuals capable just as capable as their peers.

The full cast list is composed of:

Freida Pinto (2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” Hulu’s “The Path”), Hannah Simone (Fox’s “New Girl”), Kal Penn (the “Harold and Kumar” feature films), Jameela Jamil (NBC’s “The Good Place”), Utkarsh Ambudkar (2012-17 Fox and Hulu series “The Mindy Project”), Aasif Mandvi (Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”), Sarita Choudhury (Showtime’s “Homeland”) and Aparna Nancherla (Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman”). Sarayu Blue (“I Feel Bad”).

The main character in the show, “Mira” is descried as a “brave” and “resourceful” detective. The show ignores stereotypes by portraying Mira as a detective, an uncommon position for a South Asian in media. She is portrayed as strong and independent, which is important for a young girl to see growing up.

10 Ways the Beauty Industry Tells You Being Beautiful Means Being White

When Googling “beautiful women”, I was expecting to see mostly white women but some women of color. The utter lack of women of color was fully disheartening, even in todays world, with 40% non-white US population.

Like this articles explains, the beauty industry has brainwashed society into thinking that white features are beautiful features.

Viola Davis, a successful actress is cited as an example of the beauty biases.

Another African American actress, Zoe Kravitz, is much more sexualized and fawned over in the media and by society because she has more European features; Zoe has lighter skin and a skinny nose. Viola on the other hand, is arguably more successful but less fawned over because she has nontraditional ‘pretty’ features, such as her darker skin and bigger lips.

It is important to increase the representation media to widen the meaning of beauty. The idea, that so many one girls strive toward, should not be emobodied by one look; a look that is impossible for many you girls to achieve naturally. The result of this hegemony, is harmful skin lightening creams and plastic surgeries that are putting young women lives in danger because of a manmade made conception of beauty.

NPR’s list of best albums of 2018 needed to be mentioned in at least one blog post. The top 10 albums, comprised all of women, demonstrates the growth/success of representation in todays age.

We all know women have been capable of being equal to men, but now it is being widely recognized by the major corporations. The list comprised of all women, with a variety of ethnicities, nationalities, and popularity rankings show the new intersectionality within the media and public eye.

This list is so critical as it displays a rise in diversity with the representation in media. Women like Cardi B and Mitski give girls of color hope that their dreams are possible. There is no longer one type of famous woman. There is no longer one look to success.

There is also a variety of genres included in the list. From rap to country, women artists and bending the rules of genre to create what is personal to themselves, creating a more open and welcoming industry for both creators and listeners to express themselves. Kacey Musgrave, for example, is getting a lot of attention because she is a rather liberal country artist who would like to transform the reputation of country music.

The list with reactions, can be found on this Twitter moment:

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1070086604713271296

‘Thank u, next” is the biggest music video of 2018. Ariana Grande’s video broke numerous records for its immediate popularity and response within the first 24 hours of its release. It has collected over 100 million views in the first week and there are many reasons why, many pertaining to feminism.

Grande wrote the song after the large amount of publicity after her break up. The song, however, focuses on concepts so much larger than that. In the song, Grande focuses on the idea of learning from her breakups.

Usually, women in media are portrayed as weak, emotional and sensitive. This video breaks those stereotypes by displaying an array of strong women (Grande’s friends and many prominent actors), focusing on themselves, rather than the men they are supposed to please. Grande utilizes feminist theories by expressing her sexuality in the different scenes resembling many classic movies.

Regarding the video, which she was featured in, Jennifer Coolidge explains that when she was growing up there was no video like this one that taught women to “get over and move on” after breakups.

Grande’s rise to fame in general is parallel to the rise in feminism. She embodies, a strong, confident women expressing her thought, talents, and sexuality unapologetically.