In about fifth grade, I began my fixation of fashion. It started out with Seventeen for I liked that Just Bieber or someone vile like that (that I used to idolize) was on the cover once and the models wore clothing that I figured "the cool kids" wore. To be honest, the clothing I envisioned "the perfect Ann" would wear were quite banal. Print crop tops and skinny jeans or leggings. Things that showed off the "perfect body"of the perfect girl with the perfect boyfriend and perfect life. I just wanted to have that. As I have mentioned in many many other posts, I had serious self esteem issues. Not only did I find myself unbearably ugly, but also annoying, stupid, and basically just a bitch. These girls weren't any of those things to me. They had luscious long, straight, hair and I just wanted a piece of that. I wanted to be pretty like them. I used to tell my friends how gorgeous they were and how I just wanted to know what it was like to have guys think you're cute or not have to look in the mirror and hate everything I saw. Lets remember: I was eleven years old. What eleven year old should have to not feel good enough because their reflection isn't perfection? What person at any age should ever go through that? Not only were the magazines I was reading effecting my self hatred but the Internet was giving me the same false perception of what a beautiful female should look like. Websites such as tumblr (Ew I can't believe that I was ever that annoying 11 year old on tumblr) and We Heart It were showing me these gorgeous girls that I knew I would never look like. To sum up my years of fifth and sixth grade, it sucked. I couldn't look in a mirror, I hated my body, and my grades dropped for I was so caught up in this sick cycle of self loathing just because I wasn't some fucking Seventeen model. A lot has changed in the past two years. For starters, I became exactly what fifth and sixth grade Ann hated. I cut my hair short (I was obsessed with long has in fifth grade) and pierced my ears even more (I hated multiple piercings). My style became much less vile than the skimpy pieces of clothing I loved when I was eleven and twelve. Most importantly, I look up to people such as Tavi Gevinson and Hayley Williams and not some girl I saw in a magazine with pretty hair. Beauty still matters a lot to me but in the sense that it used to. Yes, I wear quite a bit of makeup and am slowly killing all the hair left on my scalp by straightening it so much but I like it like that. I don't need some "perfect" girl in some trashy magazine to show me who I want to be and as Carrie Hope Fletcher once said, "The girls in magazines don't even look like the girls in magazines.". To end on a happier note, an anonymous artist has been putting a large photoshop toolbar alongside highly edited advertisements with models in New York City subways. -Ann
*Pictures taken from tumblr
I realize how late this is but I wanted to take the time to really get all my thoughts together on the subject. About a week or so ago, Youtuber and Vine-er, Nash Grier, uploaded a video with his friends, JC and Cameron called "What Guys Look For In Girls"in which the three boys listed the things they look for in a girlfriend. They all said and agreed on many things that a potential girlfriend MUST have which I list below and put my own thoughts towards.
-You HAVE to be entertaining. "Entertain me"
This may seem rather shocking, but girls aren't here to entertain you. I agree that a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend should be fun and entertaining but saying that this said girlfriend must entertain you is flat out offensive.
Stay on top of me! (notify me when I should make a vine or film a video!)
What you are describing here is an assistant. Not a girlfriend. Yes I do realize that all three of you are moderately successful at such a young age and need a bit of a push to create the content you do. Your girlfriend is not your mom or assistant. Though you are dating, it is not your partner's job to "stay on top of" you.
MUST be outgoing. (later on in the video) you CANNOT be loud and annoying.
It is OK to prefer outgoing girls above shy and quiet girls but that contradiction you made about five minutes later gets complicated. What you are stating is that This said girl must be loud and fun and outgoing but she is at the same time, not aloud to be too loud and annoying. What you are looking for is not a girl. You are describing a robot that is absolutely perfect. A very very small percent of the world's population of girls is going to have this perfect balance and what you have to realize is that just like looks, a person's personality is not always going to be perfect.
Must Be Spontaneous (woohoo noise) I hate it when girls are all like ("girl voice") "Lets just sit on the couch and like talk".
First, that impression was not only rude but misogynistic. The three boys describe all the adventures they want to have with their girlfriends on a day to day basis and how they hate girls who aren't spontaneous. A little adventure is fun but expecting a girl to want to just randomly hike to Hollywood or go camping is ridiculous.
I like girls who are talented. Girls these days, are just all like "I'm just gonna marry a rich guy". They do nothing. It is cool if you are captain of the cheer team or sing (moans).
(JC) Yeah all girls are like "Just gonna get fake tits and show the guys."
This part gets me especially angry. It is great that you like girls who are talented. Who doesn't like a talented person? But there are only so many cheer team captains and singers. Also, since when were a girl's only ambition to marry someone rich and get fake breasts?
If you play hard to get, it is really hard. If you play easy then I'm all like "well she is a whore."
You're entire audience is made up of girls so how could you use such a misogynistic word? So what if I like a boy and don't want to "play hard to get"? Would that classify me as a whore? If you have the power to make such a large amount of people feel something, why would you put them down so much? I am called a whore enough and being labeled one by a boy who doesn't even know I exist hurts. Using that word is not only disgusting but abuse. Most of the girls watching your videos look up to you. Think about being called such a name by your role model.
-really bright smile!
-Freckles (Yo!!! pats knees)
-Dimples (moans)
-petite short girls
-Brunette
-Long wavy hair
-Natural look
I put these as a group because they all have something in common: no one can control wether or not they have freckles or dimples or their height. Yes you can dye your hair brown and grow it out but then that takes out the natural look. Unless a girl is born with all of these things somehow, that cancels out tons of girls on the planet.
-Dress well -No black lipstick -No lipstick at all (hard for making out) -Change up your hair -Get dressed up and dressed down -No peach fuzz! (bad for making out) -MUST SHAVE ARMS, LEGS, AND WAX LIPS -Change up your hair -Has reading glasses (all laugh) -"Natural look" These are all grouped together for they all have one thing in common-they have to do with appearance. Starting out with the "dress well" comment, how does the way I dress effect what kind of person I am? Yes, I do agree that clothing is a self expression and that some people dress kind of like the person I am but I still do not understand how a girl who dresses well will ever make the quality of your relationship higher. Moving on, not only is this potential girlfriend allowed to wear black lipstick, they can't wear any lipstick at all for it is hard to make out with also, this girl must wax her lips for the same reasons.Being only fourteen, I have only dated like two boys (and not even had a "serious relationship") but I can say that when I did date those guys, making out was not on the top of the list for everything we did. The relationship you seem to be describing seems more just like a pair of lips for you to hook up with. On top of it all, this girl must shave her arms, legs, and armpits because it is apparently disgusting if she doesn't. This is my body. Not yours. I find that shaving my legs takes up so much time that I could be spending doing something productive and shaving my arms is such a pointless task. It is fine if a girl wants to shave her body for her own reasons but never would I remove my hair for a douche of a guy. And what happened to that "natural look" you mentioned? My body naturally grows hair so in what way is natural to strip it of that? On top of it all, not only is it offensive to tell a human being that their peach fuzz and arm hair is gross, but it is abusive and a terrible thing to say to anyone no matter how disgusting you think their body hair is. -Plays video games (can't be as good as Cameron though he doesn't play them) This is explains itself I think. -Classy during the day but can get "freaky" at night -Has to be classy with friends and not one of the guys. She cannot be loud around them or be friends with their friends. What does this even mean? This said girl isn't allowed to make friends with their friends and must be quiet, classy, and ladylike. You are describing a pet not your girlfriend. -Can cook -Snowboards (hot!) -Plays sports (hottest girl sport is volleyball) The thing that bothered me about this was how they didn't want a girl who cooks or snowboards or plays volleyball because those things are interesting. They want a girl who participates in those activities because they consider it hot.
-Be yourself Here is just a question: how the fuck am I supposed to ever be myself if I am supposed to live up to all this criteria you put out for me? I like lipstick, my short straight hair, my arm and leg hair, and makeup. I don't have freckles or dimples and I am extremely tall. I suck at cooking and would probably die if I attempted snowboarding and I don't give a fuck if you think playing volleyball is hot. I hate sports. So tell me, how am I ever able to actually be myself if I will never fit the insane criteria you made for me and 300,000 other girls?
After the video was put up, I was amazed to see so many people react in so many different forms and ways. Here are some of the things that really touched me:
A slam poem made by Savannah Brown. This literally made me cry and touched me so much.
Peej Liguori showing how ridiculous these types of videos are. Complete with birthday cake.
Megan Tonjes responding to the topic.
A comment Hank Green, of Vlogbrothers, wrote on the video.
Hank is right. Nash's audience is made up of impressionable young teenage girls and putting out a message like this is terrible. The world and media is already filled with insane standards of beauty and having three fifteen year old (attractive to most) boys preaching to 300,000 girls who looked up to them is horrible. Since then, Nash did take the video down due to many angry tumblr users but as the internet works, it is impossible to delete something for good. Many people have re-uploaded it and if you want to watch it, I put it down below. All in all, I am disgusted that a boy about my age would ever create something so misogynistic.
OK OK as if I needed to get obsessed with another online shopping website, I have a serious love for The Pulp Girls. One of my favorite parts of this online store is that it is less than a shopping site and more of a community. This store is actually connected to one of my favorite online magazines The Pulp Zine! The Pulp Girls sells about everything from vests to crowns and everything is extremely unique and well designed. Another rad feature about the website is that though most of the clothing and accessories they sell look very vintage, some of the stuff actually is one of a kind vintage! The prices they put on their clothing is also extremely reasonable for what they are selling and though some things are a little expensive seeming, it is mostly because the product is handmade. The clothing are the kind of pieces that you must get your hands on they are so adorable! Though the products are extremely rad, my favorite part are the models. THEY LOOK LIKE ACTUALLY PEOPLE! The girls wearing these outfits on the website are beautiful but look like a woman you'd run into at the supermarket. They aren't heavily made up and don't need to be for they let their natural beauty shine.
Some of my favorite things on the website:
The Pulp Crowns are adorable! I would probably wear this everywhere and just show off how perfect it is.
Not only is the color of this dress SO cute (I love mint and pink) but the shape of it has a really retro feel to it. Also, there is a big pink bow in the back! And how could you forget the awesome flower crown the model is wearing?
I really love this jacket for it looks pretty normal in the front but pure awesome in the back! It is hand bleached and illustrated so provides a personal feel to it and is a serious Pulp original.
Can we talk about how awesome the model looks? I mean that right there must be a bitch face (Tavi reference) if it isn't already! Though this romper is extremely summery, I absolutely love the fabric!
Queens of the night badges. It has Morticia Adams on it. Need I say more?
I seriously want to put these Spooky Doll stickers all over everything.
Ryan Gosling badges? Yes please.
I fell in love with this bubblegum frill dress.
Not only is this picture just perfect, but that crop top could go with SO much and is super cute!
I just love the look of this photograph. The room she is in is so plain except for a small collection of framed pictures. Not only is the setting simple, so is the model. She isn't wearing fancy makeup or a special outfit. She's not even wearing a shirt. I just find it to be so mysterious and somewhat heart braking if you look closely on the girl's expression.
This one is a bit more interesting setting wise yet I find the facial expression of the model to be the most attracting. She seems in such deep thought. I have assumed she is reminiscing on past mistakes. The entire picture is so serene ad almost calming that I can't help but love it.
Hands down, this is my new favorite photograph of all time. I can't exactly pinpoint why but it just is. One reason why I took such a liking towards it is for I have always wanted to be in a band or maybe it is just because that pink electric guitar is rad.
I like the story of this one. The facial expression is hidden therefor, the viewer isn't able to assume the feelings this model has about these photographs. I find love it.
No I am NOT talking about what may first come to your head. By The "F Word" I refer to feminism. This idea of a blog post first came to my head when watching an episode of The Power Puff Girls with my sister. These little girls have a tough attitude and don't need help from any male roles. In fact, almost all the villains are men. This got me to thinking about other bad ass, no shit taking, women in TV and in our real world. My first example is an obvious one. Tavi Gevinson! Tavi is one of the biggest feminists I have heard of and has always been a young activist. I admire her for being such a powerful person and writer even though her age is rather young.
Hello sweetie! River Song from Doctor Who is such a strong woman who doesn't rely on anyone. Not even the Doctor! I mean it takes serious power to have a dallec screaming "Mercy" (Ann is a nerd). Even though my true love is Amy Pond, River is such an amazing character for this show and is a relief from the other companions (as fabulous as they are) who rely on others and the Doctor for help. And have you seen her hair? This amazing feminist character is less known and yet is probably the best super villain ever. With Powerpuff Girls being one of the most watched shows in my house, I have probably seen every single episode a million and one times. One of the best ones would definitely be one involving an awesome villain named Femme Fatal who robbed banks and refused to take anything but Susan B. Anthony coins. Best thing ever? I think so. -Ann
A lot has changed in the past two years. For starters, I became exactly what fifth and sixth grade Ann hated. I cut my hair short (I was obsessed with long has in fifth grade) and pierced my ears even more (I hated multiple piercings). My style became much less vile than the skimpy pieces of clothing I loved when I was eleven and twelve. Most importantly, I look up to people such as Tavi Gevinson and Hayley Williams and not some girl I saw in a magazine with pretty hair. Beauty still matters a lot to me but in the sense that it used to. Yes, I wear quite a bit of makeup and am slowly killing all the hair left on my scalp by straightening it so much but I like it like that. I don't need some "perfect" girl in some trashy magazine to show me who I want to be and as Carrie Hope Fletcher once said, "The girls in magazines don't even look like the girls in magazines.". To end on a happier note, an anonymous artist has been putting a large photoshop toolbar alongside highly edited advertisements with models in New York City subways.
