Final web-essay

I want to create a web-essay about the diet market that influences the beauty myth. This appeals to me because I have a large amount of knowledge on nutrition and fitness, but after this class I have learned how these things associate with the world as success goals. People do not work out and eat healthy necessarily for their health. But most of the people that follow the diet industry do so to be considered beautiful for sexual appeal. Somewhere along the way, people started believing the media that thin is pretty. America is the largest followers of the diet market. Other areas of the world have different views of what beauty means. But in America, the common concept of fitness is not for health, but it is for beauty. This is where the beauty myth comes in. Our class has followed the different beauty myths that people live by. I want to approach magazines such as Shape and Self, along with diet programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem and more. I want to research the information that these programs and guides provide with people that are trying to lose weigh. I also want to research the common tips given for fitness. And I want to research the diet market profit from national records. This appeals to me because I read all of these magazines, but do not follow the advice that helps guide healthy living.

http://www.marketdataenterprises.com/DietMarket.htm

^This website will guide most of my web-essay. It provides fact and fun focus of the aspects that are not directed towards living healthy, but seem to really market towards becoming beautiful.

http://bx.businessweek.com/fitness-and-nutrition-industry/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweightlossdietsplans.blogspot.com%2F

^This website will provide the national estimates of how much the diet market is worth.

http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=1655

^This will look at the fitness market.

http://www.fitnessmarket.com.au/shop/

^This is entire website of fitness related products and fitness enhancement drugs.

Kinky - BQA correlation

BARBIE IN THERAPY from Kinky

I have two favorite quotes from this passage, “ I feel frustrated.. Barbie finally says, bursting into what would be sobs if she possessed tear glands. What do I wear to therapy? Barbie wants to know.”

“Barbie writes her first check, hoping that just around the corner, she’ll get to the real issues which are full and fleshy, and anything but plastic.”

I picked this passage just because of the name. Barbie in Therapy because psychology is my major and I thought I would enjoy it, which I did. This passage relates to Older Heads on Younger Bodies: “Not all these places and paths of meaning occur in every Barbie story. Not do all Barbie stories contain such a logical correlation between thought and action as does this one – in which hatred lead to destruction and resistance to the doll matches resistance to human referents – although, just as important, some do.” This quote is similar to Barbie in Therapy because it discusses the correlations between Barbie stories and how children play with Barbie. It talks about how the doll matches the child, which is similar to getting down to the real issues beyond the plastic. 

WeEk SiX

Body Outlaws: Intimate Enemies

“So now I am walking every day with two-pound weights on each ankle and wrist, taking my Tums for calcium after every meal, puffing morning and night, telling waiter after waiter ‘I have a severe allergy to eggs’ and I’m still trying to figure out where the freedom and joy went.”

I like this quote because when I first went to college I noticed myself gaining a substantial amount of weigh and I assumed it was the “freshmen fifteen” coming to haunt me. But I found out after my first semester that I had food allergies. As people are going away to college, there is a rising amount of gaining food allergies because of the changes in diet and sleep patterns. I didn’t have a food allergy nearly as bad as she’s describing hers, but I feel for her because of the constant struggle she has just by trying to eat what she can. I remember scanning menus at restaurants and finding very little that I could eat and it was frustrating for sure.

“My body is my own, although it betrays me without mercy. I live with it and take care of it. My body talks to me. I have a talent in knowing exactly when I need to sleep, when I need to eat, when to stop the stress of research papers and exams. I’m so in touch with my body that I sleep when I should be writing those papers. I don’t have less energy than others; I’m simply more aware that I’m running down before I actually run myself down. I have been given a gift of self-awareness, an awareness that other people I know haven’t developed as much.”

This quote sums up the whole reading because she knows that she lives differently than others but she accepts it and tries her best to cater to her body. She is empowered but still cautious of her special circumstances.

Mondo Barbie: Astrology Barbie:

“Barbie’s potential for combining the material world with her inspired philosophical vision would be tremendous.”

Astrology Barbie is about Barbie learning all the things that will come her way in life. She learns that she will have money and fame, while being linked to the handicapped. She will meet Ken and they will be like soul mates. I like this reading because it puts perspective to how Barbie’s life will turn out and it’s all of the stories that have been told about her over the years. 

Week 5

MONDO BARBIE

Voodoo Silences- “Crashing down the staircase, blind with new tears, and into the musty downstairs and then the garage. ‘It’s all right. It’s all right.’ I’m promising myself as much as I’m promising to Barbie. ‘It’s going to be okay. Daddy can fix anything.” –I like this line because as a little girl I felt the same way when any of my toys were broken I would always think my dad could fix it. I never worried as much as I would cry because I knew my dad would find some way. This quote explains exactly how every little girl reacts to the small heartbreaks of childhood.

Barbie Wonders About Buying a Coffin- “She wonders if they will bury her in a ballerina costume, a rodeo suit, if they’ll shave her hair or braid it.” –I like this quote because it seems like even in death, Barbie has to think about fashion and how she will look. It just completes the whole Barbie image of all the combinations of styles and accessories.

BODY OUTLAWS

Memoirs of a (sorta) ex-shaver- “This experimental style was eventually eclipsed by more conventional methods: my own pastel disposable ten pack, a can of Barbosal shaving cream and, a few hours later, a smear of Nivea cream to ease chafing. When I shaved at night, I would lie in bed rejoicing in gloriously silky legs, feeling like a real woman.” I like this quote because she explains how it was a big deal to her and I like that by shaving she feels like a real woman. She thinks of shaving as a huge transformation from herself to this young lady. It’s descriptive and I like her style of writing.

I love the steps for shaving regions on page 58-59. They are funny and it gives spunk to the story. She claims she stops shaving for a short time but can’t stay unshaven, then she gives this list of areas that hair can grow and she gives comic relief to the hassle and pain of shaving.

The Elephant and Ice Cream- “and that’s why people drink. Because it’s guaranteed every time that if you take that four-ounce glass of vodka, your mood will change. You will feel better. It’s fast, it’s easy. And it doesn’t deal with a damn thing.” This analogy of food and alcohol never kicked in for me before. I didn’t realize it is the same thing, people eat when they are upset or angry and other people drink when they experience those same emotions. They are two ways to cop out from dealing with the real issue. It should make people sit back and realize they are just masking the pain they are feeling.

First Paper

I enjoyed writing this paper. It was cool to watch the movie, Gender Codes, to understand how models are posed to have hidden meanings. I always knew the phrase, "sex sells," but I never knew the deeper meaning. I wouldn't have known that there are specific poses that interpret so much. Then it was cool to put that new understanding to advertisements we got to critique. It was a good start to assignments because it was our opinions as well. It was not the stiff research assignments like most classes. It was interesting and fun to look closely at ads we use everyday and see what was trying to portray. It was different and fun. It was helpful that we had time in class to peer review and ask questions. I have never had a teacher that emphasized peer editing as much, but it definitely led to better results.  

Important Quotes

From Mondo Barbie:

“This and a dress invented from an old sock when we cut holes here and here and here, the cuff rolled over for the glamorous, fancy-free, off-the-shoulder look.” I chose this quote because it expressed their creativity because they couldn’t buy all the different outfits and accessories that are made for Barbie. They still feel fashionable, without the glitzy ball gowns and perfectly matching outfits that are made for her. It made the girls seem to understand a sense of reality with their own creativity and imagination.

“So what if our Barbies smell like smoke when you hold them up to your nose even after you wash and wash and wash them. And if the prettiest doll, Barbie’s MOD’ern cousin Francie with real eyelashes, eyelash brush included, has a left foot that’s melted a little – so? If you dress her in her new “Prom Pinks” outfit, satin splendor with matching coat, gold belt, clutch, and hair bow included, so long as you don’t lift her dress, right? – who’s to know.” I love this quote because it’s a little sad that the girls have Barbies that smell like smoke and are covered in soot, but they make the best of the situation. They sound empowering and confident. Its hard when you’re a child and you don’t have access to all the great toys that your peers are playing with, but these girls are happy just to be able to have the half melted Barbies. They are brave and the way they say so what? is great.

From Body Outlaws:

“Now, I wouldn’t strip in a smoky, dim club for men who like to exercise control from the shadows – too often using more than just imagination or money. But I live every day in a misunderstood body, and I have never had a day that taught me more confidence, more self-love or more power than the day I stripped.”  This is the best quote because you can understand the confusion and the scare. “Misunderstood body” is the best way to describe this story because this person is not sure if female or male is a category that suits them. But there was confidence finally after stripping because people respected the performance and probably made the audience feel better too.

“I introduced the room to my transsexual body, my disabled body, my woman’s body.” I chose this quote because she had to strip to become herself or accept living as either a man, woman, or with no gender. Stripping changed her feelings of who she was and wasn’t worried about what others thought anymore.

I like that with blogging, it is a journal that can be viewed by everyone. People can share their feedback and opinions on similar subjects. It is a way for other people to share interests. 

First Blog

My name is Annamarie Schroder. I am a psychology major with a Spanish and art history minor. I am from Cincinnati. I have two older siblings, I have one brother and one sister. Each of us are four years apart. I enjoy reading romance and travel novels, watching movies and being active. I have a Siberian Husky named Tundra. An interesting book to read is Eat, Pray, Love; if anyone is interested in travel and a true story about a woman's journey through Italy, India and Indonesia. I am interested in travel; a few summers ago I went to Paris, London, Barcelona and Madrid. And the following summer after that I traveled to Greece and Turkey. My dream is to travel to Italy to experience the food and architecture/art. I was in journalism in high school and always thought I would be a writer; but orientation of college I randomly changed to psychology.