Cosmo could be connected to Child Sexual Predators?

There is not a word in my brain that describes the magazine known as Cosmopolitan. If you read this blog AND read Cosmo, you should stop at least one. I'm not trying to lose readers, I am just being blunt. If there is one anti-feminist and anti-women magazine out there, it would be Cosmopolitan.

Trust me, I used to be a reader of Cosmo. I used to eye sweep the articles about makeup, fashion and sex on a regular basis. Then something happened to me, I started realizing how badly I felt about myself after I read them. I remember cutting out pictures of the models and saying "I will look like this!" Even though the model was slightly anorexic and looked nothing like me.

Some women state that Cosmo is the "Women's Bible", but the only thing it really does is tell you how to sex up your boyfriend, husband and male lover. Or tell you how to do the perfect orgasm, which incidentally, includes your man friend. (So essentially the tips are just for straight women!) It also includes interviews of stars who brag about their lifestyle, tell them how great their relationships are and then tell their haters to stop hating because they are ugly. Great.

Sometimes it includes great tips about fitness, but usually does not educate women on the risks of overexercising, anorexia, bulimia or body image issues. Sometimes it has a page or two on social justice issues, but it's usually the latest fab or celebrity issue asking for money. It does not actually give average people the chance to make change unless they donate money.

Finally, what drew me to the pages today was a young women I worked with looking at the "hot meter" of celebrity men. Daniel Radcliffe was at the bottom for what? He decided to share that he prefers his women more natural down there. And you know what Cosmo said about that.....GROSS! That made me step back and say, wait what? That should be considered a good thing?!?! Shaving your pubic area makes you more susceptible to bacteria...it also reminds child predators about children. Think about it when was the last time you saw your area hairless if you don't shave it regularly....pre-puberty right? I'm not saying men who prefer it hairless is a predator but I am saying it has an interesting similarity!

Alright, don't put down your Cosmo yet. Take a look at what messages it gives you before you do. Make a choice, what is Cosmo feeding you? A heterosexual men dominated lifestyle that ignores the real issues faced by women across the world...that's not something that I want to read. If it's what you want to read or you get something different from it, let me know. That's what comments are for.

Yes, you do have a choice...and it's all yours

Remember when I wrote about how I wasn't going to shave anymore? (That post here.)

Well I started shaving again. It got way too uncomfortable being that long and bushy everywhere. Although I still don't shave my legs as much as some girls and I only trim up the other areas. I realized that I have a choice in my beauty. Of what I do, of where I shave and don't shave and that society (and other individuals) may press me to do more, I am not hurting anyone by shaving, or not shaving, or trimming, or wearing makeup, or not wearing makeup, or spending money on clothes, or stealing clothes from dumpsters to save money.

You are wondering why I have this topic in my mind again. It's because this article was shown to me and got me thinking.

For the people who do not like to read, my favorite quote from the article that sums up my feelings about beauty and shaving:

Though the song was written in just a few minutes, Palmer feels it has a deeper meaning -- yes, we're talking about pubic hair freedom now. "I've been really shocked and distressed to find out that 8- and 9-year-old girls are getting all their pubic hairs waxed off by their mothers," she says. "I think if I have any purpose at all, it's to stand up there and say, 'Oh, no, no, no, no, girls. You totally have a choice. You can wax it, you can shave it, you can grow it out, and this really is up to you.' That's the way that I feel about everything, that you just need to know there's a choice out there."

I agree with this artist, you really do have a choice with everything you do. Especially with beauty, if you don't want to conform to the standards, don't. If you do, then do. You are the only one that has to deal with your hair (unless you are rich enough to hire someone to do that on a daily, hourly basis). You are the only one to look at the mirror and see yourself everyday (granted you look in a mirror everyday, sometimes I don't). But you are the one that deals with you, so make those choices about yourself for you.

I'll leave you non-readers with the video and song the article was talking about, too. :)

Hairless Beauties....BUT DON'T SHAVE YOUR HEAD!!!

DISCLAIMER: This may be a little too much information, but I warned you.

Today as I forgot to grab my razor to go in to the shower, yet again for the 7th time in a row, I realized how our society asks women to shave their body hair off to be beautiful. Last summer, for the first time since I was 12 years old, I let my pubic hair grow out for a whole month! It was one of the most freeing things I have done! At first I thought it was going to be so uncomfortable, but I actually liked it. (I have since, then trimmed!)

It's interesting how people assume because I am a Women's Studies major that I am a traditional feminist and how they assume that I do not follow beauty standards, like shaving your legs/armpits/body. I don't shave my legs because I do not have the time, not because I am a feminist. I do not shave my armpits because I forget my razors, not because I am a feminist.

But today, as I forgot my razor, once again, I thought, you know what? I am just gonna stop shaving there.

And then as I sat there doing my hair (on my head) I realized that although I get tons of compliments on my thick blonde hair, I really actually hate doing it...So maybe I should stop that too.

Women must be hairless in our society to be beautiful, but they dare not to shave their heads...

Is beauty a social construct or an individual one? People say that 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.' But is that really true? I'm starting to think NO.

Now, I know, I'm a lucky person. I'm gonna admit it right here and right now. I'm actually attractive. I have my bad days with body issues, but I have never suffered from low-self esteem in the body department. I have always thought I was beautiful. There are things that I want to change at random times of my life, but it's never really made me suffer self-esteem wise.

I'm also lucky because my beauty is one from the social construct. I have blue eyes and blonde hair. This is what society usually shows as attractive. For the record, I have always wanted to be an Audrey Hepburn beauty, but I have settled on Marilyn Monroe.

Tomorrow, I am going to shave my body for the last time. Not for forever, just until I decide that I can be beautiful with out changing what my body gives me. (in hair terms, I sell makeup so I can't give that up)

My last question: Does this now make me a traditional feminist? haha