Comments on: What Helen Mirren Is

By: littlem

littlem — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:41:49 +0000

Toby, thank you for that. I read that yesterday and, even though a writer named Karen Murphy on the one of the “mom” blogs (Strollerderby, maybe?), condemned the practice as surgeons deciding they all needed new yachts at the price of moms’ collective self-esteem (I’m paraphrasing, of course), the moms that responded on the blog all said ambivalent things like “I’m not going to judge what anyone else should do with their body…”, which is, IMHO, a moral and libertarian standard but

a) does nothing whatsoever to address the meta-message that if you’re a woman and your body doesn’t spring back to 19-yo-firm-skinny-youthiness the NANOSECOND after giving birth, you’re ZOMG letting down the side!!!

b) does nothing to address the metamessage that natural womens’ bodies are wrong and disgusting and post-baby cosmetic surgery is now not optional, but MANDATORY.

Anyone else feel like the century of Logan’s Run has arrived just a tad early?

By: Violet

Violet — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:50:30 +0000

I have a girl crush on Helen Mirren.

By: MizShrew

MizShrew — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:17:13 +0000

I saw a feature on Rachel Zoe recently, and honestly, why does anyone hire her? Seems like a stylist’s personal style would be looked at a bit like a walking resume, and she looks like a starved leftover extra from the “Less Than Zero” movie set. (Yes, I’m dating myself here, but still, she screams late ’80s to me.) Is that the look these famous people want? Weird.

But then, I’m not exactly hip, so what do I know?

By: Toby Wollin

Toby Wollin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:00:48 +0000

Yep – Dame Helen is fab. Period. There is an article in today’s NYT which is another tale of woe for women as cosmetic surgeons, in their seemingly unending journey to find more and more customers to extract money from, have found a way to increase the ever expanding empire of ways to make women feel inadequate because they dont’/cant’ hew to some sort of artificial standard. This one talks about the pressure to get “the mommy job” – the stomach, hips and breasts taken in and lifted after pregnancy, because after all, no one wants to have their body show that they are not perky, 20 years old, and skinny. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/fashion/04skin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:21:49 +0000

While I don’t think gay male designers are *solely* to blame for the size zero trend, the thing is, gay male designers tend to regard models less as women and more as walking clothes hangers. So they’re not designing clothing for the sake of women, and or to fit the bodies of women they find attractive (women with bubble butts and racks or whatever else), but rather designing women for sake of the clothes.

And while women definately uphold the status quo and even contribute in their own ways to the skinny standard, in terms of editorials, they shoot the clothes that they’re given, and those clothes are extremely small, so its again an issue of fitting the women to the clothing, and not the clothing to the women.

By: littlem

littlem — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:36:00 +0000

“Also, isn’t there a female stylist to the stars that encourages her clients to lose lots of weight? I forgot her name, but oddly enough, one of her customers is Nicole Ritchie.”

I believe you’re referring to Rachel Zoe.

I’ve read articles where she’s quoted as saying she doesn’t “encourage” her charges to lose weight (t’yeah) –

– but just looking at pictures of her, I can’t imagine that her skeleton doesn’t scream in pain when she gets out of bed in the morning when asked to support her head and wardrobe without benefit of body fat or muscle tissue.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:07:32 +0000

I think it’s hard for women to oppose the outward cultural symbols of the patriarchy – such as fashion – when the vast majority of global wealth and political power is in the deathgrip of male powerbrokers.

People might say “oh, well, men will only do to women what women permit them to do” but, alas, it’s more complicated than that.

By: Tara

Tara — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:25:15 +0000

Pardon my typing yet AGAIN.

By: Tara

Tara — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:24:08 +0000

I have to chime in and say that every gay man I’ve met (including an aspiring fashion designer) is obssessed with a big racks and bubble butts yes, bubble butts on women, not just other men *snicker*). This is why it cracks me up when I hear blame being placed solely on gay male designers for the ultra skinny look on the runways today. Also, isn’t there a female stylist to the stars that encourages her clients to lose lots of weight? I forgot her name, but oddly enough, one of her customers is Nicole Ritchie. Janice Dickenson is notorious for hurling around adjectives such as, “huge”, “pudgy”, and “fat” during the judging of contestants on America’s Next Top Model. Notice Tyra’s eye rolling during these tyrades, particularly during the episodes in which she was 30 pounds heavier.

By: Carol Gwenn

Carol Gwenn — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:03:33 +0000

Long live Dame Helen!

Much of the nattering above may well be blamed on some genetic predisposition of women to slam others of their sex. Despite all the advances made by feminism in the past 3 – 4 decades, “girls will be girls” still seems to apply. Yes, male designers have constantly re-defined female looks over the centuries : from powdered wigs to hobble skirts to minis, maxis, shoulder pads and thongs, BUT WOMEN HAVE GONE ALONG WITH THEM! Each season, hordes of fashion victims have cleaned out their closets & driven themselves mad trying to re-make their bodies into the look that’s chic this week, from 1950′s curves to today’s near-skeletal silhouettes. Had “sisterhood” truly empowered these ladies, they’d have thrown over the traces years ago & refused to take guff from the fashionistas just as they did from the folks who said that women couldn’t make it big in business or the professions. Women DID make it in those areas, but simply couldn’t get past the “do I look fat in this grey flannel suit?”, a query I guarantee no guy ever asked his best buds.

Hey – it was my turn to rant!! Seriously – men & women are equally responsible for the skinny thing. You don’t like it? Picket Anna Wintour.