Posts Tagged ‘feminism’

They tell me I'm pretty.

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“Everything has  its  beauty, but not everyone sees it.” -Confucius.

What value does being pretty really have? Is it financially gainful?  In some  cases, yes. Is it morally upright?  Does it validate your existence?  It would appear that in many societies it does. Especially if you’re of the female persuasion. There was a time, when I felt validated only by my pretty face. Coming to the conclusion that if nothing else, at least I was pretty. However, I’d much rather have a functioning left arm than  big pretty eyes! Another important question, “What really matters?” I found myself resigned to a  wheelchair, a cane,bulky(heavy)braces, and at one point the ugliest shoes I have ever seen in my life. Where there was once  freedom of movement, cute little  shoes, and fashionable clothes I found myself stuck with the opposite at the time.  Being in these unwanted and unfavorable circumstances made me question my self worth and even  sexuality as a  Woman. I  no longer felt attractive. In turn this effected how I felt and perceived the world around me. It brought with it the question  of, for many other Women who are(or have become) disabled, how do they feel? Because, until certain aspects of your “normal,”  life experience  change, there are so many nuances you don’t realize or perceive.   Sure, it’s quite nice to be told how pretty you are. But really, in the big scheme of things, what does it matter? I remember one comment I received  in particular(though funny at the time) was quite telling of our  general attitude towards physical appearance. “Well, at least it didn’t mess up your face!” In regards to the stroke, although I’ll readily admit I’m thankful it didn’t. However, what if it did!?  Would I find myself relegated to the forgotten  in  the  world’s population?  What a sad  truth this is for our  society. We place value  on things where there isn’t a whole lot and no value on things where there is much. In fact for some time I had to be stopped from giving away all my  belongings, because after what I went through, the value  of them dropped!  At one point in time where I would spend  frivilously, I now carefully(and delibrately) saved. We all know beauty is only skin deep, but how often do we act on that truth? If we actually did, the cosmetics industry would plummet, bank account  balances would rise, and eating disorders would be arcane. Therefore, take care of your physical  health and appreciate the body you have. Especially since it’s on loan and you can’t take it with you!

respect yourself,

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Bag Lady(lipstick) beauty review!

 

There’s just something iconic about lipstick. While your Aunt Fanny with Her lipstick smeared teeth  may have put you off to it,you’ll find that the right swipe of this pigmented beauty product has a  strange way of making you feel better and more powerful, even sexy. Whether it’s a red lip announcing your presence in the room or  the icing on your makeup sundae, lipstick changes lives. Not literally of course, but something about it harkens back to the more glamorous days of Woman kind. I’m telling you, put on a pair of big glasses and a swipe of rouge and someone will mistake you for a movie star on the local bus(true story). Not enough Women  realize or “harness,” the power of lipstick. Many old Hollywood stars  took advantage of its benefits and   during the war  in the 1940’s “Rosie the Riveter,” was coined to describe the power woman who had Her hair and lipstick in place to do any job regardless of difficulty. Now if that’s not some badass feminism I don’t know what is! It’s about time more of us besides Marilyn Monroe and Gwen Stefani enjoyed the “power of lipstick.” Therefore,  continue on  to check out some shades!
 
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Spilling out of my Henri Bendel makeup  bag we have(swatches left to right) :
1)Marc  Jacobs kiss, kiss bang bang.
2)Bite Beauty juice.
3) MAC personal pick
4) Tony Moly petite bunny gloss bar in pink
5) Clinique in melon pop
Get  the makeup  bag here.
 
Whatever color you choose, be sure to do Rosie the  Riveter proud!
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Attitude=Altitude

Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older(NO!) or maybe it’s because of circumstances.
I have observed in women of all ages and in myself the detrimental effects a low self esteem can have.There are numerous studies done on how low self esteem not only effects you personally but society as a whole.Because little girls are not fed more self esteem boosting material were losing out on future doctors,lawyers,scientists,and leaders.This not only effects people personally but all of us as a whole too.
If We could just love ourselves rightly and realize our value and potentials it would start a social revolution! We would likely see a major decrease in things like anorexia, a spike in grade levels in education regarding girls, and overall society would be better for it.
After being discharged from the hospital to my parents home,I had a huge wheelchair that I got around in.Being in it affected how I felt about myself and was a great social experiment too.
I discovered that people either stared at you,paid no attention, or were super nice.
At the time I felt unwanted,unlovable,and uncomfortable about being in it.I also hardly felt as if I could be sexy! A large part of what I felt made me attractive was seemingly taken away.
I suspect other women that are wheelchair bound(I’m not any longer) may feel that way.
However, to the credit of my Mother in particular, one day She told me “Just hold your head up and be proud of who you are.” She is absolutely right! I felt uncomfortable because of the stares but not after I took that to heart.As we all know, our culture puts a heavy value on physical appearance.The emphasis on outward looks is causing a large neglect on our inner health.Women aren’t the only ones effected by the obsession over youth and beauty. After sometime I no longer cared or felt bad about being in a wheelchair.In fact I later had fun zipping around in it and dancing even!
I decided to choose life and not care so much about what other people thought.In fact as a joke I used to believe that noone would pay any mind to someone in a wheelchair blatantly shoplifting, because they ignored you! Thus I even pretended to steal things sometimes and behold I was never suspected or caught.
Through all of this I now feel more open to being myself then I ever have.
Life is simply too short to limit yourself based on what others think.
Do yourself a favor and once you change your attitude there is no limit to how high your altitude will go!
tell yourself as well as the women in your life that they’re beautiful.We should be applauding accomplishments rather than a lovely appearance in everyone not only young girls.Society and you personally will only benefit from us all holding each other up.EA6226-001

Stay beautiful,

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