Here is a video my friend Heather James posted in response to my earlier blog.  Yay – we are beautiful!  Keep them coming guys!

I am very involved with the drama club at my daughter’s school, where I have come to be known as “Mama Bartlett.” I spend a lot of time with the drama kids during productions and they come to me with all sorts of interesting observations.  I feel blessed to know these kids because they are so dedicated and talented, and with me they are quite open and friendly.  However, this group of teens are no different though than any other – there are self-esteem issues. 

I booted up my laptop this morning to find my daughter had left a Youtube screen opened it immediatly started running.  Her friend was singing and I was amazed by her friend – so many of her friends have wonderful singing abilities, something I wish I had.  Anyway, I peeked at her list of videos on her page and found this one, titled “Beautiful” and was not only thrilled with the topic of all the things she finds beautiful about herself, but also that I got a little mention!  That made me smile.  It was evidence of the impact we can have on others.  This can also be said of the negative things we do and say. 

I also love the way she edited the video!  Adorable!  Creative!

I think this should be a trend.  Maybe I should do one too, of the things I like about myself. 

If you do create one, please send me the link so I can post it here on Body Politics!

YOU GO GIRLS!

(I have not used her name since I didn’t know if that was ok with her or her parents, but if it is, I’ll add it later.)

Will went along with me to help because he’s totally wonderful that way. 

I spoke to the class about advertising and how the messages they send often make us feel bad about the way we look or the things we have.  I particularly wanted them to be aware of advertisers speaking out of both sides of their mouths, like Unilever.

After my little explanation about advertising I asked them to reveal some things about how they feel about their bodies or the other ways advertising can make them feel.

I also brought some jeans (and the school also provided some) in sizes 14 and 1 to show the difference between the size of the average American woman and the size many models are. 

Then the children were given magazines, poster board and markers to leave comments, make collages or write on the jeans to express how they felt.

I was really amazed at how some of the boys stepped up with questions and ideas.  This project can be very girl oriented, mostly because I’m a girl.  I don’t want the boys to feel left out and they didn’t let me leave them out.  They made sure they let me know their thoughts and it really got me excited about the possibilities for this project and future workshops.

Here are some images from the day:

This is the display I used to explain the way advertising can be damaging and hypocritical.

Two students reading other student’s collages.

Here I am talking to a student about his collage before I hang it.

 
A student working on her collage.

Students writing on the jeans.

I wasn’t clear on the meaning of this collage until I asked the little boy to explain it to me.  The chef was one of the “larger” people in the magazines he could find.  The woman working out was how he wished his mom looked and he felt she could look that way.  In fact he and one other little boy created collages that expressed their wish that their heavy mothers were thin.  I did mention to them that maybe it would be helpful if they thought about some of the things we talked about and the reasons they thought it would be better if their mothers were thin. 

I really thought this collage was creative and well executed. I love it.

This was done by a little girl who didn’t even want to participate at first.  She told us that she was uncomfortable with the whole topic and she put her head on her desk.  Then after everybody started their projects she came over and told me a story about how her mother reads Jet magazine and that it has a beauty of the month and that most of the magazine is ok, but that some of it makes her uncomfortable.  Then I asked her if she could write that down and she didn’t want to.  She didn’t want me to put it on her comment card either.  I asked her if she wanted a hug and she nodded, “yes” – so I gave her a hug and told her it was ok and she didn’t have to participate.  She went back to her seat and made that collage.

A very adorable, quiet and by all standards pretty little girl made this collage.  I thanked her for being so honest and for participating in the project and told her that it would help other little girls not feel so alone in their feelings.  She smiled and it made me feel very happy and sad at the same time.

I really loved doing this project with the kids.  I am willing to do similar workshops at other schools.  If your school is near DC or Southern Maryland or Baltimore area, I would love to do more workshops, I simply ask for you to help provide supplies.   Contact me at goddess (at) allzah (dot) com.

Visitor writing on one of Tammy’s chalkboard paint torsos.

Artomatic 2009 – visitor interaction on notes and chalk.

Three young women interacting with the torsos.

Notes left in response to the photos of bodies and the model’s statements.

Photos by Heather along with the interactive statements of visitors.

Tammy’s male torso with visitor interaction all over it.

More of Heather’s photos with visitor interaction notes all around them.

Skinny jeans project – jeans are contributed by those wishing to interact with the Skinny Jeans project.

Shoe altar.  “Made in China” by Heather.  A silk lotus flower shoe and images of bound feet inspire visitors to leave little scrolls in the drawers.

FGM – Female Genital Mutilation, Artomatic 2009 – this painting by Heather is meant to bring attention to FGM.

Tammy’s pregnant chalkboard torso.

“Tracy’s Yardstick” by Heather – has words on a lucite yardstick pertaining to her friend.  Heather feels her friend is sometimes too critical of herself and is always carrying around a yardstick of concerns such as: are her gifts good enough, is her food good enough and so forth.

The corner where Heather’s photos hung and visitors interacted with them.

There were even some notes left with the jeans.

Visitors viewing the exhibit.

More of Heather’s photos with visitor interaction.

The exhibit at Artomatic 2009.

This isn’t man-bashing.  This is a way to explore the topic.  I feel that it doesn’t get talked about as much as it should because women are embarrassed and feel like they’ve failed as a lover.  Who the HELL wants to admit that their husband would rather spend 10 minutes with Playboy than with her.  Another repeated story is the reluctance of men to go to counseling or work on the issue or that they don’t see it as an issue at all and discount your feelings.  They simply feel that you are “overreacting” or that it’s “innocent” so they don’t wish to do anything about it – even if it’s hurting you.

I am finding so many similarities and parallels in stories I am hearing from women as I work on Body Politics that I think it needs to be talked about.  I think we need to hear your story.  I think it’s important to know how many women are out there quietly suffering from these situations.

I am interested in every age range of woman who is willing to divulge this very personal information.  All information will be totally anonymous, I promise. In fact, you don’t even have to put a name on the letter.   I will not reveal any of the individual stories until I have a sturdy collection,  so that nobody has to worry that their particular story might be too easily recognized.

I am thinking of this as part of the Body Politics project and sort of like a collection of monologues.

Did your partner reject you after giving birth to your child?  Does he say things about your body? If so, what?  Do you feel insecure?  Do you think it’s something he does or something within yourself?

Does he opt to spend hours on the internet with porn while you lay awake in bed crying, waiting for him?  Does he lie all the time to cover his tracks?  Why do you think he lies?  Does he frequent strip clubs or even places like Hooters – where they don’t see the harm, but it bothers you?

Did you struggle with these problems and find peace?  Do you have ideas about how women can deal with this?  Do you think that both men and women are fighting nature all the time?

Be specific in your stories about things while keeping identifying information minimal.

What is happening and how do you feel about it?  And what was the outcome or how are you handling it?

Please send a letter to my address.  I would love it if the letter would be at least a page long:

Heather Bartlett
Body Politics – Monologues
1000 Tyler Ct.
Waldorf, MD 20602

I hung Tracy’s Invisble Yardstick higher this year and I think as a result more people interacted with it.

Buried Treasure-Part 2

Here’s my offering for Seth’s second round of Buried Treasure, over at The Altered Page. The project that you’ll be reading about is still going on, so it’s not too late to participate. Sometimes it takes awhile to actually unload some of the bagage that we hang on to, and these darn jeans are a perfect example! They’re still sitting in my studio, waiting patiently for me to stick notes in the pockets, telling my story & send them on their way, but for some reason I just haven’t been able to let go yet. “Yet” being the key word, as they WILL be mailed out, and I’ll be having a party when I hit that point in my life where I can actually do it, let go and move on.  (READ MORE)

I am curious about how women feel about the way their vagina looks.  How it functions.  If they are happy with their vagina or if their opinion has changed over the years about it.  Do you wax?  Shave?  Go au natural? Why?  Do you feel better?  Do you do it for you or for somebody else?

Are there men out there wishing their women would get this done?  If so, why?

Please contact me if you are interested in modeling for this project.  You can be an anonymous model for the photos if you prefer.

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From Wikipedia:

“Vaginal rejuvenation”

Non-reconstructive vaginoplasty or “vaginal rejuvenation” is used to restore vaginal tone and appearance, largely by removing excess tissue and tightening supportive structures. The popularity of surgery to change the cosmetic appearance of a female’s genitalia has increased in North America over the last few years. The term “designer vagina” refers to an idealized image of female sex organs attained through vaginoplasty. In recent years laser has been introduced to assist in the procedure. The rejuvenation procedure is intended to reduce or undo effects of age and childbearing. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, however, warns that this procedure lacks supporting data regarding safety and efficacy.^[6] Vaginal rejuvenation surgery can lead to decreased sensory perception of the clitoris and the rest of the genital area, potentially to such an extent as to prevent the possibility of orgasm, and can lead to complications such as infection, adhesions, and scarring.^[7]

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Interesting article:

Designer vaginas
Gynecological surgery isn’t just for medical reasons anymore; some women say it enhances sexual pleasure.

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Here are some articles you can read regarding the controversy of impeccably credentialed and cherub-faced surgeon general nominee Dr. Regina Benjamin. The fact of the matter is, this whole thing is coming down to looks. That’s my feeling on the matter.

My feelings on the matter of fat and health are this: being fat does NOT mean that you are not a healthy person. I actually think that it would be great to have a plus-size woman for this position.

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Is Regina Benjamin too fat to be surgeon general?

By all accounts Surgeon General nominee Dr. Regina Benjamin is an extraordinary woman. She is an African-American family doctor who has spent most of her professional life serving the people of Bayou La Batre, a poor rural Alabama coastal community. She makes house calls, pays for patients’ medicines, works for free when there is no money. She’s had heaps of honors poured on her head , including a MacArthur genius award. She rebuilt her clinic twice, once following Hurricane Katrina and then a year later when it was destroyed by a fire.

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Critics Slam Overweight Surgeon General Pick, Regina Benjamin
Leading Experts Say Dr. Benjamin, Though Stellar Nominee, Gives Wrong Message

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Too Fat to Be a Surgeon General?

The latest idiocy to come out of the media is the accusation that President Obama’s nominee for Surgeon General is “too fat”. She may be a size 18 or even 20, opines the not so skinny themselves broadcasters and commenters on Fox News.

Hold on a moment, folks! Obama’s nominee, Dr. Regina Benjamin, holds a MacArthur Genius Award, is the first African American woman to be elected to the Board of the AMA and the Alabama Medical Association and has served a rural community in Alabama with unselfish dedication. And she might be a little overweight?

What do we want in a Surgeon General? Some have noted that no one called out Surgeon General Everett Koop for being fat, although he was certainly overweight. Jocelyn Elders was not exactly skinny. So why have the purists surfaced now with this kind of attack?