Posted in News & Politics on October 13th, 2009 by Morgan Elizabeth
Doctors still aren’t sure why Jessica Cox was born without arms. The rare congenital condition wasn’t discovered during prenatal tests or sonograms. Prosthetics were available to her as a child, but she hated wearing them. Instead, Jessica decided to tackle the world with two limbs, foregoing self pity for an attitude of optimism. “For the most part I don’t think about the restrictions, or how I can’t do something,” she says. “I think about how I can make it happen.”[1]
As a child, she was active with gymnastics, tap dancing and swimming. She taught herself how to drive with her feet, and type at 25 words per minute.
Jessica was also the first armless person to get a black belt in Tae Kwon-Do, and the first woman in the history of aviation to fly with her feet.
After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in psychology, she founded RightFooted.com and travels around the country as a motivational keynote speaker. Employers and educational professionals laud Cox for her ability to spread optimism and a “can-do attitude” to anyone in any stage of life. [2]
Posted in Health & Medicine on October 9th, 2009 by Morgan Elizabeth
October is here, so it’s time to think pink. But for this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many public service announcements have opted for a less clinical approach. Presumably targeting a younger audience, and competing with over-sexed ads for burgers and body sprays, these PSA’s grab attention by focusing more on the breasts, and less on the cancer.
“You know you like them. Now it’s time to save the boobs.” This ad promotes the Rethink Breast Cancer fundraising event “Boobyball,” and has been heavily scrutinized. Critics can’t seem to decide if it’s effective or insulting, “provocative or patronizing.”[1]
The Booby Wall
“This is not spring break. This is not Maxim. This is beautiful.” In conjunction with Schick Quattro, Rethink has created The Booby Wall, “a virtual, interactive exhibit of breasts.” [2 NSFW]With pages and pages of anonymous breasts, some clothed and some not, the site feels more like an exploitative gimmick than a legitimate way to raise awareness.
The Rethink Romp
The annual Rethink Romp is a fundraising party for adults only, featuring themes like 2008’s “Hello Sailor,” where “nautical gets naughty.” There are men dressed as “sailors on shore leave,” and women dressed as “pin-up girls in patent pumps,” as well as a steamy burlesque show for all potential donors.[3]
Curvas Cubanas
Rethink’s Curvas Cubanas (Cuban Curves) bikini fashion show hopes to “make people think differently about breast cancer while raising money for the cause.” [4] It’s unclear how a bikini fashion show will reshape the idea of cancer, other than the insinuation that models could get the disease. And if that is their aim, it poses the question, “would people care more about cancer if they thought about beautiful, young people getting it?”
If Men Had Breasts…
Just like Rethink’s “Save the Boobs” ad, adult humor and sexual overtones try to catch the eyes of a younger audience.
The “Save the Ta-tas” campaign believes that “laughter heals,” which is how they justify shirts with slogans like, “Caught you lookin’ at my ta-tas,” and “Thanks for noticing. Save the ta-tas.” [5]While it’s for a good cause, these shirts feel reminiscent of the Abercrombie & Fitch line from a few years back, pulled from shelves after a highly publicized “girlcott.” They featured similar phrases, like “Keep your eyes where I can see them,” and “I see you’ve already met the twins.” (See Terrible T’s) So, the concept can be either funny or offensive to women’s rights groups, depending on who’s behind the campaign.
Know Your Girls
The effort to reach young people wouldn’t be complete without Facebook. This comparatively mild campaign, “Know Your Girls,” works with Yoplait to increase awareness about the risks young women face.[6]
Boobalicious
This annual carnival/panty-party, held in Canada during The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, has “a pinch of class and a dash of trash.” Adults only, clothing optional, with proceeds going to breast cancer research.[7]
Boobs & Baseball
The slogan “Don’t let breast cancer steal second base” has been used in print ads, as well as on t-shirts and aprons. It usually features two strategically placed baseballs, and implies that you should stay healthy for the sake of your sex life. [8]
Mousepads for the Cure
21Breast.com debuted the Breast Cancer Awareness Mousepad in Shanghai, China. It reads, “frequent massaging of breasts enables you [to] detect breast cancer before it strikes.“[9]The charity has since folded, and 21breast.com now redirects you to the porn site NudeTube.com.
Dan Neil, reporting for the LA Times, says these ads “represent one of the few occasions when the male tendency to objectify the female body is put to good use, as opposed to selling beer and premium football cable packages.”[10]
Newsweek’s Kate Dailey, however, insists that “while breasts can be sexy, breast cancer is a serious, sometimes deadly disease.”[1] There is a delicate balance between selling something with humor (and debatably effective objectification), and trivializing a serious illness. The intentions are good, but we can only hope this trend won’t go full-PETA, using overt sexuality to advance one cause at the expense of another.
Posted in Food & Weight on October 5th, 2009 by Morgan Elizabeth
Director Kiki Allgeier briefly profiles Isabelle Caro, the subject of photographer Olivieri Toscani’s “No-Anorexia” campaign.Caro’s 65-pound frame broadcasts the health crisis caused by her eating disorder, while her interview reveals the numb and dejected attitude of someone longing for escape.
Seen below is one of the billboards posted in Milan in 2007. Soon after the campaign launched, Caro appeared on CBS’ Early Show to discuss her eating disorder.Watch the CBS interview here.
Caro continues to be branded as the poster-child for destructive eating. In 2008, she appeared on the British reality show “Supersize vs. Superskinny,” discussing weight and food issues.[1] She then wrote a book entitled La Petite Fille Qui Ne Voulait Pas Grossir (The Little Girl Who Did Not Grow), “a story of isolation and hope, love and death.” [2]
While she continues to keep the weight off, Caro is steadily gaining Facebook fans. They all extend praise and support, even if they don’t struggle with eating disorders themselves.
This brand of activism, while inspirational for many, has effectively rewarded the eating disorder. Caro’s fame and financial success are based on self-destruction, which isn’t exactly a deterrent for people who often abuse food to get attention, consciously or unconsciously. And for those still riddled with disease, an image of a 65-pound woman may just trigger the desire to be thinner. This is evidenced by the Medusa blog, accompanying Caro’s photos with a warning that “This page may be Triggering!! Please, read with care!”[4]
Dr. Ira M. Sacker, author of Regaining Yourself and Dying to Be Thin, addresses how a person’s identity can be consumed by the eating disorder. “In a culture such as ours where image and identity seem to be interchangeable, the eating disorder identity may, unfortunately, even regard the disorder as an accomplishment,” he says.[5]
Caro’s name and image are now intertwined with her sickness. Even if she did recover, she would then be The Girl Who Recovered From Anorexia. It’s a label that doesn’t wash off easily. So, in the midst of her attempt to do some good in the world, she was unwittingly victimized again – this time, by the media fanfare.
We can only hope that things will soon quiet down, so Isabelle Caro can turn her attention from how bad the sickness is, to how good recovery can be.
