Decisions, Decisions

Hello World.

I am having a dilemma. I've decided to do only one double-page spread because I don't want to spread myself to thin. However, while I was trying to choose which idea I remembered I can only use original photos in my magazine. Now, I'm not positive if either idea is going to work out at all, which is stressful to say the least. The good news is it is still the first week and I have little bit of time before I really need to panic.

There are two different stories I want to write: the Barbie story and the Cosmetic Surgery story. Both of them fall under my overarching theme, the unrealistic Beauty Standard.

Mattel recently came out with a new line, Barbie Fashionistas. With this line they are presenting a new, body-positive Barbie. The new bodies are curvy, tall, and petite and consequently, more representative of women's bodies in general. This is a very controversial topic because for a long time the Barbie brand has been of a slim, long-legged, white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll. In addition to new bodies, Mattel has come out with new hair styles, hair colors, eye colors and skin colors.

With this story I can  also write about a mother's perspective and concerns about the new Barbie or Barbie's impact on how kids view their own bodies. In the past, Barbie has been criticized for being an unrealistic image of beauty that is impossible for women to aspire to. I would write about those implications and what this new line could mean.


 Last year in my AICE Global Perspectives class, I did some research on the topic for the presentation portion of my exam. This led me to the subject of how women feeling inadequate about their bodies can prompt them to go "under the knife".

My other story would be about cosmetic surgery and essentially the reasons why people get it. I could write about cosmetic surgery being a result of low self-esteem and insecurities as well as mental disorders that it can cause. I would be writing from a psychological perspective about the causes and effects of cosmetic surgery. Additionally, there are TV shows, for example, Botched, that center on people getting cosmetic surgery.

Amidst my struggle to decide the content of my double-page spread I have decided on a name for my magazine: ESS. I chose ESS for the title of my magazine because I thought about how the suffix "-ess" is appended to words to make them distinctly feminine. My magazine is about focusing on social issues from a feminist perspective and focusing on social issues that pertain specifically to women. I thought this title would be a perfect representative of what my magazine embodies. I got my inspiration from Ms. magazine because Ms. is a term used to classify independent women, an audience this magazine can appeal to.

Goodbye World.

"Barbie Fashionistas." Mattel Shop. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. <http://shop.mattel.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=45063936>.

Botched. Television. 
Dittmann, Melissa. "Plastic surgery: Beauty or beast?" American Psychological Association. N.p., Sept. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. <http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep05/surgery.aspx>. 



Ms. Magazine Winter 2015. Print.

Pesce, Nicole Lyn. "Mattel remakes Barbie dolls to include a curvy body type." New York Daily News.N.p., 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/mattel-remakes-barbie-dolls-include-curvy-body-type-article-1.2512210>.

Siegel, Lucas. "Barbie Gets Three New Body Types with Biggest Change in 60 Years." Comic Book. N.p.,28 Jan. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. <http://comicbook.com/2016/01/28/barbie-gets-three-new-body-types-with-biggest-change-in-60-years/>.