What Makes People Tick?

"How to get a bikini body: Put a bikini on your body." Sound advice! Yet something women forget all too easily when worrying about something as relatively trivial as physical appearance. Want to wear something? Just put it on, wear it and when you're done wearing it, take it off again. Don't worry about what others might think of you, just wear what you enjoy! The above quote and the image below come from the  Cranky Fat Feminist Facebook page . Wear whatever you want! I have to be honest and admit that when I first saw this image and  read the text, I assumed the intended tone was sarcastic. The second time I read the text, I realised that it wasn't sarcastic at all, it was serious. Examining my first 'automatic' reaction to this image makes me wonder how many other things in life we don't notice at first or take for granted without further examination. 

The Daily Mail reports that more than half of British women hate their bikini body so much they'd rather stay home than go on a summer holiday. Listing a stunning amount of figures, the article explains in percentages exactly what parts of their bodies women are most unhappy with. Tummies, muffin tops, breasts, hips, thighs... It seems that British women really don't like any part of their body when coupled with a bikini. The study asked a 1000 women a series of questions which resulted in some very interesting figures. For instance: * 53% of women admit they hate the sight of themselves in a swimsuit so much that they would rather miss out on a sunshine break than strip off  * Just 1% claim to have no beach hang-ups at all Source:  British women hate their bikini body so much they'd rather stay home , The Daily Mail Online Am I the only one asking WHY for crying out loud women in Britain and the world over are buying into this idea that we need to "look go...

Buzzfeed reports that Vagenda Magazine recently asked their Twitter followers to edit headlines featuring famous women in an effort to 'normalise' the scene and provide comments of a less 'snarky' nature. Check out all 13 Snarky News Headlines by following the link. Here's my favourite to give you a preview of the wonderful job Vagenda Magazine 's Twitter followers did! Source : 13 Snarky News Headlines , Buzzfeed Isn't it amazing to see how much of a difference a few words make!

Source : The Economist Known as Barbie to the world, her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. She was patented in 1958 by Mattel and introduced to the world in 1959. Her creator Ruth Handler (co-founder of Mattel) named Barbie and Barbie's boyfriend Ken after her and husband Elliot Handler's own children Barbie and Ken. Read more about the history of Barbie and Mattel at the Barbie Media website. She is one of the world's best-known children's toys, a fashion icon, a family-loving, friendly, free woman and ultimately - a plastic doll. Yet this plastic doll has inspired millions of girls and women and is the cornerstone of a global brand with worldwide appeal.

Sad but true. Both men and women the world over label and judge others based on how they look, what they wear and how they choose to express themselves.  A recently published study by the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economics ( IPEA ) shows that a stunning 65% of respondents found that a woman who dressed provocatively deserved to be attacked or raped .  "Earlier this week, a study was released that said a startling 65.1 percent of Brazilians either partially or wholly believe that "if dressed provocatively, women deserve to be attacked and raped." In addition, the study revealed a 58.5 percent complacency with the belief that "if women knew how to behave, there would be less rape." ~ Huffington Post

The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research has conducted an extensive survey in seven Muslim-majority countries -- Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- looking at Tunisia as the birthplace of the Arab Spring and how happenings in Tunisia effect other Arab countries. The study itself is very interesting - read it as a PDF here  - however what caught my eye was a January 2014 article by the Pew Research Center (using UoM's data)  looking at the way MEN prefer women to dress in public places in the above-mentioned countries.

Came across a November 2011 article by Amy Bloom on Oprah's website about self esteem and the way women view themselves and their bodies. As I agree with what the author has written I wanted to share the article and add some introductory comments of my own. Ms Bloom paints a realistic picture of why the women of today think as they do and how women can change these beliefs and opinions. As a woman born in Western Europe thirty years ago, I too faced peer pressure and pressure from myself through society and the world around me to 'look good' and change the body I was born with to suit society's and others' norms. Raised on a diet of Playboy Bunnies, Baywatch Babes, liposuction, fake tans and Photo-shopped magazine covers (just to name a few), it took me years to let go of the belief that I wasn't "good enough" or "desirable enough" to modern males simply because I did not and do not look like most models and actresses. Even writing thi...