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Everyone hates Barbie. Is it because she’s tall, leggy and disproportionately well-endowed? Or is it because her lashes are permanently curled to perfection and is always matched up with the incredibly good looking Ken? Banish the biatch from shelves for good (or at least hide them behind a bunch of much uglier toys). Do what you gotta do, Iran—this pernicious piece of Western culture is eroding morality codes everywhere!

Reuters reported earlier this week that Iranian government officials have recently been enforcing a ban on Barbie dolls as part of a “soft war” against decadent cultural influences. The public must be protected from what they believe to be eroding traditional Islamic values, and Barbie has been deemed un-Islamic since 1996 because the doll incites “destructive cultural and social consequences.”

“About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,” said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran. Though the ban has existed for years, it had yet to be overtly enforced until a few weeks ago, when officials threatened to shut down shops that sold the doll. Instead, Barbies are being hidden behind long veils and other toys to still meet stores’ high customer demand.

Iran’s Barbie ban is this week’s Hot Button Issue, and it’s yet another unflattering angle for the flawless female form. Throughout American history, she’s already collected so much smack for promoting an unattainable standard of beauty and reinforcing a philosophy of white supremacy. And such a pervading definition of perfection is pretty persuasive when constantly played with from a young age, right?

Well…

I’m sorry, but part of me has to disagree. Maybe I’m one of the few American kids who grew up peacefully playing with Barbie dolls without wanting to actually look like them or feeling badly about myself when I looked in the mirror and was then reminded that we were so starkly different. I also didn’t get these feelings whenever I played with Cabbage Patch Kids, teddy bears, Tamagotchis or Super Mario Bros. And on a more serious note, I also never wished to physically identify with perfect actresses or cartoon princesses on TV (really, I think this might be just me who escaped this, but props to you if you did as well).

However, it’s hard to believe that a complete erosion of values or countless body image issues can route solely from one doll, one toy, one childhood token that was supposed to spark your imagination instead of brainwash you with harmful messages. Barbie is supposed to be anything and everything, from a hardworking stay-at-home mom to the President of the United States. And she literally could’ve been whatever you wanted her to be, right? I mean, she’s a doll! She didn’t come packaged with preset plot lines or a concrete back story that you had to stick to as a kid. Does she have to simply stay skin deep just because she’s pretty? Isn’t how we played with a toy more reflective of how we were raised or what other messages were shaping our worldviews until then, rather than a reflection of the toy itself? People create different things out of plain pieces of paper, and outcomes will vary depending on whose hand a weapon is in…it’s not completely up to the material itself, but the person who actually does something with it and then shelves away the blame. Why attribute so much child-raising responsibility to a piece of plastic purchased from a toy store?!

I acknowledge that there must be some kind of continuous ripple effect: one standard of beauty set another; little girls saw Barbies and grew up to become young Hollywood who in turn shaped young America who now has no idea what to do about it, even though there are now Barbies and dolls that reflect various physical characteristics across the board. And I really do apologize if you feel that your childhood companion set you up with an unrealistic physical standard and actually hurt you in the long run (seriously, I do understand that logic, and I really am sorry).

To be honest, I’m still shocked that kids these days—anywhere in the world—still have the capacity to play with Barbie dolls, a toy that doesn’t have any batteries, flashing lights or access to the Internet. In fact, the fact that this ban is still being circumvented by shopkeepers and customers alike actually kinda gives me hope for the dissipating attention spans of the children of the future. But that’s a whole ‘nother issue.

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

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We know who the Slutty Pumpkin is!!

Take a peek at Leo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby.

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I always hated the day when we would watch movies involving a girl with an eating disorder in middle school and high school. Suddenly people would be leaning back in their chairs and furrowing their brows at me. I could never escape their concerned glances, the way they watched me eat my salad I had packed that day. Sometimes I’d even hear them whisper to each other about how I was unhealthy. Usually I would react by rolling my eyes and getting the greasiest pizza slice the cafeteria had to offer. This wouldn’t stop them from shaking their heads when I headed to the bathroom after lunch.

In middle school I weighed around seventy pounds so people assumed I had an eating disorder. They didn’t realize I was a year younger than most kids in my grade (I’m a September baby) and hadn’t developed as much as the other girls. They also didn’t consider the fact that I had been doing ballet since I was around four years old every day after school. I didn’t have an eating disorder, I just wasn’t growing yet.

As a freshman in high school, I was a size zero and weighed around ninety eight pounds. I had no hips and no boobs to speak of, so I thought I looked normal. Apparently that still wasn’t enough for people. My classmates didn’t understand that I was suffering from low self-esteem, but not enough to make me starve myself or throw up after eating.

To say I have never had low self-esteem would be a lie; I did struggle with my body. When I finally grew from a size zero to a size five in two years because my body finally developed was hard on me. I was only (and still am) one hundred and fifteen pounds, but that was a difficult adjustment for me. No, I was no longer the small girl, and many girls are smaller than me. So for a few years in high school I no longer had people monitoring my every move in the school cafeteria after videos shown in P.E.

Then I got to college, and when I began to work out both in between classes and at night some of my friends became concerned. They watched me eating smaller meals and there came that look again. I wasn’t starving myself; I was just trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Yes, I admittedly went through a period my senior year in high school where I would skip some meals because I felt fat, but my mother quickly noticed and got me back on the right track. It never developed into an eating disorder, and when I told my friends not to worry – that it was a short-lived (as in two weeks) phase – they just wouldn’t let it go. Finally, after my friends in college spent more and more time around me, they began to realize that I didn’t have an eating disorder just because I’m thin.

A thin woman can be just as healthy as a woman with a little meat on her bones, and just because I’m skinny doesn’t mean I have an eating disorder. I am five foot four. I weigh one hundred and fifteen pounds. I eat more than three times a day and I wear extra small tops. I am very confident with my body image. I never count calories, I eat meat, and I will take a bucket of fried chicken and a large sweet tea over salad and water any day. It would be a lie to say I have never had a problem with my body image – what woman doesn’t? – but I’ve never been anorexic or bulimic.

Just as some women naturally have curves, some are just born thin. Both ends of the spectrum are judged constantly. You are either too skinny or too fat, and in both cases everyone watches you while you eat. So my question is: what makes a woman “healthy”? What is it going to take for people to stop worrying about you just because of your weight? Without knowing my lifestyle, it isn’t really fair to make an assumption about my health. Just because I’m thin doesn’t mean I’m not healthy, either, because I do eat healthy for the most part, and I work out every week. This is just who I am and I’m sick of being the subject of whispers between girls.

You may not realize it, but sometimes the “skinny” girls feel just as uncomfortable as those women shunned for their curves. Let’s do everyone a favor and stop focusing so much on weight and let everyone, regardless of their size, just be.

[We're all about celebrating a positive body image here at CollegeCandy and many of our readers claim the same thing. However we've noticed that while many commentors are quick to jump to the defense of curvy women, they're even quicker to accuse skinny women of having an eating disorder. This is one (skinny) CollegeCandy writer's reaction.]

[This post was originally written by Christie- NC State]

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Tiffany spent a month at Outward Bound and challenged her physical limits. This month, Ashley's going to try to stop hating on her body so much. Can she do it!? Could you?]

This week I got some outside help for my challenge that was very interesting and very helpful. Coincidentally, I had mandatory work meeting/training title “Overcoming Negativity in the Work Place”. Everyone had to go and no one was looking forward to it. The training turned out not to be so bad because it was nothing like what we all assumed it would be. The lady training us/giving the presentation studied psychology and neurobiology and pretty much gave us a 101 on negativity and the brain. I learned that negativity is a natural response in the brain and a bunch of other brain related information. It was super interesting to get the 411 on where our negativity stems from and it put a lot of my negativity issues in perspective.

So what does this mean in terms of this challenge you ask? For me, a lot.

First of all, it made me realize that although I want to change, I don’t want to beat myself up for beating myself up (being negative). Though I think my case of negativity is a special one because of how harsh I can be towards my body (and that it in turn effects my body image and is a reflection of my insecurities), I’m definitely not alone or abnormal for having these negative thoughts. Second of all, it reassured me that I have a perfectly functioning, normal brain and I don’t have to spend any more time worried if there’s a wire loose or anything. Also, if the trainer who knows all about the science of why we’re negative creatures hasn’t perfected controlling her negativity, I surely shouldn’t expect to do so. And lastly, we had to partake in a semi-silly but useful activity that I decided to carry over into my challenge. Here it is…

Score Card Game:

All I had to do was keep a tally of the negative and positive things I said for this week. For every positive comment, I multiplied my score by five and for every negative comment I subtracted my score by five. The point of the game in the training was to make sense of how effective and exponentially positive positivity is (as it spreads to those around you) and to see that while negativity is bad, we can offset it with positivity. I chose to count both positive and negative comments I made about my body and those I said about others. This worked out well because I also purchased a new gym membership so I had plenty of times to comment on my own body and those around me.

All in all, I LOST TRACK! I know what you’re thinking. I can’t even follow the rules of my own game, right? WRONG! I followed the rules and kept track of my comments and my score. But because I was keeping a score, I was consciously deciding to keep things more positive. My score got up so high that it was becoming difficult to keep multiplying by five without a calculator (social science major here). My own version of the Score Card Game worked. Even though my initial incentive was to stay positive for a high score, it lead to realize that it wasn’t that hard to make more positive than negative comments about my body. I’m trying to specifically change the way I treat and talk about my body — but you could use this tactic for many other things.

My 4^th week was more of a stepping stone than I thought it would be. As more and more things are “setting in”, I’m realizing that it’s less about me getting somewhere or achieving an actual thing, and more about realistic change and balance.  I’d hate to blow this out of proportion as if it’s a big deal or party worthy, but I do feel that I’ve come a long way. I understand now that my sarcasm and negativity hurts me more than it could ever hurt anyone else. I know me better than anybody else, so my comments come from a very real, hurtful place. For me, It’s easy to blow off negative or hateful comments from a stranger, or even from someone you know but you don’t really care about, but it’s really hard to remain unscathed by words coming from someone who knows you very well. I am with myself all the time, I have no choice but to either be my own encouraging, positive, best friend or to be my own worst enemy.

I can firmly say I’m not going with the latter on this one. I do love my body and all that I’m workin’ with!

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month

So here’s another thing this challenge has taught me about myself — It’s REALLY hard for me to keep my promises. But only when it comes to me, I always follow through with promises I make to other people. This is probably because when the person on the other end of the promise is me, there’s no one to hold me accountable for that promise. To be perfectly honest, I’ve fallen off a little this week. Here are the actions and comments that were not very “I love my body” friendly:

1. I let the scale convince me that I wasn’t disciplined enough. I let a minor .4 of a lb make me feel like shit. I woke up on Sunday morning and for whatever reason put all my happy eggs in the “my weight will be down this week, I know it” basket. It had been a while since I last weighed myself and with all the running I’d been doing I was certain the scale was going to reflect all my hard work. I was wrong…or was I? Of course I should have known better, I knew that my weight didn’t necessarily reflect how healthy I was or how much I’d been working out. I was happy with how I looked and how I was fitting into old clothes again, but for whatever reason I needed a scale to reassure me. Now that Sunday’s long gone I’m over it and I realize I can’t keep putting myself through that. Stupid me (and stupid scale)!
2. I let two zits make me have an “ugly day” and I dressed and acted accordingly. Whenever I’m feeling yucky or ugly I dress in sweats, I don’t do my hair, and I’m more or less a bit apathetic to life that day. Luckily, I straight up said “I feel ugly today” out loudin front of my boyfriend and he reminded me that I was still beautiful and the zits would be gone in a day or two. I was over reacting to the blemishes and I knew it, but having him remind me of how silly I was being snapped me back to reality. Zits-0, Me-1, Boyfriend- 10.
3. I looked at pictures of myself from last summer and started a roast. I immediately talked about how pudgy my face looked and pointed out other flaws. I completely missed reminiscing on how I had a REALLY good time that day tubing down the river and spending time with my boyfriend, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend. I then remembered how I laughed so hard so many times that day my abs hurt (laughter workout for the win!) and how I didn’t spend that day worried about my body. Leave it up to me to give myself a hard time over a year old picture.

Even though I had some downfalls this week, I’ve put them behind me. A big part of not picking myself apart has to be letting go of my mistakes as well. I’ve lived them and learned from them- now onto the good stuff. Here are some things that went well this week:

1. I made a few purchases I wouldn’t dare have a year ago and I mixed and matched some old clothes from my closet with newer stuff so it’s like I got a few new outfits to show off my bod — yay! Favorite purchase: one of those cheap, sexy, basic-must-have, black, stretchy mini skirts
2. I ran three miles outside three times and it made me feel GREAT! I loved how my legs kept going even though they felt tired and my asthma didn’t hold me back. I thanked my body after each run. And yes, this is a big accomplishment for me. I’ve never been able to run long distances. I was a sprinter on track in high school, but I was also the girl that dreaded the gym class yearly mile run for fitness testing. Between my low endurance, terrible asthma, and laziness despite my athleticism I’ve always hated and avoided running. Hurray for my body not failing me on my runs!
3. I ATE ALL THE THINGS! Not actually, but I did everything I wanted and I realized I’m not a binge eater. Even having a pack of Peanut Butter M&Ms and giving in to a few other cravings didn’t make me feel like I ate a ton and was fat. I more or less ate like normal, but when I had treats/snacks it made me less hungry for dinner. Who knew eating more could make you eat less?

Although this week has had its ups and downs, this weekend is technically my birthday weekend and I’ve been a little worried about it. I want to be able to wear something cute, go out to dinner, and go out afterward without worrying about my body. Last year I did almost nothing for my birthday, large in part to my poor body image. I’ve decided I’m going to handle it by having a theme song (hey, why not?). This year, I’ll bring in 23 bumpin’ Chalie Boy’s “I Look Good”. It’s silly and cocky and will give me all the swag I need to not give a crap about my body on my birthday.

Are you taking this challenge with Ashley? Let us know how it’s going!

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month

As everyone knows, college is the time that most of our bodies go through changes. Some of us develop our feminine curves because that puberty thing didn’t happen when they said it would (hooray for boobs and hips!), some of us gain the “freshman fifteen”,  and those special others get active and involved and get the best bods they’ve ever had. Of course there are those who remain more or less the same, but that wasn’t the case for me. I fell into all three categories — my hips widened, my boobs got bigger, I gained the sophomore sixteen, and I eventually got motivated to get to the gym and get in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Somehow I went through all of these changes and I still find myself hatin’ on my body. It recently dawned on me that all the negative comments I have to say about my body don’t reflect the way I really feel about it. I do love my body, now more than ever, I’ve just developed a really bad habit of putting myself down when it comes to my figure.

Now I’m not going to lie, I’m a fairly picky and particular person who more or less has something to say about everything (yeah, I’m that girl…but I swear I don’t ACTUALLY comment on everything), but this habit goes beyond that part of my personality. As unhealthy as it is, I put myself through some sort of mean-girl-high-school-hell  for absolutely no reason! I could blame this habit on “the media” or the socialization of girls but pointing the finger at society when I’m well aware of what I’ve been doing to myself won’t get me anywhere. I’m all for critically analyzing why we do the things we do and what influences us to be the way we are (GWS major here), but I’m more for personal responsibility. Now that I’ve noticed just how unhealthy and negative the comments I make about my body are, it is up to me to change them. I am determined to shake this awful habit!

By the end of this one month challenge, I hope to be able to wake up, get dressed, and go about my day without picking apart all of the parts of my body that aren’t my ideal shape or size. I’ll be able to appreciate being a fully able-bodied person who has worked hard to be healthy and fit. I’ll stop idealizing my long gone adolescent body and accept my current figure. I’ll stop saying that stupid, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” quote in my head and just be happy to just be alive (or at least spend my time worrying about more important things).

Today I took the time to jot down some of the things I have to say about myself and my body and I can tell I have a long way to go. Here are a few:

-[Put on an old t-shirt I haven’t worn in years, looked in the mirror] “My stomach only looks good in the morning when it’s really flat.”

- [Walking to check my mailbox at work, thinking to myself] “My thighs still rub each other a little when I walk, when will they not touch at all?”

-[Putting my hair up in a ponytail to wash my face, turned around to check out my back] “Not muscular enough.”

-[Post dinner] “I should never wear this dress out to eat, it makes my food baby look like a real baby’s in my belly.”

-[Post Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout] “I’m never gonna look like those girls in that damn video!”

Here’s to trying (and I mean REALLY trying). I WILL nip this in the bud! Who’s with me?

Although the 2011 VMAs that took place this past Sunday were somewhat boring and uneventful, there was a lot of buzz about Demi Lovato’s new look. The “Skyscraper” singer walked the red carpet wearing a tight, body-hugging silver mini-dress with a plunging neckline. She accessorized with some metallic bangles and a pair of Louboutin pumps, and even though 99% of us would never be able to pull off a look like that if we tried, Lovato was subject to a lot of criticism that night.

So what was everyone upset over? Her body.

Before entering a treatment center in October of 2010, Demi was a completely different person. The stress of constantly being in the public eye had really taken a toll on her, forcing her to develop an eating disorder in the process. She had a very, VERY slim frame and almost looked a little unhealthy. After entering the rehabilitation clinic, Lovato was able to recover from her disorder and also recovered from a lot of mental problems. That being said, she obviously gained a little weight.

The weight-gain and her new curvier figure caused the star so much Twitter hate, that she eventually had to tweet out the following:

• @ddlovato: I’ve gained weight. Get over it. That’s what happens when you get out of treatment for an EATING DISORDER.

• @ddlovato: Guess what, I’m healthy and happy, and if you’re hating on my weight, you obviously aren’t. #UNBROKEN

Thing is, I’m a little confused. Sure, Demi definitely gained weight (as you can tell by comparing before and after photos), but who in their right mind would classify her as “fat?” I’d kill to have that body, and I know I’m not alone.

…Or am I? Even though Hollywood has been trying to embrace more full-figured women in the past few years by promoting healthy lifestyles and promoting plus-size stars, I can’t help but feel like people are still constantly pressured to be a size 2. After some of the most beautiful bigger women in the industry shed all their weight (Jennifer Hudson, Raven Symone, Jordin Sparks, etc…), it makes me wonder if that really is the key to success. It’s no secret that Demi has an amazing voice, but will her new body boost or shrink her fan base?

Aside from the Hollywood aspect of it, what does it mean for female body image as a whole? If some people look at Demi’s body and think “fat,” what hope is there for girls who are her size or larger? Should we be embracing healthy bodies instead of just skinny ones? I think as a society, we should embrace and encourage more women to go for the healthy look and not the impossibly tiny look. Maybe if there were more women who looked like Demi proudly flaunting their stuff, we could save a lot of young women from the stress of negative body image.

What do you think about Demi’s new look? Do you think women should aspire to be healthy or just to look their absolute skinniest? 

This popped up on my Pandora page, and I couldn’t help but be distracted by it.  Playtex’s current ad campaign is based on the idea that “every woman’s body is different,” and at first glance it’s a pretty standard tampon ad. Lots of pink and girly girls – note the skirts and long hair. But if you look at this ad, you’ll see that two out of the three female figures depicted here are almost identical, just posed differently. The woman in the middle and the one on the right are both very slim. They are ideal according to the “thin is in” mentality glorified in the media, but in all likelihood quite a bit smaller than the average American woman. The woman on the left is the only who looks “different,” as her silhouette is significantly more curvy than the others featured in the ad. (I’ll be using “curvy” as a very relative term – obviously, the “curvy” woman here is really pretty average, but she’s rather curvy in comparison to the other women in the ad.)

This is a tampon ad, and obviously a woman’s physical appearance has nothing to do with what type of tampon is right for her. But because it presents a picture of female silhouettes, in which we can see only the superficial outlines of three bodies, the focus of this ad becomes female body size and shape.

Each female figure in the ad is paired with an adjective. The curvier woman is described as “empowered,” while the other two women are “chill” and “bubbly,” respectively. This ad is supposed to be about “different” body types, and yet the female figures we see are characterized using adjectives that describe their personalities. What does a woman’s body type have to do with her personality? The prominent placement of these adjectives directly above the women’s heads presents this strange connection between physical appearance and personality as obvious and simple.

What really got me thinking was the fact that the ad’s token curvy girl is described as “empowered.” This isn’t a negative adjective. In fact, I would be flattered if someone used it to describe me. But “empowered” is very different from “chill” and “bubbly.” “Chill” and “bubbly” are adjectives that sound fun and friendly. They make the thinner girls seem like they’d be fun to hang out with (if they weren’t cartoons). “Empowered,” on the other hand, is more a state of mind or state of being. While it might be a positive description, it says nothing about whether this woman is friendly, or if she would be fun to hang out with. “Chill” and “bubbly” are light, casual words. But “empowered” carries more weight. And this ad is all about fun, pink girliness. So what makes the curvy woman so different? Why didn’t she get a fun adjective? Is this curvy girl “empowered” because she is confident despite the fact that movies, magazines and the internet tell her she should be different?

Maybe Playtex’s intent here was to celebrate all body types, and say that curvier women should feel empowered, because they’re beautiful. But if that’s the case, then why doesn’t the ad actually feature a range of body types? What I see here are two skinny girls and one “alternative” body type. This ad says that curvy is ok, too, but skinny wins out two to one. If that’s not the case, then why create this skinny vs. curvy dynamic, with one clear outsider? It’s just too coincidental that the one different-looking girl was assigned the unusual adjective.

Finally, the point of the ad is to promote three sponsored Pandora stations that listeners can choose from. You are supposed to drag one image/word combination to the box to play the station. The image and word cannot be separated. So, potential listeners are not choosing a body type or an adjective, they’re choosing a body type and an adjective together.

What does that say to women who identify as curvy and bubbly? Or skinny women who would rather be empowered than chill?

Obviously Playtex could never design an ad that would really include all body types, because they’re right, every woman’s body is different. But this is a product designed for and marketed to women. The very least they could do is treat us as intelligent, individual consumers and stop equating outer appearance with inner attributes. That might make me interested in their product.