Author: nxw77

I believe that a critically important story that needs to be told is the one behind ideal body image and its impact on society, especially women, throughout history. 

Many are aware of today’s outlooks and opinions on the ideal body for women, with the greater overarching theme of loving yourself and your body just the way it is. Although, this mindset has not been the prevailing mindset throughout history, and more specifically, the 1900s. Something I believe needs to be understood is where this all began, how it has changed, and the shift from a body-negative to a body-positive mindset. 

Still to this day, may women of all ages struggle with the ideal body. This struggle has lead many to a toxic relationship between mind and body. Learning more about ideal body history and it’s meaning will deepen my (and hopefully others) understanding of how we can’t take all of this so literally; furthermore, in the sense that we should learn from it and do what’s best for us. 

This story will begin in the early 1900s, right after women ditched the use of a corset. For the corset was used in western culture from the 16th century through the early 20th century and promoted one ideal body. After being exhausted for nearly 400 years, other ideas came into play. Through the 1900s and early 2000s, the ideal body has changed many times.

 

Main Question:

How has the ideal body image in women changed over time, especially to the mindset of today’s society that all body types are ideal bodies? 

Subsidiary Questions:

How was the ideal body portrayed in the media throughout time? How did the media change? 

Who were the celebrities at these times? How did they influence women around America to change the shape of their bodies? What type of remedies did they “recommend”? 

How did the ideal body influence women’s health along with rises or declines in eating disorders? 

Where there any other factors that shaped the ideal body?

Heads-up. This blog post may seem way off-topic. This blog post may even seem as far away as kindest gets. Stick with me through it. You’ll see the kindness.

We were eating dinner at the AMAZING dining commons, just having the time of our life. Every one of us was looking pretty worn out, tired and wet (it was raining outside), but still happy to have a plate of hot (kind of) food and the company of each other.

In the mists of all of this chowing down were some solid conversations on test scores from the previous week, Instagram and Snapchats, and of course, the WHITEOUT game this upcoming weekend. This is where the unkindness comes in.

(Let’s say one of my closest friend’s name is Patrick.)

Patrick was sitting next to me at dinner and pretty much out of nowhere, commented to me, a very harsh, rude, insensitive comment out of nowhere. Now I will not repeat what was said, but merely say it was about being a tryhard overachiever.

Now, I still can’t figure out quite why this pushed my buttons the way it did, but at that moment, I looked away, and tears just started rolling. After being exhausted from 3 back to back exams and so much more on top of that (something all of us can relate to), I couldn’t take it. In truth, I needed to get up, walk away, and breathe but was quite literally trapped between 4 people in the booth. All of us are here for a reason; for education to propel us into whatever is next in life. I know that so many students, especially Schreyer students, try their best and give it all they got to succeed. It’s the mentality, the nature of it all. At that moment, being insulated for my dedicated work ethic, the base of my core shook me.

We left dinner, and it was awkward. About 2 hours later, Patrick’s name appeared as my phone continuously buzzed, a call. Without any introduction, there was one of the most sincere apologies I believe I have ever received in my life. It was whole-hearted, truthfully, and quite frankly kind. Though a thorough explanation of self and no excuse attached, I realized something. How often do people sincerely apologize these days? I feel so often apologizes overlooked and uncommon for “It’s never my fault” is a mentality of the current society.

But genuine and kind apologies go such a long way. It shows true kindness.

Choose Kindness.

With love,

Nina

Here’s a little background information: 

One of my greatest passions is within helping others. More specifically, medical mission trips. I’ve been fortunate enough to go and plan two trips to El Negrito, San Jose, Honduras. A small mountain village filled with love and kindness. And currently, I am working on a third trip with my parents to take this upcoming summer to Gana (Gana is a country in Africa). 

 

So, naturally, this past week, I have been reflecting on my previous trips. Now, if you have ever met someone who has taken a mission trip of any type, you probably know that they could talk for hours about the trip. Guilty, this is the case. But I promise I won’t do that here. Instead, I’m going to talk about one small thing that made the whole trip big;  kindness in strangers. 

 

When you take a trip like this, you don’t know a single person you’re going to work with/help. And that’s the best part. After each week-long trip that I have taken, I have left with the same feeling of happiness and joy. This happiness and joy fueled by the kindness I felt that week. You might be confused about where this is coming from, but the people in Honduras, in El Negrito, are some of the kindest people I have ever met. Yes, we were helping patients see clearly for the first time in their lives, but even before that, the kindness was coming. For me, the kindness was through smiles, was through little kids braiding my hair, was through the two words “Te Amo,” was through patients asking me to hold their babies or their bibles. Yeah, some of these things may seem odd, but all of these actions were with love and kindness from strangers. 

 

That’s the best part. Complete strangers. Because there, I didn’t assume anything about those people, and they didn’t assume anything about me. And from this, this open-mindedness and lack of judgment everyone was freely acting with kindness and compassion. Being able to experience this is a gift. 

 

Maybe it is American culture not to be as outwardly compassionate and kind towards strangers. Let me tell you something. Small acts of kindness and compassion can not only make someone’s moment, but their whole day, or their week. Even a smile, a tiny little smile, can make the difference in someone’s, some stranger’s day. 

Choose Kindness. 

With love, 

Nina

Let’s start from the beginning. This add was released by Bloomingdale, a high-end, luxury department store chain, coming upon the holiday season in November of 2015. Honestly, I’m not quite sure where to go from there, for this add makes no sense in how it is supposed to be selling the reader to buy clothes from this department store.

Right off the bat, there’s the pitch that I suppose the company found amusing and thought would create a little fun with all the holiday cheer. “SPIKE YOUR BEST FRIEND’S EGGNOG WHEN THEY’RE NOT LOOKING.” How about we don’t do that. First, this is down-right inappropriate. By publishing those, Bloomingdale is discrediting their ethos, their credibility. Especially in today’s society, spiking someone’s drink is a huge NO. For women, this is a scary situation. And for men, this is embarrassing to portrayed as a predator.

What is it that we see? Here, I believe the board members thought, “Oh, it looks like they are having fun. All dressed up! Holiday Party?!” As if the goal was to appeal to the reader’s emotion. They do this by correlating shopping at Bloomingdale; you’re destined to have a great time in our clothes. Though, you see, this isn’t the case at all. Here you see this girl who is laughing and having fun (possibly after her drink has been spiked) and this creepy guy staring at her as if he was the one who spiked her eggnog — looking at her as if he desires her. What does this imply? Bloomingdale completely missed what the audience thinks, for, in this case, it seems this guy has seduced this girl (INAPPROPRIATE), indicating this to be date rape possibly.

Through both the statement and the imagery, the persuasive appeal is off the mark. They tried to create an ad that showed how shopping at Bloomingdale for your clothes result in a quirky and fun experience. Instead, they created an ad that shows how shopping at Bloomingdale will result in a creepy, uncomfortable situation.

Artifact #1: Released on June 31st, 1962

 

Artifact #2: Released on June 21st, 2018

We’re still going to talk about kindness today, just in a slightly different manner than usual. I love to speak about it, to blog about it, to see it, to experience it, and most of all, to give it. Although sometimes it can be hard to write about for one reason in particular. Every person, especially in today’s society, views kindness and just about anything in a different light.

Late Tuesday night, I was studying/working on homework in my friends, Anna, room when one of our guy’s friends, Dan, came running in to tell us about his soccer practice. About 10 minutes later, my friend’s roommate, Emily, walked in (another one my friends) coming back from the gym. And after a few minutes of catching up, out of quite literally nowhere, Dan blurted out to Emily, “You have HUGE calves.”

COMPLETE SILENCE.

Nobody knew what to say or even truly what he meant.

After a few seconds of awkward gawking and mouth dropping, Anna proceeded with, “Dan, you can’t say something like that. People are insecure about their bodies, and that could be one of Emily’s insecurities.” This is where “kindness” comes in.

Dan was shocked, confused, and upset. He then explained that he was trying to be kind and thought he was complimenting her and her muscles. His reasoning, “if you said that to any guy, he would take that as such a nice compliment.” We all laughed and explained to him what girls like to hear, but understood where he was coming from.

You see, that the thing though. I believe that there is this fine, yet blurry line between what is seen as a compliment and trying to be kind and what is an insult, yet still trying to be kind.

It is so riveting to think about the concept of kindness is different from person to person, but the perception of kindness also varies from one to the next. So often, when we think of kindness and acts of kindness, we think of things like holding the door for someone, volunteering, or possibly buying someone coffee (My favorite are at drive-thru Starbucks where the kindness train continues from one car to the next).

On another note, it’s even more intriguing to think about kindness from generation to generation. I know from personal experience in learning from my parents and grandparents that what is considered as kindness has changed over time. Just let that sink and think about how it may change over our generation.

Choose Kindness.

With love,
Nina

Since arriving here at Penn State, I have had a lot of time to reflect. Like a lot, maybe even too much time (is that even possible). Within all of this, I have reflected on my friends, my parents, my dogs, my parents, my passions, my drive, my boyfriend, and my parents. 

My parents. What the heck. 

What I realized is why I think about them so much is because they taught me kindness and treated me with unconditional love and kindness (most of the time). How they did this was through example. 

It is easy to be kind when others are kind to you. The real challenge is being kind when people aren’t kind to you. This is an ultimate test of character. 

As my momma says, we need to break the cycle of unkindness in the world. Initially, when someone is unkind to us, our gut reaction is to bite back (like dogs). Instead, we need to stop, take a step back, and think would possibly be going wrong in their day or what they may be dealing with behind the scenes. And as my dad tells me, if you are comfortable enough ask them what’s wrong. 

Their values and core stem from this concept of unconditional love and forgiveness. But they always remind me that this can be extremely hard and always try, even when it isn’t easy. Furthermore, what I have learned is that often kindness will come back to you. 

I realized this week that without this skill, I wouldn’t have been able to make the relationships I already have in college. I am so fortunate that I am here and have a core group of people who are real, true friends. Each with their own and different sprinkles of kindness and love. 

Beyond that, I am eager to get involved with something greater than myself; to spread this kindness in any way possible. (I’m not always sure how to and am open to suggestions) 

Maybe there is something to be said about distance, making the heart grow fonder. 

And as the magnet on my fridge at home quotes from the Dalai Lama, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” 

Choose Kindness. 

With love, 

Nina

I don’t know about you, but here’s a little something about me. I truly, and very strongly dislike most daily commercials. (With exception to the Super Bowl Commercials) Although, one commercial that recently caught my attention was one for Farmers Insurance.

First, the commercial opens with Farmer’s insurances tagline, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.” From the start, this is a direct form of ethos. The famous bald insurance agent is installing credibility and his trustworthiness of knowledge.

Next, the commercial provides an overwhelming amount of pathos. For god’s sake, the insurance agent is helping the famous and world-renowned characters of Sesame Street. This emotional appeal of Sesame Street resonates with nearly/most viewers. As shown at the end of the commercial, Sesame Street has been around for 50 years and counting. This children’s television show has influenced and affected the lives of so many, both children and adults, in such a positive and cheerful way. (Who doesn’t love Sesame Street?)

Then the logos of the commercial follows. As the one character asks about a lost rubber ducky, the insurance agent throws him a rubber ducky installing the logic that they are always here to help. And later, when the agent is asked how he knows so much, his reply is, “it just comes with experience.” Thus we understand as a customer that even if we are unsure, they are always sure (The logic of how the insurance works). And within this statement, there is also more ethos or trustworthiness in the agent.

Finally, the commercial ends with even more ethos. The cheery yet annoying jingle that we can never seem to get out of our head. “We are Farmers! Bum ba-dum bum bum bum.”

Overall, this type of commercial is not the one that is persuasive but rather more effective. For the next time, you see something about Sesame Street or something about insurance…you will be more likely to think about Farmer’s Insurance.

Link (click for your own enjoyment): https://www.ispot.tv/ad/o_8g/farmers-insurance-sesame-street-welcome

OR 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBJQVE-MWwY

I am not entirely sure how this article made me feel. Though, what I do know is that my sometimes odd desire of wanting growing up in another generation was just justified.

In truth, what I think about Twenge’s argument is that so many problems among our generation are tied to smartphone usage. From personal experience with my friends, I have encountered precisely what she reported. Especially with mental health and body image. Yes, there are always exceptions and outliers, though, overall she nailed it right on the head. The fact that we eat, sleep, live, and breath with our smartphones is a terrifying reality. It isn’t until we truly step back, remove ourselves from the technology, and look around to see that it overtakes our daily lives.

When I think about technology uses and what to keep in mind when it comes to personal usage is something I hear at home. My mom always says, (GUILTY, when I too have spent too much time on my phone) “how is it benefitting you,” and my dad follows with, “how is what you’re doing helping others.” And frankly, they are entirely and compellingly right. How is my scrolling through Instagram or snapping on Snapchat benefiting myself or others? Simply, IT’S NOT. And this, truly understanding this and accepting it is challenging, something I am still working (even sometimes struggling) on myself.

Let me leave you with this. I agree, taking a 15 or 20-minute break and mindlessly spending time on your phone can be a great way to relax. But be honest with yourself. Have you ever looked at your phone just for a minute or even a few minutes, and those few minutes turned into a few more minutes and even an hour? Do you ever wish you could get that time back or wish you could have (maybe even should have) been doing something else? Just think about that the next time you pick up your phone.

P.S. What about being mindful?

Kindness. What exactly is kindness? Is it something more that we see or something that we are to feel? Is it infinite or finite?. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of kindness is the quality or state of being kind, a kind deed, or affection. 

Even I, myself, preach kindness. Although, like most things (unless you are an expert and have a Ph.D. in the subject of matter and even then…) we can always learn more about this and that. My this and that I want to learn more about, explore, and engage in is kindness. Thus, through this blog, you will be following me through one of my passions as I learn more it; again, A Learning Girl. (I hate myself for how cheesy but true it is. Ugh.) 

Maybe this will be a thread where I blog about acts of kindness I see and experience in my daily life and how I believed it presents itself in society…quite literally rhetoric. Or maybe this will be a thread where I do in-depth research in my brain and blog about kindness from the past; from my dogs, parents, friends, teachers, or even strangers. Though, before I decided which route this thread will take, I might as well take the time to tell you exactly and quite literally from where my sense of kindness stems. 

Beautiful like a garden of flowers, graced with a gentle heart and delicate in her ways was my grandmother, and every day I remind myself of her morals, love, but especially her kindness. 

Over the years, my grandmother always loved her garden, and it wasn’t until this past year that I understood why. Flowers and shrubs were not just beautiful plants to her, but rather they were something she cared about with a metaphorical connection to her own life. Each time I helped her tend her garden, she would always tell me, “Now Nina, always be kind.” And it stuck. A lesson, something I try to walk within each day of my life — kindness from the heart. 

Even though this can be difficult on our worse days, to act with kindness to even be with kindness, we, I can always try. 

Choose Kindness. 

With love, 

Nina 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kindness