“Fat Barbie” making reappearance on Pinterest

It’s been 15 years since the rubenesque Ruby made her debut in The Body Shop’s ad campaign directed at teaching women to appreciate their bodies.

Since then rumors have swirled about how Barbie toy maker Matel sent a cease and desist letter to TBS, claiming that Ruby’s plastic body offended Barbie and threatened her sales. Whether or not Matel took TBS to court or even sent the letter has not been investigated into thoroughly.

However, the image of Ruby has been circulating around Pinterest as of late.

The battle of the bods isn’t a recent phenomenon. It seems that the ideal shape for a woman has fluctuated since the beginning of time.

From the constraining Victorian corset to the skeletal posture of model “Twiggy,” the pressures to fit a mold have always been present. But as we all know, women come in many shapes and sizes.

So where do these pressures come from? A male dominated society that is teaching women they need to be something they aren’t in order to sell products to women they don’t need?

Or is there a legitimate health concern on the horizon- a rising rate of obesity?

I embrace women of every size, but even to me, Ruby seems to be labeled obese, unhealthy.

However, the idea to teach women to be self confident trumps all. In order to be healthy, one must be mentally sound. If she is happy with more meat, then I am happy for her.

What do you think? Are campaign ads like TBS teaching women it’s OK to have unhealthy habits, or is it teaching women self confidence?

Versatile Blogger Award

Thanks to Keira, the dermatologist who runs Shaded Bliss, for nominating me for the “Versatile Blogger Award.” Make sure to  check out her informative features.

Now for the rules. I have to share seven things about myself:

1. I’m in a toxic relationship with Final Cut Pro X.

2. I eat every three hours.

3. There’s a good chance I drink too much.

4. I work hard, but I play hard. 

5.  There are no tattoos gracing my skin.

6. I have a Volcom sticker on my car. 

7. I have trouble transition from sleep to a conscious state. No really…it’s normal for me to press the snooze button for two hours. 

 

Next up is to pick seven blogs I enjoy:

1. YouCoach Fitness

2. Duck Duck Gray Duck

3. Planes, trains and Love

4. CultFit

5. Jane M Lowe Art

6. Cosmin Munteanu

7. Anna vs Life

So…now that you know seven things about me and about seven other amazing blogs, here are the rules as I understand them from others who have received this award.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog
2. Post the Versatile Blogger Award Picture on your post
3. Share seven things about yourself
4. Pass this award on to seven other blogs (Some have given it to more and sharing more love is always a good thing. Of course, this is an optional thing, so no pressure…pass it along if you wish, or just enjoy a mention. I think you’re fantastic!)

VIDEO: Five vintage food commercials

It’s amazing the transformation advertising has made through the decades. Now, a tv or radio ad should be 15 or 30 seconds. Check out these minutes-long vintage ads about food. Yes…they’re completely racist and sexist.

The beer can comeback

Are these cans a little too retro for today’s beer guzzling hipsters?

Hipsters of the world prepare to celebrate!

You won’t be limited to PBR in cans at the bar any longer.

The trend of canning is making a comeback.

“Major brands have also jumped on the bandwagon of late. Just this past month, Anheuser-Busch (BUD)  has unveiled a style-conscious 11.3-ounce “bowtie” can — it tapers inward at the middle — for its popular Budweiser brand (the traditional 12-ounce Budweiser can will also continue to be offered). MillerCoors has a commemorative series of Miller High Life cans coming out this summer that pay homage to Harley-Davidson motorcycles,” according to a Yahoo! Finance article. “Samuel Adams (SAM)  has introduced what it bills as the “Sam can,” a container that’s designed with such features as a larger opening and an extended lip — all of which are intended to bring out the beer’s full flavor.”

Reebok’s offensive ad and others like it

It never ceases to amaze me how many terrible advertisements are out there.

You would think that out of the loads of writers, creative directors, CEOs that are in the chain of creating a terrible ad, at least one of them would stop and say, hey this might not be such a good idea afterall.

The  latest in advertising debacles is Reebok. They printed an ad in Germany with the copy, “Cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout.” Last time I checked, cheating on anything isn’t noble, nor a positive message to athletes. And once again, another ad is derogatory towards women.

Another ad that is equally insensitive to women and really irks me is the Dr. Pepper Ten. Their slogan, “It’s not for women,” completely alienates half their potential buyers, if not more since many mothers do the grocery shopping. I just don’t get it. Who thought it was a good idea?

And since I am on the topic of women and advertisements, there has also been an increase in the number of ads, especially in the fashion world, using domestic violence as an edgy theme. I wrote a whole article about the topic. Many of the ads depict women with made up bruises on their eyes. Once again, who thought this was a good idea?

Homage to sushi

I absolutely adore sushi. And just because I’m on living the paleo diet doesn’t mean I will ever give up sushi for the little bit of rice that is squished in between raw goodness and seaweed nutrition. I found an article that discussed the dreaded white rice question- is it bad? I won’t ever make rice as a side or cook it in a casserole, but a little bit of rice on my sushi isn’t going to kill me. So here’s some of the coolest rolls and sushi related things I’ve seen as a tribute to such a delicious snack:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spaghetti dinner made with stop motion technique

This is pretty amazing and very creative!

Fooling around with illustrator

I’m taking a graphic design class for the non-major and LOVE it! I got to give all graphic designers props. You have to be so precise which can be frustrating.

I’m going to post a little logo I made for the blog. I know it’s amateur and I used CMYK instead of RBG, but it was fun to make!

Update: I have no idea what happened to my picture. Here’s a tiny thumbnail: