Looking Good Ladies!!

I was flipping through the cable channels this evening and I came across a show called "How To Look Good Naked" hosted by Carson Kressley. I was thrilled to see a show that celebrated women of all shapes, sizes and colors and in a very therapeutic way showed the women how to appreciate their bodies!!

On the episode I saw the host Carson takes two women(mother and daughter) places them in just a bra and under ware. And through a series of very clever task and techniques he shows the women how to feel good about their bodies and themselves. Carson showed the daughter three different body images, and asked her to pick the one that she thought had the best overall body.

Not knowing that one of the three bodies was hers and believe it or not she choose her own body! That spoke volumes to me, how can you look at your body everyday, shower your body and dress your body and not know what it looks like. Carson is able to address some real issues with real people that will prove to be a priceless form of intervention.

Society bombards us with images of beauty that are so far from what the average woman's shape is there's no wonder women are ashamed of their bodies.But in his own very unique way Carson has come up with a way to combat some of the negative stigmas attached to women that do not fit into mainstream beauty and I applaud his efforts. Great show!!

Blame It On The What????

I went on recent trip to South Carolina and while driving I like to listen to the local channels to see what they consider worthy of the radio. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and other times I am get exactly what I expect. Music that really isn't music just a beat from a beat machine layered with derogatory lyrics. On this occurrence I listened to the Jamie Foxx song "Blame It" I have vaguely heard the song but never really listened to the whole thing. I honestly was not that impressed with the lame chorus (it seemed a bit cheesy at first). On this trip I had the pleasure of hearing the song a whopping 23 times!! (can you believe it-and that was after I refused to count anymore) So of course the chorus is stuck in my HEAD!

I talked to my sister Kelly about what she thought of the song, she said to me "I love that song, it is so true!" So I went to YouTube watched the video and listened again with a in tuned ear. I began to think how many women can say they did things out of character because of alcohol? I came to the conclusion that probably a lot can think of a moment when they were under the influence and made a comment or had a little extra courage or even tried something they would not have under sober circumstances. So I ask why not "blame it on the alcohol"-the only problem I am having is that it really sends the message that it is OK not to be responsible for your actions. The world does not need another excuse for irresponsible risky behavior. Because unfortunately "blaming it on the goose" is what leads to rape and other unlabeled sexual assaults.

I read a article at Mentalhealth.net regarding drinking and rape and I was amazed to read that women that are raped while intoxicated blame themselves and not the assailant for the assault. In some cases they don't even consider what happened to them rape, they respond "I was drunk, that doesn't really count" Just because you had too many drinks does not make you worthy of rape. A song like this does a huge injustice to the acts of rape that take place in the environment of intoxication. There should be a sense of responsibility from the artist to produce music that is not only entertaining but socially appropriate.

Just as a foot note-what is done in the dark will eventually come to light and the question will be just how far will blaming it on the alcohol take you?