To all the beautiful people who call Athens their home--
Welcome! Since you're here, I'm going to assume you have some familiarity with Backlash, but in case you don't:
We are a group of students who got a little tired of this:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs331.snc3/29139_293172809952_23752139952_884312_4676559_n.jpg
We realize that beauty has nothing to do with race, gender, body type, or anything-else-type, and that there are no hard-and-fast rules for what can and cannot be sexy, beautiful, alluring, etc. We understand that images( and fashion spreads) like these spread nothing but toxic ideas of beauty to the people, but especially the women, who inhabit this campus. We want to see diversity of every kind in the pages of the publications that are supposed to represent us as a community. And we need your help.
This is not like other blogs. This is not a blog where I rant and you respond. Not at all. This blog is a two-way street. As a community, I want to put together a collage of ideas, opinions and representations of beauty and positive self-image, so that as a group we can see that good body images are like good bras:supportive and uplifting. If you have something positive to say, put it here. Give us the benefit of your words. Let us know as a group how you feel about anything, as long as it relates(at least loosely) to body-consciousness(but not self-consciousness) and self-esteem. Let us know how you feel about how the media portrays you, how you express yourself, or how you feel about your body. The username and password will be available on the Backlash Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=125820994105154&id=23752139952#!/event.php?eid=116119565095996&index=1
Make sure when you post here, you leave your first name or a callsign of some kind, so that we know who posts what. I'm calling dibs on Maverick, so find something more original.
I want this blog to become a place of commiseration, but also a springboard for change. If we come out and say what upsets us about the way we're portrayed in the media, we've taken the first step towards changing the way we are portrayed.
So, be respectful of the other posters, keep it original, and in the words of the modern American poet John Mayer, "say what you need to say".
Bon voyage,
--Maverick(AKA Jamie)
