This is such a good interview and certainly interesting for me as an early twenty-something who only recently started trying to disentangle herself from all the ways diet culture shows up and by god, it's everywhere, isn't it?!
The discourse around beauty culture stemming from four main forces: patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism and capitalism is truly intriguing! I also think there is an aspect that goes way back and is often forgotten, which is the sexual and reproductive side of beauty. 'Clear skin' was preferable because it was easier to spot evident diseases in a prospect partner, similarly, being somewhat 'fit for purpose' (being able to produce offspring for women and being able to protect and provide for men) used to be the main reason for establishing a relationship when there wasn't much else to rely on. We don't like hourglass bodies because the Kardashians said so, there are frontal lobe reasons for some of this stuff. Still no explanation on the dewy skin though!
OMG you are the best, and I love love looooooved this conversation. I could talk about it with you all damn day. Thank you <3 <3
This is such a good interview and certainly interesting for me as an early twenty-something who only recently started trying to disentangle herself from all the ways diet culture shows up and by god, it's everywhere, isn't it?!
The discourse around beauty culture stemming from four main forces: patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism and capitalism is truly intriguing! I also think there is an aspect that goes way back and is often forgotten, which is the sexual and reproductive side of beauty. 'Clear skin' was preferable because it was easier to spot evident diseases in a prospect partner, similarly, being somewhat 'fit for purpose' (being able to produce offspring for women and being able to protect and provide for men) used to be the main reason for establishing a relationship when there wasn't much else to rely on. We don't like hourglass bodies because the Kardashians said so, there are frontal lobe reasons for some of this stuff. Still no explanation on the dewy skin though!
this nwas so amazing, insightful, and just overall a fantastic read. thasnk you.