【Say It Loud】Body Image and Documentary workshop

The body image workshop and documentary. The workshop was one of the most successful. Men and women attended. The event was led by Momma Aria Arai. She made everyone feel welcome and informed that the audience would be involved and encouraged to make their opinions known.

Most agreed that the media and advertising perpetuates a biased view of beauty. The tall blonde European is considered the standard of beauty that most aspire to. Unconsciously, the mainstream public follows the narrative. Now the realization that all races and types of ethnic groups have money to spend, has made retailers rethink their advertising strategies. Inclusiveness is the new normal.

The question came up about how plastic surgery has been used to interpret the new normal. It seems that the look of black women is becoming the standard of beauty. The Fuller lips, high cheekbones and large buttocks are the subject of plastic surgery operations today. What is too much? Who is driving the trend? 

 These questions had to be tabled for another time because the film HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE had to start. The movie was an insightful history of how Black American women had to wear many hats in order to succeed in Hollywood. They were civil activists, role models, couldn't be too black or radical and couldn't be too white or they would cause an eruption of catastrophic portions from the black community. The tightrope was definitely slippery. 

Though the movie was almost 2 hours long, it brought up situations that were totally unknown to the audience.