Women's Life Michele Shackelford, editor

Christina Failma, Zainab Al-Suwaij, and Brittany Yap talk about the colleges in Iraq.

Courtesy Brittany Yap

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Poets deliver at Girl Fest Open Mic Night

On Sept. 10 Girl Fest sponsored an open mic GiRL SLaM night at The Arts at Mark’s Garage in Chinatown. The event was hosted by Selah Geissler,28, poet and HPU alumna, and music was provided by DJ Rebel Girl. [More]

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I love to love me

by Michele Shackelford, Women’s Life editor

Oct. 18 marks Love Your Body Day, sponsored by the National Organization for Women. This is a day to celebrate being a woman, loving who you are, and loving your body, which is beautiful no matter what shape or size it is.

In America we are fed an image of perfection from the time we are young children. We are expected to look like Barbie or the many princesses we grow up admiring. American society focuses mainly on physical beauty rather than inner beauty. Health and beauty product marketers work hard to make women feel as though they are never good enough, and that they need to be improving themselves physically.

Madison Avenue ad agencies have broken our bodies down into parts– lips, breasts, legs–airbrushing and transforming them into impossible ideals. More than 80 percent of women say they are dissatisfied with their appearance. (NOW.)

In 2005, Americans spent $9.4 billion on plastic surgery according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. They also spent billions of dollars on other cosmetic procedures, formulas, fashion magazines, and diet aids. It is no wonder women have bad self-images and begin thinking about plastic surgery as an answer in their early teens.

Many high school graduates are receiving breast implants, nose jobs, or liposuction for graduation gifts. America has become a society that values a person’s looks over who they truly are.
Love Your Body Day is meant to enhance women’s awareness of these misconceptions and to give them a day to feel good about who they are. “Feel comfortable,” is the message we want to hear from a clothing ad! This is what a Liz Claiborne poster, displayed on the NOW Web site, says in support of Love Your Body Day.

The National Organization for Women has set aside this day to let women know they are worth more than their appearance. It is a day for women to celebrate their beauty and the beauty of other women based on what truly matters.

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Poets deliver at Girl Fest Open Mic Night

Walk down Fort Street Mall, or Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, and inevitably a few of the women walking on the street will be wearing T-shirts that read “skinny bitch” or “I’m a bitch,” or something similar. Visitors to Hawai‘i are often shocked that these women want to be identified as female dogs by all who encounter them. Do they know what the word means? Do they care how people see them? [More]

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