dark-skinned woman. Vanessa Williams states, âIf a black president represents change, a dark-skinned first lady is straight-up revolutionaryâ¦. The lingering effects of racism and sexism, coupled with a beauty industrial complex that constantly assaults our senses with images of female beauty that trend toward the lighter end of the racial color wheel, has rendered dark-skinned women nearly invisible in mainstream media.â 16
Issues of colorism and visibility would no doubt be a larger part of the public discussion if that discourse paid more attention to the intersection of race and gender. As it is, the many ways colorismâalong with racism and classismâaffects women of color are obscured and marginalized. Yet the impacts are felt personally, professionally, and politically.
----
MORE PRODUCTS, LESS REGULATION
Worldwide sales of fragrances, cosmetics, and toiletries have reached $330 billion per year, with the ten biggest companies accounting for more than half of all sales. 14 The cosmetics and beauty industry spends $2.2 billion on advertising everything from hair dyes to cellulite cream. 15 Although the vast majority of beauty products and magazines are marketed to women, men are no longer exempt from our cultureâs high expectations. Menâs worldwide spending on skin care, hair care, bath and shower products, and deodorant jumped 44 percent between 2004 and 2009. 17 And body-sculpting products such as Spanx that have long been sold to women are now being made for men who want the appearance of a smoother tummy.
Despite its reach, the cosmetics industry is one of the least regulated in the United Statesâa frightening fact considering that the averagewoman uses ten beauty products a day. 20 Nearly all of our personal care products are made with at least one and usually several ingredients that have never been assessed for safety by the government or any other publicly accountable institution. 21
----
LESBIAN IN/VISIBILITY
Anxieties over hair can be acute for any woman who defies the long and straight ideal. Those of us who cut or shave our hair short, or color or shape our hair in nontraditional ways, especially if we are lesbian or transgender, are more prone to looks from others and even discrimination.
DIS magazine subverts traditional beauty salon imagery with an alternative salon poster featuring hairstyles usually associated with lesbians. 18 âThe collection of these creative and varied haircuts brings into stark relief the hyperfeminized options most women encounter at the salon,â writes Lisa Wade, assistant professor of sociology at Occidental College. 19
The poster (available for purchase or free download) is accompanied online by a heady analysis of gender identity and the queer female body in the twenty-first century. It also offers some practical advice for the budget minded:
W4W Buzz at DISMAGAZINE.COM by Marco Roso and Lauren Boyle
It started with a razor clip, followed by a scissor snip. THE W4W BUZZ features a variety of styles from close-cropped sides with more hair on top, to fades, buzzcuts and undercuts. Because of the seemingly limitless possibilities, age isnât a factor; nor is hair texture, gender, or orientation. Whether youâre male or female, trans or sans, these conveniently priced hairstyle solutions are simple and easy-to-meme. Say so long to the salon and hello to your neighborhood barbershop.
----
The pursuit of beauty is often fraught with health and safety risksâsome that are known and others that weâre still discovering. When blood and urine samples from twenty teenage girls from across the country were tested, the samples were found to include an average of thirteen potential hormone-disrupting preservatives, plasticizers, and other cosmetic chemicals. 22 Moreover, carcinogens like formaldehydeand neurotoxins like lead are often found in trace amounts in cosmetics and personal care items. 23 Check out Chapter 25 ,
Issues of colorism and visibility would no doubt be a larger part of the public discussion if that discourse paid more attention to the intersection of race and gender. As it is, the many ways colorismâalong with racism and classismâaffects women of color are obscured and marginalized. Yet the impacts are felt personally, professionally, and politically.
----
MORE PRODUCTS, LESS REGULATION
Worldwide sales of fragrances, cosmetics, and toiletries have reached $330 billion per year, with the ten biggest companies accounting for more than half of all sales. 14 The cosmetics and beauty industry spends $2.2 billion on advertising everything from hair dyes to cellulite cream. 15 Although the vast majority of beauty products and magazines are marketed to women, men are no longer exempt from our cultureâs high expectations. Menâs worldwide spending on skin care, hair care, bath and shower products, and deodorant jumped 44 percent between 2004 and 2009. 17 And body-sculpting products such as Spanx that have long been sold to women are now being made for men who want the appearance of a smoother tummy.
Despite its reach, the cosmetics industry is one of the least regulated in the United Statesâa frightening fact considering that the averagewoman uses ten beauty products a day. 20 Nearly all of our personal care products are made with at least one and usually several ingredients that have never been assessed for safety by the government or any other publicly accountable institution. 21
----
LESBIAN IN/VISIBILITY
Anxieties over hair can be acute for any woman who defies the long and straight ideal. Those of us who cut or shave our hair short, or color or shape our hair in nontraditional ways, especially if we are lesbian or transgender, are more prone to looks from others and even discrimination.
DIS magazine subverts traditional beauty salon imagery with an alternative salon poster featuring hairstyles usually associated with lesbians. 18 âThe collection of these creative and varied haircuts brings into stark relief the hyperfeminized options most women encounter at the salon,â writes Lisa Wade, assistant professor of sociology at Occidental College. 19
The poster (available for purchase or free download) is accompanied online by a heady analysis of gender identity and the queer female body in the twenty-first century. It also offers some practical advice for the budget minded:
W4W Buzz at DISMAGAZINE.COM by Marco Roso and Lauren Boyle
It started with a razor clip, followed by a scissor snip. THE W4W BUZZ features a variety of styles from close-cropped sides with more hair on top, to fades, buzzcuts and undercuts. Because of the seemingly limitless possibilities, age isnât a factor; nor is hair texture, gender, or orientation. Whether youâre male or female, trans or sans, these conveniently priced hairstyle solutions are simple and easy-to-meme. Say so long to the salon and hello to your neighborhood barbershop.
----
The pursuit of beauty is often fraught with health and safety risksâsome that are known and others that weâre still discovering. When blood and urine samples from twenty teenage girls from across the country were tested, the samples were found to include an average of thirteen potential hormone-disrupting preservatives, plasticizers, and other cosmetic chemicals. 22 Moreover, carcinogens like formaldehydeand neurotoxins like lead are often found in trace amounts in cosmetics and personal care items. 23 Check out Chapter 25 ,
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