Comments on: Save the Commercial, Save the World

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:56:17 +0000

And it’s getting long on the comment list, so I added another post, “Magic Hips,” that plays off of this one so we can keep on posting, just with a shorter scroll time.

By: orangehands

orangehands — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:50:17 +0000

Pam W: I didn’t know they weren’t cruelty free. dammit.

Ingrid: never saw the big Barbie before. cool.

for one of the women groups i was in during HS, we had one day where we went to one of the girl’s houses and had to sit in front of the mirror, naming things we loved. very few of the girls could get through it without crying.

BCB:
i knew these two sisters. one was “gorgeous”, the other was “average”. the gorgeous one was always told how pretty she was; the average one was always told how smart she was. the first one feels like the only thing she can do is look pretty, and the second one feels no one can love her. the sisters showed me that when raising a kid, it’s important to focus on their brains, but it’s also important to make sure they feel good about themselves physically. mind and body health. and spirit.

it’s long, so i won’t post it, but Alix Olson wrote a poem called “Sticks”. a friend performed it once- wow. http://www.alixolson.com/lyrics/BLT_sticks.html

By: Ericka Scott

Ericka Scott — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:06:16 +0000

Absolutely loved the commercial. I’m now sending it to every woman I know (most of whom are definitely over 35). It’s great to see a commercial where beautiful isn’t defined by anything on the outer layer. . . beauty lies within! Go Dove!

By: Conscripted Cherry

Conscripted Cherry — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:00:42 +0000

I love the commercial that started all this- so I showed it to some co-workers yesterday and today- got great response from the most of them- but one really saddened me she is late 50s/early 60s, and her comments included “yuck” and “well, I guess if you’re in shape” and “why would anyone want to see someone that age without their clothes on” Guess who’s going to be my new project?

By: McB

McB — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:54:35 +0000

I was thinking about what ZaZa said up above about the negative responses probably not being ringers. Sad but true. Sad because I think it smacks of insecurity. Like that one 35yo woman. Now that she knows how her husband views older women she’ll be paranoid for the rest of her life.

By: Najida

Najida — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:27:07 +0000

Three physical things about myself that I like?

My boobs (I grew them myself)— I plan on having dowager cleavage until I’m 99.

My eyes. Pretty color and my lashes are long.

My mouth. Like my boobs, I grew it myself

By: Louisa

Louisa — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:55:52 +0000

Jenny wrote:
“I also wonder sometimes what telling people my age does to the books; that is, do they read my books differently after they know that I’m not a happening thirty-something? That’s the danger of public appearances, too. There are authors who are not allowed to go on book tours because the way they look would undercut their sales, although the two instances I’ve heard of were both men.”

This is a real concern for me. I’ve just now got my life to the point where I have a moment to write, and after looking at the author’s websites I see that I’m a lot older than the published authors. Maybe I should go for another genre.

About that plastic Surgery for vaginas (or labias) thing. How is this different from the female “circumcision” practiced in Africa?

Yow!

I have thick gray/blonde hair, great fingernails, and my collarbones show up nicely.

Going for some Dove. Yeah, the soap, too.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:37:46 +0000

Eric, thank you, I’d forgotten about Clifton’s poem. I love it, too, and it’s perfect here.

I have hips, and that poem always makes me want them to be bigger.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:25:16 +0000

After reading these posts, I can’t resist: do you all know Lucille Clifton’s poem “homage to my hips”? If not, you should, so here goes. (Btw, there are no caps in the original–that’s not just me being coy.)

homage to my hips

these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!

Dang, I love that poem. Love to teach it, love to say it (especially with a nice long pause between “to” and “move around in”), and I don’t even HAVE hips. A little thank you gift to all of you–

By: Marcia in OK

Marcia in OK — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:45:43 +0000

Go Girls! Amazing stuff here (CC, Jen-T, BCB, MCB – just Wow!)

Spreading the word and opening Dialogue is so important. Last night I sent 12 People home with Homework for next weeks class. (5 men & 7 women) 1) List 5 positive adjectives that describe you 2) List 3 things you like about your physical self. I heard all kinds of grumbling as they were leaving the room.

Part of our discussion last night included “If you could change something about your physical self – would you? If so, what would you change?”

Almost all the women said they change at least one thing, but a few said they’d change at least 3 things. (Some of the things were: boobs, weight, wrinkles, baby tummys) Only one of the men said he’d change anything. (He said he’d make himself taller.)

Very interstesting discussions going on all around.

By: Conscripted Cherry

Conscripted Cherry — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:55:39 +0000

Cary, I’m so PROUD of you

it has been a thinking week for lots of us- and I for one am getting ready to implement some change in my world- so, thank you Jenny and the community of amazing people you have brought together- heading off to be scared out of my wits, which is its own kind of exhiliration

By: Jennifer Talty

Jennifer Talty — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:22:52 +0000

Yes, this is a wonderful place. Thank you Jenny.

Cary – you are amazing and I love you lots.

I love myself, flaws an all, inside and out. I’m a wonderful, decent, fun, loving woman. I’m cute too.

By: downundergal

downundergal — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:12:43 +0000

Yes, Roben, he’s one of my best assets too

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:24:19 +0000

I’ve always been a fan of Dove products, and though I’m not yet part of this demographic, I’m buying some of this stuff simply to contribute to its commercial success. Frankly, I don’t care how crassly profit oriented ANY of these ads are, because at the very least they contribute to a new perspective on the way we, as women, appreciate our physical evolution. We are *so* our own worst enemies when it comes to judging our maturing bodies, despite all the amazing stuff they manage to pull off without us even noticing.

I remember being really struck by Christiane Northrup’s book, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, and her anecdote about women in cultures that don’t see menopause as the dividing line between wife and crone. She pointed out that in societies where older women are revered (or at least not demonized), women suffer NO negative symptoms of menopause. When you think of the industry we’ve created just around menopause, it’s sort of horrifying to think that we’re creating the very problems we then must scramble and suffer to solve. But I can’t help but think that Northrup is on to something significant.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:31:28 +0000

Cary, that makes me feel wonderful. I’m so happy for you, and I’m betting everybody here is cheering for you, too.

By: cary

cary — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:22:37 +0000

As you said, it’s your blog, Jenny. So, thank you. You provide an incredible space for this community. Not only do we get a chance to laugh at your adventures and observations, but we also get a chance to push ourselves and think about things that really matter – to us, to women, to society as a whole.

And yeah, me, ‘cuz the shrink says this last week has been a major breakthrough. And this community is responsible for pushing me there.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:08:44 +0000

You know, the vagina thing stopped me, too. I’d heard about it before and thought, “Oh, hell, you’re kidding,” but in the context of this discussion it’s beyond bizarre.

What idiot convinced these women that anybody who was getting that close a look at labia would be in a mood to CRITICIZE? Don’t people think these things through?

(And anybody who would criticize should be denied access anyway. Morons. The world is filled with morons, I say. Not anybody here, of course. In fact, ignore me, I just lost a huge chunk of revisions because Word went into the Spinning Ball of Death. I’m sullen.)

And I really love my legs. Just thought I should mention that again.

By: roben

roben — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:04:48 +0000

Awww. Downundergal! Scuffs toes of new sneakers in the desert sand … you’re so kind! Thanks for the vote of confidence but it’s all an act. The older I get the better I am at carrying it off. I was a Theatre Major. Just kidding, you know I’m a nurse like you and proud as hell to say it. But heck, we can use our imagination, right? And you, my dear, have magnificent hair, and a cute hubby. *grin*

By: Karen Templeton

Karen Templeton — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:20:02 +0000

Okay, I’m responding before reading all the comments, but the vagina thing stopped me in my tracks. Because, um, even *I* don’t look at mine. So I should worry about what anybody else thinks?

But three things I like about my body (bearing in mind that I’m 55, bore five kids, and nobody’s ever gonna see my midsection nekked again, either…)

1. I’m short, but 20 years of ballet gave me great legs and feet. I adore wearing sexy high heels and skirts short enough to flaunt my calves. So there.

2. My eyes, big and hazel and still great fun to make up (subtle peaches and browns, mostly — we’re not talking the aging showgirl look, here).

3. My skin, very, very fair and still nearly wrinkle-free.

And as a sidenote, I nursed all five kids, am still an A cup (remember being told, when I was preggers with #1, by a lovely Polish girl I worked with, “Vis zose tits, ze kid vill starve to death.” He didn’t.) and don’t really sag. God knows, nobody’d mistake me for twenty, but for 55, they’re just fine, thank you.

By: Penny

Penny — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:16:28 +0000

I honestly cannot think of three things I like about my physical self right now. I have a medical condition that gave me 40 pounds of fluid almost literally overnight and so it makes me look like the Michelin man but I can think of two things I like at other times. My eyes are my best attribute. They show all my emotion and are varying shades of blue I am told. I like my grey hair at the sides of my head.

I am 65 years old. I had seen the Dove commercials (I am Canadian)but had not tried the product until I saw the ProAge BodyWash in the drugstore and decided to try it. My skin has been very dry and stretched because of the swelling but since I have been using the body wash my skin is much better. It feels smooth and wonderful and is not anywhere near as dry. I love the product. The drugstore put it on sale this week and I bought more but noticed that two parts of the shelf were already empty. I hope more people will buy it. I was a copywriter for a short time and I think the whole campaign is brilliant.

I must tell you that my 16 year old grandson was visiting and had a shower. Instead of using the Irish Spring that I had opened for him he used the Dove. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to embarass him. The next time he came he did the same thing so I took him aside and pointed out that it was a product for older people. He said he knew but he liked it and if I didn’t mind he was going to use it.

Go fill your trunks. You won’t be sorry.