Bikini coffee shop

I admit I like local news, not so much the way it is reported, as a matter of fact I don’t much like the way any news is reported, but I go on-line and check out one of the local news stations every morning. This morning I came across this Bikini Baristas in Portland now I just don’t know what to think about it. They are opening up a coffee shop where the baristas are going to be clad in bikinis only. This objectifies women (it is only women who work there as always), this really isn’t a debatable issue, people are going to go there to LOOK at the girls, but is it overall harmful? That is what I struggle with. I do not think there is anything wrong with looking at a body for pure pleasure, nor do I necessarily think it’s wrong to show off your body in a job. Yet I find something about this whole thing just wrong, the feminist in me rebels against anything that has “The Man” making money off young scantily clad women. The dichotomy of my feelings for this is played out in so many other aspects of my life, I just try to do my best, if I were ever to encounter any of the people that work there I would not look down them or call them whores, nor would I secretly think they are, I will try to respect their choice as I would hope that they would respect mine for doing what I do.

Song: “You Made It”

Long days and nights, working on my disseration on a tight timeline, is something that will be done, has to be done. Nonetheless, there are times when it seems like everyone else is doing it without problems, what is the problem?  So, pulling myself back into the now it is important to remember this is my process, my time, my journey, and it will get done.  In honor of this, I’ll DJ Shadow communicate how I’m feeling at the moment.

DJ SHADOW – “You Made It”

Testosterone: My New Favorite Thing

“There is something in my body that is telling me to do something that I should probably ignore.” – Testosterone NPR This American Life.  My sister had recommened that I listent to an EXCELLENT radio program Testosterone NPR This American Life.  All I can say is without a doubt you must find the time to listen to show, I think it was about an hour long and *OMG, you must listen because you need this information. I couldn’t sleep last night because I’m writing my dissertation and my mind is just so busy that I’m having some trouble sleeping - so I turned it on thinking it would put me to sleep and it kept me awake it was so interesting.

Here’s a some notes I pulled from it:  One man explains that when he lost his testosterone (T)  he lost his ability to know - he had no frame of reference for anything whether it was a flower or sound.  Then a woman to male explains it so interestingly, before T, he explains that as a lesbian she would see a beautiful woman and think about her though in the sense of  ‘oh she is pretty, what is she reading, she looks really into that book, etc..,” but when she to he started T, found the he was unable to follow the rationale he had without T. to not look back at her breast - but something overcame and with T he would HAVE to look back at her breasts. After T. he for the first time became interested in science. .  Had to relearn how to talk to women, rephrase things.   Testosterone NPR This American Life.

 

What it did for me was help to shed some light on testosterone, a concept I knew about but never really learned anything much about.   It isn’t meant to hold up any stereotypes, but it is interesting to hear people talk about their life before and after T.

 

*OMG…was just texted to me by Mark’s 10 year old newphew, he told me Uncle Mark lost a battle with bungy cord and “OMG, it was gross.” First time I’ve used OMG – thx to Nate for helping me be texting code cool.

 

Photo by: deepwarren

Job with the Highest Assassination Rate

Alright trusty readers, take a guess and tell us what you think is the is the profession with the highest rate of deaths by assassination?   Having this stigma attached to the career choice has got to be hard on your self-esteem.  The appropriate song to support this question is provided below, “My Baby Shot Me Down (Bang Bang).”  – Nancy Sinatra

The winning guess will receive…..umm…the self-satisfaction of being the smartest Sweat It Out reader!

**Do note at the end of the video the way Nancy has to roll off the stage b/c she is sitting in a short skirt, and now we’ve got our pop stars showing all their bits & pieces. How times change.

 

Perez Back off Rumer Campaign

Oh look, another Perez Hilton  bashing Rumer, here is the history of his bashing Perez Hilton on Rumer Willis.  Doesn’t he get like 12 million views per day from around the world?  I’m really glad he’s  helping build the self-esteems of women and our girls.  Just write a quick comment below, and maybe we can generate enough interest to get him to stop!  (send this to a friend, we are a newish blog, I don’t have the power to do this without some grassroots help)

Perez Hilton  writes:  “Can’t she get that fixed???

Rumer Willis, aspiring “actress”, attended the 2008 Crystal Lucy Women in Film Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Seriously, isn’t there surgery where you can shave down your jaw???

We’re sure some trannys have gotten it done to make themselves look more “feminine.”

Plastic surgery is not always a bad thing.

Rumer should look into it!

And, while she’s there, she might wanna get her nose done too!”

Photo via: Perez Hilton

Beauty Reality Check: Cancer Style

We often take the view on this site about how media influences our self-esteem, or ways in which to maintain healthy self-esteem.  But what we haven’t talked on here about are the implications of disease on self-esteem.  Part of the reason I became aware of self-esteem was due to Mark’s battle with Ulcerative Colitis for 7 years, and how that disease slowly ate away at his self-esteem leaving him with one identity sick, and being sick holds little value or worth in our society. 

Well, here is the face and words of woman fighting her 2nd round of colon cancer.  On her blog The Colon Chronicles she writes “Alright, I said I was gonna ‘document’ stuff more. So *gulp* here goes.
Documentation of the evil phenomena known as “erbirash”
(jeez I hate seeing myself so close up) [Photo 1] the comparison picture below was taken just a few weeks ago [Photo 2]. I look like a pimply-faced teenager. I am not cute. And this is how I normally can be seen while on chemo: [photo shown] Don’t I just look thrilled.
There ya have it. I guess when I’ve bitched in the past about how people don’t seem to fully grasp that you’re “sick” or not well, if you don’t look like the typical chemo patient…didn’t lose your hair, no outward signs of illness….Guess this time around chemo made sure I got some outwardly visible signs.   Damn I shoulda kept my mouth shut.” 

I know how difficult it is under healthy circumstance to have good self-esteem, but I can’t even imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to maintain healthy self-esteem while battling something like Cynnycal’s fight with cancer. 

Also, it is time we all start addressing the very real issues of self-esteem and the related symptoms of disease:

Self-esteem and IBD is discussed “Some of the emotional challenges that are typical of those diagnosed with IBD are:
1. Self Esteem
2. Self Image
3. Depression
4. Anger
5. Grieving
6. Sense of loss that your life isn’t ever going to be the same
7. Feeling alone
8. Feeling different
9. Shame/Guilt
10. Embarrassment
(*Some of the items on this list were offered in Sherry Porat’s presentation at the IBD conference on Nov. 3,2007)”

Human Egg Hatching

This has nothing to do with self-esteem but you totally have to see this “historic” photo.  Doctors by chance recently caught on film the ovulation occuring of a human egg Ovulation Photo.  I’d post the photo but they are bit much if you aren’t prepared for them.

“Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman’s body.

Observing ovulation in humans is extremely rare, and previous images have been fuzzy. Donnez captured the event by accident while preparing to carry out a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman. The release of an egg was considered a sudden, explosive event, but his pictures, to be published in Fertility and Sterility, show it taking place over a period of at least 15 minutes.

Shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.”

via feministing.com