You don't have to be All About that Bass

Lately in media there has been an influx of songs, ad campaigns and articles discussing body confidence and the variety of body types.

Two such songs are All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor and Anaconda by Nicki Minaj, which, if you haven't heard yet I have to ask, which rock are you living under? A lot of the comments on the songs are that it is great that bigger body types are being promoted and that it is great that people are starting to recognise different forms of beauty.

The unfortunate truth is that these songs do not contribute to body confidence and here's why.

Firstly, "boys they like a little more booty to hold at night" seems harmless enough, but it essentially says that to be considered attractive, men have to find you attractive. approach is "My Anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hun", saying that men will only find you attractive if you look a certain way and if you don't, you are, for want of a better word, ugly. I'm not saying it's bad for you to want men to find you attractive, but their opinion (or lack thereof) does not invalidate your attractiveness. You are beautiful no matter what anyone thinks.
Secondly, you cannot promote one body type by shaming another. Lines like "I'm bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny b******" or "You know I won't be no stick-figure" shame women who can't help being skinny or want to be thinner by inherently saying that their body type is wrong. Again, more blatantly, the entire last paragraph of Anaconda is dedicated to shaming skinny girls and about how men don't want what they have. It's okay if you are or want to be curvy, skinny, muscular, anything, but as soon as you shame someone for how they are or want to be, that is not okay.

Lastly,  you are a unique and beautiful human being. You do not have to look a certain way for that to be true, all you have to do is think that you're beautiful. Not every person is going to find you attractive because every person is wired differently but that does not, in any way, invalidate how you look and who you are. Humans are incredible things and if you limit their importance to looks then you need to catch a wake up.

And now, actual body confidence posts.

 

And most importantly...

 

Change "girl" to "person" and it'll be spot on.

 

You are awesome.

 

Live Long and Prosper

 

izzy 

19 days to go! A.K.A. the return of Izzy.

Hello.

Hi.

How are you?

I have returned.

You thought I was gone forever.

You were wrong.

And now, the weather.

In all seriousness, I am truly, eternally (sort of) sorry that I have not posted in ages. Of course, I am not entirely sure if I even have regular readers (besides you, Cath, you're still awesome) and it would be nice if I got some feedback from readers on whether I should keep this blog up and what I should do to improve it but ANYway.

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS! So, of course, I made reindeer cookies. Behold!

These are the best tasting chocolate chips I've had in ages.

You can expect more regular posts from me as it is now the holidays and if you're new here and you like it so far, please subscribe or follow, I will love you forever.
And now, the Welcome To Night Vale Tweet of the Day

 Live Long and Prosper

 Izzy xxx










Two Years

It's that time of the year again.

What? No I do not mean Christmas!

It's the eighth of September (Okay fine it's the eleventh but I had tests this week).

TWO YEARS OF BLOGGING.

A lot has changed in two years.

Two years ago, I was excited about being almost thirteen. I had no idea that there was a difference between Star Trek and Star Wars (cringe) and I had not yet been sucked into fandom. I had not started highschool, I didn't have the faintest clue what subjects I would take for Grade 10 and my biggest worry was whether or not I would get the book I wanted for my birthday.

A year ago, I was again, excited for my birthday. I was making rainbow cupcakes for my 1-year-aversiary. I was convinced I would be taking French until matric and was counting down the days until Catching Fire. I knew a little about Sherlock and Star Trek and my obsession of the time was Arctic Monkeys (well it still is but ANYway).

Today, on the eighth of September, I'm still excited for my birthday (and trying to convince my parents to buy Star Trek TOS Season 1, mom, if you are reading this, I was not joking). I will definitely be taking Physics, Bio and History. I met my first and only fan a week ago (who is awesome just btw, go check her out). I buy more books than I will ever read, more music than I can listen to and drink a little bit too much tea (because coffee = gross). I wear eyeliner and then "forget" to wash it off because it HURTS. I have discovered a couple more obscure bands that I am in love with and I have a calendar on my wall that I have not used and am not entirely sure how it got there...

A lot can change in two years.

Live long and Prosper

Izzy

Kindle vs. Books? The debate that split the booknerds...

There is something unique about the experience of reading a book. You can spend hours flicking through the ergonomically displayed covers on the shelves of your favourite bookstore before finding the perfect title. You pay for your book, engaging in the customary debate with the cashier over whether "The Fault in our Stars" book to movie transition was better than "The Perks of being a Wallflower". At first all you do is stare at the book on your shelf, not sure whether to crack the spine and dog ear the pages just yet. You finally capitulate and spend the next four hours in whatever world you chose before your mother comes in with the usual "I thought you just bought that book!"

Yes, Kindles are impersonal, they cannot be used as coasters, written in, drawn on etc. These experiences are something the Kindle could never replace. While there is nothing like having a real book in your hands, the Kindle does have one advantage. It allows you to buy out of print books.

My first purchase on my Kindle was "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins. Having devoured "The Hunger Games" trilogy, I was eager to get my hands on anything else Collins had written. I was extremely disappointed to find out that "The Underland Chronicles" was out of print until I bought my kindle and soon after the entire series of books.

While nothing will replace the wrinkled pages of the time you accidentally dropped your book in the bath or the hastily scrawled notes in the margins of "Hamlet", don't turn your purist nose up at a Kindle immediately, it might be the only way to access certain books.

Shoutout to Cath for being awesome :D

Live Long and Prosper internet

izzy