Fit is a feminist issue, link round up #3

We usually share links on our Facebook page but ones involving nudity we’re sharing here instead. Read why here.

• Real women, real bodies, nude silhouettes, Body positive, diverse shapes and sizes, without showing any skin.

• Nudity and Disney: Does feminism have a double standard?

It is less often discussed, but Disney also exerts body pressure on boys, stressing a fit and chiseled physique as the true way to convey a heroic masculinity and attract women. It’s wrong to assume this creates less pressure on young boys in movie theater audiences than their female counterparts — especially when studies show anorexia is often under-diagnosed in male patients because it is considered a “feminine” disorder..

• Belly dance your way to a more positive image: “Looking at a magazine cover featuring a model with toned abs, a slim waist, and curvy hips, then taking a look in the mirror, could be very discouraging for most women, but belly dancing is one way to change that. The exercise is sexy, fun, and according to a new study conducted by Australian researchers, it will improve your body image. The study was led by Marika Tiggermann of the psychology department at Flinders University, Southern Australia. Tiggermann and researchers found that in Western countries, more women than men were dissatisfied with their bodies. They concluded that the ideal thin woman is an international phenomenon, largely due to globalization of Western media.”

• The What’s Underneath Project: “We’ve asked a select group of individuals to participate in a project in which they will remove their clothes to honor how style is not the clothes you wear, it is comfort in your skin, it is your spirit, it is What’s Underneath.”

We asked model Chloe Nørgaard to be a part of the What’s Underneath Project because in an industry bursting with button-up pretension and real-life (and un-ironic) Zoolanders, Chloe is a down-to-earth Burning-Man rebel with rainbow hair, a see-through camisole, and denim ripped to the nines. When agencies told her to dress in such-and-such a way (and, of course, to lose weight), Chloe said, “Fuck it, I’m dying my hair blue.” Today, colored hair is ubiquitous. We love how Chloe eludes the derogatory stereotypes surrounding modeling by telling people that she’s a gynecologist or librarian. For WU, she bravely reveals her “on-and-off relationship” with her small chest, adding, “It’s funny, I probably only have an issue with my boobs because of the magazines. If there wasn’t any of that, I probably would’ve never had that thought. Thank God it didn’t stick. Now, I just don’t like to wear bras.” Deconstructing twisted beauty norms is one of WU’s primary aims. Thank you, Chloe, for standing outside of the pack and creating your own kind of beautiful.