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gallifreyriver · 6 months ago

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You may or may not have already heard about Blockout2024, and either way, here are some suggestions to make sure your activism here isn't being performative.

First, what it is for those unfamiliar: Blockout2024 is a movement to block celebs/influencers not using their platforms to speak up for Palestine, and it all started with this year's Met Gala- more specifically Hayley Bayley's "Let them eat cake" Met Gala tiktok, which was (rightfully) not well received by anyone considering everything going on right now, most of all the genocide in Palestine.

Now that that is out of the way, what do I mean by "make sure your activism here isn't being performative," ?

The blockout started with very good intentions, but in just a couple days it turned from "Let's send a message by blocking this handful of ultra wealthy celebs who aren't using their massive influence to speak up for Palestine" (I believe it started with Taylor Swift, the Kardashians, Lizzo and maybe a couple others?)

And now it's largely become "Now we're blocking ALL celebs and influencers! Even if they start speaking up- because it's too little too late!"

Now don't get me wrong! It seemed to be working famously at first. Kim Kardashian lost 3 million followers in like a day on Insta, and all this commotion made Lizzo and Brittany Broski finally make posts speaking out about Palestine (even if they did give off the energy of "Here! Damn...")

But I think a lot of us saw that, and got too excited for our own good. People started expanding the block list with no organization, or research, or any real plan whatsoever.

I can't tell you how many posts I've seen where someone posted a new block list, only to apologize and have to remove names because they were informed that said person either had spoken up, was donating money, or were just focusing their time on other equally important causes (like Sudan and Congo) right now.

I saw people even started putting Bella and Gigi Hadid on the block list, whose father is literally a Palestinian refugee, because Gigi went to the Met Gala. Bella has been so outspoken about Palestine this whole time, and Gigi -while not as vocal as her sister- has spoken up in support of Palestine as well.

I've also seen people just putting names on lists just to put names on the list, it seems. Corpse Husband was on one list for not speaking up, but apparently he hasn't even been active online in two years due to health issues. And while writing this I also found out that people have been putting Alan Rickman on the blocklist.

I'll say that again- Alan... Rickman. A man who has been dead for EIGHT YEARS, and who also very much showed his support for Palestine while he was alive.

It's time to admit that we've lost the plot.

At point break speed this movement went from something with great potential to performative action. It's all just performative action anymore and people policing others for not performing said activism in the way they personally want to see.

Now, if you want to block a celeb/influencer, I'm not going to stop you. You have the power to give - or not give - your attention to whomever you please. I will say though that if you want this blockout to work we can't keep going about it like this. There's a reason you've seen it losing momentum in such a short amount of time.

Consider this a call-in.

If we're going to do this we need to keep it organized. I think we had the right idea at first with blocking the Kardashians, Swift, and Lizzo to put pressure on them to use their highly influential platforms to speak up for Palestine. I'm sure a couple others could be added to this list, but honestly I don't really keep up with celeb culture enough to be able to name more names right now.

In addition, if anybody else, we should be outright blocking those who have outright refused to speak up and/or sides with Israel. I'm talking people like Bret Gelman, Gal Gadot, Dr. Phil, etc. People heavily outspoken in favor of Israel who constantly double down, spread misinformation, and just do not care about Palestinian lives. These are the people who aren't going to listen to any opposition, and don't deserve a platform because they are complicit with genocide.

With that said, I don't think we should automatically be blocking anyone who hasn't spoken up yet. Those are the people we need to be putting pressure on. Make them show us exactly who they are. No more keeping quiet, or trying to play both sides. Let them know we need to know where they stand, and if they can't stand against genocide, we won't stand with them- and they can fall to the same digitine. ("Digital guillotine," for those unaware) And as for those who may have posted in support back in October but are silent now, my suggestion is that we need to put pressure on them to speak up again. Show them that one post from months ago doesn't get them a free pass forever- if they aren't continuing to speak up, or helping in other ways like transferring some of their massive wealth into helping families evacuate, we don't need them. But the point very much is to put pressure on them first and give them time to show us they will. If we outright block them it does nothing to help accomplish our goal- which is to get more of them to speak up.

Also on that note, I also suggest we make it clear that we do not want posts about Palestinian GoFundMe's from multimillionaire celebs unless it's a post about how they paid it off themselves. When they can pay off the balance and not feel a thing, there's no reason why they should be asking us, the poors, to donate. It's simply performative on their part. (Did they learn nothing from the Oprah/The Rock Maui incident?) If anything, they need to be asking their other rich celeb friends to donate, not us.

Perhaps it could be a weekly culling. Pick a list of five to ten celebs/influencers to put pressure on for a week, then block whoever refuses to speak up and start up with a new list the following week, and so on, until they all start getting the message.

We also need to abandon the whole "It's too little, too late!" way of thinking.

We need to remember that this is about helping Palestine, not about our own feelings.

It doesn't matter if we feel like they should have spoken up months ago- we cannot punish the behavior we want to see, and the behavior we want to see is these celebs/influencers using their influence for good. Yes, they should have spoken up from the start, but we still need them to speak up now. If we send the message that they're damned if they don't and still damned if they do, it actually incentivizes them to just... not- because they're damned either way.

And finally, we need to start promoting the celebs who have been doing the work, both new and especially those who have been speaking up all along. This will also send a message to the rest. I'm talking Mark Ruffallo, Bella Hadid, Pedro Pascal, Emma Watson, and so many others. We need to be giving them our attention over those who refuse to speak up.

In summary:

For this to work we need to be organized and targeted about it. Have a small block list of ultra wealthy/ultra influential celebs/influencers to block first. This will send a message to the rest, who we'll be putting pressure on at the same time. Call them in, tell them they need to tell us where they stand and that they need to use their influence to do good and speak up against the genocide. Tell the multimillionaires to transfer some of that wealth into helping families escape. If they won't, then we will no longer give them the attention that makes them so much of that money. And we need to be giving a larger platform not just to those celebs who are taking the time to do the work, so that their influence can reach further than it already does, but also more importantly Palestinian voices because they are the ones who are going to tell us what they need right now. Voices like Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, Hind Khoudary, and Motaz Azaiza.

You might recognize this as similar to the model of the BDS movement, and that's because it is. Because they absolutely know what they're doing with the targeted action, and that's why it works.

And again, the moment we start with "It's too little too late!" is the moment we have centered our own feelings over Palestine. We need these celebs' influence, and there is such a thing as 'better late than never' when so many lives are still at stake.

Please don't let your ego get ahead of your common sense.

Ok, call-in over. I hope someone who needs to hear this takes this to heart.

#blockout2024 #met gala #blocklist #free palestine #bds #digital guillotine #digitine #collective action #eat the rich #taylor swift #lizzo #kim kardashian #alan rickman #boycott divest sanction

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goldenfharry · 2 years ago

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I would say she can be sassy but mean girl, I’ve met mean girls before and ifykyk 😭😭😭

I low-key kind of understand what they mean. As much as I like Selena Gomez she does have this way that she somehow manages to throw stones and hide her hands and then act like the victim. Her copying Haleys skin care routine and mocking her proves that. She does shady stuff but then doesn’t ever really wanna own up for it. not saying that she’s an actual Me and girl but she’s very low-key with it. Haley and Kylie are straight up mean girls and their upfront about it. You can tell that a lot of the shit that they do they have intention of hurting people. Whether or not Selena Gomez knows what she does her actions somewhat have the same affect they just seem more shady. Even the whole Bella Hadid situation. She must’ve known her fans were going to attack Bella and drag her in order to uplift Selena. She’s not dumb.

I’m kinda side-eyeing these opinions because I’m receiving the same type of asks in like seconds in-between which is weirdly coincidental but ok I guess 😅

Like I said, each one with their own opinion. I know that Selena reacted before and that sometimes, those reactions may have stirred the pot. Despite that, I still have my opinion and I just don’t feel like Selena is malicious, bitchy, whatever you wanna call it. If you search the full story, back in 2015(?) it’s easy to see that Selena had to deal with a lot because of these girls. Anyway, I don’t fully keep up with her career enough to have big arguments about it. I’m a Harry fan, I think that’s clear and probably the only person that I can argue about with proper full and accurate arguments. As much as I would like to say “oh I know everything about this drama” I don’t.

So, after this, I will end up this subject because I don’t want any potential drama about it, because this was mainly for fun!

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onestowatch · 4 years ago

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Why Virtual Reality May Be Our New Reality | Music and Its Digital Past, Present, and Future

Pre-quarantine predictions about the music industry painted a picture of one its best years yet. Such predictions were overflowing with promising new releases, sold out tours, and unique marriages of music and technology just beyond horizon. While coronavirus has shifted many a release schedule and left tours and festivals in a state of indefinite hiatus, alliances between music and technology remain increasingly vital, both in the name of technological progress, and, more recently, as a supplement to the live experience industry inhibited by the ongoing pandemic.

Discussions of technology in relation to music range from video games to virtual reality. Travis Scott and Marshmello both held concerts in Fortnite, Paul McCartney had a hand in the Destiny soundtrack, and Ariana Grande had both a song and a playable character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Billie Eilish, Panic! At The Disco, Imagine Dragons and many others have also made their concerts available to stream in virtual reality. But there is another game changing intersection between the music and digital world that challenges not only how we experience music, but also how music is created. It’s called the vocaloid.

Early versions of software designed to synthesize human speech have existed since the late 1930s. Fast forward about two decades, the earliest form of synthesized singing had arrived. The IBM 7094, installed in 1962, was the first “computer to sing,” singing a song called “Daisy Bell” by Harry Dacre (the technological advancement would go on to inspire a similar scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi epic, 2001: A Space Odyssey). Since then, vocal synthesis has come a long way, and has also been marked by a different name.

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The year was 2000. The place was Barcelona, Spain. Hideki Kenmochi developed the vocaloid, a voice synthesis software short for vocal android, which was designed to emulate singing. Commercially adapted by Yamaha and distributed by Crytpon Future Media in 2004, the company launched the first Vocaloid and initially called it “Daisy,” after IBM 7094, but due to copyright issues, settled on “Vocaloid 1.” This is where the game changing begins.

Using this first iteration of the software, Yamaha created Meiko, an animated persona designed to serve as the face to the sampled voice of singer Meiko Haigō, with both English and Japanese vocals. Meiko was followed by the release of Kaito, a male vocaloid, two years later. As time went on, the software became increasingly realistic.

In 2007, Yamaha launched Vocaloid 2, which Crypton Future Media used to bring us Hatsune Miku, a vocaloid persona that quickly went from software to stardom. With long turquoise hair and a heavily anime-inspired look, Miku was sampled from voice actress Saki Fujita, and her Japanese name fittingly translates to “the first sound of the future.”

Hatsune Miku is the first vocaloid to top the charts, has been involved in countless advertisement campaigns, such as those with Google Chrome, Toyota and Louis Vuitton, and opened for Lady Gaga’s ArtPop Tour in 2014. And if it were not for COVID-19, 2020 would have seen her make her Coachella debut. Though other vocaloids have since been created, none have reached the full cultural immersion achieved by Hatsune Miku. Hatsune Miku is now not only the face of vocaloid but also one of Japan’s most recognizable pop stars. Though Miku’s virtual existence isn’t palpable, her real-life fandom and influence certainly are. So much so that in 2018, Akihiko Kondo formally “married” the vocaloid, making for the ultimate ultramodern love story.

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But it doesn’t stop there. In 2016, a transmedia startup co-founded by Trevor McFedries called Brud created Miquela Sousa, the first computer-generated social media influencer, programmed as a half-Brazilian, half-Spanish bisexual 19-year-old from LA. With 2.4 million Instagram followers, the mysteriously charming avatar is an ideal fit for advertisers. Miquela did an Instagram takeover for Prada and a Calvin Klein ad with Bella Hadid, in which Hadid, too, was animated, prompting a fascinating elusiveness.

Miquela is also openly progressive, showing support for Black Lives Matter and other movements. Her creators have noted their intention to help promote social justice through their pioneering of virtual personalities–and talented ones, at that. Miquela is not only an influencer with multiple brand partnerships but also a musician who has collaborated with Lauv and Baauer and is now signed to CAA.

McFedries, Miquela’s manager and one of her creators, is not new to the music industry, having been a DJ, radio show host, director and manager himself. He also created two other virtual personas, Blawko and Bermuda, who are friends with Miquela and whose frequent dramas are created and conveyed through their social media and Youtube vlogs, like a relatable, sympathy-inducing reality show. The three unique virtual influencers portray an obvious self-awareness that they are not human, addressing themselves as robots. Despite not having a true pulse, the self-awareness of these bots certainly shows they have a pulse for the culture, for humor and for connection. So much so that Miquela was listed as one of Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People on the Internet” in 2018, alongside Rihanna and, unfortunately, President Trump.

The creation of both Hatsune Miku and Miquela sparked a paradigm shift in the role of technology in music, an intersection that will lay the foundation for the potential digital future. But this article taps only the tip of the iceberg. From self-driving cars to self-writing songs, the potentially unpredictable nature of innovation sparks anxiety in some and optimism in others.

Unlocking new worlds of music technology can equip new levels of human creativity. But some may wonder, where the line is drawn when humans are not the only ones making art? Technology is meant to be a resource for the artist, not a replacement. On the other hand, who is to say an artificial collaborator is not a tool? Who is to say the creators and drivers of these vocaloids or virtual artists are not artists themselves?

Perhaps the increased role of technology will bring a heightened appreciation for the human elements. Perhaps all this live streaming via social media will create a heightened appreciation for the physically live experience while also giving us new tools to reach people around the world. Similarly, while vocaloid hologram performances allow us to experience music in a new way, perhaps this will reinforce an appreciation for the live, human performer.

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Fear is an inevitable part of progress, as people before us feared the advent of trains, television, and the internet. Technological progress does not exist in a vacuum, as we have witnessed its challenges but also its immense rewards. Ultimately, we are veterans in experiencing the result of groundbreaking technologies sewing their way into our everyday lives, and adapting accordingly. As technology expands exponentially, we are still only at the cusp. (If you don’t believe me, just google the quantum computer IBM has sitting in their refrigerated basement).

Though the future can be daunting, it is also exciting. Having Miquela in a Calvin Klein ad in which Bella Hadid, a familiar face, was also animated is like opening a portal between the virtual and real world (like the princess in Enchanted jumping out of the sewer, morphing from cartoon to human). Bonding with artificial characters is not new. But this portal allows virtual influencers to become a notable real part of our reality as they themselves claim to be part of it, whether via music, fashion or fandom (or marriage, in the case of Miku’s now supposed husband, Akihiko Kondo).

The newest Miku update is Vocaloid 5, launched in 2018 and now more adaptable across formats and also available in Chinese, Spanish and Korean. As she shared on her instagram, Miquela dropped two singles this year and is still seeing her friends Blawko and Bermuda.

With coronavirus still very much a reality, the longing for a return to normal is absolutely understandable; however, with so much of our world changing, our world may never return to its pre-pandemic state. Instead, it is likely to return to a new normal, in which live streaming and virtual reality are not supplements for the live experience but directly part of it. Whether virtual musicians like Hatsune Miku or Miquela are a momentary fascination of our present or a glimpse into a very real future, one thing remains certain. Our potential digital future is much closer than we think.

#hatsune miku #miquela #cornoavirus #virtual reality #op ed

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longwheel · 2 years ago

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Make a rope bat with water noodle

#Make a rope bat with water noodle how to#

#Make a rope bat with water noodle series#

Michael Jackson's children pay tribute to their superstar dad on what would have been his 64th birthday. after honeymooning with Ben Affleck in Italy 'Timeless, just like me!' Jennifer Lopez, 53, pretends to be a diva for new Coach ad. after having dated Brooklyn Beckham and Jack Gilinsky Madison Beer says she 'copes' with the 'crazy journey' of her love life through her music. 'This show has done so much for us!' Vicky McClure reunites with her Line Of Duty cast mates as they celebrate ten years of the police dramaĪmanda Holden, 51, shows off her incredible figure in a white bikini as she climbs aboard a Tuk Tuk for a fun photo in Italy Han Solo's blaster that Harrison Ford used in Star Wars sells for an eye-popping $1 million after it was expected to fetch HALF that amountĪshley Roberts shows off her incredible physique in a skimpy mismatched bikini as she hits the beach in Marbella

#Make a rope bat with water noodle series#

Shania Twain will replace Sheridan Smith as a judge on ITV's Starstruck after the actress quit after just one series due to 'scheduling conflicts' Oti Mabuse puts on a busty display in a glamorous black velvet jumpsuit as she joins ab-flashing Emma Willis and stylish Rochelle Humes at ITV event Vanity Fair journalist friend of Anna Delvey who was conned out of $60,000 by fake heiress SUES Netflix claiming Inventing Anna drama made her look 'greedy, snobbish, and vile' Pregnant Heather Rae Young flaunts baby bump in pink blazer and mini-skirt while filming Selling Sunset Sharon Stone, 64, reveals she was DUMPED by a younger man when she refused to get Botox after near-fatal stroke turned her against the procedure 'It squeaks when I walk - I can barely sit down': Lizzie Cundy, 53, says she's like a 'new woman' after undergoing vaginal tightening procedure Love Island fans call out Luca Bish for going official with Gemma Owen in OTT fashion - after his reaction to couples making a show of going exclusive 'Who IS advising Harry and Meghan?': Royal expert says Sussexes are 'simply not taking the advice given to them' amid backlash over Meghan's latest bombshell interview Newlywed Sam Fox enjoys second romantic honeymoon with new wife Linda Olsen after last holiday was cut short due to cancer scareĮxpecting somebody? Frogmore Cottage is pictured days before Harry and Meghan are due to return to Britain after keeping it as a permanent base Move over Kaia Gerber! There is another beauty related to Cindy Crawford - her niece Lark Skov, 24 - who is a dead ringer for the 1980s pinup just six months after welcoming first child Jennifer Lawrence wows in figure-hugging exercise gear as she heads to yoga class. Nelson Mandela's grandson slams Meghan Markle for suggesting South Africans celebrated her wedding the same way as his freedom 'It was awful!' Tom Parker's widow Kelsey admits she 'felt guilt' while giving birth to son Bodhi while her 'emotional' late husband battled terminal cancer Pictured: Bruce Willis, 67, smiles and laughs as he poses with a fan and her child in rare public outing five months after aphasia diagnosis was revealed 'It's important to show this, too!' Alison Hammond shares unfiltered version of her VERY sexy swimsuit snap as she embraces her natural cleavage 'An incredible place': New video shows David Beckham gushing about Qatar as the £10m face of the tourism industry - despite it being illegal to be gay there Pirelli Calendar 2023: Cara Delevingne wears a racy leather bra with a rope skirt whilst Bella Hadid stuns in a sheer seashell encrusted bodysuit for shoot

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Sylvester Stallone denies allegations of 'intentional dissipation' of his joint marital assets with estranged wife Jennifer FlavinĬost of living on your mind? Here's how to take control of your money and make it work for you Sarah Beeny reveals she was alone when she received her breast cancer diagnosis and considered not telling her husband of 19 years 'so it didn't seem real' Gemma Collins puts on a busty display in black swimsuit as she packs on the PDA with beau Rami Hawash on a boat in Mykonos The 32-year-old actress cut a very busty figure 'They should have their mum in their life': Katie Price claims she has 'limited access' to children Jett, 9, and Bunny, 8, and fears for their 'mental health'Įmily Atack flaunts her sensational curves in orange gingham bikini as she relaxes in the sun in Spain

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shaizstern · 3 years ago

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Article from WSJ: Is the Secret to Happiness Having a Gratitude Practice?

Even spending just a few minutes a day practicing gratitude can facilitate better sleep and lower blood pressure, according to research. How to get in on the healthy, easy wellness routine.

LLUSTRATION: HOLLY STAPLETON FOR WSJ. MAGAZINE

By Lane Florsheim

A surprising unifier has emerged over the last year in WSJ.’s My Monday Morning column, which chronicles the routines and productivity secrets people use to start their weeks: gratitude.

Before author Stephen King gets out of bed in the morning, he runs through a mental inventory of the things he’s grateful for. So does actor Tracee Ellis Ross. Musician and director Questlove writes a 15-item gratitude list every Sunday. Nike CEO John Donahoe spends time meditating on questions like, “What am I grateful for in the broad sense of my life? What am I grateful for in the previous day?” Actor Kate Hudson re-started her gratitude journaling after a reflective Thanksgiving car ride. Model Bella Hadid likes listening to a daily gratitude meditation every morning.

Gratitude isn’t a new concept or a practice that’s exclusive to celebrities. For one, it’s a tenet of most major religions. In modern times, it was popularized in 1990s self-help books like Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life, a bestseller for which its author Sarah Ban Breathnach also created an accompanying The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude. Oprah Winfrey has extolled the virtues of gratitude journaling—writing down things she’s grateful for, which she’s been doing since 1996—numerous times over the years.

Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a psychologist and professor at University of California Davis who’s written several books on gratitude, says the pandemic is likely one of the reasons for the practice’s increased popularity right now. “In the face of crises and during troubling times, people rely on positive feelings to cope, and they seem to turn to gratitude more than any other positive emotion,” he says.

Alyssa Bonanno, 28, started her gratitude practice during a point in the pandemic when days started to feel as though they were blurring together. Bonanno, the co-owner of a creative agency in New York City, found that gratitude journaling in the evening was a nice signifier that work was done for the day. She uses a notebook in order to stay away from emails and says the exercise keeps her even-keeled the same way meditation or a workout does. “I also think it’s made me more gracious to the people who we work with,” she says.

“Don’t you feel like we’re all struggling a little mentally right now because of the surge?” says Amy Denet Deal, 57, the founder of Diné (Navajo) fashion and home brand 4Kinship. Every day, she wakes up at dawn, greets the sun and sets intentions for the day, as well as completing other practices that she doesn’t want to disclose publicly because of their sacredness. “Giving back is so helpful on all of these other emotions of fear, of depression, of all the things that have happened during Covid-19. It’s taking ownership of, How can I be grateful? How can I give back?”

Every day, Amy Denet Deal wakes up at dawn, greets the sun and sets intentions for the day.PHOTO: DILLON SACHS

The photographer, author and podcast host Amanda de Cadenet, 49, says focusing on what she’s grateful for tends to override any other negative emotions she might be feeling. Her gratitude practice incorporates social media prompts from the Hoffman Institute Foundation, which holds a week-long healing and development retreat called the Hoffman Process that she attended eight years ago; exercises from professor and author Kristin Neff, who focuses on self-compassion; and the tools she’s gained from her sobriety. “A big part of sobriety and recovery is based around acceptance of life on life’s terms,” she says. “I look for the small joys, like a neighbor of mine has the most beautiful-smelling roses.”

Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, the director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, says, “Humans are built to attend to the things that go badly in our lives. A lot of the exercises in positive psychology are ways of teaching people to savor and pay attention to what goes well.”

The psychologist Dr. Emmons says clinical trials indicate that gratitude practices can facilitate better sleep and lower blood pressure—and that people who keep gratitude journals are on average happier than those who don’t.

Benjamin Almeter, 28, the founder of public relations agency Dispatch, says his gratitude practice has allowed him to notice what’s made him happy—going on a long walk, taking 40 minutes to cook a meal instead of ordering takeout—and turning those things into patterns.

Some CEOs, founders and executives say their practices have strengthened their leadership at work. Stacey Boyd, 52, founder and CEO of philanthropic shopping site Olivela says she’s been practicing gratitude for 16 years and that it’s probably the most important thing she does every day. “It always forces me to reflect not only on how I’m powering through my day but as importantly, how I’m interacting with others, and as a manager and leader, how I can do better at inspiring more and better from them.” Others, like Susan Korn, 35, the founder of accessories brand Susan Alexandra, uses gratitude as a team-building exercise. “I think it makes people feel like they’re doing something special,” she says.

Susan Korn, the founder of accessories brand Susan Alexandra, uses gratitude as a team-building exercise.PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHNNY KOMPAR

A gratitude practice doesn’t have to be time-consuming. A few years ago, a friend gave Dianna Cohen, 30, the founder and CEO of hair-care brand Crown Affair, a book called the Five-Minute Journal. Now Cohen starts her mornings by filling out its prompts, which include writing three things she’s grateful for, as well as what she’s looking forward to that day. “It’s perfect if you’re going to the gym or have kids,” she says.

Writer Amanda Fortini, 45, describes her practice as an informal meditation that she does in bed as she’s going to sleep. Moving from small things (a meal she ate that day) to large (having shelter), she says she usually only gets to three of them before falling asleep.

Gratitude Adjustment

How different people think about and practice gratitude

Halah Flynn, 27, marketing professional, thinks through her gratitude list on runs to the Washington Monument.

On Tuesdays, Vera Papisova, 31, journalist, shares her “small wins” on her Instagram story, citing research that Tuesday is the hardest day of the week for most people; she posts her followers’ small wins, too.

Bonita Kye, 33, founder of Kye Intimates, practices gratitude on her daily walks to the beach.

Bonita Kye, founder of Kye Intimates, practices gratitude on her daily walks to the beach.PHOTO: TIANA MARIE COMBES

Amanda Baudier, 38, general manager of Melissa Wood Health, uses a monitor while she’s meditating that tracks her heart rate variability, which she says shows her whether she’s in an elevated space where she’s feeling emotions like gratitude and joy.

Poppy Jamie, 31, author and entrepreneur, shares three things she’s grateful for every day with her partner; he shares his, too.

Original article can be found here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-the-secret-to-happiness-having-a-gratitude-practice-11642691301

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smownan · 3 years ago

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How I Imagine Having Dinner With The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Would Go:

- Kyle: A nice warm family dinner around a big table, the food is delicious but still palatable for kids, probably fettucine alfredo or chicken parmesan. after dinner the adults head out to the terrace for coffee, then I get sent home with a nice bottle of wine as a thank you for coming. 10/10

- Lisa: Dinner is VERY expensive looking but tastes pretty bland, so I end up blowing through a whole bottle of champagne between bites to make it through the meal. Now I’m nervous about being too drunk, which means I’m sweating, and as I get up I notice I left sweat marks on the plush white dining chair. Lisa sends me off with a “goodbye dahling” however, she does not suggest that “we do this again soon.” The next day a tabloid is released accusing me of being an alcoholic with overactive sweat glands and I am forced to relocate to Mobile, Alabama. 2/10

- Brandi: Brandi didn’t get around to even thinking about dinner, so she suggests we head out to a cute little restaurant she knows of called “Outback Steakhouse”. We share a Blooming Onion and a cheap Red Blend, and we get so wrapped up in our conversation that we end up staying past closing. She gives each of the staff a $50 tip before we go out clubbing. 9/10

- Yolanda: I arrive at Yolanda’s Malibu mansion at 3pm, and right from the start my face is full of tapas. Everything is organic, and half of the food she grew herself. I get a tour of the meticulously designed house and it is gorgeous. After filling up on tapas, I’m hardly hungry enough for the juicy salmon filets over wild rice pilaf, but it looks so good I make room. And it is good. As is tradition at Casa Yolanda, the night ends sitting around the piano listening to her husband, multi-Grammy winning producer David Foster, play songs for us, and after I get home it hits me: these people deserve to die. Oh by the way, Gigi and Bella Hadid were there too; Yolanda is their mother. 5/10

- Kim: Kim cooked!! I’m so proud of her. We’re having Spaghetti Marinara a la Ragu; which is to say, the sauce came out of a jar and the meatballs were frozen, but she did go the extra mile and garnish with basil. Kim’s sober too, so we have Pepsi straight out of the can. Dessert is a store-bought chocolate cake, and we have a little scare because she almost gave some to Kingsley before she remembered that dogs can’t have chocolate. I’m there for 3 hours and Kim took 5 smoke breaks. It was nice. 7/10

- Joyce: The food is delicious; it’s all homestyle Puerto Rican dishes, and of course Joyce is such a gracious host. Her older son just started at his Montessori kindergarten this year and they’re already talking about moving him up a grade to challenge him, and her younger son is learning his 3rd language (English, Spanish, now Mandarin). Not once during the evening, though, did Joyce drop her bared-teeth beauty queen smile. She also kept talking about her friend “Donald” who helped her rise to fame through the pageant circuit. I feel uneasy. 6/10

- Carlton: Dinner is a vegan shepherd’s pie, fitting as we sit inside her Gothic Castle of a house. Everything seems to be going well, but I keep seeing Carlton and her husband throw glances between each other and me. They laugh a little too hard at my jokes, they listen a little too intently at my stories, and it finally dawns on me what’s going on after Carlton reaches her hand across the table to touch mine. 9/10 (yes, I stayed)

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swelldomains · 7 years ago

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Why authenticity is the key to successful influencer marketing

The idea of the "Influencer" isn't actually a brand-new idea. The advertising sector has actually long utilized public figures to support or promote items. With the surge of digital advertising and marketing, the influencer has actually taken on a new duty. It includes not only blog owners as well as Youtubers, however stars, socialites and nearly any person with enough of a following to be thought about a tastemaker.

Staying authentic

Over the years, the idea of an influencer has actually proceeded from stars backing items to "typical" individuals sharing their thoughts using social media articles, vlogs and also blog sites. What collections influencer advertising aside from other approaches is authenticity. With 83% of customers trusting suggestions from their peers over marketing * nowadays we would certainly instead hear a "typical" individual's sights on which morning meal cereal brand they favor than a top-level sports star.

In current years, influencer advertising has actually verified highly efficient on Instagram, as it is an extremely aesthetic system. Customers will certainly see these posts as much like a good friend recommending them a product, instead of a big name blatantly being paid to advertise as well as market. With stars as well as higher profile accounts, customers could see blog posts as aspirational, as well as do the same as they intend to replicate the influencer's lifestyle.

In current months, influencer advertising has actually been put under the spotlight, partially thanks to the Fyre Celebration debacle. Advertised by a host of Instagram "big hitters" such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and also Emily Ratajkowski, the celebration charged visitors thousands of bucks for an event that was called to be more like The Hunger Games than a special festival. Rather than glamping on an exclusive island, guests were dealt with to half-built outdoors tents and feral dogs roaming the premises. It prompted hefty objection of influencer marketing, with some magazines marking it as the start of its downfall.

Over on this side of the pond, British influencers have actually additionally been hit with insurance claims of inauthenticity.

Travel and also way of living blog writer Amelia Liana made nationwide news lately because of accusations that she greatly photoshops her Instagram images. As an influencer who frequently publishes sponsored blog posts, this could cost her dearly. Her pictures are absolutely spectacular, however unless she's obtained Annie Leibovitz following her around full time she really cannot assert that she's simply "improving the light, tidying the history as well as other enrichments."

Whilst photoshopping Instagram messages isn't inherently incorrect (unless it is purposely deceptive consumers) modifying photos in the method that Amelia Liana has done produces a completely impossible way of living for followers. It's less "aspirational" and a lot more "dream". An excellent influencer could connect with their target market on a much deeper degree, coming across as relatable, especially when advising products/places to their followers. Amelia advising GlamGlow items whilst seemingly drifting over the city of London isn't really exactly getting me to purchase a face mask ...

Amelia isn't really the only influencer who has come under attack. With Love Island proving so prominent this summer, it has been no surprise that brands have actually targeted entrants with social networks advertising and marketing opportunities after their return to Blighty.

Are truth stars the actual deal?

Former Love Island contestants are commonly seen advertising items such healthy protein shakes, teeth whitening kits as well as clothes on their social feeds. They have actually typically come under fire for posting as well regularly, with one commenter claiming that they have actually "seen less marketing on the QVC network".

One 2016 contestant was captured duplicating and pasting an inscription into a funded post, a traditional Instagram blunder made by several an influencer (right as much as the Kardashians, that have numerous fans).

However, in some circumstances, reality celebrities releasing funded posts on Instagram has confirmed to be incredibly effective. In 2016, the teeth lightening brand WhiteWash dealt with Love Island entrants to increase understanding. This worked so well as they were collaborating with influencers whilst they were in the spotlight following their current TV looks. In addition to reality TV stars, WhiteWash grew their brand by working together with charm bloggers, many of whom are thought about "micro-influencers" in their own right. WhiteWash took care of to increase their adhering to by 93% via this exercise.

The rise of micro-influencers

Micro-influencers have a variety of definitions however generally they have less compared to 50,000 fans on social networks. While influencers with numerous fans could be enticing, it is micro-influencers who are more probable to return solid results. As fan numbers boost, engagement drops. Pursuing influencers with 1,000-10,000 followers is thought about the "pleasant area" for a high perceptions to involvement ratio, as well as studies have revealed that micro influencers have 22.2 times extra conversions each week than normal Instagram customers, perhaps as they stumble upon as more educated as well as enthusiastic regarding items. If they have garnered a following of thousands, they will certainly know exactly what their audience is interested in!

This is why an influencer advertising and marketing budget is maybe best directed towards micro-influencers. A television celebrity or design will certainly have a wide variety of individuals following them on social media sites, a micro-influencer will certainly have a much more certain following that have similar preferences and also passions. Instead of investing your entire budget plan on one person, a tiny team of micro-influencers are most likely to help you strike your KPIs.

Complying with ASA/CAP rules

An essential aspect to think about when using influencer advertising and marketing is complying with ASA as well as CAP regulations. It requires to be clear if web content is an advertisement and also customers have to recognize upfront. You can discover a complete overview here.

Instagram is servicing curbing this problem with their brand-new "paid collaboration with" tag on messages. They believe this is the next step in influencer advertising as it is "beneficial for our community, however it additionally gives creators and organisations the ability to track and share insights around a partnered blog post". The ASA cannot really find mistake with this approach of advertising, as it clearly mentions the intents of the blog post. It offers clearness for both brand names and also influencers and also is regular in its design. There's nothing more frustrating compared to seeing #ad or #spon hidden amongst a collection of hashtags!

We can be your favorable influencer influence!

We could help you integrate influencer advertising and marketing right into your digital approach. Obtain in touch with our specialists for more information.

* http://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/press-room/2015/recommendations-from-friends-remain-most-credible-form-of-advertising.html

#advertisement #business #business plan #marketing #marketing budget #marketing companies #social media #social media sites

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misssophiachase · 8 years ago

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Angel of the Morning

So, I kind of did a similar theme on another drabble but didn't think I gave it the proper time and energy given it was during the craziness of 25 days of Klaroline. You can read it HERE if you’re interested. So because I loved the concept here is the similar premise but with a different twist on things. Plus the Bella Hadid/Weekend stuff gave me some inspiration.

Angel and Supermodel Caroline Forbes and Lead Singer Klaus Mikaelson come face-to-face at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show but this isn't the first time they've met.

Beauty and the Beat

Part 1: Angel of the Morning

Miami Beach, Florida - Present Day - December 2017

"This is Amber Daly reporting live from the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami where anticipation is building backstage with only three hours until showtime. As you can see behind me some of the gorgeous Angels are already in hair and make-up, preparing for this evening."

"So, what do we have in store for this special twentieth Victoria Secret Fashion show, Amber? Given last year's extravaganza with guest performers Taylor Swift and Fallout Boy, there's a lot to live up to tonight."

"Not only do we have some of the most beautiful women and pieces of lingerie on show but this year British Band The Originals, will be rocking the catwalk. They are currently on a worldwide tour promoting their new album Blood Thirsty, which recently topped the charts in twenty-eight countries, including the US. If anyone is going to get this party started, it's definitely these guys."

"They've certainly made a name for themselves and not just for their music, Amber."

"Well, it's no secret these boys are all absolutely gorgeous, especially my favourite lead singer Klaus Mikaelson. Plus, we all know they like to party."

"And I'm sure tonight will be no different. It's certainly exciting knowing that our favourite angels will grace the catwalk including the stunning Caroline Forbes. Surely she's considered a veteran by now?"

"Maybe in modelling terms. This is her third show and I'm fairly certain it won't be her last given just how loved she is in this tight knit Victoria Secret Family."

"I suppose the big question and rather large elephant in the room is how you think she's going to go with her ex-boyfriend singing while she's modelling?"

"From what I know of these two they are both extremely professional. I guess we're just going to have to wait and see but every single camera will be on them tonight and everyone knows the camera doesn't lie."

"I can't wait, Amber. We'll check in with you later."

As the TV camera was finally lowered, Caroline had to fight the urge not to roll her eyes. Yes, it was all part of the theatrics on the day but every once and a while it would have been nice to get ready in peace.

She also would have preferred not to hear about Klaus bloody Mikaelson yet again. She knew he was performing but it kind of felt like the media were trying to rub her nose in that fact.

"You okay, roomie?" Bonnie asked, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"I have a mind to stomp on his foot with my stiletto as I walk by and that's only the beginning," Katherine promised.

Caroline knew she was lucky to have her best friends and fellow angels at her side during this difficult time. The Victoria Secret Show had been hers and hers alone the past few years but now Klaus of all people had to come and ruin her parade.

Caroline had no intention of letting him get to her though. She just hoped that as she wiggled her hips seductively down that catwalk in her brief panties and bra set that he wished he'd never messed with her.

Dubrovnik, Croatia - 7 years ago - July

"God save our gracious Queen. Long live our noble Queen. God save the Queen. Send her victorious, happy and glorious. Long to reign over us, God save the Queen."

Caroline awoke with a start, the strains of the British National Anthem wafting into her room at this ungodly hour. Yes, she was travelling across Europe for some fun and excitement but being woken up by some clearly drunken singers, no matter their raw talent, wasn't too pleasant.

She groaned, placing her pillow over her head, trying to block it out but it was clear after ten minutes that the noise wasn't going to abate anytime soon. She heard her roommate and best friend Katherine groan in frustration nearby. At least Caroline wasn't the only one to lose some sleep tonight.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's supposedly singing Katherine," she murmured.

"Someone thinks they're a comedian," she muttered into her pillow. "Caroline, make it stop!"

"And why is it my job to do that?" Caroline baulked, sitting up and glancing at her friend on the neighbouring bed.

After High School ended they decided to travel Europe for the summer, desperate to see everything after being stuck in little, old Mystic Falls all these years. Their experiences soaking up diverse cultures had been phenomenal so far but tonight's interruption wasn't so welcome, especially given they were due to depart for Prague in a few hours.

"You're just such a good organiser, Care," she mumbled, her eyes still firmly closed.

"That I might be but crowd control isn't my specialty," she insisted, pushing away the covers and walking towards the window to scope out the party crashers.

She separated the blinds taking in the activity at the pool below. Four males wading waist deep in the water were clinking beer glasses and singing along loudly still, a few bikini clad girls were swimming nearby. Apparently some people enjoyed their entertainment, go figure.

"Oh come on, you're the Sheriff's daughter. You have that whole reprimanding tone down."

"I am not that bad," she scoffed, finally averting her gaze from the window.

"I hate to break it to you BFF but yes you are," she said. "If anyone is going to listen to your nagging, it's going to be those idiots."

Caroline wasn't quite sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. However she barrelled onto the balcony, momentarily forgetting that she was wearing a fitted singlet and the briefest pair of shorts. Caroline decided to blame that on the sticky, summer weather and her forced insomnia.

"Could you keep it down?" She yelled, making them all look upwards.

Caroline was trying to ignore just how gorgeous the curly, haired blonde looked as he inspected her closely, his blue eyes flickering over her body slowly. She hadn't noticed those crimson lips or those dimples earlier but Caroline had to admit they were throwing her off balance slightly.

"Instead of yelling like a banshee, how about you come down and join us instead, darling?" A cocky brunette replied.

Caroline moved her gaze between them, realising all of the guys were extremely good looking, Caroline had no intention of giving into their charms though.

"I have much better things to do than listen to bad singing at this time of the morning."

"Like what?" The blonde answered, those lips curving into a knowing smile as he regarded her lazily.

"Sleeping," she growled, trying to ignore his hungry looks. "So if you'll excuse me."

As she attempted to make her way inside, Caroline heard the strum of a guitar and a loud call from below."Oh, I know why she's a little upset," he yelled. "We're singing the wrong song, boys."

As Caroline closed the door she couldn't mistake the opening strains of the Star Spangled Banner from below. It was hard not to smile as she laid back in her bed. Caroline had never heard it sung so well, not that she would ever tell them that.

On FF HERE

#beauty and a beat #angel of the morning #misssophiachase #klaroline drabbles

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

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Guests at the vibrant, sexy, and extremely pink Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show are asked to wear cocktail attire.

The irony of putting on a tuxedo — sans bowtie — to watch beautiful women stomp down a runway in underwear wasn’t lost on me. Not while I shivered as I waited in line around the perimeter of New York City’s Pier 94, a sliver of asphalt uptown and to the west of Manhattan civilization. The crisp weather clashed with the undergarment bonanza I was about to witness.

You can’t purchase a ticket to the show. I’m going as a guest. So are the hundreds people — dressed in gowns, tuxes, evening suits, and sparkly tops — who also obliged the dress code. It looked like we were headed to a night at the opera, at four in the afternoon on a Thursday, at Pier 94.

This will look a lot different on television, I think.

Inside the tent, the carpet is pink. Not ballet slipper pink but more like a pink that’s been soaked in pinot noir. I’m also sweating through my cocktail attire. Despite the chill outside, it’s very warm, a move I assume is for the models who will be wearing nearly nothing.

Ahead of the taping, Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer of L Brands (the American retailer formerly known as The Limited, which owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works), gave an interview to Vogue in which he diminished the idea of having transgender or plus-sized models in the show, as some observers have called for while encouraging Victoria’s Secret to make the annual fashion show more diverse and inclusive.

“So it’s like, why don’t you do 50 [referring to bra-sizing]? Why don’t you do 60? Why don’t you do 24? It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show?” Razek said. “No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are carping at us.”

Vogue, a women’s fashion magazine that itself has faced criticism for its own record on diversity and gender inclusivity, and that regularly shoots with Victoria’s Secret models like Gigi and Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner, scolding Victoria’s Secret in an interview for having set an unreal standard of beauty is like watching a skinny Godzilla fight a skinny King Kong.

“Does the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show need an overhaul?” the article opens. “Victoria’s Secret gets credit for being a conversation starter, but the brand is not part of the evolving discussion around size diversity now.”

Razek isn’t wrong about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show presenting a fantasy. Even the broadcast isn’t “real” — the fashion show is actually performed twice, once at four-thirty in the afternoon and the other at eight in the evening, for two different audiences. What you’ll see on television if you tune in to watch the 2018 show (which airs Sunday, December 2 on ABC) is a composite of the two taped shows, splicing together the best parts of both to create a single event that never actually happened.

In regard to his blunt comments about transgender and plus-size models, the company and Razek apologized two days later, after receiving heavy criticism.

“My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize,” he wrote in a statement. “To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings … And like many others, they didn’t make it … But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”

The apology didn’t impress many. Razek’s comments, in combination with the announcement, a few days after the fashion show was taped, that Victoria’s Secret CEO Jan Singer is leaving the company — a move that some have surmised is linked to a decline in sales caused by the brand’s reluctance to embrace a more inclusive image — put a spotlight on the divide between how Victoria’s Secret sees itself and how the public does.

It’s not as if anyone has ever believed that the taut abdomens of Victoria’s Secret Angels, whose bodies are comprised of roughly 73 percent legs, reflect most of America’s potato-eating citizens. But it’s widely seen as harmful when music videos, TV shows, movies, comic books, and other artforms don’t reflect the current American population. And today’s consumers are much more empowered to call out companies that flopped when it comes to diversity, inclusivity, and equality.

Reflexively, many companies and brands have heard this public call and responded. Chick-fil-A wants to shrug off its anti-gay label by changing its image despite previously donating money to anti-LGBTQ organizations. The Miss America pageant has eliminated its swimsuit competition in an effort to move away from judging contestants on their physical appearance.

Some brands have even gotten ahead of the curve, like Nike did earlier this year when it revealed that ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick would be the star of its Just Do It anniversary campaign. The company backed the star and his advocacy against racism and police brutality, making a political statement that resulted in both adulation and a boycott.

Victoria’s Secret not budging in response to calls for a more inclusive fashion show feels more like the corporate exception than the rule. And it places the brand in a conundrum.

Victoria’s Secret’s critics say that the fantasy it presents around beautiful women, fashion, and what constitutes sexiness is outdated. They also say that Victoria’s Secret is no longer a tastemaker in the worlds of fashion and beauty.

But those same critics’ push for the company to include transgender and/or plus-sized models in its fashion show — as well as the firestorm the company has weathered after not doing so — seem to belie this assertion.

So does the company’s status as the top lingerie brand in the United States, even with its recent decline in sales.

It raises the question of what Victoria’s Secret is really selling, who’s buying it, and what those customers believe they are buying. What does the fantasy Razek was talking about actually mean?

To make clear what the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is and what it isn’t, the 2018 show begins with a video interlude.

As I sit in the audience, several models talk about the history of the show and looking up to the “successful” and “powerful” women who walked in the show before them. They talk about how being selected for the show is a major accomplishment, and praise it as a celebration of strong women. Sexiness and power are not mutually exclusive, they say; sexiness is something they’re in control of.

The video is casual. It’s as if the models are out sipping iced coffee with their friends. But beneath the candid scrim, it also feels like a direct response to the criticism that Victoria’s Secret has faced for promoting a style and aesthetic of female sexuality, a style critics say turns women into objects.

After the video fades out, soul singer Leela James comes onto the stage and begins singing The Greatest Showman’s triumphant empowerment anthem, “This Is Me.”

Some context: In The Greatest Showman, “This Is Me” is the climax of the movie. P.T. Barnum has finally become successful by assembling a group of “freaks,” like The Three Legged Man and Dog Boy, to showcase at his circus. But Barnum has also started to dissociate himself from the people whose appearances he’s effectively selling, to hang out with upper crusters instead. So his circus cronies barge into a fancy party, with the Bearded Lady belting this song.

It’s a “we’re not going to take this” and “you’re going to accept us for who we are and stop oppressing us” moment in the movie. My brain is frying.

Victoria’s Secret’s interpretation of that moment has nothing to do with freaks of any kind. Instead, the 2018 Fashion Show opens with plainly gorgeous Kendall Jenner vamping down the runway to the song, in a plaid skirt and bra.

This is Me. No. Wait. This is Kendall Jenner walking to “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman! Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Swarovski

The cheering in the audience swells. The people sitting closest to the runway stand up first, and then everyone else follows suit, like a wave. The models’ names are shouted as if they were professional athletes. It turns into a four-minute standing ovation. I stand up and clap too. I can’t help it.

Everyone seems so happy.

The mishmash of Kendall Jenner, “This Is Me,” the empowerment sound bites, and the image of the bearded lady borders on ridiculous for anyone who’s seen The Greatest Showman. It’s difficult to imagine Jenner ever feeling like the oppressed Dog Boy in a circus. Add to that, the audience is dressed not unlike the aristocratic socialites who Barnum rubs elbows with in the movie. If this segment of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was intentionally satirical, it’d be scathing — but I’m not terribly convinced that was the intent.

What it clearly wants to convey is that becoming a Victoria’s Secret model is an accomplishment that models take very seriously.

But if you look at the show’s history, it’s easy to see why that would be the case.

For many models, booking the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show is major boost for their careers. Unlike other fashion shows, Victoria’s Secret’s airs on network television and has the added allure of popular performers (crooner Shawn Mendes headlined this year). The show gives models a uniquely massive amount of visibility. Their social clout rises — primarily in the form of Instagram followers — and some become in-demand faces in the fashion industry.

Getting booked for the show can change a model’s life.

One example this year is Kelsey Merritt, the first Filipino model ever to walk in the show. Merritt being cast has become a point of national pride for Filipinos; being Filipino, my mother and her friends are giant fans and know where Merritt went to school, where she grew up, and general Kelsey Merritt trivia.

But putting my mother’s opinion aside, according to Social Blade, Merritt gained some 300,000 followers this month, pushing her over 1 million followers. In the days following the taping of the show, Vogue spotlighted her beauty regimen and secrets (hint: being 22 helps enormously) in a video that has over 1.7 million views:

[embedded content]

Merritt’s inclusion in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, as a non-white model, is an example of the racial diversity that Victoria’s Secret has actually been a leader in, if not ahead of the curve in, within the fashion industry.

According to a source in Victoria’s Secret’s casting department who I talked to on background, the percentage of non-white models — of the 60 or so women who are chosen to wear the show’s 90 looks — has been at least 40 percent for the last two years.

In 2017, according to Paper Magazine, the percentage of non-white models in the show was close to 50 percent — up from 30 percent in 2016. And while official numbers for 2018 are not yet available, the source said the percentage of non-white models again topped 40. For comparison’s sake, The Fashion Spot — which tracks demographics like age, size, and race in model castings for the fashion industry’s major annual shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris — has determined that just 36.1 percent of the total castings went to models of color this year.

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show also made news in 2016 when black models wore their natural hair, instead of extensions, on the runway. And as Razek pointed out to Vogue in the same interview where he made the comments about transgender and plus-size models, there was a period in the late ‘90s and early 2000s when many Victoria’s Secret models wouldn’t have been hired to work as high fashion models because of their size.

“They were too ‘fat’ was the prevailing wisdom of fashion at the time.” Razek said. “You probably remember that. At the time the conversation was ‘they’re too big for us, we can’t possibly put them in our show.’ Progress gets made, and part of what’s happened in our show is that the girls have just continued to get more physically fit.”

Razek isn’t wrong.

There was a time in fashion when Victoria’s Secret models were largely considered too commercial or too sexy (Victoria’s Secret superstar Heidi Klum has talked about this) to model for serious fashion houses. But that terrain has completely changed. These days, Victoria’s Secret regularly uses high fashion models to walk in its show. Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret has become a draw for models, thanks in large part to the brand’s popularity, visibility, and, of course, the annual fashion show.

Perhaps it’s because of how Victoria’s Secret has the ability to bend the industry, thanks to how inescapable it is as a brand, that its critics feel like it is flailing when it comes to size inclusivity and transgender representation. Victoria’s Secret has shown itself to have the power to change industry norms, and frustration often arises because its critics see the company not harnessing that power to effect change.

Models at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Photo by Thomas Concordia/Getty Images for Swarovski

My casting source confirmed Razek’s comments about transgender models coming to castings this year, explaining that the company has had transgender models audition for at least three years now. Like many others who vie for the limited number of spots, those models simply did not make it through and it’s unclear why.

At one point in the 2018 Fashion Show, Victoria’s Secret as a company thanks Adriana Lima via video clip, whom they dub the “greatest Angel.” It’s a pretty surreal experience; being called the greatest Angel in the presence of so many beautiful women is something none of us will ever achieve. I feel like I’m watching someone get knighted as Lima walks the catwalk by herself, to Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You.”

She gets a standing ovation. She wipes away tears.

The show is punctuated by these interludes. Since live musical acts were only on stage for one song this year, there are video interludes give the crew time to help set and take down the stage.

It’s implied in the clips that being a Victoria’s Secret model is a dream job, and that it takes extremely hard work to achieve such a coveted status. Lima, I suppose, worked harder than everyone else.

Whether it’s pounding out hours at the gym or cultivating your online presence or knocking the executives dead at casting calls, being a Victoria’s Secret model is as a huge professional achievement that the models work toward, value and respect.

That’s hard to square with a show that sells what many believe is an outdated and dull version of sexuality and femininity. Which is to say: gorgeous, scantily clad, fembot-like women with long hair who were seemingly created in a lab and only exist for the arousal of men.

[embedded content]

One segment in the 2018 show has the models walk the runway with big bows around their necks, presenting themselves in the same fashion as housewarming presents, perhaps a dutch oven, that you might procure at Williams Sonoma:

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret

Critics frequently point to that outdated image as the reason for the company’s steadily declining sales. According to a recent New York Times report, Victoria’s Secret’s “sales are sagging and the company’s stock is down 41 percent this year,” and the majority of respondents to a Wells Fargo survey about the brand said it felt “forced” or “fake.”

It raises the question of what exactly Victoria’s Secret is selling.

If you ask the models, being part of the brand’s fantasy is a job — and a coveted one, at that. If you ask the company’s critics, the fantasy is harmful and exclusive in the way it objectifies women and presents an extremely narrow idea of what it means to be sexy.

But perhaps the most cogent grasp of Victoria’s Secret’s fantasy comes second to what the brand actually does: Sell women’s underwear that feels special but doesn’t break the bank.

“Victoria’s Secret does provide something quite practical — undergarments — at an affordable price in a relatively accessible manner to a vast consumer base,” writes Tyler McCall at Fashionista, theorizing that making small tweaks, like changing its store design or leveraging its established infrastructure to expand its size range, could help the brand turn itself around.

In its decision to present its models as less of a fantasy and more aspirational, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show might also be aiming to counter the idea that its models are somehow fake or lack agency.

If you look at Victoria’s Secret models’ Instagrams or their trainers’ Instagrams, it’s clear that they’re putting in a ton of work into landing the show. It’s something they want and are working very hard toward, and knowing that might make the show seem less artificial and more like discipline, and more like an athlete than someone who just exists — no matter how problematic or restrictive or unattainable their desired “look” might be in the eyes of the beholder.

To be clear, the idea of a Victoria’s Secret model as resembling any kind of regular person is a hilarious idea. (The 2018 show features models with more athletic body types, but none of them would be considered plus-sized.) Many Victoria’s Secret models represent an unrealistic body type that few of us would ever be able to achieve, and with that comes the unavoidable danger of suggesting that thinness is important, even if you have to harm yourself to attain it. I don’t condone that, but unless Victoria’s Secret and the entire fashion industry disintegrates overnight, the danger isn’t going away anytime soon.

Approaching the show more realistically, and revealing that becoming a Victoria’s Secret model requires hard work isn’t going to stop harmful messages about body image — but at least it’s more truthful.

No matter what, it’s important to remember, regarding calls for action or ideas about how to “fix” Victoria’s Secret, that Victoria’s Secret is and always will be a corporate entity. If somehow it does embrace transgender models and plus-sized models, it will do so because that’s in its best interest. Other brands have already figured that out.

More specifically, as Amanda Mull has written for Vox, corporations have figured out how to hack body-positivity for their own benefit without really changing anything for consumers. Instead of selling insecurity, like they did in the past, corporations now sell “surface-level wokeness”:

In this system, corporate interests have a clear opening to insert themselves into the fray and emerge as heroes simply by hiring an ad agency or casting director who can read the room, and without changing their business’s treatment of anyone. Body positivity in 2018 rushes right up to the line between aesthetics and politics but puts not one toe over it.

While I don’t condone Razek’s churlish, poorly spoken comments, there’s something blisteringly honest about his thinking. He said up front that Victoria’s Secret is selling a fantasy, and suggested that not everyone has to buy into it. Contrast that approach with brands like Dove and Everlane, which Mull argues have co-opted body positivity and diversity for exposure and opportunity, without really doing much to change Americans’ thinking. Their motivations, ultimately, are simply to sell more body wash and clothes.

Perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is acknowledging the number of people who enjoy the surreal experience of watching supernaturally beautiful women trotting around in underwear, wings, and sometimes floral-printed parachutes. Not everyone gets to be a Victoria’s Secret model. Not everyone gets to be at the show. Its exclusivity is baked into its allure.

Gigi Hadid Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images

For that 42 minutes, everyone is having a fantastic time. The Chainsmokers can sing, and all the models are so beautiful that the audience is moved to cheer for them. The outside world and all the criticism do not exist for three quarters of an hour. I clap for these women in glamorous underwear because Bella Hadid is so gorgeous she leaves me speechless and, well, everyone else is. It’s absolutely silly, but that doesn’t matter for now.

Shortly after 5pm, the fantasy ends. Pier 94 clears out, and everyone — tuxes, sparkles, and all — is asked to leave. Follow the pink carpet. It’s dark out as the mass of shiny people begins exiting toward the West Side Highway, that dingy stem of Manhattan asphalt. It’s cold. And we have to get out of the way so the fantasy can start all over again.

Original Source -> The fantasy of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in the era of corporate wokeness

via The Conservative Brief

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helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog · 7 years ago

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Gigi Hadid Addresses ‘Vogue Italia’ Cover Controversy: ‘The Concerns That Have Been Brought Up Are Valid’

Gigi Hadid is speaking out about the controversy surrounding her new photo shoot for Vogue Italia.

The 23-year-old model found herself in hot water on Wednesday, when the publication shared a snap teasing the cover of their upcoming May issue. In the sultry shot, Hadid dons a bejeweled Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit and a crown, but most of the attention was on her skin, which many thought had been unnaturally darkened.

The model took to Twitter and her Instagram Story on Thursday to address the controversy surrounding the Steven Klein-shot cover.

“This is a photo of me returning home from shooting my Italian Vogue cover on April 3rd,” she captioned a paparazzi pic. “You can see the level I had been bronzed to on set that day.”

Sneak Peek at our May Issue ⚡️ on Newsstands Friday May 4th! ⚡️ A story for #HighVoltage 🔌⚡️ power women ⚡️ @gigihadid in @dolcegabbana photographed by @stevenkleinstudio styled by @patti_wilson Full Credits 💡 Justin Martin @justin.e.martin @ Next Models NY #GigiHadid @ Img Editor in chief @efarneti Creative director @gb65 Hair by Ward @ward_hair @ The Wall Group Make-up Fulvia Farolfi @fulviafarolfi Manicurist Honey @honeynailz at Exposure NY casting Piergiorgio Del Moro @pg_dmcasting and Samuel Ellis Scheinman @samuel_ellis Production LOLA Production @lolaproduction Set Design Andrea Stanley @andrea_stanley_ @ Streeter's #dolce&gabbana #stevenklein #pattiwilson

A post shared by Vogue Italia (@vogueitalia) on May 2, 2018 at 1:56pm PDT

“Please understand that my control of a shoot 1. is non existent in terms of creative direction. 2. ends completely when I leave set, and anything done to a photo in post is out of my control fully,” Hadid continued. “The bronzing and photoshop is a style that S. Klein has done for many years and I believe was what was expected from the shoot (to show me in a different way creatively), BUT, although I understand what Vogue Italia’s intentions were, it was not executed correctly, and the concerns that have been brought up are valid.”

This isn’t the only controversy Hadid has addressed on social media in recent months. Earlier this year, she opened up about her battle with Hashimoto’s disease and critics of her fluctuating weight.

"For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/Hashimoto’s disease; those of u who called me ‘too big for the industry’ were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that," she said at the time. "Although stress & excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better. I may be ‘too skinny’ for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and am still learning and growing with my body every day, as everyone is."

See more on the model in the video below.