There's a new book out to teach women an essential skill--sexiness.
In her self-help book, "How To Be Sexy," Carmen Electra wows us with her wit and wisdom about confidence, personality and inhibitions, as well as teaching us trade secrets for hair, fashion and makeup.
Carmen Electra is an attractive woman, and her figure is impressive, but she is also a celebrity with money to burn. I could look like that too if I had personal trainers, chefs, stylists and estheticians, or someone to clean my house, do my dishes and laundry and take care of my yard. Not to mention that Carmen Electra doesn't have children, so she can concentrate all her time on improving herself if she wants to. Her advice would carry more weight if it came from a truly confident woman at peace with herself who didn't look like a supermodel.
The target audience for the book is adult women, but it directly affects young girls too. So many women who have body issues or self esteem issues are that way because the most powerful female role model in their lives--their mother--is also that way. I admit that I'm not always happy with my body, I don't like my round face or my sensitive skin, but I don't want my daughter to grow up watching me obsess over my stretch marks or love handles. I want her to grow up wanting to be strong and healthy, and I want her to see me eat right and exercise not because I want to fit into skinny jeans, but because I want to be here to see her grow up.
I hate how Electra equates self esteem with outward appearance and I hate how she implies that all you have to do to feel better about yourself is put on some makeup and do your hair. While I'm not saying that we should all slump around the house in sweatpants without brushing our teeth, and while I do prefer to be showered and dressed every day, four hundred dollar boots and cashmere sweaters won't fix the underlying issues that lead to self loathing. Being sexy has less to do with your figure or your face, and more to do with how you project yourself, how you carry yourself, how you feel from within.
This book is just another of a long line of products that prod women and girls to believe that they are valued not for their brains or who they are, but for their bodies and their faces. The trend is overwhelming and disturbing. String bikinis for infants and toddlers; "sassy" underwear for tweens that is more like racy lingerie; dolls that look like Cover Girl threw up on their faces; t-shirts that proclaim "Your boyfriend thinks I'm hot." Turn on the TV and it goes on and on. 'Deal Or No Deal' is a huge hit, and the ads promise beautiful women. All the models are expected to do is stand there and look pretty. On the game show 'Identity,' the women are objectified unnecessarily. Why does the ballet dancer have to wear a mini skirt? Consider Lara Croft, portrayed in the movies by Angelina Jolie, who is supposed to be a kick-butt-and-take-names woman. She's strong and smart and unstoppable, but she's also sporting a pair of double-D's. Even a popular golfing video game, an item in which you'd think sex wouldn't appear, features a female golfer wearing a bikini. When will the media stop sending such poisonous messages to our young people? Is it any wonder that so many women and girls believe that all you have to do to be successful is to be thin and beautiful and well endowed?
In an article promoting the book, Carmen Electra says, "If I wasn't sexy, I wouldn't have a job!" She neglected to mention that her career choice was not forced upon her, and that she has enough money to quit acting and modeling and pursue anything in the world. But by staying in an industry that requires her to care so much about her appearance, she helps sustain the double standard. Hollywood is full of men who are average looking, or even downright funny looking, yet they continue to land choice roles as they age. Women actresses, however, are considered has-beens once they reach their forties, as crows feet appear, skin sags and hair goes gray. Their talent has not disappeared, but because the march of time leaves its mark, they are considered less marketable.
The front of the book features a picture of the author in a slinky dress and full make-up. For all her talk about wanting to pass along her "wisdom" to ordinary women, I wonder if Carmen Electra knows, or even cares, that she is not selling tips and tricks; she is selling herself.
In her self-help book, "How To Be Sexy," Carmen Electra wows us with her wit and wisdom about confidence, personality and inhibitions, as well as teaching us trade secrets for hair, fashion and makeup.
Carmen Electra is an attractive woman, and her figure is impressive, but she is also a celebrity with money to burn. I could look like that too if I had personal trainers, chefs, stylists and estheticians, or someone to clean my house, do my dishes and laundry and take care of my yard. Not to mention that Carmen Electra doesn't have children, so she can concentrate all her time on improving herself if she wants to. Her advice would carry more weight if it came from a truly confident woman at peace with herself who didn't look like a supermodel.
The target audience for the book is adult women, but it directly affects young girls too. So many women who have body issues or self esteem issues are that way because the most powerful female role model in their lives--their mother--is also that way. I admit that I'm not always happy with my body, I don't like my round face or my sensitive skin, but I don't want my daughter to grow up watching me obsess over my stretch marks or love handles. I want her to grow up wanting to be strong and healthy, and I want her to see me eat right and exercise not because I want to fit into skinny jeans, but because I want to be here to see her grow up.
I hate how Electra equates self esteem with outward appearance and I hate how she implies that all you have to do to feel better about yourself is put on some makeup and do your hair. While I'm not saying that we should all slump around the house in sweatpants without brushing our teeth, and while I do prefer to be showered and dressed every day, four hundred dollar boots and cashmere sweaters won't fix the underlying issues that lead to self loathing. Being sexy has less to do with your figure or your face, and more to do with how you project yourself, how you carry yourself, how you feel from within.
This book is just another of a long line of products that prod women and girls to believe that they are valued not for their brains or who they are, but for their bodies and their faces. The trend is overwhelming and disturbing. String bikinis for infants and toddlers; "sassy" underwear for tweens that is more like racy lingerie; dolls that look like Cover Girl threw up on their faces; t-shirts that proclaim "Your boyfriend thinks I'm hot." Turn on the TV and it goes on and on. 'Deal Or No Deal' is a huge hit, and the ads promise beautiful women. All the models are expected to do is stand there and look pretty. On the game show 'Identity,' the women are objectified unnecessarily. Why does the ballet dancer have to wear a mini skirt? Consider Lara Croft, portrayed in the movies by Angelina Jolie, who is supposed to be a kick-butt-and-take-names woman. She's strong and smart and unstoppable, but she's also sporting a pair of double-D's. Even a popular golfing video game, an item in which you'd think sex wouldn't appear, features a female golfer wearing a bikini. When will the media stop sending such poisonous messages to our young people? Is it any wonder that so many women and girls believe that all you have to do to be successful is to be thin and beautiful and well endowed?
In an article promoting the book, Carmen Electra says, "If I wasn't sexy, I wouldn't have a job!" She neglected to mention that her career choice was not forced upon her, and that she has enough money to quit acting and modeling and pursue anything in the world. But by staying in an industry that requires her to care so much about her appearance, she helps sustain the double standard. Hollywood is full of men who are average looking, or even downright funny looking, yet they continue to land choice roles as they age. Women actresses, however, are considered has-beens once they reach their forties, as crows feet appear, skin sags and hair goes gray. Their talent has not disappeared, but because the march of time leaves its mark, they are considered less marketable.
The front of the book features a picture of the author in a slinky dress and full make-up. For all her talk about wanting to pass along her "wisdom" to ordinary women, I wonder if Carmen Electra knows, or even cares, that she is not selling tips and tricks; she is selling herself.
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