Body Image Week: Deborah Lytton Winner

susan, please e-mail me your address!

Congrats to everyone who participated! Everyone needs a creative outlet and it's good to find a new one every once in awhile. Don't forget to report in at MFA to tell everyone how you did on the Body Image Challenge!

Body Image Week: Results and Contest!

For not much longer you can post your results here to enter to win the big prize.

I decided I love:



my eyelashes,



my fingernails,



and my butt.

I do not like trying to take pictures of them with a phone. The flash on the first is deliberate to obscure my features; you can see almost the entire dorm room in the fingernails photo; the angle I tried at first made my butt look rounder, which wasn't really my point.

I mostly had to accept compliments on Friday, since I wore make-up for an interview. (People will comment when you do something above the usual to look nice.) I accepted it because I'm proud of my make-up skills, and I tried something new. The main color on my eyes is one I've only used for evening looks and I was happy I could adapt it to a day look. (Metallic emerald is not a standard day color by any means.)

I usually try to compliment my friends, but I ramped it up. And yes, many of my compliments got brushed off. I just have to keep to it until they believe me.

I still need to work on my self-image but I loved hearing everyone else's stories and hope we keep to the tenets of the challenge even though Body Image Week is over.

Body Image Week: Guest Review: Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies

By Angela of MyFavoriteAuthor

MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES
by Erin Dionne
256 pages
Released March 5, 2009 by Dial (Penguin imprint)



AT A GLANCE:

Hardback, Paperback or Library: I'd say that this is a book to get from the library. Although I would buy it for a tween girl without hesitation.
The Next Person I'm Giving This To: My friend Jenny who's daughter has just entered the tween years.
To Read or Not To Re-Read: I'd like to re-read this with my daughters when they get older.

ABOUT/REVIEW
MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES is about how 13-year-old Celeste decides that the best way to get out of the Miss HuskyPeach pageant for plus-sized girls is by losing weight. Celeste learns that weight loss is not a quick fix, either physically or mentally; that beauty comes from confidence, not dress size; and the importance of friends who support you for who you are.

There were lots of things that I thought were great about this book, but I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'll write about one in particular that really struck a chord with me. Celeste's success in feeling better about herself is due in large part to great friends who support her, encourage her, and like her for who she is.

Whether or not we like ourselves and our bodies is ultimately up to us to decide. But isn't it easier to think better of ourselves when we are surrounded with people that like who we are, who are positive, who encourage and support us? Of course it is! If I am trying to eat healthier, it's easier if all my friends don't constantly tempt me with chocolate, sugar, and fatty foods. If I'm trying to be better about exercising, it's easier if I have someone to walk/work out with, give me different exercise ideas, and are interested in my progress.

In MODELS, Celeste has to deal with a long-time friend, Sandra, who gets caught up in trying to be popular and finally tells Celeste that they can only be friends outside of school. Ouch. Celeste ends up becoming closer friends with Katy & Millie. When they find out Celeste's plan to get out of the pageant (that Celeste's aunt mis-guidingly enters her in), they offer ideas to help (walking together around the track) and are positive and encouraging when Celeste gets down on herself.

Towards the end of the book, Celeste and the other Miss HuskyPeach finalists watch Violet Page (a plus-size super model) demonstrate walking the runway. They had met he previously, but Celeste didn't think much of her at the time. Here's what Celeste saw:

From Page 171 (of the ARC ... emphasis added):

Ashley gripped my arm. "She's gorgeous!" she whispered. Her voice was so light and airy, I almost didn't hear her. I glanced at her: eyes wide, face slack,she was locked on to Violet Page like a missle to its target.

And she was. Violet the Model was nothing like the almost-bored, always-flaky judge from the previous session. This person was focused, direct, and sexy. She walked with a determined stride, peering at the audience from under narrowed lids. She kept her mouth pursed for the trip to the end of the runway. Mid-spin, she paused and flashed a dazzling smile. It was then that I realized: Her looks were only part of what made Violet beautiful. Confidence took care of the rest.

As an adult reader, I enjoyed this book. It was a tad more juvenille than I usually like to read (or least re-read), but the subject matter was great. It would be a great mother-daughter book club pick.

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Don't forget to enter Deborah Lytton's Challenge!

Body Image Week: Presenting Lenore!

Today I am guest blogging at The Story Siren, and Kristi is guest blogging at Lenore's blog. And of course Lenore is guesting here! She's a woman who needs no introduction to most of the blogosphere, but for those who don't know here . . . Lenore writes a grand ole blog and posts pictures of her cat Emmy. She's highly personable and always has something to add to the discussion. I couldn't be happier to be hosting her on my blog.

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When I was 17, if a genie had appeared and given me one wish, I would have used it on perfect skin. Goodbye oily t-zone with visible pores prone to clogging. Goodbye milky white skin tone that burns instead of tans. Goodbye stretch marks on my inner thighs left behind by an extreme tween growth spurt.

My imperfections were relatively minor, but they were so big in my teenage mind that they would have come before world peace or a lottery win. So I could only begin to imagine how Terra, teen protagonist of Justina Chen Headley’s novel NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, must feel about a port wine stain that covers half her face. Her instinct is to hide, to cover up around other people, to retreat from life. Then she meets an adopted Chinese guy with a cleft palate scar who ends up being a catalyst for her journey towards self acceptance.

Reading about Terra’s struggles to feel comfortable in her own skin, it occurred to me that I don’t run across many YA novels about skin afflictions or oddities. Sure, a huge pimple erupting before a big date is a classic plot point that we are all familiar with, but what a about a novel from the POV of a burn victim or someone with severe acne?

In the last novel I read, Laura Whitcomb’s THE FETCH, two of the protagonists are affected by a supernatural phenomenon called “The Brightening” that makes their skin glow. So as to not freak others out, they dust themselves with heavy powder. And of course there is always the sparkle problem that plagues the vampires in Twilight. Julia Hoban’s WILLOW has to wear long sleeve shirts to cover up her cutting scars. And one of the twins in Jacquelyn Mitchard’s LOOK BOTH WAYS puts toothpaste on a pimple because she heard it is a miracle cure. It does dry out the pimple, but it also gives her a scaly, red rash. The only thing that helps is undertaker make-up borrowed from a funeral parlor.

I too have tried the toothpaste trick. In my quest for model-worthy skin, I’ve experimented with astringents, scrubs, cleansing pads (Oxy anyone?), masks, moisturizers, concealers, foundations and powders. Rabid fashion magazine consultation led to product overload, which just irritated my skin and made it worse. In fact, I found once I started just using a gentle skin cleanser, my skin was a lot better off.

The genie never granted my wish, but I am generally happy with my skin these days. So to sign off, I’ll leave you with some tips for fresh, glowing skin that have worked for me.

Use a facial moisturizer with sunscreen every day.
Don’t smoke.
Avoid excessive sugar.
Do an elimination diet to see what foods might be affecting your skin (I discovered my skin is sensitive to dairy).
Drink plenty of water.
Get adequate sleep (I need 7-8 hours).
Don’t stress!
Read more YA novels ;)

PS: If you know of any other novels that deal with skin issues, let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Body Image Week: Deborah Lytton has a Challenge for You

Finding Beauty from the Inside Out

by Deborah Lytton



Author of Jane in Bloom

My debut novel, Jane in Bloom, is about 12 year old Jane’s journey to believing in herself. In order to embark on the path to self-discovery, Jane has to overcome a family obsessed with outward perfection. Jane’s mother has poor self-image. Jane’s older sister Lizzie has poor self-image. Both Jane's mother and Lizzie have eating disorders. Ironically, it is the invisible Jane who realizes that we must love ourselves as we are and appreciate who we are to be truly happy. Jane finds her strength not from her outward appearance, but from looking inside. She finds self-expression through photography. But our paths to positive self-image can be found in any form of creative expression that allows us to show who we are—art, singing, dancing, cooking, crafts, flower arranging, decorating, party planning, scrapbooking, and my own favorite forms of creative expression, photography and writing.

So as part of this week promoting positive body image, I challenge each and every one of you to find your creative outlet this week. Your creative expression will help you discover your own inner beauty.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Find something you like to do. It has to give you a finished product of some kind. Something you can see, touch, hear or taste.

2. Create something that expresses who you are at this moment. Don’t over-think it, don’t judge it. Just be in the moment and enjoy yourself.

3. If you have chosen to dance or sing, have someone take a picture of you while you are performing.

4. When you are finished, take a look at your finished self-expression. Ask yourself how it made you feel when you were creating it? How does it make you feel now to see what you have accomplished? Is it an accurate reflection of you? Does it make you appreciate your uniqueness?

5. Always remember that no one else in the world is exactly like you—and no one else in the world can create something in the same way that you create something. It is that uniqueness that makes us all special. And that is the real reflection of who you are, because it shows your beauty from the inside out.

6. Try to return to your self-expression as often as you can. Give yourself freedom to create. For it represents you!

7. Write in and tell us how you did on your challenge. We would love to hear from you!

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And yes, there is a signed copy of JANE IN BLOOM for someone brave enough to take the challenge. I'll pick the winner from the comments on this post.

You can find out more about Deborah Lytton from my interview and more about JANE IN BLOOM from MFA's review.

I should also say that this theme sent me down a follow-the-link trail over at Jezebel. Here are some current stories about plus-sized model Crystal Renn. Here's one about an anorexic model, along with an entire archive. And here's a slightly older one about how Vogue disguised singer Adele's figure . . . in their Shape issue. Here's to the hope of an evolved standard of outer beauty, which shouldn't matter one wit next to inner anyway.

Body Image Week

Today kicks off a Body Image theme week at MyFavoriteAuthor and I am excited to be participating along with The Story Siren, Presenting Lenore and authors Deborah Lytton, Sarah Darer Littman, Sara Zarr, Megan Frazer, Laurie Halse Anderson, Sydney Salter, and Erin Dionne!

The issue of body image and loving the skin that you're in is something that affects everyone in different ways and in different degrees. And there are a lot of books recently or soon-to-be released that address various aspects of the issue. SpeedReader of MyFavoriteAuthor has organized this theme week that will include book reviews, author interviews/guest posts/videos, a couple of challenges and a great book giveaway at the end.



So check them out today to see the full schedule of the week's events and where the various posts will be showing up around the blogosphere. And don't forget to accept the Body Image Challenge! Everyone who accepts the challenge and reports back at the end of the week will be entered in the giveaway to win:

WINTERGIRLS (signed) by Laurie Halse Anderson
MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter
THE SECRETS OF TRUTH AND BEAUTY by Megan Frazer
MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES by Erin Dionne

For some pre-festivities, you can check out my interview with Deborah Lytton and my review of WINTERGIRLS. As for the festivites themselves, you can see the schedule in the sidebar.



At IBWB, the special stuff starts tomorrow, with a guest post and challenge from Deborah Lytton. Yes, someone will win a signed hardcover. On Saturday, the illustrious Lenore will be guesting here. Yeah, I can't believe I'm doing something like this with a big name either! Then next Wednesday, SpeedReader will be dropping by. But ya'll should by no means restrict yourself to my blog! (At the very least, you should read my guest post - about my very silly issues - at the Story Siren this Saturday.)

Let's give a big hand to SpeedReader, who put all of this together! You're going to love Body Image Week - and hopefully you'll love yourself even more once it's over.

[Note: The Love Your Body campaign was shot for Melissa Walker. The photos may not be reproduced without my permission.]