I had terrible acne as a teen. Someone once called me “pizzaface” and I cried myself to sleep about it nearly every single night for months.
I have since developed thicker skin when it comes to comments about my physical appearance. But, just because I don’t dissolve into tears when some asshole comments on the size of my ass or tummy or thighs or …doesn’t mean that I won’t think about their disparaging remarks for a long long time, and maybe even shed a tear during a weak moment when I am not feeling so good about myself that day.
Even if the remark was written with very subtle sarcasm, it could easily be taken as a ding. Perhaps any further attempts at humor could be identified as such.
Since these adverts seem to have been appearing with astounding regularity of late (on my TV anyway), I did get the OP. In fact, it pretty much sums up the way I feel about adverts for beauty products which present a supposedly “confident” (even “feminist”) image of women but at the same time are designed to trade on our insecurities about our appearance. The implication is that you can have freedom/independence/respect, but you’re going to need clear pores, straight white teeth, and glossy hair first. We will love you for who you are as long as you have that “natural” glow.
I know that’s already been pointed out, and I think I can see now why people first thought Muad’Dib was being an arse, but there seems to have been some kind of explosion in these adverts recently. Last night I had to sit through about five in a row, being told by “sassy” young role modelettes about the “7 signs of ageing”, covering grey “naturally”, and the hideous “fine lines and wrinkles” that I need to combat NOW, BEFORE I’M 30 and it’s TOO LATE. Natalie Imbruglia can eat my cellulite raddled arse.
Is it not enough that I now can’t go roller-blading without a tampon??
Hmm. Possibly in need of a darkened room and a cold flannel on my head
I dunno, man. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being on the internet, it’s that people exist who will say the stupidest shit you’ve ever heard with a completely straight face (literarily speaking). Many times on these very boards I’ve seen someone I’d previously believed to be a well-adjusted, right-thinking member of society get a burr up his or her tailpipe and post something compeletely out of left field.
Which means, I was totally whooshed by the OP, but so was nearly everyone else, so I continue to regard my sarcasmometer as utterly impeccable and lay the fault squarely at the OP’s feet. [Insert fist-shaking smiley here] On the other hand, I detected no snarkiness in Muad’Dib’s clarification, and even a bit of contrition, so it’s possible, maybe, that we should give him a break.
Let us turn our ire where it’s deserved: at the bastard advertisers who want us to give them our money because (to steal blatantly from Manda JO) “Everyone else is thinner than you, prettier than you, and has better sex than you. We have a product for that.”
Personally, I find bad skin to be more damaging to visual appeal than weight. Of course, visual appeal is not the only criteria upon which I judge people.
But if I am sitting in the public square just people-watching, I am more likely to ogle someone with a weight problem than someone with a skin problem.
So, I’ll agree with the OP. If you have both a problem with weight and a problem with skin and want to work on them, I would suggest giving priority to the skin problems.
Well, I got the intended sarcasm, and in my post I was trying to be sarcastic right back. Upon reading the thread the next day, however, it bacame apparent that my sarcasm fell just as flat as the OP’s…so I decided to just take whatever lumps came my way and keep my big fat mouth shut.
Scotti
(Who, BTW, does NOT have beautiful skin, and will worry about her weight if she FEELS like it, dingbustit!)
Hmmm…the sarcasm was pretty obvious to me. It was the drumroll-esque punchline, “It’s your skin you should be thinking about!” (ba-dum-bum! crashtinkle)
I expected to be hit with a blast of seltzer or, as the OP said, an ad jingle.
Not for nothin’, but I had perfect skin until I hit my late 20s, when I developed adult acne- nasty, painful acne that sucked totally. I went on tetracycline and topical clindamyacin and retin A and it cleared right up. I now just use the clinda when I get a flare up.
My doc told me:
wash twice a day with DOVE soap, unscented, using hands only, not face cloths or scrubbies. (which irritate already comprimised skin)
Use Moisturel lotion on face, nothing else. It’s unscented and the best thing you can use (according to him)
Use makeup if desired, but do not use makeup removers, just the Dove soap.
Those habits combined with the drug therapy really helped. It’s not a matter of having clean skin, it’s a matter of your body chemistry and what’s going on with it. I wish for the life of me I could remember what he said my problem was, but I can’t think of it.
Zette, I also had a nasty flare up of adult onset acne several years ago. Mine looked kind of like someone had been scrubbing my face with a carrot grater, but I understand it can affect people in all kinds of different ways.My Doc said it is caused by one of three things. I can’t remember the first two because they didn’t apply to my case.
The third was “Nobody knows.” And FWIW, my Doc said that is the most common cause.
Lots of fun, huh? I just figured it was life’s revenge on me for never having had acne as a teenager.
I admit, that after I posted, I reread the thread and I no longer took offense.
Although I too have suffered great skin damage from adult onset acne, they also call it “acne vulgaris” – scientific community needs to rethink that classification. We already feel bad about it as it is but to call it that is just not right.
Anyhow, I have very bad skin at the moment and I am ultra sensitive about it. My extra weight has taken a back seat to how I feel about how I look, the face that I can’t hide.
So, out of curiousity, Brutus, what do you look like? Perfect body? Perfect skin? Perfect health? What most of us in this thread are objecting to is the notion that women must look perfect or nearly so to attract a mate, while men can look like pretty much anything. Yes, things are slowly changing for me, and not for the better, but I’ve yet to see a product aimed at men to “reduce the fine lines that are a sign of aging.”
You know, I get the feeling some of you are upset at Muad’Dib not just because of what he said, but because you didn’t detect his sarcasm. So you’re getting angry at him a second time for him being sarcastic.
This is the Pit, and indeed this is the SDMB. It is the home of cutting wit and sarcasm.
Men are just as vain as women, I would guess. Nothing wrong with that, in moderation. I am no exception to that. But no, I do not use skin-care products, yet. No need!
I happened to catch the skincare advert on TV featuring 27-year old Natalie Imbruglia.
Ms Imbruglia’s skin was indeed looking a little saggy. 27-year old Tansu’s advice to Ms Imbruglia is to put on at least 10 pounds in weight. When one is below one’s natural weight, of course one’s skin looks as if it needs a little filling out.
But surely she can get those much needed pounds by eating my arse (cellulite-raddled or not)? Maybe I could start myself out in business that way: arse to the stars…
She did look a lot better when she was Beth in Neighbours.
