My name is Lim and I’m the new blogger in town. I have been sporadically involved in Real but have been limited in what I could contribute with uni, up until recently. I am excited to start writing/blogging and getting more deeply involved in Real’s productions as I strongly believe in creating a strong, positive, and empowering environment for not just girls but women of all ages. I will be blogging every Thursday so watch this space
A little bit about my background: I’m 25 years old (I think 26 end of this year! I lose track easily!), born in sunny Singapore, and lived the last 7 years in Canada and Australia. I did nutrition and public health at university but you could safely say that some of us do not always end up doing what we intended to do at the start... I am currently working as a social worker with people with disabilities in Melbourne and even though it is highly challenging and at times upsetting, I absolutely love it. It took me quite a while to navigate myself up to this point and even now I am still not 100% sure if this is where I will be forever. I think, however, one thing that is consistent is my desire to make positive changes in someone’s life, through giving them the tools to do so themselves.
I haven’t blogged for ages although I have a history of it. If I can be honest with you, I started off blogging just because it was trendy and I was not honest with myself and my readers (who were mainly people from high school, including boys I had crushes on!). Of course it is only upon hind sight that I realised all I was doing was creating this virtual Lim who I believed others would like so needless to say, the blogging process was pretty destructive.
I’m ready to take on the challenge of blogging once more and this time, with all the honesty and (hopefully) gathered wisdom from all of my 25 years of experience (and counting!). I start off with firstly, introducing you to a link which a friend forwarded to me on Tuesday, and which cheered me up straightaway on that wintry morning: http://www.goddessguidebook.com/
Janet Jackson shares that in her first television role her chest was bound. (That was in the 70's yes...what the hell...how could this be happening not even more than thirty years ago...legally...to an 11 year old?)
Jackson claims the way her body developed naturally didn’t fit in with the show, so her breasts were flattened beneath her costumes. The decision had a lasting effect on Jackson, who says she felt she should be ashamed of her figure.
In an interview with a fashion magazine she says 'Under the little sweatshirt, that Band-Aid is wrapped around my chest to make me look flatter. That plays tricks here [she points to her head]. You're an innocent kid and you immediately start thinking how you look naturally isn't good enough. It really affected me, up until now.”
44-year-old Janet says she has now come to accept her body. She feels proud of her curves, and hopes to show other women their bodies should be a source of joy.
“There comes a time when you don't give an 'F' what people say or think,” she said in the interview. “You just do your thing because it's finally about you and not in a selfish way but in a great way.” For the full article click here
The poster features the written and artistic works of young women aged 12 to 24.
The board exposes the truths of digital manipulation, shares experiences, challenges and successes of young women, empowers readers to respect their bodies and minds and aims to inspire girls to achieve their potential.
P.S Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing Erin @ erin@realmagazine.net.au
P.P.S If you would print the poster to read (or post it somewhere) please let Erin know so we could edit it into a mag type format fo you can print off for free on A4 paper...
REALaims to encourage girls to respect their bodies and minds. We facilitate and create innovative mediums that honestly reflect the ideas, challenges and experiences of girls living across the world.
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