Friday Feminism #selfie for #bareforbasics

I went "Bare for Basics" today - a campaign for raising awareness about the basic needs of women and children in Africa, needs like regular food and access to family planning resources.

Go to their website http://gobare.org.au for more information.

Going without makeup for a day and uploading a selfie is a sort of cool idea for a show of solidarity. It would be cool to think about taking this a step further, for myself anyway - I wonder, if we put all the money earned by the cosmetics industry into a third world country just how much change we could achieve.

I'd like to know a little more about the situation in Africa, as it is the country specifically nominated by this awareness campaign. I don't know anything, really. I'll make it one of my Friday posts, sometime soon.

For now I have a few thoughts on the makeup industry:

Funnily enough, I don't really wear makeup, besides the occasional mascara coat when I'm going out to flutter my eyelashes at people (to no avail). My mum never wore it as we were growing up, and honestly I am not quite sure what to do with it anyway. Having said this, I've never had much problem with my skin, so I don't know how it feels to have acne that you want to hide with foundation. It seems unfair to me that there's such a concept as 'bad skin' or 'good skin', and it also seems unfair that much more emphasis is put into a solution so skin doesn't look bad, rather than addressing the pain that can come with acne.

I consume other cosmetic products like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, moisturiser, deodorant, lip balm. These too are luxuries that much of the world doesn't have. The clean water required for western beauty practices alone is an unbelievable luxury.

I plan to look into this some more for future posts, but for now I do want to add a thought: there is a reason women wear makeup in the first place. There is a reason that this is a huge industry, and there is a reason that giving up makeup would be one of the last things to go if women had to sacrifice a luxury.

I will be writing more about beauty practices before long, as I'm writing an essay on the topic at the moment.

Stay tuned.

Bare for Basics, with trademark half-smile

photo: going to a party

photo: tuesday 28

I bought this vintage dress online. It was a gamble that I like to think has paid off.

photo: monday 27

My newest tattoo. Two headed monster. Love this little guy.

photo: thursday 23

Working and showcasing my tattoo at the same time. Multitasker.

photo: wednesday 22

Wednesdays are the days I go to the gym and spend the rest of the day with crazy hair. And black eyes.

photo challenge: all of the helens

ugh, I just hate pictures of myself. I have been trying to grow out of this feeling for years, but I really don't like pictures that I'm in. So I'm going to take pictures of myself each day for the next 2 weeks and put them up on the blog. into the blogosphere. onto the internets.

so sorry in advance for the selfies.

it's selfie-development, ya know?

Slightly cross-eyed is my style.

#fmsphotoadaynovember 7. reflection

this picture could put me in mind of a thousand words, or it could speak for itself.

hugh, me and stu, in a mirror in a newcastle hotel, reunited in the first time in maybe 18 months. ready to run amuck. i love those boys.

i love how this photo just makes us look so goddamn cool.

treasure: new room, new hair, butterscotch pudding

i got my hair cut and also dyed it purple. its my all time favourite colour to dye my hair.



and i moved house and have a new room with all my shit in it, including fairy lights i've been wanting to put up the whole time i've lived here.

and the mountain is going to open on friday, and there's just a whole world of potential, and on top of that, there is butterscotch pudding in the fridge.
love.

day 28. a picture of you last year, and now. how have you changed since.

so i guess my hair is longer.

the 'last year' photo was just before i left for canada at the end of june, 2009.
out at mum and jon's place in rockvale, filled with hope and apprehension and absolutely no idea of why i was going and where i was going ... hoping something would change.

the 'now' photo, probably a month ago, 2010.
i guess the main difference is that i'm happy here. and i own a lot more junk jewellry. and a lot more clothing i guess. opshop clothing. woopwoop!!

and between the first and second photos i learned to snowboard.

ch ch ch changes (cue bowie)

day 16. another picture of yourself.

mum took this when we were on the peak to peak, when she came to visit me this summer.

i love my mum.

day 11. another picture of you and your friends

yup i know it's 2 photos but i couldn't choose. i was looking at photos from my melbourne farewell. back when i thought i was only leaving for 6 months.
way back then.

day 03. a picture of you and your friends.

i love bec and nat. they are good quality pals. they're whistler buddies that i will actually make an effort to see when i get back to australia. they met here, and love each other lots. which gives me hope, but that is not the point really.

the point is that they're leaving in about a week, and i love them both, and yesterday i went bungee jumping with them which was freekin awesome... so they're pretty special now.

love.

day 01. a recent picture of yourself and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

1. i love hiphop music: bliss n eso, urthboy, eminem, pez. would like to hear more female artists.
2. i rescue books from the recycling where i work all the time. someone has to love them.
3. i hate the sound of tape coming out of a dispenser.
4. sometimes, after skyping with one of my beloveds back in aus, i lay in bed and think about impluse-buying a ticket home.
5. when i was 11 mum bought me and my brothers a gameboy to share, and i was the first one of us to clock Super Mario
6. i am more irresponsible with money than anyone knows, but i always have enough money to eat, so i manage to justify everything.
7. i secretly think that by 25, a person should at least have a vague idea of what they want from their life, but i'm 25 in october and i haven't a clue.
8. when either of my brothers mentions music they like, i download it immediately. because i always end up loving it. because i have brothers with great taste.
9. i've only ever been sick 4 times from drinking too much.
10. now i live in canada i swear a lot more
11. i bite my fingernails and probably will for the rest of my life, because i don't care that much about it. also, my mum still bites hers and since she's the only one i don't want to disappoint, there's no motivation there.
12. i never ever go anywhere without my ipod. i make a playlist every month.
13. i cannot walk in highheels.
14. i like drinking and playing cards.
15. i never used to believe in anything, but now i believe in karma.

treasure: my new bird elliot

i finally picked up my mail, and in my mail was a bird, and that bird was made by my bestest pal ellie, whom i love and miss and love!