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Audrey Brashich knows the women's media world inside and out. She has been an intern, editor, freelancer and writer for magazines such as Sassy, Jump, YM, Seventeen, Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl, Teen People, Girls Life, Lucky, Mademoiselle, Elegant Bride, Shape, Ms. and others. She's also been a teen model.

In her new book All Made Up: A Girl's Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty, Audrey blows the lid of all that smoke that's been blown up our you-know-whats about what is "beautiful" (and what isn't). She talked to Respect Rx about being a teen model, what she's learned about real beauty, and so-called It Girls (Can you say: Paris Hilton or Linsday Lohan?):

Respect Rx: When you were a teen, why did you want to be a model?
Audrey: I wanted to be a model for all the obvious reasons: the fame, glamour, preferential treatment that's showered on women who have that look and label. I heard the way guys talked about models...the way everyone in a room took notice of a girl if someone said 'Oh I heard she's a model." It didn't matter if she worked for a local newspaper or was on the cover of Vogue. Labels like model, actress, celebrity, pop star etc. get noticed...and I wanted that for myself, too.

What did you learn about that world that you want every girl to know now?
That there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to be pretty or liking magazines, movies, pop music etc. BUT that we all need to ask why these things are so important in our country. Like, why are we on a first-name basis with women who entertain us or who fit a certain beauty standard. But yet we can't name women who are changing the world? THAT'S what I want to get everyone thinking about.

What are the top five myths that we learn from teen and celebrity magazines?
Myth No. 1: That we should pay attention to every little "flaw" or "imperfection" we have like the size of the pores on our face or whether or not we get a few razor bumps. Remember the Maybelline slogan from a few years ago that went along with their Great Lash Mascara? It went "Maybe She's Born With It... Maybe It's Maybelline" and all the commercials were showed a model with enviable long eye lashes. That always made me think "Oh come ON! NOW we have to worry about the fact that our EYE LASHES aren't as perfect as the next girl's?!" I mean please. Just think about how different the world would be if we all spent less time being trained to worry about scrutinizing, plucking, tanning, manicuring, waxing etc our bodies and spent more time on saving the environment or trying to solve the world's AIDS crisis.

Myth No. 2: That the women in magazines (and on reality TV shows, sitcoms, movies etc) deserve all the recognition they get. Sure, some celebs work really hard to get where they are, but where are they ultimately? They're just entertaining us. I bet if you made a list of the most important professions out there, you'd probably include things like doctor, teacher, human rights activist, etc. So then why aren't any of those women in the public eye???

Myth No. 3: That celebrities have the best lives. It's true: they get to go to the Oscars and we don't. They get tons of free stuff and we don't. But they also have to worry day and night about what they eat, how they look, how they act. They got stalked by paparazzi; reporters go through their trash trying to find out private gossip and there's ALWAYS a new "It Girl" coming up behind them who is going to be BIG competition.

Myth No. 4: That looking like a model/actress/pop star etc is the only way to be considered beautiful and successful. Copying a celebrity look doesn't make you more beautiful…it makes you less of YOU because it compromises your individuality.

Myth No. 5: That there's only fluff and garbage in teen and celebrity magazines. Now hear me out on this one: As conflicted as teen and fashion magazines might be, there is often really good content buried alongside all the images and ads. Most of the articles are well-researched and well-written. They also contain comments top top experts, noted authors and government officials. And all that's good stuff. So go ahead and look at all the fashion pages and ads, but remember those are there to get you to buy products and imply that a certain look (which might not be yours) is beautiful.

As for celebrity magazines...OK, there's not really much good about them EXCEPT that it is pretty refreshing to check them out from time to time and see that stars really look like real people (bad hair, messy sweatpants etc) at least some of the time.

How can girls respect their real beauty?
First step is to get educated about how the media—and the manufacturers that hire them—works. Because those companies have a REALLY big financial stake in defining what's beautiful. I mean hello?! They sell cosmetics and diet products and new clothing every season. So OF COURSE they promote a definition of beauty that requires all those things. They'd be out of a job otherwise!

But what girls need to know is that it's not our bodies that need to be changed (and liposuction-ed, toned, etc) but the standards that we try to hold them to. Our inner and OUTER beauty is right there and it's perfect the way it is. It’s the definitions of what's beautiful that we've got to work on.

MORE INFO
Check out Audrey's blog: Don't Believe the Hype

Common Sense wrote about a new site I checked out that engages teen girls in some serious deep-thinking about media through fun games like writing your own advice colum: My Pop Studio

Learn how to take back your media—check out RESPECT, Chapter 4: Your Media

Comments (1) | by Courtney on September 13

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