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Body Image in the Media: The story of Stacy Nadeau and the Dove for Real Women Campaign
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 11:00 AM

In 2005, a campaign that promoted natural women, curves and all was introduced into the media. The campaign that sparked controversy, raised eyebrows, and received unprecedented national media was Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Six real women, who had never modeled before, were chosen to participate.

Stacy Nadeau was one of the six real beauty models chosen to support the dove mission: to make more women feel beautiful every day by widening stereotypical views of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves. Nadeau spoke of her life changing experience as a Dove model and how her experience taught her to accept her own beautiful self.

Nadeau shared her journey of how she became a model for the campaign. Nadeau was a sophomore at DePaul University when she first was confronted with her opportunity. It started as an ordinary day, walking to work with a friend. While walking, she turned around and saw a woman walking very close to her, but thought nothing of it. “I Live in a big city, I see weird people all the time,” she joked.

When she got to work, that same woman walking behind her, asked to hang a model audition flyer at her work, and told Nadeau that she should audition. “Maim, what about me says model to you?” she exclaimed. Nadeau thought nothing of the request, and shook the thought from her mind, being a model was nothing she had ever planned to do.

When Nadeau came home from work that day, her friend confronted her saying “You are going to be really mad at me,” her friend had pretended to be her and made an appointment to attend the photo shoot the next Tuesday at 3p.m. After talking to her mother, she decided to go to the audition.

“You are going to be really mad at me Stacy, you have to go to the audition in your underwear,” her friend confessed. Reluctantly, Nadeau showed up, was there for 30 seconds, only four pictures were taken. “We will never speak of this again,” Nadeau warned her friend.

The rest was history, the next thing she knew, she was in New York for two 12 ½ hour photo shoots. These photo-shoots marked the first time anyone has ever taken real women sizes 2-12 and put them out in an ad campaign. The idea for the ad campaign was inspired by the major study, The Real Truth about Beauty: A Global Report, which validated the hypothesis, that the definition of beauty and become obscured and unrealistic. The study showed that 98% of girls did not feel confident enough to call themselves beautiful, and that 81% of women in the U.S. strongly agree that the media has created an idealistic and unobtainable standard of beauty.

Nadeau showed pictures of women in magazines, who are meant to represent “real beauty”, these women were sickly thin, flawless and genetically impossible to look that way. She also showed pictures of men as well, these men all had six packs, and ripped muscles. Nadeau shared that a friend had once photo-shopped an 18 pack onto a model. “For some people it is not in the cards for them [to have abs]” she said.
After the campaign launched, the dove real women billboard landed right next to a Victoria’s Secret billboard in Las Angelis, where it could catch the most attention. Attention they received, in extraordinary amounts.

“The first to call was the today show,” Nadeau said. She even had an appearance on Oprah, Despite the fear of her “jiggle” being noticed, her and the five other models walked on stage and were interviewed in their underwear. “We knew with Oprah it would make a really big splash,” Nadeau said.

After that day, the Dove girls realized how inspirational and life changing their campaign was to the men and women of the U.S. After the show, they were to do a meet a greet and pass out gift bags with Dove products, they had 15 bags, hundreds came to see the girls.

Many of the people came to say thank you, it is about time, but there was a woman who stood out in particular. A woman, hysterically crying hung to the girls and repeatedly said thank you to them. “No problem,” was Nadeau’s response. “You do not understand, you girls have single handily saved my daughter’s life,” was the woman’s response.

The woman’s daughter was battling severe anorexia and could not have any media. Her mother saw the ad, and zeroxed copies her daughter and the entire hospital was covered with the ad. The daughter was inspired, “I am sick of this,” she said, “If these women can show their bodies fat and all, I can beat this.” The girl did beat her anorexia; she gained over ten pounds after hearing about the campaign. “We changed her, we made her better,” Nadeau said.

Nadeau’s experiences were not all positive however. There were many critics of the campaign that were disgusted by the campaign. The Chicago Sun Times called the models fat, ugly, that if he saw us at a bar he would run the other way. He added, “To my favorite Stacey Nadeau the next time I see thigh that big, the better be in my KFC Bucket.”

This article sent hundreds of women and men to retaliate against the writer, and a public apology was given. One commented saying “She looks like me, my sister, my mother my grandmother, we’re beautiful.” Another said, “I live in the building next to you, I see you come and go all the time, P.S. You are no God’s gift to women.”

Nadeau offered advice on how men and women can find their best self, most fit self, and most mentally healthy self. Her advice was to be a friend to yourself and stop fat talk. She wants people to do what makes them feel beautiful, and to have a productive day.

She also wants women to stop the, “Girlfriend Poker,” or the, “I’ll take your arms and legs and raise you a butt,” as she put it. This does not help self-esteem, it lowers it. “What you think and what you say affects you, “she said.
She also wants women to think about their relationships, “surround yourself with people who build you up.”

Mick Jagger Rolling Stones
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 @ 12:40 PM
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards: The Rolling Stones
It is hard to imagine a young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards jamming out to blues records at the young age of 11; acting out as a sort of rebellion from their straight edged-English lifestyle, “rock and roll singers weren’t educated people,” Jagger’s parents had told him, but this is how it all began and these two neighborhood friends broke out to be one of the hottest rock and roll bands of all time. Jagger and Richards have made music together that will stand the test of time, and despite drug abuse, fights and all the rough patches in-between, the friendship between Jagger and Richards has shown that it too is as solid as a “Rolling Stone.”
Jagger and Richards met at the youthful age of 7, but it was not until later that their friends would bond over their love of music and the love of the spotlight. “We met at the train station. And I had these rhythm & Blues records, which were very prized possessions because they weren’t available in England then. And he said, “Oh, yeah, these are really interesting.” That kind of did it. That’s how it started, really,” Jagger said.
Four years later, the duo was making music and performing at local venues. Richards had been playing guitar since he was five, and Jagger said, “’Well, I sing, you know? And you play the guitar,”’ and with that, everything started to happen.
For Jagger, the stage was an incredible place to be, and he always was recognized for his impressive performing skill, “If I could get a show, I would do it,” he began, “I used to do mad things-you know, I used to go and do these shows and go on my knees and roll on the ground,” he said. “It is a real buzz, even in front of twenty people, to make a complete fool of yourself. People liked watching Jagger act like a “fool” and he confesses that if they would have “thrown tomatoes at him,” he wouldn’t have gone on with it.
Luckily the crowd loved him, and word of this hip new English band spread. Jagger and his band were a success at a young age, and Jagger believed it was, “Very exciting. The first time we got our picture in the music paper called the Record Mirror… was so exciting, you couldn’t believe it.”
As their fame continued to expand, so did their talents. From recording and performing covers of songs by R&B artists like Marvin Gaye, Jagger and Richards began to create their own lyrics, and they were unlike anything anyone had ever heard.
Their song “Play with Fire,” written by Richards, was the first of their songs that really broke through, that addressed the lifestyle they were leading in England. “No one had really done that,” Jagger said…Songwriting had only dealt in clichés and borrowed stuff, you know, from previous records or ideas…but these dongs were really more from experience and the embroidered to make them more interesting,” he said.
In 64, the band made it to the states, touring outside of New York and L.A. Outside of these places, the Stones found America to be, “the most repressive society, very prejudiced in every way. There was still segregation and the attitudes were fantastically old-fashioned. Americans shocked me by their behavior and their narrow-mindedness,” he said.
Their big hit in America was “Satisfaction,” written by Richards while sitting by a pool in Florida. The signature tune has become a classic. “It has a very catchy guitar riff. It has a great guitar sound, which was original at the time. And it really captures the spirit of the times,” Jagger said. The popularity of the song that made the Stones a worldwide thing, and they had the “Satisfaction” of finally making it in America, because of their hit. Satisfaction was the song that really made the Rolling Stones, “it changed us into a huge, monster band,” he said.
With all of their new-found success, brought about many trials to the band; the Jagger’s heroin addiction nearly took over the band, and Jagger had to take over the role as leader. “When you do drugs the whole time, you don’t produce as good things as you could,” Jagger said.
Their friendship continued, but it was a different Richards that he was now friends with, “People have different personalities when they’re drunk or take heroin…when Keith was taking heroin, it was very difficult to work. He still was creative, but it took a long time.” Everyone in the band was taking drugs and drinking at this time, and it affected everyone in different ways, Jagger explained.
Their friendship started to fizzle out in In the mid-Eighties, when the stones were no longer playing together. “We were friends before we were in a band, so it’s more complicated,” Jagger said, and they found a way to reconcile their differences. “We had a meeting to plan the tour, and as far as I was concerned, it was very easy.”
Today, their relationship is very good, “We see each other every day, talk to each other every day, play every day. But it is not the same as when we were twenty and shared rooms,” he said.

Quarry Letter Love
@ 12:39 PM
Jennifer Dotson, Editor
Alive Magazine
1720 Madison St. NE Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Dear Jennifer Dotson,

Proposed Article:

21 and Married,

I would like to examine the growing trend of young men and women who are marrying and having children before even graduating from college.

I would like to explore the lives of these young couples and find out their trials as well as their pleasures in a tell-all article.

This story will be 1,500 words, and will not exceed this amount. I am a growing writer, and dependable writer. I will be graduating from Millersville University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in print media studies. I have had experience as a staff writer for the university newspaper for a year, and have been the news editor for a year.

Best Regards,


Ashley Palm

Quarry Letter Culture
@ 12:38 PM
Jennifer Dotson, Editor
Alive Magazine
1720 Madison St. NE Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Dear Jennifer Dotson,

Proposed Article:

Body Image in Today’s Market Trend

Today’s media has focused on distorting the images of men and women and creating a false image of beauty that is physically impossible to obtain. I believe it is important for people of all ages to understand how the media creates ad-campaigns and magazine images to look like something un-natural.

I would like to discuss in my article how these distorted views on beauty can harm our youth, and how individuals can help realize the true beauty of men and women in every size.

This story will be 1,500 words, and will not exceed this amount. I am a growing writer, and dependable writer. I will be graduating from Millersville University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in print media studies. I have had experience as a staff writer for the university newspaper for a year, and have been the news editor for a year.

Best Regards,


Ashley Palm

Querry Letter: Women's Press
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 @ 11:12 AM
Mailing address: 771 Raymond Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55114


Women’s Press
Editor@Womenspress.com

Dear Editor of Women’s Press

I live in a small town, and often I find it difficult to find a means of entertainment that is of low cost, and in a short distance. Beginning a book club is a great source of entertainment, as well a wonderful opportunity to get neighbors and friends together, and bonding over their interests and love of reading.

I would like to write an article for your publication on how anyone, from any place can start their own book club. My article will be packed with advice on how to start a book club, what kinds of book clubs are available, such as Oprah’s book club, and other ready-formed book clubs.

I would like to include advice on how to pick the best book for discussion, and list popular books that have been used in the past. Also, I would include advice on how many books to read in a year, and what books to shy away from.

I would also like to include advice on how to run, moderate and organize a successful book club. The first decision one must make, is who to include in the book club. This can make or break the gathering. A book club is all about good discussion, I want to advice on what kind of questions to ask, and what not to bring up.

Finally, I would like to shed light on ways to create the perfect atmosphere for a book discussion. I will include the perfect snacks and hors d’oeurves to serve during the book club, and include perfect recipes and where to find these recipes.

This story will be 1,500 words, and will not exceed this amount. I am a growing writer, and dependable writer. I will be graduating from Millersville University, with a bachelor of arts degree in English, with a minor in print media studies. I have had experience as a staff writer for the university newspaper for a year, and have been the news editor for a year.

Courtney after love: Dealing with her husband's suicide
Monday, March 1, 2010 @ 1:12 PM

It has been eight months since the death of Nirvana front man, Curt Cobain, and his wife, Courtney Love, the lead singer of the band Hole, has devoted her time to being on tour and playing rock & roll. “It was easier than staying home,” she shared, “It feels normal to me. You just put one foot in front of the other.”

Although her rule is to not think about the loss of her husband and the difficulties she has endured this past year, Cobain’s suicide continues to haunt her, and she desperately wonders, what would have happened, “If I could have just spoken two words to him…”

The news of Cobain’s suicide was not a shock to Love, but still, she wishes she could have done something for who she describes as her suicidal and codependent husband. Just a month before his death, on March 3, Cobain attempted to overdose during his European tour. Love woke up and found him at the end of the bed, unconscious, with a note by him saying “you don’t love me anymore. I’d rather die than go through a divorce.” “He took fifty fucking pills,” she said, “He probably forgot how many he took. But there was a definite suicidal urge, to be gobbling and gobbling and gobbling.”

Love said this suicide attempt was all in his head, sprung by the fact that she had fallen asleep on him after he planned a romantic evening for the two of them. “The rejection he must have felt after all that anticipation—I mean, for Kurt to be that Mr. Romance was pretty intense,” Love said. Now, she wishes she had just laid there for him, “All he needed was to get laid. He would have been fine.” That time, despite being in a comma for 20 hours, Cobain was fine.

After returning home to Seattle, Cobain’s suicidal attempts still lingered, on March 18 Love summoned the police to the house after Cobain locked himself in a room with a gun. “When he came home from Rome high, I flipped out. If there’s one thing in my whole life I could take back, it would be that. Getting mad at him for coming home high. I wish to God I hadn’t I wish I’d just been the way I always was, just tolerant of it. It made him feel so worthless when I got mad at him,” Love said.

Guns were a big issue with Kurt and Love and the police were constantly taking them away, Love confessed that Cobain had mentioned “blowing his head off,” many times. One time Love even talked him into letting her shoot herself first. “He brought a gun to the hospital the day after our daughter was born,” Love said. “I held the thing in my hand, and I felt that thing that they say in Schindler’s List: I’m never going to know what happens to be. And what about Frances? Sort of Rude, “’Oh, your parents died the day after you were born,”’ she said. Love then started to talk Cobain out of the suicide, and made him give her the gun.

Love called it a downward spiral after the Seattle incident. Cobain’s suicide happened on April 8, 1994 just days after he had returned from a small stint in rehab. “I was in L.A. because the interventionist said I had to leave. I did not even kiss or get to say goodbye to my husband. I wish to God…” she trailed off. “Kurt though I was on their side because I had gone along with them. I wasn’t I was afraid,” she said.

He wrote a suicide note to love, saying “I know you love you Frances, I’m so Sorry. Please don’t follow me.” “There is definitely a narcissism in what he did,” Love believes. “He thought he was doing the right thing. How could he fucking think that? In his condition he was so fucked up to think that,” Love said.

Love worries about her daughter, Frances, who will be turning two in August, “On some nights she cries out for him, and it freaks me out. And I thought she didn’t know anything. [Long Pause] So every couple of days I mention him,” she said. Love worries that when her daughter turns six or seven people will make fun of her, and make fun of her dad, “she’s gonna feel like she’s not good enough for him, and she’ll probably feel ugly,” Love said. Love wishes that he would have OD’d when he was about 34 or 35, “at least he would have had those seven years to make his
decision to be a heroin addict forever. Or whatever the hell it is he wanted.”

Love continues to carry the memory of her late husband in her recordings and performances. She described that on stage, “when the lights are blue and there are two of them in front of me, often they will symbolize Kurt’s eyes to me.” She has also been performing one of Kobain’s unrecorded songs during the encore on her tour. There are three completed songs, and ten others. “There is one called Opinions, the other goes, “Talk to me/In your own language please, the third one, I can’t sing, It’s too fucking good,…then there is a song called “Clean Up Before She Comes,”…[and] there’s the one we’re going to play tonight. Melissa sings my part, and the part I’m singing is Kurt’s part. I just call it “Drunk in Rio.”

“I recorded a whole slew of stuff in Rio that was just me and Kurt,” she began, “There’s these beautiful harmonizing with me and Kurt. Of course I can’t release the shit. No matter how aesthetically right it would be to do,”
In her new video “Doll Parts,” she uses an image of a young blond Kurt-like boy, in remembrance of her husband. “It happened. My husband was taken away. It was tasteful. I had this gorgeous little boy with me; we had a real fun time with him.”

Living With Anxiety and Depression
Sunday, February 21, 2010 @ 1:04 PM
He stares blankly at a flashing screen, not really seeing the images but playing through the motions. The echo of bullets and bombs bounce off of the white, poster crammed walls. His hands shake slightly, but still, he does not miss a beat as he slays soldiers on the opposing team. This act will continue for hours, until he finally feels the anxiety drain from his body. Soon, his chest will lighten, and his mind will once again be rational and clear. For now, however, he lets the game take over him, and take him away from the pain.

Four million adults in America suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD.) GAD is much more complex than the normal day-to-day anxiety men and women experience. GAD is the constant and exaggerated worry and stress that can be provoked by nothing at all. It can affect a person’s life holistically, filling a person with dread when making any decision, making it difficult to complete simple every-day tasks.

Zachary Gring, a 23-year-old college graduate was diagnosed with GAD last year, just before he graduated from Millersville University. Gring realized from a young age that his anxious feelings were not the normal worries of a young boy.

“I’ve always had anxiety issues, middle school is just when I remember really noticing it and feeling like I was more anxious than other people,” Gring said. In middle school, Gring had to present speeches, and the feeling really overwhelmed him.

Although Gring realized he had a problem, he put off going to the doctor for almost ten years because he felt that he could overcome his anxieties on his own. “I have always dealt with [my anxieties] and avoided situations that made me more anxious, which is why I waited so long to finally decided to talk to a doctor,” he began, “I really noticed it impacting my life and realizing that it wasn’t normal to have so much anxiety.”

Gring’s anxieties really became a problem when he came to college. It was a new environment, and social situations were unavoidable. “Almost anything in a social/public situation gives me an anxiety,” he said. He explained that he thinks about everything too much, and worries about everything. “It makes social situations that should be positive, seem negative or overwhelming. With school work I often felt overwhelmed and would push things off until the last minute,” he said.

GAD also takes a toll on Gring’s body physically, often leaving him feeling exhausted and sluggish. Dry mouth, rapid heart rate, a flushed feeling, and shaking are also symptoms that he described.

Often times, he gets pangs of anxiety even when it is something as simple as getting chores finished. “I feel like I am having a panic attack and I can’t calm myself down mentally, and I have a rush of adrenaline and then I feel numb afterwards,” he described. When he feels this way, his first instinct is to find something to distract him, like playing a video game, taking naps, even resorting to drugs and alcohol to relieve the stress.

Gring attempted to find an alternative method to cope with his anxieties after graduation. “I was on Lexapro, but insurance stopped covering it so I got off of it,” he said.

Lexapro is a prescription drug used to treat GAD and depression. It is a class of drug known as Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI). This drug is believed to influence mood and relieve symptoms of depression by increasing the serotonin in the brain. “Your body communicates, via neurotransmitters, (the chemical messengers that pass between nerves or neurons), one of these neurotransmitters is called serotonin. It has been shown that by increasing the amount of serotonin available helps decrease the signs and symptoms of depression,” said a CVS pharmacist who is unable to release his name due to privacy issues.

“Medication helped a little, it kept me from having strong physical reactions to anxiety, but the thoughts were still there. Getting off of it again wasn't that big of a deal because I didn’t think the medication did that great of a job fixing my problem,” Gring said.

“When people first start these meds, they usually don’t notice effects for 3-6 weeks. A lot of people that are taking these drugs think they are not working, when they just need time to work,” The pharmacist said.

The effects of these drugs are different for everyone. For Gring, the drugs caused him to not care enough, but he still thought too much about is anxieties. “Some people can have the exact offset,” the pharmacist said, “It can make others more agitated at first, once your body gets used to it, it can make you numb.” This feeling can or cannot go away, he explained. The drug makes you worry less about problems, which makes your depression or anxieties better.

Gring realizes that for now, he has to use his own methods to relieve his anxieties. “Just facing anxious situations every day helps desensitize myself a little, but I still struggle with public speaking,” he said.

Gring uses natural ways to treat his anxiety disorder, but for some individuals, their anxiety can only be controlled by medication.

Courtney Anderson, a senior at Millersville University has been suffering with anxiety and severe depression for two years. She uses the prescription Sertraline to cope with her disease.

Sertraline is also an SSRI, “and very similar to Lexapro; all the information regarding one will hold true for the other,” the pharmacist said. These drugs are the newest class of anti-depressants available. There are older meds that have been available longer, such as Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA), which works similarly, but have a lot more side effects and a lot more reactions.” Sertraline and Lexapro are the safest on the market, used to treat depression,” the pharmacist said, “They are very commonly used, hundreds of prescriptions are filled a week.”

Like Gring, Anderson’s anxiety affects her entire life. The disease gave her a loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, and a loss of interest in anything. “I didn't eat, I slept constantly, I couldn't get myself up at any time, and I had no interest in any of my hobbies,” she said.

“Sertraline helps massively,” Anderson said, “I still have fatigue and loss of motivation but I can handle it. It takes me a while, but I get there.”

Anderson is completely dependent on Sertraline to keep her functioning through the day, but still, her anxieties affect her physically. On occasion, Anderson will have panic attacks, “It is horrible. I hyperventilate and it feels like I’m dying. All the muscles in my body tense up and they don't ease at all, like I'm stuck forever in that position. The worst part of panic attacks is the feeling that it will never end, that I am literally stuck like that forever.”

Through friend, she has learned techniques that ease her panic attacks, “When I have a panic attack, it is best to look around in a square, and with each line of the square, try to take one breath in or out, to slow my breath and calm the rest of my body down.”

Anderson also relies on her boyfriend to keep her calm and content. “When I'm depressed, my boyfriend helps me through it. He is amazing,” she said.

Although her boyfriend is often her source of comfort, her anxieties put a lot of pressure on their relationship. The disease does not only affect herself, but those around her as well. “It is really difficult on my current boyfriend, because this relationship is long distance and he tends to mirror whatever mood I am in. Also, my relationship with my parents was very strained, but I got over that too. I had a hard time dealing with my dad as well, but now I realize how awesome he is.”

Living with an anxiety disorder is difficult, but with the right attitude and prescriptions, one can cope with any obstacles that arise, and individuals can live a normal functioning life. Discuss all of your options with your doctor before taking serotonin re-uptake inhibitors because serious side effects can occur such as headaches, nausea, dry mouth, trouble sleeping, sleepiness or weight gain. It has shown that these drugs can cause suicidal problems in younger people and adolescents. “Always talk to your doctor if you have any changes in mood,” the pharmacist said.