The Demoiselles

I’ve struggled with negative body image and self-scrutiny for the majority of my life. At this point, age 25, I’m fairly comfortable saying that I’ve just about overcome it. Writing TD and analyzing my mental and physical tendencies has allowed me to truly see how much hating my physical form really affected my life. Things [...]

What a refreshing development – Debenhams, a UK retail store, is running a swim campaign by loudly renouncing retouched photos. Yes, selling swimsuits by showing images of models that haven’t had their arms literally shaved off and their waists whittled to unbelievable proportions. Could it really be true? Yes. The store’s windows display large, clear [...]

Every day at TDHQ, we get an onslaught of PR emails. Some are good, some are just ok… But the vast majority of them follow this simplistic formula: [Name of celebrity] spotted wearing [name of random brand] [name of random article of clothing]s in [name of expensive-to-travel-to location]! Sure, it’s nice to know about brands, [...]

The focus on “health” in the media has skyrocketed over the last year or so – with shows like The Biggest Loser, Losing It with Jillian, and The Style Network’s Ruby giving America a “real life look” at our major health issues relating to weight. I’d been hearing murmurs about the new ABC show, “Huge“, [...]

Miranda Kerr, 27 year old Australian model (known specifically for her Victoria’s Secret involvement), on her secure place in the media as a (sometimes too thin) body idol. While she may be the target of several criticisms involving her “thinness”, the model happens to be penning a book for teenage girls about self-esteem. “It’s about [...]

There have been some really interesting stories this week! Here are our favorites: Lillian Behrendt muses on American Apparel’s (and other “youth-centric” brands’) stifled sizing accommodations. I am in my early 20’s. I will wear stupid pants. So will just about everyone else who is my age. Stupid pants are an important part of human [...]

There has been a little bit of discussion around the internet as of late regarding a topic that has always kind of sat in the back of my head, not really surfacing as a “think about this!” topic, but more as a passive curiosity: Nude. What, exactly, does this word mean? Dictionary.com has it defined [...]

Once in a while, a reader floors me with their perspective and willingness to share their story. It happened again today while reading Cals’ comment on In The Dark: Lately, I’ve just tried putting things in perspective. When I look at myself in the mirror to evaluate how I’ve arranged things for the day, I [...]

…according to Esquire. I’m always iffy on whether or not to subscribe to these “Best Looking…”, “Sexiest Woman…”, “Hottest Whatever” polls done by men’s magazines because it seems to not-so-subtly inspire women to constantly compare themselves to other women. But this… This feels different. Why? Because, for the first time in years, a men’s magazine [...]