Grinding My Gears.

I'm not aggressive about my feminism. I'm not the woman who will put you in a headlock in my unshaved armpits and make you read statistics about the pay gap and the glass ceiling and the double standards of a patriarchal society. I wear heels and skirts and I enjoy cooking and knitting and occasionally supplicating myself to my boyfriend...er partner? Whatever the hell I am supposed to be calling him these days. And thats OK. And if you want to have a heated debate on any of the above topics, or really, anything else, well thats fine too.

But occasionally, something will bring out the pissed off anti-establishment part of me. And today, that something was istockphoto.com. I usually use them as a source for imaging when I am creating event posters etc. for work, and they have yet to steer me wrong. I am creating signage for "Love Your Body Day" to promote positive self image for freshmen on campus. Before you get on your moral high horse, yes. We are talking about both genders. But we are focusing on women because there is a higher prevalence of negative body image in women ages 18-24 than their male counterparts. I have recent research to back this up. Argue with me. I will kick your ass.

Anyway, I initially envisioned a poster with a series of silhouettes of women, with information on the day's events. People. I am a patient woman (thats a lie, but today I actually was). I filed through almost 7500 images, typed in everything from "strong woman" to "female body" to "not anorexic stripper" to try to find ONE workable piece. And...

Not one. Not one image that wasn't a freakishly skinny computer image with huge breasts. The outfits changed. Some were bent over in sassy shoes. Some were brides. When I typed in "powerful woman" I got a series of hookers in cop outfits. Seriously. In fact, the only women that had any realistic proportions were the pregnant ones, calmly petting their swollen bellies, no doubt wondering how they were ever going to fit into their lingerie when they finally popped the damn thing out.

It made me sad. It made me angry. It made me wonder how its possible that at this juncture in our nations history, women are still only either sex or fertility. And if you want to be a "powerful woman" then you better have your cutoff vinyl cop outfit ready.