Awhile back, I introduced you guys to Audrey Brashich and her book "All Made Up." Today, we have a treat for you all, as Audrey spent some time chatting with us about her inspiration to write about body and beauty issues, her involvement with Turn Beauty Inside Out (TIBO), and blogging for Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order SVU fame. You'll learn something very fascinating about our favorite Detective Olivia Benson, an amazing woman.
So what inspired you to write, “All Made Up”?
Audrey: Well, one answer to that question is that it totally made my blood boil every
time I heard guys say things like "I'm dating a model" or "Guess who I saw last weekend? [INPUT NAME OF ANY FAMOUS MODEL OR CELEB HERE]" and then nudge and wink their buddies. It wasn't that I was jealous, it was that I was so troubled by why guys--and some girls--believed that these women were special, unique or more valuable than other women. I hated that as a culture, we're all on a first name basis with models, celebs, actresses, etc and yet are hard pressed to name women or real accomplishment.
As a teen, I desperately wanted to become a model, and once I started working as an editor at major teen magazines, I dealt with so many letters from readers who wrote in asking how to get discovered that I realized my own teen desire to be a model/get famous/find some entree into that amazing life or recognition/money/adoration was not unique.
As I write about in my first chapter, I went through adolescence wanting to model, and finally breaking into the industry. But later, when I became an editor at teen magazines like Sassy, YM and Jump, I read waaaay to many letters and emails from girls who wanted the same thing. And it made me realize that so many of us were cluing in at an early age to which women were celebrated, desired, well-paid, and wanting it for ourselves. I wanted to bring all that to light.
Is there a place online where we can read a page or two of "All Made Up" as a preview?
Audrey: There's just a bit from the intro on my website, and there are several reviews on my author page at Amazon.
What is Turn Beauty Inside Out, and how did you come to get involved?
Audrey: Turn Beauty Inside Out (TBIO) is a great conference that happens every year. It's goal is to raise questions about the portrayals/roles in various parts of our culture (ie Women in Politics, depictions of girls/women in advertising, depictions of girls/women in film and TV and depictions of girls/women in the music industry. It happens every spring in either Los Angeles, New York or Washington DC, and hundreds of girls come from all over the country. It's put on by a great non-profit organization called Mind on the Media (www.motm.org).
I got involved a few years ago as a presenter, when I used to run a now-defunct web community for teens that was called CultureofModeling.com. Just like All Made Up, CultureofModeling.com raised questions about which women are celebrated by the media. After that, I was asked to apply to become a member of MOTM's board of directors...and for the last two years, I've been involved in running the organization and planning the conference. It's been great!
How can others get involved with TIBO or support the message?
Audrey: There's tons of information at the TIBO website. The next TBIO conference will be in Spring 2007 in New York, and the focus will be on advertising. We're just gearing up to start the planning process this fall, and will be taking all sorts of ideas, suggestions etc. People can contact us through the website.
So, I hear you are a guest blogger on Mariska Hargitay’s blog aka Olivia Benson on Law & Order SVU. I LOVE that show! What a cool gig. How did you come to be a guest blogger for Mariska?
Audrey: I WAS! Isn't that cool? As for how it all came together... well, I used to work with someone who's gone on to work for Mariska. My friend told Mariska about All Made Up. I sent her a copy... She loved it... and it all snow balled from there! I'm just excited that she not only portrays such a smart character on TV, but is clearly devoted to important issues and opportunities for girls/women in real life too.
I think she's one of the best role models in the public eye today, and deserves way way way more buzz than she gets. But, doesn't that just prove my point? It's never the women who are really working to change the world that are celebrated in the media... it's the ones who fit a very narrow definition of beauty and success who get all the air time.
On your Amazon profile, you mentioned the possibility of writing, “All Made Up: The 20-something years.” I think that is an absolutely fabulous idea! Those years in my opinion are the hardest in terms of dealing with body image issues because in your 20’s you are leaving adolescence and entering adulthood. You are leaving your “child” self, and entering your “adult” self. Many young women feel “lost and afraid”during these years because of that transition.
After high school or college, you get a job and apartment, and are discovering your independence as well as a new level of competition in the adult world. There are the pressures of dating and sex. Most of the big advertising goes after the 20-somethings because they believe they are the trendsetters, so the pressure to be one of the “pretty people” can become real intense.
Riding on the momentum of All Made Up, I think that a book focusing on the 20-somethings will be extremely helpful. So, when will see it?? ;-) When you get to All Made Up: The 30-something years, let me know, I’ll be the first to buy it.
Audrey: It's so true....As I wrote on my Amazon blog, when I first wrote the book proposal for All Made Up, lots of literary agents and book publishers really thought it would be a great project for 20 and 30somethings...and it WOULD be. Because, when we reach this age group, we're finally able to analyze lots of the messages we've been
exposed to, and start making decisions about what we want to jettison, what we want to keep, and who we want to be.
However, I really really wanted to reach girls at a younger age, BEFORE they get so caught up in the messages and celebrity hype that's everywhere today. Lemme finish the book tour and press for All Made Up part one over the next few months...then ask me again!
Thanks again Audrey for your time! You can buy "All Made Up" at Amazon here. And, you can visit Audrey's blog "Don't believe the hype" here.