A Model We Can Relate To!

Today Ann Summers revealed it's winner of their competition for their new lingerie range Giselle. And (thank the heavens!) the winner was Lucy Moore! 

"Lucy is a Criminal Justice student who entered the model search without knowing where it would take her. She knows that sexy is not worrying about yourself and what others think about you." 

And she's right! Lucy is a lovely curvaceous beauty that we should all look up to! It's nice to actually see someone with curves modelling for something other than Evans and other plus sized brands. 

I for one have always longed for someone with curves to model the types of clothes I want to wear. And especially with lingerie (not just for sexy time), I've never felt sexy or pretty when wearing bras and pants because I don't look like the gorgeous skinny blonde that is modelling them!

I find Lucy's pictures more empowering and confidence building than those of a skinny model because I can relate to her body figure much more! I've always had a problem with the way I look because I have always struggled with my weight. I've looked through catalogues for any type of clothing and envied the skinny and perfectly proportioned models for years, but now I am able to look at a model and think, "She looks amazing! I can look like her!"

I've always liked a lot of Ann Summers underwear because they do accommodate for larger breasts and curvy bodies, but to now have one of their new models to show these more common sizes is much more appealing for myself and other women. 

I also like the fact that Lucy has won being a curvy girl against two rather skinny models. And the fact that the women of the Ann Summers mailing list has voted for her makes it obvious that the public wants to see more curvy women modelling their products!

I want to see more and more of these lovely curvy women modelling products online and in catalogues. I have spoken about plus sized models before in my blog and it's nice to see another model come to light. The public demands more average sized models instead of the skinny photoshopped models we are so used to seeing. How many more brands are going to follow this much needed change?

I hope that if there are more curvy women modelling for popular brands then the rates of anorexia and other image related mental illnesses will drop. This way young girls can stop worrying about what they look like so they can eat healthily without stressing about what they're eating, and ultimately helping to stop the drastic measures they take to become 'perfect'.

Which brands would you like to see change their models to more average sized curvy beauties? Do we need more plus-sized models? Leave your comments below or email at sophiimaria@googlemail.com or tweet me at @sophiimaria :)

Blogs: What are they really for?

This is a debate that I've had in my head for a few months now, and I think I can only understand it now that I have my own...What are blogs really for?

There are several types of blogs that I've come across:

1. The self-help blog
2. The agony aunt blog
3. The informative blog
4. The opinionated blog
5. The ranting blog (or slagging-off blog)

Now, although these are all perfectly decent ways of voicing your opinion and/or helping people online, there's one blog that I don't agree with (and to be honest, I'm finding it hard not to fall into the trap of it with this post): The ranting blog.

Every now and again, bloggers like to rant, and so does every human being, but the ranting blogs that I'm talking about are the blogs that are FULL of it. Every single post is a rant about something, but it is disguised in a way that tries to give advice to people or tries to look like you're getting something out of it when really, it's just full of bullsh*t. Each paragraph near enough contradicts the last one, then the conclusion gives some sort of advice or moral to it's audience. I find it really difficult to read them.

What's even more annoying is that these are the blogs that get a stupid amount of views for something that requires not much skill at all. Ok, yes I'm ranting now, but I can't quite understand why these blogs get so many views for basically nothing. With some of the things you can read in blogs, you might as well meet up with your most gossipy mate and listen to them ramble on for a good half hour, at least in this way you're getting out of the house.

Ok, back on track....

The thing about the ranting blog, it always has a theme. It can be that it gives advice or just generally talks about school or something, but at the end of the day, you know that the person writing it has been pissed off by someone and they just wanted to slag that person off on the Internet but in a way that it wouldn't come back to them.

I know I fell into the trap of ranting about this but at least I'm not slagging someone in particular off. I read a lot of blogs to find inspiration or information about a post I am writing, but nine times out of ten I come across these types of blogs. My advice to people is to stop slagging people off on the Internet, gaining hundreds of views that boost your already massive ego, and buy a journal, that you actually write in....with a pen! (shocker!) and keep your slagging off to yourself. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all :D

(See what I did in that last paragraph? Oh dear, I've become a hypocrite....meh, they need to know...at least most of my posts are information not opinions :D)

Sorry for the slightly hypocritical ranty post. I'm in a lot of pain and this topic was annoying me. I actually hope you have a good laugh at it :D If you have any ideas/topics for me to explain or talk about, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria :D

Drama Queen!

A lot of people who study drama often have to put up the so-called "Drama Queens". The people that have to be the centre of attention all the time so talk utter rubbish to get in the limelight. Not to be confused with the earlier topic on Drama Snobs, the Drama Queen doesn't necessarily have to study or be involved with acting. We all know that one Drama Queen that drives us up the wall...

We all have a little bit of a Drama Queen (or King!) inside of us, but how often that part of us shows is what describes a person to be a full on Drama Queen! Personally, I believe there are more Drama Queens in the acting world than any other industry because we are constantly trying to get 'discovered' so we need to be a bit full on, but sometimes, it can get out of control.

As far as I know, there are two types of Drama Queen: the first being the full-on "it's all about me!" type who constantly speaks up with their own opinion and displays emotion to the fullest when it suits their fancy; the second being the subtle type who find a talent that they milk without anybody else (except a few) realising it. 

The first type are known to be friends with everyone, but at a certain point, all hell breaks loose and you either don't want to know them at all, or get shoved out of your little clique after a huge bust up on a day out with everyone. 

The second type are known to be a little more sneaky. They use social networking sites to promote their views/opinions on other things, or people, and often have a talent which they abuse to get attention. This sort of people aren't always malicious. They probably just get a lot of attention from the things they say online because they are too scared to say it in public, but it's still a bad habit to get into.

I know this is mostly my own personal opinion and experience but there will be the Drama Queen at some point in your lives. How do you deal with these kinds of people? What can we do to relax and not want to be in the spotlight all the time? I know I can be a Drama Queen sometimes, I admit it! But I'm pretty sure I'm on the scale of just wanting to have a little bit of attention to make me feel good, rather than the full-blown bitch a lot of people fall into. Let me know what you guys think! 

Sorry this is a rather negative and a bit ranty. But these kinds of people annoy me, and I'm sure they annoy you too. I just wanted to get it off my chest and see what everyone else thinks. Even if you're not in the industry, tell me about yours! I really do read all comments and I will publish!

:D

Framing

I have recently discovered how the framing of a performance can be translated into real life. I was talking to my boyfriend on how I don't really like going out anymore when I am at university because the atmosphere around the night life of a university has a different frame to the night life of, say, my home town. 

The atmosphere around university campuses are very "out-to-pull" sort of environments. Girls are constantly being hit on by drunk guys and the girls that are up for it are writhing around with two or more men. This is the atmosphere I don't really like. I used to enjoy a cheeky dance with a guy on a night out, but now I have someone very special in my life so these sorts of environments don't appeal to me anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go out with my friends and have a laugh but when you're in that sort of environment, you get sick of the atmosphere. 

However, if I went out with the same group of people back home, it would be a very different experience. Because in the past I have only been out in town back home with my friends for birthdays and celebrations, I find that there is less pressure on everyone, men and women, to go out on the pull. Back home, the atmosphere is more about enjoying your night out with your friends, not finding someone to 'get off' with. 

Now how does this relate to theatre? Well the framing of a performance depends on the atmosphere of the space that the performance is being. If a performance is held in a theatre, then there is a certain type of framing to it. You are expected to sit in the auditorium in a quiet and respectable manner, and not leave until the end. If a performance was held in a public space, however, such as a town square or a plaza, you wouldn't necessarily have to watch the whole piece. Now, I know these are only simple examples, but because there is a different attitude to both of these situations, the framing is different for each. In a public space, you are probably there for a purpose, so you may want to fulfill that purpose and not watch the performance, but in a theatre, you are there to watch a production, therefore, you watch and enjoy it (as much as you can). This is similar to a night out: in my experience, you go out in university for a purpose - to pull; at home you go out to celebrate something, and maybe if you pull, thats a bonus, just like a public performance.

Obviously, this is just my opinion and only an example but have a go at finding something similar to the framing of a performance in your life. Maybe there are situations at work that you could compare this to? Or even at school? Have a go and leave a comment below.

:D

It's nearly December!!!

A little something to brighten up the end of your day :D 

And if you get chance, watch more of ImprovEverywhere's videos! They're a really good example of a company that produces work in public spaces (linking with the post I did earlier :D). I love watching their videos. Even if you're not into all this drama malarky, they're really fun to watch without analysis :D