You may remember, a while back, that Angelina Jolie's veiny arms have caused a stir in the press--magazine editors worried that her ultra-veiny arms would turn people off, so they were airburshed. And now, bloggers are taking a look at more instances of airbrushed veins for women and a celebration of veins for men. I'm curious, where do you fall on this veiny issue? Are you proud or self-conscious of the veins on your bod?
Jezebel took an interesting look at Justin Timberlake's veined arm on Entertainment Weekly's new cover, noting that Madonna's veins were reportedly airbrushed away in Dolce & Gabbana ads.
"It's fairly obvious that on a man, a veined and muscled body is a symbol of strength and, let's face it, virility," writes blogger Dodai Stewart. "Is it just a coincidence that Justin's arm is right in front of his crotch, acting as a stand-in for his penis? Meanwhile, Madonna's veins are seen as some kind of flaw; people instantly think of her age, of aging, of wrinkles and old ladies. Women are supposed to be soft, not strong, and young, not old. Which is bullshit. Of course."
I have to admit, this bugged me too. Both on the level that Dodai writes about, and also in the skewed message it sends to women. Since we don't see Madonna's and other women's natural-looking veins, we're made to believe that the ones on our arms, necks and legs are freakish and weird.
Can we get a little vein reality call here, people?
Tell me, what are your thoughts on veins in the media? Do you call for more realness, like I do, or do you think airbrushing is A-OK?
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