The Naked Face Project

Since I was about 12 years old I have been a hair and make-up kind of girl. 

Me and the girls all dressed up for a night out

For as long as I can remember this was just a part of my identity as much as being a runner, bookworm or a morning person. I always try to look my best (no matter how sick, tired or lazy I am) and to me that means having styled polished hair and a full face of make-up on. Up until a couple weeks ago I never questioned my    beauty routines and never thought about what my views of beauty meant to me.

Lets rewind for a second here.

A couple weeks ago while I was lying in bed surfing the web on my crackberry blackberry I decided to check out one of my favourite blogs. Healthy Tipping Point is a blog I started following a few years ago that follows Caitlin through her everyday life and experiences. I like it because it talks a lot about healthy living, fitness and she has a wicked sense of humour. 

I remembered a few months ago that Caitlin did a series called "The Naked Face Project" that I did not ever get around to reading. To read her explanation of the project click here. The project was a result of Caitlin questioning why she wears make-up, styles her hair, wears uncomfortable clothes and shaves after having a conversation with a group of young girls she coached for Girls on The Run. She explained that she felt an obligation to look a certain way for a variety of reasons and wanted to get more to the root of this feeling. She does not believe primping and being girl-y are bad, she simply wanted to find her own definition of beauty and how it related (or not) to her "concepts of self-worth, power, and sexuality". I blazed through these posts, as quickly as I finished reading one I was on to the next. I thought the posts and the conclusions that she came to were really interesting, and I found that I really related to her feelings in a lot of ways. 

A few days later I attended the Sexual Orientation Dialogue for work with a few of my colleagues Kerry said something that really stuck with me. While we were talking about the social acceptance of homosexuality Kerry explained that a lot of people talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. I found the idea of The Naked Face Project flashing into my mind. I am always preaching to reminding my friends and family to be happy with the way they look and that they are beautiful no matter what. I definitely talk the talk, but I certainly do not walk the walk. I certainly do not always feel beautiful and great about myself everyday, especially when I am tight on time and throwing my hair in a ponytail. I also find myself passing judgement on those who do not put in a lot of effort into their appearance. These thoughts stayed more and more on my mind and I really found myself starting to feel like a hypocrite. I was working at an institution that promotes equality of women while in my head I was judging other women and myself on set appearance standards? Something just did not feel right to me. 

Justin and me on a day when I thought I looked "terrible". No make up and hair in a ponytail

After a lot of deliberation I have decided once and for all I will be starting The Naked Face Project. I will be keeping you updated each week with a blog post. Like Caitlin, I do not think there is anything wrong with beauty routines and habits, I am just interested in examining my feelings of obligation to look a certain way. 

So what exactly will I be doing?

For 60 days, starting August 23 2012 ending October 22 2012, I will be completely changing my current beauty habits. I will not be wearing make-up, styling my hair for more than function (for example, putting my hair in a ponytail when I am working out), shaving or wearing jewellery. This is similar to what Caitlin did, except that I will be wearing deodorant on a daily basis, as I consider it a hygiene product. Every Thursday I will be posting a blog about my experiences and any conclusions I have come to from changing my lifestyle. I will also be posting my observations about beauty standards in South Africa and maybe even some fun stuff like articles or interviews.

My made-up face and styled hair. 

More importantly, how does this relate to CIDA you might wonder? Let me list the ways!

• I am currently working with the Commission for Gender Equality. I have always been interested in gender studies and womens' place in different societies compared to mens'. Before my internship began I sat down and really thought about what I really hoped to get from this experience. I realized that I was hoping to learn about the social roles of women and men in South Africa as compared to North America. I am also really hoping to learn more about how women empower themselves here and what factors contribute to women remaining in a place of oppression. Although I know my personal journey through The Naked Face Project will not answer all these questions I think it will provide me with an interesting perspective while working at the CGE.
• The original Naked Face Project was done by two American women. This means that their posts speak to North American standards of beauty and femininity. I think that it would extremely interesting to see this experience in a country on the other side of the world. I hope to provide an interesting commentary about beauty standards in South Africa as compared to my experiences in Canada.
• Finally, one of the objectives of the CIDA internships is to, "provide opportunities for Canadians to increase their awareness, deepen their understanding and engage in international development" (source). I believe that this experience will greatly increase my awareness and understanding of South African culture and improve my contribution to international development. I believe that this experience will enhance my awareness of certain aspects of femininity and how this relates to women's place in society. I also believe that my examination of the obligation (or lack thereof) of women to fit into preconceived roles will really help me as I continue to work with women.

Overall I am really excited to start this experiment in my life and see what I can learn about myself from this experience. I hope you will follow along!

My naked face.
And yes, I do always wear that jacket.

And check out Healthy Tipping Point! Caitlin was kind enough to give me permission to blog about my experience through her idea. Her blog is full of interesting posts, recipes and tips.         

11 Things

1. To anyone who does not know, I am a huge closet ABBA fan. Seriously. I know every word to the songs on ABBA Gold. In Canada this is usually grounds for some serious teasing, but in South Africa ABBA is really popular. I think this may be grounds to just settled down here for the long-term. Not only did they play a "club remix" of Mama Mia at a bar last week, but this weekend we are supposed to go see a show called Abbamaniacs. I do not know what to expect but I am pumped. 

Gotta love that hair. 

2. This actually happened two weeks ago but is too funny not to share. In South Africa they have unmarked "cabs" which are just people driving to and from town which is where I work. I always catch these up at the mall, which is a short walk from our bed and breakfast. To catch one you walk up to the car, ask if they are going into town and climb in. One morning I went up to a cab that was letting a girl out, opened the door and asked if he was going to town. He looked confused and said no. I quickly walked away and waited for another car. What I didn't realize was that THIS WAS NOT A CAB. Just some random guy's car!!! He politely waited a minute or so before he parked, got out of his car and went into the mall to go to work. I stood there and silently died of shame. 

Holy. Embarrassing.

RSA Avocado Pasta

Last week Amelia and I were on a serious avocado kick.

Who are we kidding. I am always on a serious avocado kick. After making several of these, devouring this and inhaling guacamole we were running out of recipes. I remembered a pasta recipe that I had stumbled on long ago that I thought would be perfect for dinner that night. A creamy avocado pasta sauce with cilantro that is totally vegan?

Sign me up.

I am adaptable and resilient

Welcome to my first reflection question post. In these entries I will be answering specific questions given to me by Niagara College. These posts will speak to various areas of my life and work in this new cultural setting. This week's question relates to my ability to be adaptable and resilient. I will be posting one reflection question each week for the rest of my time here. I hope you enjoy!

What aspects of your new environment have been the most difficult for you to adapt to?

When I first considered this question three main areas came to mind: money, punctuality and safety.

First, I have found it to be quite I challenge understanding money in my new home. Anyone who knows me well knows that math is not my strongest area. This makes converting the currency very difficult for me at times. For those who do not know one Canadian dollar is equal to approximately eight South African rand. Unfortunately I did not study my eight times tables nearly as much as I should have before moving here. It is challenging for me at times to figure out if something is expensive or cheap. This was especially hard at first and I found myself constantly consulting the calculator on my phone to figure out prices. Now that I have been here almost a month I can say that I am getting much better at understanding prices here and that understanding rand is becoming second nature.

Some South African rand