macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Oct 4, 2007 23:33:32 GMT -5
Mallory was the ONLY one with glasses, which isn't typical for a group of middle school girls. At least half of my girl friends in middle school had glasses (including me), because we were all too young to get contacts. I think Mary Anne has reading glasses, but why couldn't Stacey have been cursed with nearsightedness? (or is that too much to add to the diabetes?) Didn't Jessi briefly have glasses? Then, like the braces she was going to get, they mysteriously disappeared. The glasses thing didn't bug me as much as the braces thing, though. It was pretty unrealistic that of a group of seven girls aged 11-13, only ONE had braces. And there was no mention of acne (other than the fact that Claudia's skin was flawless despite her junk food) or weight issues, aside from Mallory being described as "sturdy" on like, one occasion. And that was only in comparison to Jessi, who was tall and slim. Ann's attitude to looks was odd, IMO, considering her radical feminist approach. But then, come to think of it, the only feminist concept she really embraced was the idea that all women must have careers - very 1970s.
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fluffy
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 180
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Post by fluffy on Oct 4, 2007 23:44:15 GMT -5
Interesting thread. Ann did a good job with Mary Anne's physical insecurities in the first few BSC books, but then Mallory becomes the token 'unattractive' girl and suddenly the rest of the girls are glamorous older girls. Also, Dawn has a very bitchy looks-concerned rant in the beginning of #50. Bascially, all the girls but Mallory are happy with their looks 100% of the time. While it's a nice thing that entire series didn't consist of the characters whining about their thighs or their noses, the BSC's handling of the issue probably didn't do any favors for readers with insecurities.
One of the books describes Kristy as having 'chin-length brown hair'(!). I wanted to strangle the ghostwriters when I read this as a kid.
To be fair, blondes with brown eyes or brunettes with green eyes are not all that common compared to the combinations found in the BSC. About half of the kids at school had braces when I was twelve/thirteen. IMO, they are not ugly at all and actually look pretty cute on kids.
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Post by greer on Oct 5, 2007 0:27:25 GMT -5
I guess Shannon but she's made out to be more of an overachiever who works hard at it than someone who just "gets" everything easily. Or maybe we just don't see enough of her in the books to know. Anyway, that is way off topic.... sorry ;D i always thought shannon was extremely naturally smart. she always seemed to really enjoy her schoolwork and intellectual pursuits. i think the overachiever part was more of the number of outside of school activities she needed to do to satisfy her intellectual urges.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Oct 5, 2007 1:43:43 GMT -5
Interesting thread. Ann did a good job with Mary Anne's physical insecurities in the first few BSC books, but then Mallory becomes the token 'unattractive' girl and suddenly the rest of the girls are glamorous older girls. Also, Dawn has a very bitchy looks-concerned rant in the beginning of #50. Bascially, all the girls but Mallory are happy with their looks 100% of the time. While it's a nice thing that entire series didn't consist of the characters whining about their thighs or their noses, the BSC's handling of the issue probably didn't do any favors for readers with insecurities. Yeah and the Sweet Valley series was no help either - constantly hearing about Liz and Jessica's "sun-streaked blonde hair, dazzling blue-green eyes the color of the pacific ocean, perfect size-six figures and smooth, golden California tans"
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Post by aln1982 on Oct 5, 2007 8:03:03 GMT -5
i always thought shannon was extremely naturally smart. she always seemed to really enjoy her schoolwork and intellectual pursuits. i think the overachiever part was more of the number of outside of school activities she needed to do to satisfy her intellectual urges. You're probably right. I just never got much of a "feel" for Shannon since she was hardly ever mentioned. Every time I think of her, all I remember is how she sabotaged her own Paris trip, which I just can't understand.....
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Post by greer on Oct 5, 2007 20:14:01 GMT -5
i think shannon was a bit spoiled TBH. That's the only explanation i have for that one. it takes a special kind of entitlement i think to sabotage something that so many people would love to have to opportunity to do.
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fluffy
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 180
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Post by fluffy on Oct 5, 2007 23:56:46 GMT -5
Yeah and the Sweet Valley series was no help either - constantly hearing about Liz and Jessica's "sun-streaked blonde hair, dazzling blue-green eyes the color of the pacific ocean, perfect size-six figures and smooth, golden California tans" Yuck, their eyes were always 'blue-green', never just blue or green.
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Post by greer on Oct 6, 2007 0:52:32 GMT -5
hey my eyes are blue-green!
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Post by Sweet City Girl on Oct 6, 2007 10:29:30 GMT -5
My dad's eyes are kind of blue-green too. Mine are hazel-blue. Agree that it was strange that only Mal had braces, given the age group of the girls. I also wonder why none of them had weight issues- especially Claudia. Come on, all that candy had to do something to her!
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Post by aln1982 on Oct 6, 2007 16:35:44 GMT -5
Was Logan confident in his appearance? I don't remember a mention but know that some boys at that age especially are self conscious because they're tall, short, "weak", etc. I can't remember if something like that played into Logan's stories (don't think it did but it would have been interesting.) I also don't remember how Abby and Shannon felt about their looks but remember them being pretty confident about them. I think that was a good example because lots of girls can relate to Mallory and need to see that looks either aren't important (not that this was the message the BSC provided) or that they should just be satisfied with themselves. I never got the impression - despite the descriptions - that all the girls were necessarily all that pretty (even though that's what it said) but just that they were satisfied with themselves (if that makes any sense). Of course, this is just my perception of it and I actually don't like even thinking about this topic because it seems like the world is so looks-conscious. I hate that!
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Post by greer on Oct 6, 2007 16:39:39 GMT -5
i think weight issues were less common in the 80s.
to me bsc is a fantasy. that's why it was so popular.
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Post by Sweet City Girl on Oct 6, 2007 19:17:35 GMT -5
Was Logan confident in his appearance? I don't remember a mention but know that some boys at that age especially are self conscious because they're tall, short, "weak", etc. I can't remember if something like that played into Logan's stories (don't think it did but it would have been interesting.) I also don't remember how Abby and Shannon felt about their looks but remember them being pretty confident about them. I think that was a good example because lots of girls can relate to Mallory and need to see that looks either aren't important (not that this was the message the BSC provided) or that they should just be satisfied with themselves. I never got the impression - despite the descriptions - that all the girls were necessarily all that pretty (even though that's what it said) but just that they were satisfied with themselves (if that makes any sense). Of course, this is just my perception of it and I actually don't like even thinking about this topic because it seems like the world is so looks-conscious. I hate that! That's an interesting point, aln, about Abby's and Shannon's satisfaction and acceptence of themselves setting a good example. Now that I think of it, I realize this is true. I have to agree that the world often seems too concerned with looks, our culture in particular. If it wasn’t an issue for any of us at all, this wouldn’t even be discussed and not much thought would be given to appearances. (and maybe I wouldn't have started this thread ;D) Unfortunately, this isn’t the case and some of us tend to worry about it- not that we shouldn’t try to look our best- but we worry too much. I think this is mainly due to, in addition to human nature, “messages” we’re given (often from the media) as we grow up about what’s pretty and what’s not, and the wrong message that looks are important. I have to admit I’m a little like Stacey when it comes to clothes and how I look (just because I like to look my best all the time), but I try not to be that way too much!
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Oct 6, 2007 19:18:07 GMT -5
My dad's eyes are kind of blue-green too. Mine are hazel-blue. Agree that it was strange that only Mal had braces, given the age group of the girls. I also wonder why none of them had weight issues- especially Claudia. Come on, all that candy had to do something to her! Not necessarily. She obviously just had a naturally fast metabolism, so it was okay to stuff herself full of junk food. If a not-so-fortunate person does it (like Ethel in Winter Vacation) they're ridiculed with songs made up about them Of course, but it's still fun to analyse! ;D
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Post by aln1982 on Oct 6, 2007 19:28:13 GMT -5
i think weight issues were less common in the 80s. to me bsc is a fantasy. that's why it was so popular. My thoughts exactly. I think the fact that they don't focus on looks like the rest of the world and the girls' confidence in themselves are one of the things I like about reading the books. I can face reality everywhere else but I go to the BSC books for an "escape" ;D
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Post by Sweet City Girl on Oct 6, 2007 19:34:25 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess that's what we're all here for, really. In this crazy world we need some kind of escape. No matter how old I get I don't think I'll ever get tired of stepping into the world of Stonybrook. Maybe I'll still be reading the books when I'm, like, 70. ;D
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