The latest beauty trends present a depressing new reality

But, as feminist discourse has mainstreamed, so too has the language around “empowerment” been manufactured as a response to a toxic beauty industry, in order to maintain the crippling beauty standards, without the sexist accusations.

Thus, the Beauty industry has evolved into a “self-love” or self-esteem movement. It first appeared in mainstream American society in the 1980’s, asking you to accept and even take pride in your imperfections but—of course—at a cost. You applied makeup because “you’re worth it” you wash with a certain soap because “beauty comes in all sizes”.

If you can bottle up, print and press, sew, and even eat feminism and self affirmation then market vultures will be there to sell it to you. You have Dove’s “Real Women” campaign, CoverGirl’s #GirlsCan sales pitch, and Pantene’s “Labels Against Women” advertisement tapping in to what’s been described as “femvertising”.

All of the aforementioned companies gleaned the monetary potential in using self affirming, capitalist feminism and despite the criticism they’ve faced they’ve still made considerable profit off these campaigns. It isn’t even just major brands attempting to make the case for consumerism as a means to feel good and in control, but beauty bloggers and writers who tell their readers that feeling “empowered” by a nearly $3,000 blazer, or a $500 pair of pants is reasonable instead of downright ludicrous.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by thoughts concerning your size, weight or physical attributes, Butterfly Foundation CEO Christine Morgan stresses that purchasing goods or beauty products are unlikely to help. “You may experience satisfaction in the first instance at purchasing a new product, but this will likely subside. It is so important that we address the underlying mental health concerns that may be causing these thoughts, rather than ‘fixing’ or ‘altering’ our appearance in the hope this will make us feel better.”

Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/the-latest-beauty-trends-present-a-depressing-new-reality-20180522-p4zgsq.html

New Game Engine: write your own game for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Oculus Rift

Another item has been added to the Free Game Engines page. This one is used in lots of commercial games, has tons of features, and supports Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Oculus Rift. (Note that if you want to create a mobile phone game, and are disappointed that this package does support it, you can find other engines listed on that page that provide such facilities.)

Program encourages students to grow in a healthy way

Brendan Irving, top right, program manager for the Learn to Earn program, talked with students who graduated from the program on Saturday in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Graduation day for children in the Learn to Earn program and after-school program was Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club, 1240 Troup, Kansas City, Kansas.

Students enjoyed a lunch and received certificates of graduation at the event, which was sponsored by the Historic Northeast-Midtown Association. Students in the group this year have been working on designs for a new community mural, according to Rachel Jefferson, executive director of HNMA.

Rachel Jefferson is the executive director of the Historic Northeast-Midtown Association, which sponsored an event Saturday for Learn to Earn and the after-school program. (Staff photo)

“We’re trying to teach kids to engage with the community in a healthy way, to teach them to take control, to grow in a healthy way,” said Brendan Irving, program manager for Learn to Earn.

The after-school program is grant-funded through HNMA. The after-school program currently is a pilot program, which is expected to have 50 to 60 students this summer. Irving said the Saturday event was a combination of different community programs.

Steve James, with the T.H.R.Y.V.E. (Together Helping Reduce Youth Violence for Equity) program, said a grant through the University of Kansas funds an effort for different grassroots organizations to work together instead of apart, sharing resources.

Karen White, an artist, has been working with children on designing a new community mural. The children’s designs will be used in the mural. (Staff photo)

Karen White, an artist, has been working with students in the program on a mural design. A new mural is planned at 18th and Parallel in Kansas City, Kansas.

White, who has worked with the Boys and Girls Club in Greater Kansas City and YouthFriends, also has worked in the past with the Nelson-Atkins museum programs.

She said drawings made by children in the community are being compiled. The drawings reflect what the children see in the community, she said.

Many positive and creative drawings of flowers, rainbows and other subjects have been made for the mural, which is in the planning stages, she added.

They are currently placing children’s ideas on a wall pictorially to get a visual idea of what the final mural will look like, she said.

Students in the Learn to Earn and after-school program enjoyed a lunch and graduation program Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club, Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Article source: http://wyandottedaily.com/program-encourages-students-to-grow-in-a-healthy-way/

Organizing a React component these days (H1/2018)

I started typing an answer to a question by @alexharrisonsax since my React book is written for the recent past (React 14) and things change. Twitter is not great for code discussions, so here goes.

Import dependencies

import React, {Component, Node} from 'react';

Declare the component

class App extends Component {}

Unless it's functional stateless component (preferably), in which case:

const App = ({name, description}) =>
  <div>
    <h1>{name}</h1>
    <h2>{description}</h2>
  </div>;

Flow

If using Flow, a good idea is to define the types of properties and state, like:

type Props = {
  name: string,
  description: string,
};

type State = {
  theTruth: boolean,
};

Then the class declaration becomes:

class App extends Component<Props, State> {
  state: State = { // property initializer for initial state
    theTruth: false,
  };

  // optional, only if the initial state is not good enough
  // or there are other things you need to do
  constructor(props: Props): void {
    super(props);
    this.state = { 
      theTruth: props.description === 'shall set you freeee',
    }; 
  }

  render(): Node {
    return <div>{/* fun with this.props and this.state */}</div>;
  }
}