In reading The Beauty Myth, Wolf really tries to hammer home the fact that women are really chained to this idea of the beauty myth. More than that, society and the economy depend on it. Wolf repeats over and over that the beauty myth is not a myth at all, but an actually, no matter how it is presented. It invades every area of women’s lives, and it is in not present in one, then the myth is not doing its. That is not something to be worried about, though, because Wolf says the beauty myth is comparable to a religion, and we are slaves to it.
Beauty and sexual attraction is a function of social construction, because it gives women a sense of purpose. They have a goal of beauty they want to reach, though they never will, but then they are no longer lost. The ones that are beautiful sit at the top of this social construction, while the less attractive sit at the bottom.
The most shocking part of the reading was the part about women’s magazines. I am an avid reader, and have tried the products that magazines recommend, never realizing that the editors are actually in control of content. In economic terms, this makes sense because advertisers want to promote their products, but at the same time it’s like being betrayed by your best friend. I trusted these magazines, but not anymore.
The ideals of female beauty function as a form of social control, because in this day with the media, the ideal images are widespread. Wolf cites that everyone from the Mormon housewife in Phoenix to the physics professor in Manhattan is seeing these images (Wolf, 2002). This makes these diverse groups of women all want the same things, and tells them that if they are not beautiful, there are ways to fix it. Heidi Montag of “The Hills” recently underwent 10 cosmetic procedures in one day and her explanation for it was that she wanted to be a pop star and so she needed to look like one. She started out as a reality show star that just happened to achieve some level of fame, but because of the beauty myth, she decided she needed to have a certain look to become more socially acceptable.
The ideals of a female body restrict women in every area of their lives. We are economically held slaves to creams and beauty products that are supposed to make us a better version of ourselves. Psychologically, as Wolf points out, we are always thinking about food. Not about how much we want to eat, but how little we should eat to lose weight. We are afraid to go out into the sun because of the aging it will do to our skin. Our lives are dictated by the beauty myth and always will be, because as society evolves, so does the myth.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
There is a problem, but no one can quite put their finger on it
In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan focuses her argument on a specific problem that has no name. The problem is quite common among women, but no one can seem to put it into words. The problem is women being dissatisfied with being only a housewife and a mother. It can't be put into words because women cannot figure out why they are dissatisfied and on top of that, if it had a name, then people would have to acknowledge it as a real problem.
The feminine mystique is the idea that women should be completely fulfilled in the role of femininity. This should include doing everything your husband and children demand while taking care of the household and all the while emitting femininity wherever you go. Advertisers promote the idea with campaigns especially after World War II, according to Friedan. Homemakers are the victims of the feminine mystique because they suffer in silence. They live like they are taught to as good wives, but are not allowed any other source of joy or fulfillment.
With Friedan being a reporter while simultaneously raising her children, she said she could relate to these women, not as a reporter, but first a woman. To make her argument more valid, Friedan quotes situations of actual women who experience this problem with no name. Each of the women come from very different backgrounds, one is even a minister's wife, but all report having the same dissatisfaction with their lives. They all feel that they should be content, because they have everything the world tells them too as women, but yet they still feel empty.
While feminism has made great strides towards gender equality, this does not apply to body image or women and beauty. If anything, we have shifted our focus away from gender equality and more towards the physical. Women are very much still held to the "beauty myth." Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, proposes that this problem has gotten better since she first released the book, but that new beauty standards are being created all the time. Men are now pulled into this issue as more men have been held to their own "beauty myth" in the last decade.
Wolf proposes that women are still held to the "beauty myth" for economic reasons. To make society accept that women must be beautiful, society must then advertise that women need to be kept in their place as objects. America has done a good job of this by promoting the porn industry.
The third wave of feminism is not a united one because there is no one enemy. The word feminist has traditionally been used to describe ugly women, but according to advertising messages, those feminists need to conform to society's beauty standards. Then you have the backlash of feminists who scream "no!" Women need to accept their bodies in a way that they can be comfortable, and men need to be taught that the average woman is not a model and they come in all shapes in sizes. Then feminism can work more towards equality.
The feminine mystique is the idea that women should be completely fulfilled in the role of femininity. This should include doing everything your husband and children demand while taking care of the household and all the while emitting femininity wherever you go. Advertisers promote the idea with campaigns especially after World War II, according to Friedan. Homemakers are the victims of the feminine mystique because they suffer in silence. They live like they are taught to as good wives, but are not allowed any other source of joy or fulfillment.
With Friedan being a reporter while simultaneously raising her children, she said she could relate to these women, not as a reporter, but first a woman. To make her argument more valid, Friedan quotes situations of actual women who experience this problem with no name. Each of the women come from very different backgrounds, one is even a minister's wife, but all report having the same dissatisfaction with their lives. They all feel that they should be content, because they have everything the world tells them too as women, but yet they still feel empty.
While feminism has made great strides towards gender equality, this does not apply to body image or women and beauty. If anything, we have shifted our focus away from gender equality and more towards the physical. Women are very much still held to the "beauty myth." Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, proposes that this problem has gotten better since she first released the book, but that new beauty standards are being created all the time. Men are now pulled into this issue as more men have been held to their own "beauty myth" in the last decade.
Wolf proposes that women are still held to the "beauty myth" for economic reasons. To make society accept that women must be beautiful, society must then advertise that women need to be kept in their place as objects. America has done a good job of this by promoting the porn industry.
The third wave of feminism is not a united one because there is no one enemy. The word feminist has traditionally been used to describe ugly women, but according to advertising messages, those feminists need to conform to society's beauty standards. Then you have the backlash of feminists who scream "no!" Women need to accept their bodies in a way that they can be comfortable, and men need to be taught that the average woman is not a model and they come in all shapes in sizes. Then feminism can work more towards equality.
Friday, January 22, 2010
All You Ever Wanted To Know About Me - Well, Maybe Not
My name is Julie Miller and I am about to graduate this May with a degree in Journalism. I am marrying my best friend this summer and then will move back down to Texas where I was born, but always wanted to move away from. I love people and writing with a passion, so the most logical choice was to combine the two and become a journalist. I hope through my career to tell stories of hope, instead of the police blotter we are often bombarded with. Each class I take helps me gain perspective into people's lives and body image is one of the most sensitive subjects. I chose to take this class because it is something I have struggled with, as well as many other women I know.
The 21st century is a whole new beast for body image because so much technology has been developed that lets us analyze ourselves and compare it to others. The most feared thing among newscasters is HD, because it shows all their imperfections. The most pressing issues we face are weight, skin clarity, acceptance of body shape, mental and emotional stress caused by dissatisfaction with one's body, eating disorders and unhealthy messages sent by the media.
Through this course, I hope to gain a better understanding of myself. I am reaching an age where I am more comfortable with myself and my body, but I struggled with an eating disorder in high school. To me, I thought I needed to count every calorie, but I weighed all of 90 pounds. It often surprises me how lightly people take eating disorders when I know it is one of the most prevalent and scarring issues for men and women. It's the silent disease.
Questions for this semester?
1. How have acceptable body shapes changed throughout time?
2. Why does Hollywood dictate what is the norm?
3. Why isn't there more awareness for eating disorders?
4. What type of body do most men like because usually it is not the waif thin look.
5. How can I help other women become comfortable in their skin?
The 21st century is a whole new beast for body image because so much technology has been developed that lets us analyze ourselves and compare it to others. The most feared thing among newscasters is HD, because it shows all their imperfections. The most pressing issues we face are weight, skin clarity, acceptance of body shape, mental and emotional stress caused by dissatisfaction with one's body, eating disorders and unhealthy messages sent by the media.
Through this course, I hope to gain a better understanding of myself. I am reaching an age where I am more comfortable with myself and my body, but I struggled with an eating disorder in high school. To me, I thought I needed to count every calorie, but I weighed all of 90 pounds. It often surprises me how lightly people take eating disorders when I know it is one of the most prevalent and scarring issues for men and women. It's the silent disease.
Questions for this semester?
1. How have acceptable body shapes changed throughout time?
2. Why does Hollywood dictate what is the norm?
3. Why isn't there more awareness for eating disorders?
4. What type of body do most men like because usually it is not the waif thin look.
5. How can I help other women become comfortable in their skin?
Body Outlaws
Body image is the way one sees their body in their mind. When we look in the mirror at our bodies, our self body image takes over and instead of seeing our bodies for how beautiful they are, usually we only find the flaws. That is why body image is incredibly important to study is because so many people struggle with it, regardless of gender. Our society is not a very accepting one and hopefully the more educated we become, the more forgiving we will be.
According to Amelia (Amy) Richards, there are three distinct waves of feminism. The first one occurred in the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century attempted to establish women’s rights as citizens, mainly the right to vote. The second wave came about in the 1960s and 70s where women wanted to be treated more fairly, that equal to men. This third wave of feminism focuses more on the media and body image and trying to break free of the ideal body type.
The standards of beauty have changed vastly throughout the centuries. When our founding sisters were organizing the first wave of feminism, the style was to wear lots of petticoats and to be reserved. A fuller figure on women was perceived as beautiful, and only recently has the waif look become predominant.
According to Ophira Edut, a body outlaw is “a rebel with a cause, willing to step outside my comfort zone to expose people to a body type that had practically disappeared from the cultural imagination (Edut, 2003). The first person that comes to mind when I think of a body outlaw is Kim Kardashian. She is known for her curves, which are unheard of in Hollywood, but she has embraced them. The sad part though, is she has lost weight and has been advertising the fact that she was overweight, when really she was very healthy looking.
According to Amelia (Amy) Richards, there are three distinct waves of feminism. The first one occurred in the late-eighteenth/early-nineteenth century attempted to establish women’s rights as citizens, mainly the right to vote. The second wave came about in the 1960s and 70s where women wanted to be treated more fairly, that equal to men. This third wave of feminism focuses more on the media and body image and trying to break free of the ideal body type.
The standards of beauty have changed vastly throughout the centuries. When our founding sisters were organizing the first wave of feminism, the style was to wear lots of petticoats and to be reserved. A fuller figure on women was perceived as beautiful, and only recently has the waif look become predominant.
According to Ophira Edut, a body outlaw is “a rebel with a cause, willing to step outside my comfort zone to expose people to a body type that had practically disappeared from the cultural imagination (Edut, 2003). The first person that comes to mind when I think of a body outlaw is Kim Kardashian. She is known for her curves, which are unheard of in Hollywood, but she has embraced them. The sad part though, is she has lost weight and has been advertising the fact that she was overweight, when really she was very healthy looking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)