Magazine The Beauty Myth Page 3
Caution: The media does not portray
The media’s
REALITY
portrayal of women’s beauty
$ Beauty is Priceless
What is beauty? December 3, 2012
Women’s Beauty
call it “beauty�. A note from the Editor: Kaitlin Brunetti With media being so predominant within our society, images are available to us daily and are unavoidable. These images are often unrealistic and unattainable, thus making us self-conscious of our bodies and materialistic items. With images of luxury homes, cars, glamorous clothes, and outrageous body images, we often see ourselves wanting this unattainable lifestyle. The media portrays beauty as being thin, white and flawless. This produces a very unrealistic image in society. With magazine covers splattered with ways to be thin, amazing age correcting makeup and celebrity gossip, many people find it hard to turn away. The media turns women into objects with an image that is unrealistic. This photo essay will examine how the media uses women to
Women’s Beauty
promote beauty, thinness, glamour, and looks, thus influencing our perceptions. Young women are looking at these images wanting to achieve them, and viewing these stereotypes as TRUTH. These stereotypes affect our culture and influence the youth. I will demonstrate the lies behind the media. Often, television is listed as the main source of information for today's youth (Holtzman, p. 74). This affects the view of ourselves and what we think we should look like. With the media surrounding us, we automatically gravitate towards it, like second nature. Unconsciously it allows us to believe women are nothing but objects for men’s desire. When we see women on television, they are often young, beautiful and flawless, unless it is for a specific reason. While the men on television are also supposed to be good looking, it is more of a priority that the women be young and good-looking. In fact, the cut-off age for female portrayal is age forty; for men it is ten years higher, at age fifty (Holtzman, p. 75). Men are usually the dominance and women are the followers. Even in magazines with the “Celebs without makeup!” section, it portrays this idea that beauty is materialistic. So readers remember that you are beautiful and you don’t ever need to compare yourself to any model or celebrity. Those dimples you hate are indents of beauty, and those crinkles by your eyes means you love to smile. Live by my motto that beauty is priceless.
Warning: All women portrayed in this magazine are beautiful, just like you.
The Beauty Myth: The Beauty myth supports all of my arguments outlined in this magazine. Naomi Wolf discusses how the physical appearance of women in society became very strict, and how appearance is more important than beauty. Beauty is a norm within society, yet it is unattainable. Wolf states in her book that “[Women have] the choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished�. Women are forced to conform based on the daily media. I will demonstrate how the media does not show true beauty and the consequences it has on women.
Erase Those
Wrinkles Aging is a “must not” when it comes to the media. Wrinkles, age spots and crow’s feet don’t exist in the world of advertising. Advertising and makeup companies take advantage of the new idea of “antiaging”- where their products erase time and make you young again. This supports the idea of being unrealistic within society. is eventually This supports the idea of Laura Mulvey’s idea “toEveryone be looked-at-ness” in going her to age and a creammakes is not piece "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Makeup essentially going to stop women more appealing to the eye. You often hear women saythat. they can’t leave the house without makeup on, thus supporting Mulvey’s idea. In the media, they get women’s best angles, ensuring they have long legs or a tall neck. Of course editing comes into play; however it all occurs for one main reason- the appeal of women’s appearance. Instead of erasing those wrinkles, we should erase the stereotype in society of “true beauty”. This photo represents the idea that with the help of man-made products; women can erase those ugly lines right off their face, in one swift motion.
This photo represents the same idea on the next page and how technology can change any photograph. This photo is quite believable to the naked eye, but when we see the original photo, we see this is not the case. This goes back to the idea of the beauty myth and “to be lookedat-ness� showing this is how women think they need to look like. Continue on to next page.
Dove Commercial: The Evolution of Beauty Beauty is just a click away, thanks to technology.
Before
After
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBfg3UwkYM
Dove campaigned in 2010 about how the media can edit pictures. This commercial shows an average women being transformed into a supermodel. It then shows her photo being edited just like the magazines. This shows that the media does not represent what is true. With technology today, any image can be made into what we think classifies as “good”. With these images surrounding us, we start to believe them. In the video, they show her neck being lengthened, her face made narrow and her eyebrows raised. This resembles the look of Barbie in our society. Barbie is an unrealistic figure with a small waist, and large bust, emphasising that this is what society is attempting to make women look like. With the media, television, and toy industry,
“Girls are inundated at a younger and younger age that proper femininity includes being beautiful and thin” (Cocarla, Girlhood, September 24). Girls and women are looking at these unrealistic images and seeing them as attainable. Men treat women as objects, because that is what the media portrays them to be. The video attached shows the time lapse of the editing taking place. At the click of a button, all of her flaws just disappear. It is unfortunate this does not exist in real life. Many women view these ads and think their beauty is attainable. In reality, women in the media (and men) are just everyday people like you and me, but with photo editing software behind them.
Of Women as Power Figures
Movies in the media rarely portray women as power figures, and when they do, they are usually coldhearted, focusing on their careers with no time for a romance. They often usually don’t care about their appearance either, thus sending a negative message to powerful women in society. It tells them in order to be successful; you must sacrifice family and friendships. This photo shows that successful women can sometimes scare men, because they do not always look like other women in society. There are often no role models within society for young women aspiring to be something great to look up to. This supports the idea that women are seen as simply objects for men’s desire, and when they are successful, they are usually invisible to men. This representation is similar to the portrayal of women of power in the media (Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton). Power and beauty can’t possibly exist together and these women often experience discrimination. In the film The Proposal, Margaret Tate (played by Sandra Bullock) is often called a witch on her broom that everyone is scared of- thus, showing the portrayal of success and women in the media. There are many successful women that are beautiful, but we need to ask ourselves what beauty truly is.
This image is from an ad for Levi Jeans. All the women look the same except for a little variance in shade of skin tone and sizes of certain body parts. If the media portrayed actual culture variance, many people would feel more comfortable in their own skin. This ad represents the dominance of white in society and thinness. This emphasizes the themes of “fat phobia” in society and race in our culture. Within the media, larger women are hardly portrayed unless for a reason, or being critiqued. When was the last
time you saw a 200 pound women walking down the runway? Never. Popular representations of fatness in the media are either for comedic purposes or for the thrill of losing weight and body shaming women (Cocarla, The Beauty Myth, October 15). This photo represents the narrow-mindedness of society and body variance. It shows that in order to be “hot” you must look like the women in the photos. If hotness truly comes in all shapes and sizes, why is it that we don’t see it more often within the media?
G I R L S
A N D
T H E
M E D I A
Children in the media are starting to be portrayed in a very negative and condescending way. With children having access to television, the internet, magazines and other forms of media, they start to make connections about their body and appearance to what they see in society. The photo on the left represents the idea that she wants to be thin, thus must watch her weight. It can also represent that she thinks there is an ideal body size in society. The image on the right represents the show Toddlers and Tiaras. The children in the show are highly sexualized and act like young women. The image demonstrates all the “extras” it takes to perform in a beauty pageant. Should beauty pageants not demonstrate true beauty? Within society “Girls are inundated at a younger and younger age that proper femininity
includes being beautiful and thin” (Cocarla, Girlhood, September 24). Society must teach children and young women what the true definition of beauty is, and that what the media portrays is a false representation. There are studies that support the finding that people who watch fifteen hours or more of television weekly are likely to believe what they see on television as reality (Gerbner in Holtzman, p. 74). This suggests that children’s exposure to the media truly does influence them. Even a young girl watching Toddlers and Tiaras may start to think that is what she needs to look like, in order to be accepted by society. They may think that beauty leads to money (rewards in the competition) and people being envious of them because of their beauty. In all scenarios, beauty defines who they are.
G I R L S
A N D
T H E
M E D I A
The article, “Putting on Sexiness” discusses how some clothing for young children reflect images of adult clothing and having sexual elements to them, thus objectifying young pre-teen girls. Their definition of sexualizing clothing was “clothing that revealed or emphasized a sexualized body part, had characteristics associated with sexiness, and/or had sexually suggestive writing.” (Goodin, 1) With their studies findings, 29% of clothing researched in stores had sexual elements to it. Not surprisingly, Abercrombie Kids had the highest amount. (Goodin, 1) This shows that even marketers are taking adult items, and making it have a childish element to it, in order to sell. There is clothing for children that is revealing, and too tight that should be reconsidered for selling to children/youth. With shows like Toddlers and Tiaras, clothing like this is seen as acceptable, thus marketing towards youth. If children are shopping with parents, and see this type of clothing on a regular basis, they will see it as being acceptable. Children are surrounded by television shows, magazines, and radio, thus making it difficult to set boundaries. With the objectification of women in society, it is only a matter of time until it happens to children. Outfits for children are starting to look very similar to adults clothing as illustrated in the pictures on the right.
The saying “be happy with what God gave you”, seems to have disappeared within society. Cosmetic surgeries seem to have become a norm within society with many conforming. With money and a good doctor, people who are not happy with their appearance can go under the knife for a few hours and come out with a new appearance instantly. With ads being everywhere about how easy it is, people feel that beauty is that much closer. People feel that nose and bust will give them the confidence they have always wanted. Statistically, “11.7 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States” (Cocarla, The Beauty Myth, October 10) demonstrating an increase in these procedures. The article, Body Dissatisfaction: Among Middle-aged and Older Women supports the idea that cosmetic surgery has become popular over the years in order to help women deal with their self-esteem. With the evident persuasiveness of the media, it promotes “images that glorify youthfulness, messages that tie self-worth to thinness, and products that promise youth and beauty forever.” (Marshall) Women feel that their self-esteem is related to their personal appearance. Aging women especially are aware of these ads and images because the image of youth is so popular within our culture. Thus, disliking your body has almost become a norm, “women are confronted with the impossible task of trying to defy the natural process of aging through a variety of means, including fashion, cosmetics, selective surgeries, and personal food choices.” (Marshall) This shows that women are always at war with their aging bodies.
Just Fix Your Flaws.
In Relation to Pop Culture
It is evident that media is all around us, whether in television, magazines, radio or the web. Ideas about femininity within society have a powerful influence over people’s views of women and how women view themselves. The fact that the media is so accessible to us on a regular basis; we do not comprehend how much of an influence it has on women and young girls. The photos presented show the idea that the unrealistic portrayal of women in the media do indeed affect our self-esteem, and portray women as objects of men. With the Beauty Myth as an overall idea, with other theories such as Lara Mulvey’s to be looked-at-ness, and articles such as body dissatisfaction emphasize that the media presents women who are usually white, tall and
thin. This has become quite popular within society, influencing how women perceive themselves in society. Through history, women have usually been seen as the “weaker” sex, but I have demonstrated that this is still evident today. Women are simply objects to men. With women conforming to society, it can have many harmful consequences. Many diet in order to stay thin leading to many problems in the future, and cosmetic surgeries are expensive and life altering. Women in society should be a true reflection of who they are, thus society should not put such high expectations on women and provide them with unrealistic images. Beauty is so much more than appearance; it is who you are as a person.
Works Cited: Canning, Andrea . Are Some Halloween Kid Costumes Too Risque or Too Gory?. 2011. ABC News Web. 3 Dec 2012. Cocarla , Sasha . "Girlhood: Coming of Age in Popular Culture." Girls, Women and Popular Culture. Wilfrid Laurier University. Brantford , Ontario . 24 September 2012. Lecture. Cocarla , Sasha . "The Beauty Myth, Fatness, and Body Size Ideals, Part II." Girls, Women and Popular Culture . Wilfrid Laurier University. Brantford, Ontario. 15 October 2012. Lecture. Collins , Jada. Toddlers and Tiaras: Sexualizing Children. 2011. Total Life Web. 2 Dec 2012. Devlin, Kate . Children as young as 10 feel pressure to have a 'perfect' body. 2012. The Telegraph Web. 3 Dec 2012. Dove - "For Real Beauty". 2010. Choosn Winning Design Web. 2 Dec 2012. Goodin, Samantha M., et al. ""Putting on" Sexiness: A Content Analysis of the Presence of Sexualizing Characteristics in Girls' Clothing." Sex Roles 65.1-2 (2011): 1-12. Social Services Abstracts; Sociological Abstracts. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. Hochwarter, Vanessa. Photoshop me! 2012. Blog. Model Management Web. 2 Dec 2012. Holtzman, L. (2000). Media messages. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Marshall, Catherine, Christina Lengyel, and Alphonsus Utioh. "Body Dissatisfaction: Among MiddleAged and Older Women." Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research 73.2 (2012): e2417. CBCA Complete; ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. Ms., J. Silhouette. 2011. Definitely Filipino BlogWeb. 2 Dec 2012. Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema�. Screen, 16:3, Autumn 1975: 6-18. Southern, Nathan. The Proposal. 2009. allmedia Web. 2 Dec 2012. The Eraser has arrived. 2011. Beauty Talk Web. 2 Dec 2012.