posted by Laurie Mulvey
So what is it to be a woman? If you take away body image, what is it about being female that ties together women of all shapes, sizes and cultures? And does Hollywood really portray all women? Women of all shapes and sizes and facial features?
I agree with her in every aspect of what she said. I do care about my body and the way that it looks but not to please other people so that they see me a certain way. I dress the way that I feel comfortable dressing and what I feel comfortable in. I really do not care about other people because what that ends up giving you is low self esteem. Having low self esteem can have very bad effects on you so that is why I have learned to not give a f*ck about other people. I just worry about myself.
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Although I'm obviously not a woman, I still have a lot of respect for women in all societies. Body image for women in today's society is very important, especially for the women on a college campus like here at Penn State. Young women feel as though they must leave the house always looking their best in order to fit into society. But if the breasts and cruves and luscious hair are taken away from a woman, does it make her any less of a person? Woman play a vital role in continuing the human race, but at the same time, so do men. Neither role is more or less important than the other.
As for women in media, I think society is making strides to bridge the gap between beautiful petite women and women who are, well, not so much. Sure, actresses like Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock are quite popular in the media. Both are very pretty women. But lately, movies like Prescious and Hairspray portray women who are quite on the plus side. Both movies did very well while in cinema, which shows that women who aren't model-worthy are more and more excepting in society.
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I think she has a good point in the video that were women and were all beautiful. I think that sometimes like people from Hollywood and in magazines are the images we want to believe what we should look like. As if women should have perfect bodies but this can’t be realistic for everyone I mean if we all looked the same I’m sure we would get bored with everyone looking the same right .I think that there is too much emphasis put on how women should have perfect bodies and I think that magazines make women feel less then what they should. I don’t think women should feel that they need to have perfect bodies it ruins there self esteem and we all want to always look like those women in magazines, but is it ideal is it what society thinks is realistic for everyone.
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I guess I have never really thought of embracing myself as a woman. It is what I am what I always have been and what I always will be. I guess I have never really had trouble embracing it. Of course I have insecurities, I think that is part of human nature. There are very few people if any at all that feel 100% comfortable in their own skin. I in fact think that if someone says they are they are not being truthful with themselves.
However, being a woman is different. Women gain weight in different places then men. We have to go through different changes to our bodies that men don’t. It is scary, annoying, and yet we are all going through it together. I think it is unrealistic to compare your normal ever day women to women in Hollywood. When in the public eye women are essentially being paid to look good. Hence they have a little more motivation than the average person. In addition they factor beauty time into there “work” schedule. Not to say these women do not work. It is just a slightly a different lifestyle than the lives of a typical college student. The majority of these women have personal trainers that are fit in to their daily schedules. I am lucky if I can fit the gym into my schedule twice a week. Also despite the resources these women have to better them selves naturally, many are obviously not secure with them selves. For instance, Heidi from the hills. She had a nice body, all the time in the world to spend tanning, and obviously all the plastic surgery in the work can’t make her feel comfortable in her own skin. Or look a someone like Kate Gosslin. She was a normal everyday woman from Pennsylvania just like many of the females in out lives, since she has become a celebrity she has lost a ton of weight, wears weave in her hair when she feels like it and has had plastic surgery. Suddenly she looks like she is 25 again.
I think it is seeing women with better genes and women who have more opportunities to better them selves that make us jealous or insecure of what we have. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with it when it is taken lightly. If none of us cared we would all be 300 lbs and never try to better ourselves. I think there is a difference in feeling secure with yourself and feeling insecure enough that you need to make changes permanently.
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I think that we just need to accept ourselves for what we are, women always get put down for this men never get an image like how they are suppose to look or never lowers there self esteem. I think that men should have to look a certain way or feel like they need to like women do and I think that we all should feel beautiful. I think that the media looks way too far into it and they make women in magazines fake and I don’t think women need to be fake to be good enough for society. I think that we should believe that we are beautiful no matter what we look like, if we didn’t have flaws, we wouldn’t be real and I think that would be a bad thing because when you look at the girls in magazines every part of them is perfect. I don’t think this is fair to women that it makes us feel that we need to look a certain way.
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We are all equal women are just as equal as men and I feel that we should get treated the same and I think that magazines should stop making women look so good. I think that we all look great no matter what your race is women are women and I think that we are all in some way beautiful, I think that women try too hard sometimes to look good we don’t need to try hard were naturally beautiful and I think we could all say that. So when women look in the mirror they need to remember that and not try to feel like they need to look like some girl in a magazine or like someone in Hollywood, they aren’t natural like real people they probably had plastic surgery a bunch of times and they have professional people do there makeup and everything for them.
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I wish that everyone had the same attitude as the girl in this video clip. Every woman, regardless of outward appearances, should be proud of who they are. Unfortunately, I feel that it is so much easier said than done. As a woman, I try to tell myself to be happy with the way I am. However, I still continue to critique myself daily. I pick up magazines and watch television and cannot help but to compare myself to such “beautiful” women. It is a shame that society makes women, like myself, feel the pressure to be this idea of “perfect”. Everyday I work on trying to just enjoy the body that I have.
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I liked the skit in class, especially because it showed a different side to boob jobs. Most of the time we see girls trying to get breast augmentation. This time, I saw something that I can actually relate to- breast reduction. However, something really bothered me. I have always had a problem having bigger breasts, and the dialogue of the girl who was trying to get reductions made my insecurities increase. She said some things that even I had never thought of, and now I am even more concerned. For example, she said that big boobs made her look like a mom and that guys looked at her and thought of their moms’ breasts. That was disturbing because I never thought of it that way. I always thought most men preferred larger breasts. Anyway, I believe that the media has a way of portraying women in ways that they “should” look. However, I think media and real people work together to produce this desirable image that other girls have to struggle with for not having. The media takes what it sees around, and it magnifies it to an extreme. Other times, certain trends start in the inner workings of the fashion industry and pop up in every store and magazine that girls come into contact with. Therefore, we are forced to conform to certain things. This controls body image. Something I have noticed is that sizes are getting smaller and smaller. What used to be a small is now a medium or large. I personally realized that I have to sometimes get a size larger than I normally would and it would upset me because I would think that I am no longer considered “thin”. I have some clothes from years ago, and compared to the clothes I buy now, the smaller sizes back then are actually bigger than the larger sized clothing I buy now. When it comes to body shape, it used to be considered desirable to have a curvy body with big breasts and curvy butts. Now, it seems that every model and most clothing call for stick-like shapes. Girls no longer want to have large boobs hanging off their bodies and large butts that just attract way too much attention. Something that I also noticed in class when girls talked about wanting smaller boobs was that none of the guys around me disagreed. Normally, people comment around me when they agree with things. During the class on “bleeding”, an uproar came about amongst the guys. However, the guys around me did not seem to disagree that smaller boobs were preferred. I also agree that girls dress for each other because guys do not always notice outfits the way we do.
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Let me start off by saying that I am a woman and I like most woman have insecurities about my body. I am small chested and have obviously wanted to be bigger for a long time. But recently I have come to truly own the body I am in, and love it. Boys would be lying if they said that boobs do not matter, but they also are far from a really important factor. As many of my guy friends have put it, boobs are like a bonus. Women really do put a lot of emphasis on their appearance and many have false conceptions of what men really want. Girls are always complaining that guys do not really like them for them but for how they look , ie their boobs or butt. Yet we just enforce that behavior by trying so hard to look good and flash our assets. I am not saying that we should not try and look good, or that we should not want a guy to like us for the way we look, but for those girls who are looking for a guy to be in a real relationship with, looks can only go so far. I know its hard to get away from the media's constant influence and push to look a certain way. There are so many pressures for girls but they are pressures that we allow ourselves to feel. If every woman were to embrace herself, her entire self and be confident in who she was there would not be any of those pressures. Loving the differences in each other, in other women, is a powerful and beautiful thing. I love knowing that there is no one out there that looks exactly like me, that my body is unique and can not be replicated. Boobs, butts, lips whatever, they do not define us women. We are what we make ourselves to be that most of that is not appearance. I have a lot of guy friends so I like to pick their brains when it comes to their feelings on girls and I cannot count how many times they have told me that confidence is the biggest thing. A girl who is comfortable in her skin is ten times more attractive then a girl who is consumed by the way she looks and is constantly concerned of how others are perceiving them. Personality can trump big boobs any day and that is fact. On another note, I thought Laurie's play was awesome. I love the thought of turning the tables and thinking of what our social world would be like if flat chested was sexy. It makes me realize that we really are shaped by society and media and how caught up in stupid egocentric ideas such as big boobs make a woman a woman truly are.
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First I want to address the Hollywood aspect of women. Women are portrayed in many different ways, beautiful leading roles can range from having large breasts to having a completely flat chests, being late summer tan, to being as pale as snow. However there is one aspect that most "beautiful" women have in common, they are never overweight. Women in movies are usually slender or muscular or just thin but never fat. It really depends on each person's outlook on beauty. Lets take models for examples. Playboy models have the perfect hour glass shape large breasts smaller waist and larger hips and butt. Fashion models are always tall, slender, flat chested but stll seen as beautiful to many. To say that breasts are a deciding factor is true to a very small extent. If anything it has to deal with weight and fat around the middle. Most girls will probably find a problem in their midsections before anywhere else. Could this be a health issue? Has society put the pressures of weight on females because of health reasons? Possibly but then how do you explain the appreciation for women with anorexic bodies, that is obviously not healthy.
Appearance seems to be everything for women, but the fact is that for women who appear to be beautiful appearances is everything. For those who do not fit the criteria for beautiful, they find other ways to prove themselves to society. They may be pointed out for talent, kindness, humor, personality, responsibility. These are the qualities that are overlooked upon first impressions. First impressions are always skin deep. And that is why these other women the ones with quality are deep, not shallow like those who base impression on beauty because they too are beautiful and that is how they are used to be being judged, and how they got so far in society.
Society does not like women with quality, women with substance. Women who are comparable to men in quality are seen as less attractive and are sometimes questioned to be lesbians and masculine in gender. Why can't society accept non attractive women with quality as assets. Going through life these girls, and this goes for men too, had to undergo so much criticism and bullying for their difference. They had to work hard for their success and nothing was ever handed to them. These people are the ones with strong personalities, great senses of humor, brilliant ideas and these people are the ones that i would rather spend my time. For pretty people to say that attractiveness is not the most important thing is like a fish saying water is not important. The reason they can voice their opinion is because they are beautiful, and the reset of us hide behind our blog postings objective against them because they would never accept the ugly girls comment,.
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This is definitely a touchy and quite controversial topic to talk about, and I am glad that it was opened up in class the other day. The play that was written by Laurie and performed by the three girls was a great addition to the lecture and creatively portrayed the reality of the view that some girls have on themselves and beauty. Hopefully more skits like this will be written and performed for different classes, because it was very powerful. Putting a twist on the idea that having a bigger chest is the only way to be beautiful was a very good idea because it made me think about this topic in a very different way.
I thought it was good that the girl who made the comment about the fact that being on the other side, like having larger breasts, can be detrimental to someone and their confidence as well. We cannot just look at a girl and assume that she is happy or confident just because her breasts are bigger, or the “ideal size.” Everyone feels different about parts of their bodies, and I think it is important for everyone to realize this.
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My older cousin had very large breasts when she was in college. She not only got teased, but she also had back problems to go along with it (I think a lot of people tend to forget that breasts do carry some weight, which can be painful for some girls). She was in a lot of pain and very stressed out about it. So, she got a breast reduction. Her confidence is boosted, and she is finally pain free. Aside from the confidence, it was most important for her to be pain free. No one should go through life with physical pain, so this was a great procedure for her. So everyone has their own issues with how they feel about themselves. Even if we think they are the most beautiful girl in the world, they probably still have parts of themselves that they feel insecure about.
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So I do not necessarily think that our society needs to change how we portray beauty, I think that each individual girl has to look within themselves to figure out what they think is beautiful. But I still think that this is a very important topic to talk about, both with men and women.
I really do not think this topic is ever going to go away, though. There will always be celebrities and models that many girls will look up to and perceive as most beautiful, but it just depends upon each individual girl and what they think of themselves. While the majority of the women displayed in the media are very thin, there are all different types of women that are portrayed. Hopefully in the future, this will continue and increase even more.
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I hate the fact that i compare. I know i do. Im sure that a good majority, if not all other females reading this do too. It happens and it sucks. The thing is though, its not even the media that makes me feel this way. I am not into celebrity gossip or having role models who are in Hollywood, My comparison issue stems from right here, the people I walk around with each day. Sociologically, its pretty interesting to think about how we all change to be like others. Yea yea, there are those people who wear crazy outfits with combining fabric and styles that Ive never seen before but, i bet you those people do that to stand out, to "be themselves" and to compare themselves to the people around them as different and unique. But i don't feel at all that they are above the comparison. neither are those people who wear sweats and "simply dont care". I wonder if they just dont want to worry about comparing, and if they put on this front of not even bothering, well then no one can compare them since they are beneath the caparison range. But oh i bet those girls, wearing the sweats are still looking round and comparing wondering if i did wear that how would i compare? Now i know this seems pretty vain, and it is, your right, but thats why i hate it. I would love to not worry about wearing cute clothes, being the right weight, having the best skin, wearing my hair the right way. I remember one time taking to my roommate saying how great it would to just be way over weight. That way, i said, i wouldn't have to worry about going to the gym enough, eating only just what im hungry for, or wearing the perfect fit jeans. But instead, im "cursed" with being average and feeling the need to worry endlessly about all these thing and i jsut dont know how to get over it. I think us women think that the best girl is gonna get the best guy, or even get a guy at all. Even when we are in a relationship, the fear is there that tomorrow he will leave you for someone better and you will be alone again. And isn't that our worst fear? Living alone? This issue is just so woven into our society that even if we take a piece out, there are still ten other issues that keep us comparing. So then what are we supposed to do? Well, we are told to be ourselves. Be you! And be proud of it! But how does that work if the me that I am naturally, just doesn't fit in and i just don't feel comfortable? I want desperately to be me, to be the person i was made to be, so then why am I always looking around at other women? If anyone finds the secret to being a women, let me know, you'll find me. Ill be the one looking around comparing.
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I agree with you, women are women and they are beautiful. The media plays a huge role on the body image of a woman. Magazines, movies, and television shows are a huge part of our American culture. These methods of the media advertise women who are all beautiful. I have recently started to realize that more and more shows’ characters are women in their late forties out fifties who are beautiful and extremely fit. These celebrities have millions of dollars and can afford the methods it takes to look a certain way. However, this is not reality and it is unfortunate that young girls are growing up with this new type of Hollywood.
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I do not think Hollywood portrays women of all shapes and sizes, however, I do feel that Hollywood portrays many races. There are an endless number of movies where there are Middle Eastern women, Israeli women, etc. in them, some films are even about them. Yes, there are movies with bigger girls in them or uglier girls in them, but these movies point out that these girls have definite “flaws.” There a certain way every girl should look and like we talked about in class that is skinny big boobs (but not too big) a big butt and a cute face. This is sad that everyone feels that they must conform, but if you do not you get socially rejected.
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I understand where you are coming from also. I am a very skinny girl with decent sized boobs. People talk about them all the time, throw stuff down my shirts, and sometimes even try and grab them. I get embarrassed because I feel like if they were just smaller then this would not be an issue. I think every girl has issues with their body I do not think anyone will ever think they are perfect. It is sad how girls get really upset when people make fun of them for not looking perfect, but how are you supposed to look perfect if there is no set “perfection.”
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I agree with this girl's comment on her view of women. I think more and more women should embrace each other more because we are all the same. Even though it was said in class that the point to dress was for guys, not really; i think the point to dress is for yourself and for other women who are in the same boat as you. I think that we are set at such a high physical standard to look, dress a certain way to other girls which i will never understand. We are all one, we should go together on this issue than fight it.
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I personally think that the play hit on a lot of good issues. Women care way too much about what they look like and what others think about them. Women are always trying to outdo one another in appearance and when they are in class or out in public we tend to look at what others are wearing to see if we look better than them. But why do we do this? Society has put such pressure on women to look good all the time and that if we dress down or not what guys expect us to look like then we are considered to be “tom boys” and guys aren’t attracted to us…and it goes the same way for a girl looking on a girl. If a girl sees another girl that is dressed down or hasn’t done her hair then they are thought to be dirty or even a lesbian. Though what would happen if women didn’t care about what they looked like? Women didn’t have to wear makeup or dress up to impress one another. Would our society be any better? Would we have less to stress about or would it just make people worse off?
I personally thought that the play was really good. It kind of took the opposite approach to what you would assume women would want. Usually women are getting their boobs larger and the thing to have is large breasts. However the play depicted the girl as not wanting any breasts at all. It really makes you think that “wow, so women really don’t want big breasts or they would rather have small ones” But I guess it confuses me as to why some women would want that? Almost any guy I know would say that they want a girl with bigger breasts or even girls for that matter. Ask any girl that has small breasts and they would tell you that they want bigger ones. So the fact that it was the opposite through me off a little in the play but at the same time it proved a good point. That all women are different and that we need to realize that no matter what we are all beautiful in our own way. We don’t need plastic surgery to make ourselves more beautiful or for magazines to show the prettiest women. It just makes people feel bad about them which can be attributed to the high suicide rates among young women. Is it really worth selling products when tons of young women are being affected in a negative way towards these perfect body images they are idling to be? People just need to be proud of who they are and accept that they are beautiful in their own way.
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I'm going to catch a large amount of flack for this if anyone actually reads it, but I think I'm prepped. First of all, I am a guy, but I actually have a good amount of things to say about the class we had on these issues, and I will try to keep this concise. I tended to agree with many girls in the class that commented "As long as you have self -esteem, these things shouldn't matter." The counter-point was brought up that you may not be able to have self esteem if you are constantly feeling like you aren't attractive physically. Now, while I can see how this works, here is how I look at it. Every person is beautiful in their own way…mostly true. Everyone is physically attractive to the majority of the populace…has always been and will always be false. That is just the way the world works. Some people are much more physically attractive to most of us than others. I feel like we are equating beauty and physical attractiveness, and they are one hundred percent not the same thing. It was so weird to watch the play in class because I feel like a big point was missed. Society didn't deem smaller breasts alone to be more attractive, quite the contrary in my opinion. It's just that people with smaller breasts tend to be thinner or more athletically built. I think it is pretty difficult to argue against the statement that the majority of people find thinner members of the opposite sex more attractive. Being thinner itself is usually a sign of better health anyway, it's just biological. It's a big picture kind of thing. You have to understand that while physically you may be inferior to your peers, you have a plethora of other qualities that make you a person and define your beauty. My sister used to get called fat by my other family members all the time, but she's got enough confidence in other areas of her life that she could just go whatever. Sure, it was painful sometimes but she learned to get over it. So two things need to happen. One, people need to get over that they might not be the best looking person in the world. Two, you have to remember that we are multi-dimensional people. Someone can be much less attractive based on nothing in the physical world, like if you find them to be morally flawed or not intelligent or just the wrong kind of charm. Honestly this is getting to be annoying, it seems like every time we get away from the interesting parts of this class (Which to me is drawing interesting conclusions from the data presented), we move class in a direction that just reinforces every stereotype about sociology that there is. In conclusion, I agree with the girl here, all women are beautiful. Don't fixate yourself so much on the physical, because it's only one of many dimensions.
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I really enjoyed Dr. Mulvey's play in class on Tuesday because I believe it highlights an issue that is common among a great number of women, especially around this age. Women in our country are all connected by the ideal standards they are held to by society- thin and beautiful with large breasts. Most, if not all women, have been affected by this ideal in one way or another. This is more of an ideal then a reality but the media and Hollywood portray it otherwise, so much so that women think they have to look a certain way to fit in. To me, the most beautiful women are those who are comfortable, confident, and most importantly happy with themselves regardless of whether or not they fit the beauty standard.
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The play viewed in class was definitely interesting. In today’s society everyone wants bigger and better everything even with breast size. So it was interesting to see the play came from a different point of view as if small or no chest women would be the ideal beauty type. I agree with the girl in the video. Women and men come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some women are small figured, and others are full figured. Yet I do not believe that our physical traits what determines whether we are beautiful or not. Unfortunately, looks do play a role in our society whether one is beautiful or not. This is somewhat related but in my discussion group we talked about how people dress. We discussed whether or not people dress up for themselves, people of the opposite sex or people of the same sex. We ask the question when girls get dressed up who are they trying to impress if trying to impress anyone at all. Since our group is majority of girls we said we like to dress up and look nice for ourselves. Yet we also appreciate comments that people give us when we do dress up. My personal schedule of classes I am with the same people all the time and all but one are girls. I do not feel the need to have to dress up in front of them since I see them all the time. Therefore half the time I just dress very comfortably. Yet on occasion I do get dressed up for those classes. When I do dress up it is so I feel good about myself. Yes, a part of me will dress up for guys but I don’t have to be revealing. Yet if and when I do go out I to a party or bar I do make the effort to dress up in something nice that I still feel comfortable in. As Laurie mentioned she sees a number of girls flaunting their chest area even in classes, I do not feel like I have to dress that way to look pretty. Also mentioned in my group discussion we wonder if guys ever compliment each other. As a girl if I like her shoes or outfit I have no problem being like “oh that top is cute” of “I like your outfit/shoes”. Yet why do guys have such a problem with that. If they say something like that than guys take it the wrong way as if they are hitting on them. The whole giving a compliment thing isn’t a big deal if you like what someone is wearing, then tell them because it will probably make them feel better and you might have just made that persons day. I know I am happier when I receive compliments.
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I felt that the play that was done in Tuesday's class was really thought provoking and gave a different outlook on how women may feel about their breasts. Typically when women are dissatisfied with their breasts it is usually because they feel they are too small and have a desire to get bigger ones. This play flipped the normal aspect on it and instead it was a girl complaining about her breasts that she felt were causing problems in regards to her relationships with boys so she wanted it to look like she had no boobs at all. Since I am a woman and have a lot of friends that are women, breast size and body shape are two very common issues that are discussed and complained about quite frequently. Whenever I have heard girls talk about their breast size it was usually talk of them being too small and wishing they had bigger ones and very rarely have I heard a friend say they wanted smaller ones because they were too big although it has happened a few times before. Not only though did the play show an opposing viewpoint to what woman typically think when they think of boobs but it also provoked a lot of thought on body image in general. It really is disgusting to think how much we dwell on our body image and how obsessed we women can be about trying to obtain the "perfect body". In my opinion, women are almost always comparing themselves to other women no matter if it's comparing breast size or even something else like lips. We, as women, critique ourselves so hard and are always comparing our bodies to the other bodies of women out there. I know that we are all women and should embrace our bodies and love what we have but honestly that rarely happens. It is true that some women out there are happy with themselves and I really do amend and applaud them for that because I feel that most of the women out there find flaws in at least one part of their body if not more and try so hard to fix the flaws that they see. It's so upsetting to know that so many women out there have eating disorders and such because our society has a specific look that they think is beautiful and if a woman doesn't look that exact way than it's like we instantly have to put forth an effort to try to change ourselves into that image. Take a look at most of the magazines out there and you will find the exact same thing in every one of them. Most of them are filled with extremely skinny, tall, beautiful models that are toned in every part of their body and are essentially perfect. I really don't think those women exist because even models in magazines need some part of their pictures photo-shopped. When will society ever change it's image of what it truly means to be a beautiful woman? Honestly, it's sad to say this but I don't know if society's image of what is beautiful will ever change.
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I would have to say that I totally agree with what was said in this video. However, I do not find it that simple at all. It should be, but society does not allow it. We live in a country that is highly influenced by society and the media, which I do not find to be a good thing. Girls have this pressure on them that they have to be a certain size and wear certain things and if not, then they are not beautiful.
I thought the discussion about who girls dress for was very interesting. It is interesting to hear the different sides-whether it is for girls or boys. I can see both sides of the argument for sure. When I really think about it I can’t really decide who I dress to impress.
Girls are constantly being judged by other girls and it is horrible. I can say that I am 100% guilty of doing this myself though. I try my hardest not to, but it is so hard. I do not think I go a day without hearing someone talking crap about someone else and what they are wearing or their size or something. I give total respect to the girls who can say screw that and they do not care what other people think of them.
I have had my own struggles due to the society and media and the way that it has conformed girls to be. I struggled with an eating disorder and use to think that people wouldn’t like me for my size and that my size was the reason I did not have a boyfriend. Now I would consider myself average size and I definitely should not be having thoughts like that. I would wake up every single morning and go straight to the scale to weigh myself, and then I would look in the mirror at where my spots of fat were and pinch them to see if it was getting any bigger or not… I am not in the process of recovering from that and accepting myself for who I am and not care what other people think. I think the only way to be happy is to believe that you are beautiful, but that is just so hard to do in this world.
I also think it’s so hard to find that spot where you won’t be criticized. I don’t know if that is possible, but I just feel like no matter what there is something that someone finds wrong.. People think girls are too fat, then girls go anorexic and then they are too skinny… this and that… there is just no happy median it seems like. And who is to decide what is the right size? There should not be a right size. Girls shouldn’t have to worry about getting criticized. What makes you happy is what beauty should be. All girls are beautiful.
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I find it interesting that we’ve had so many blogs about gender issues in a class that is supposed to be about race relations. However, I do enjoy blogging about it because gender issues are such common debates in society today. I like reading about other people’s opinions on the subject because many people have different ideas than me and it’s interesting to consider other points of view on the matter.
As far as Laurie’s play is concerned, I agree with the many people before me who thought the play was very worthwhile viewing. I liked how it introduced the opposite point of view on breasts than the majority of women have. Many women want large breasts to show off their cleavage or pick up guys, but most of those women never really considered how large breasts are also often an inconvenience. I thought the actresses did a great job of expressing the emotions that I’m sure Laurie felt when she was writing the play.
I think the media needs to stop making such a big deal about women’s appearance, whether it is breast size or body tone or whatever. We were all born in different shapes and sizes and we are meant to be happy with the cards we were dealt. However, when magazines and television shows like MTV reveal all these celebrities with the perfect beach body, more and more of us women become uncomfortable with our appearance and strive to look just like them. That’s just the way society is today – everyone wants a “hot” body, including some men.
We shouldn’t want to look differently. Women should be content with the original size of their breasts because every size has its pros and cons. You shouldn’t be concerned about your appearance. Instead, you should be focused on who you are as a person and making good impressions on people based on what’s on the inside. I think it’s ridiculous that women are so concerned with their bodies. We are all beautiful no matter what we think. If you feel that you need to change your body in order to impress your significant other, then chances are, you probably shouldn’t be with that person in the first place.
I agree with the girl who made this video that all women are beautiful in their own way and the guy that you choose to spend the rest of your life with feels the same way. I think the main point of Laurie’s play is that we should appreciate who we are and don’t let our opinions or impressions of ourselves be influenced by the media. Save the breast reduction/implant surgeries for the people who actually need them in order to survive. If your breasts are healthy, then you should be able to live without the surgery.
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I completely agree with this video post and think that there is so much more to being a woman than simply looks. No matter what religion, race, or ethnicity we are, we all struggle with the same issues of being a woman. But for some reasons these biological and emotional similarities that we have aren’t enough to make us all equal. Some women are “better” than others because of the way they look. This ideal image is portrayed through Hollywood and celebrities who have the money, time and resources to perfect their image. Somehow this same exact image is what everyday average women are supposed to conform to. I think this is so unrealistic and only is completely shallow. Personally as a women I don’t like looking at celebrities all the time in magazines and on the internet. They portray an image that for most girls is unachievable, which then results in plastic surgery or some sort of eating disorder.
I have a close friend who struggles with her weight and gets very upset at herself because she is heavier than the women she sees in magazines. The idea she has that she is not beautiful because she isn’t size 2 is horrible. Whatever put this idea inside her head has also puts it in the minds of many other women and young girls. There are so many more important things in life that could be enjoyed instead of wasting energy and time on worrying about this kind of stuff. But over and over again and year after year the same cycle continues and at a higher rate and volume because of the infinite ways to access the media.
I thought that Lories play was very interesting especially in the approach she took to convey her message. It appeared rather funny when we were watching the opposite happen in the play then what happens in real life. It makes you think twice about what’s important to us and how ridiculous it looks to get worked up over something that you have no control over. I think a lot of people just think it’s the normal to get surgery on their bodies to enhance their features, but it’s not. Our culture has just become accustomed to it and that is why we see nothing wrong with it. This was just like the one girl in the play who thought there was nothing wrong with getting surgery on her body. She was so oblivious to the fact of it and even fought with her best friend and accused her of not being able to understand. But no matter what the issue is, pretty much every woman has an “issue” with her body. I don’t think it should be like this, I think that a woman is a woman and should be proud of whatever her body looks like.
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I really agree with what she is saying, but at the same time I do believe that being a woman is sometimes about appearances. When we get up and get dress we dress for other women not men. We want to look prettier than that other girl, we want that desirable figure that the girl in the magazine has, we want to be known as the gorgeous one that everyone envies. If you think about it we want the approvable of other women, we want the compliment of being called pretty, having a cute outfit on, and having a cute hairstyle. Men couldn’t care less about our appearances if it was up to them we would walk around naked.
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Being a woman is obviously more than just how you look. But women want men to be interested in them and men are interested in very good looking women. Men run the world and it is their standards that women feel as though they have to reach. They see women on television who are incredibly attractive and feel as though they have to look like those women to attract other men. So whatever it takes, losing weight, getting bigger breasts, bigger butt, better hair, they will try to look a certain way. Women feel as though they have to look a certain way, although there are many different types of attractive women to men. The truth is that hollywood only portrays a small percentage of woman that are attractive to men. It shows very thin women who have perfect features, and tend to be white. It doesn't show too many attractive asians, blacks, or hispanics.
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I feel that there is a bond between women similar to a bond between African Americans. African Americans have suffered through being discriminated together and so have women. Women didn’t gain full rights and equality to men until the 1970’s. Women all say how all women are beautiful, yet they all compete with each other to a disgusting level. Society makes us believe that all women are good for is their looks and that is all they should care about. I feel that now women are fighting back and are entering the work force more then they used to and taking their careers more seriously then in the past. Women are using their looks to further their careers and use societies negative effects to get ahead of men in the work place and manipulate their looks for something useful.
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I think hollywood is beginning to portray all different types of women. Some of the most powerful women in Hollywood wouldn't be what many people would consider extremely attractive. Take Oprah for example, you don't see her half naked on the cover of Vanity Fair, yet many people look up to and strive to be like her. I don't think that there is anything wrong with wanting to look better, but I think girls and guys need to be taught earlier how the media portrays certain things. I think thats the biggest problem that women (and men) can't take these advertisements and movies with a grain of salt.
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Although the typical male stereotype entails that men strive for women with curvaceous butts, washboard stomachs, and perfect perky breasts, the truth is that all of that can be sacrificed for personality. Ignoring this simple fact, women obsess over looks due to overexposure to fashion magazines and famous celebrities, and it seems as nothing about them is ever perfect. The grass is always greener on the other side; those who were naturally endowed with large breasts seem to want reductions, claiming it affects their physical and mental life on a daily basis, and those who want implants simply feel self-conscious, believing implants will improve their confidence and level of comfort. Ladies, the truth is, you’re all beautiful; no need to worry.
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Hell ya, i love women. they are beautiful every way. they have a power that we will never the gift to create life. but on a physical stand point. ladies have specific standards just like guys. society has standards that needs to be reached. of course back in the day, im talking like 1850s usually women of size were more noticed than skinny girls. the things that have changed though is our idea of natural selection. ladies that are skinny are more suited for longer life, and less of a burden now a days. and that has to be considered now especially with how life works now. things change and so do people.
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I enjoyed the play that was put on in class but I personally have always felt that when girls get implants because they don’t feel well about themselves that in a way it is cheating. My cousin has a great body but wasn’t happy with her boobs so she got implants. The frustrating thing for me is that if I wanted to have her body I would need about 7 plastic surgeries or a sever diet and a strict work out regimen and she doesn’t need any of these options she is just naturally petite and gorgeous. I don’t know, is plastic surgery cheating in a way?
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It sucks to say this, but women are objectified in today's world. It's no wonder that they feel as though they have to look a certain way and are pressured go to extremes to achieve a certain look. Men are much more likely to not care about how they look. They are more likely to care about their grades in school, sports, and other things that interest them. Men run the world, and since women are their greatest interest women are put in a spot with a lot of pressure. You always see men who aren't attractive accepted socially, but you rarely see unattractive women accepted socially because their appearance is so important to men. It isn't even a matter of what the girl is wearing, or how her hair is done, or how her make was done. Men don't necessarily notice those things, they are far more interested on how the female looks physically and doing little things don't really matter to them. If a man wears a nice outfit and gets his hair done, women notice and an unattractive man can look attractive to a woman. Its a double standard and it effects women negatively.
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Honestly, I'm not sure what you've been watching from Hollywood that portrays "all women". There are very, very few women with average body types on TV and even when they are on TV, they're either in smaller roles or their weight or "averageness" is written into the show as something for them to overcome. One example is Ugly Betty. America Fererra, who plays Betty, is probably one of the few women on TV with a "normal" body shape and they're always tossing in jokes about her weight or how she doesn't look like everyone else. They even poke fun at her being Latina in some of the lines. And as for the "voluptuous" women, do they usually have the serious, main lead actress role? No. they play the slutty mistress or the bad girl in school or something along those lines that plays up their sexuality. Maybe don't watch enough TV, but I really haven't seen anything that shows average women in a positive way.
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Being a woman can cause so much controversy when it comes to rights and laws. For example, I believe it is not allowed for a woman to be in the infantry division of the U.S. Army on the war front. Women are seen as another minority group whether they are black or white, European or African, big or small. Women are viewed as inferior in most religions and throughout history have been outnumbered in politics and power. Women tend to be seen as more nurturing and are “supposed to hold jobs centered more on this belief” such as nurses, day care givers, cooks, etc.
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I think that a lot of what makes women like self concious and all about body image is the people that are around us. What is in the magazine and what society put on what women should wear and what they should look like. There is pressure to be skinny and have large boobs based on what society has said is pretty and what is not based on the magazines. If being fat and having very small boobs was what is advertised in the magazine then that is what people would want to wear. Women see what is in the magazine and they try to mask that. Every girl wants to have a nice body, have a great completion and dress in really nice clothes and society tells you that you have to.
The topic also came up in Sams' class if women dress up for other women or other men. I think that women dress up for both other women and other mean. I think it is a combination of both. When women here go out to parties they dress up and look good for two reasons. One of the reasons is they dont want to be upstaged by other women and dont want other women to judge them because women do care a lot about what other women time. They dont want to go in a party and another girl look at them and be like "ewww she wore that, what is wrong with her, she looks a mess" or "she is such a dirty whore" so in that way, women dress for women. However, women do care about what men think as well. When girls go to parties they go for other men and they want men to look at them and think they look good. I mean when my friends go out they go out to get guys to want to dance with them and be all on them. They dont want the guys to be like, "she looks like such a slut" or "did she not not she came to a party, with guys?" So in cases like that I think women dress for men. But the funny thing is most men could care less with what the women are actually wearing, which is what makes it funny/
But I ultimately think women just dress to what makes them look good. They dont want to look bad, whether it is for men or women, they dont want to feel uncomfortable and feel like they are being judged whether it is men or women. I think that everyone should just dress to their body and as long as they are comfortable in what they are wearing, what other people think shouldnt matter but of course it does.
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The question of what it means to be a woman, is a really, really, hard question to answer. She was right in saying that women come in all shapes and sizes and colors. But the most important aspect of being a woman is what is not seen. It is in how the media tells us we should behave and what we should wear and what we should aspire to be. What is the saddest to me, is the fact that the media boils down everything that it means to be a woman down to how we look. Whether our skin is clear or our hair is shiny or we smell good or if we dress sexy enough to attract a man. And that is constantly what society boils everything down to again. The ability of a woman to attract a man is the only thing that our society seems to think a woman is capable of. Almost every advertisement targeted for women is to make them look better or feel more confident so they can attract a men. Whether it is a shampoo add for shiny hair, which will obviously attract a man, because they like shiny things. Or perfume that smells so good, the actresses promoting said perfume do not want to be hindered by clothing. Or teeth whitening gel that gives you the confidence to flirt shamelessly with a man that said woman just met.
Being a woman is about being smart, confident without the need to impress men, but clearly for themselves. But perhaps the most frightening part of what society is trying to show us is our need to impress other women. One of the great things about being a woman is the community that we are all apart of. We all go through a lot of the same body issues, insecurities when it comes to guys, and problems with friends. But society has told us that we need to be in constant competition with other women for their approval or the approval of men. Many women do not get dressed with a guy in mind, but how other women will view what they are wearing. Someone in class said that if women really wanted to dress for men, they would just walk around naked. So, I think that by wearing and spending the amount of money we do on clothes shows that we are definitely dressing for other women.
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I want to say I think that there is something different between girls and boys besides physical features, but I don’t think there is. I think if we were all shaped the same with the same voice tones there would be no difference. I know a lot of girls who act like guys and a lot of guys that act very girly, so I don’t think your sex has anything to do with your personality. The way you act and who you are has to do with your surroundings and family. We are all individuals, so why would our sex matter.
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The girl in this video is absolutely right. Women are beautiful in every way, shape and form. No matter what race, structure, culture, or physical features she has, a woman should look in the mirror and realize that she is beautiful. However, in this day and age, it is almost impossible to embrace that concept when we have all of these figures in the media to constantly look at. There are, in fact a lot of women portrayed in the media these days. They range from really petite, slender women to tall, curvy women, etc. There are all these different variations and everyone has their own preferences. We look at these magazines and we envy their clothes, we want their bodies, it’s like we’re obsessed or something. It is just something we can’t help but do, and the sad part is that a lot of us are guilty of this. It’s as if we are so caught up with looking at these women on the silver screen or on TV that it makes you want to be like them. Sure, you can be content with the woman in the mirror staring back at you, but I feel as though our society is always looking for ways to improve ourselves. So if I were to wake up and get ready to go to school, as a young woman, I don’t think that I would just get up and out of bed, brush my teeth, put my shoes on, and walk out the door. Maybe I am taking that to more of an extreme level, but what I really want to say is that girls generally do care about what they look like. Maybe they don’t dress up ” to the fullest” everyday (whatever that means), but I have really been thinking about what some girls had to say in Sam’s class the other day. I feel as though girls do not only dress for guys to look at them, but I honestly feel as though girls dress for other girls. In a sense, I see it as a constant competition. In general, girls try to look their best. They wear makeup, do their hair, and dress “to impress” whenever they go out, especially when they go to parties on the weekends. And judging from what the guys say (who knows if this is completely true for the rest of them), they don’t tend to go for the girls with the shortest skirts and the biggest cleavage. They always say that “as long as she looks attractive enough, they don’t need to overdress themselves.” But this can get confusing because we are just so used to hearing the concept of “I like her personality, but looks are the initial thing that matters”. As complex as this topic may be, I just want to say that the main point is that girls dress for other girls which is why they care so much about what they look like and which is why they spend countless hours in front of the mirror primping before they go out on a Saturday night.
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As with all people regardless of gender, ethnicity and culture, women come in different sizes, shapes and packages. The Hollywood portrayal of women is that they are mostly glamorous, skinny and wealthy. No wonder most of us have body image issues and are overly conscious of our appearance. In spite of the different body images that women portray, I agree that women all have a common bond. Whether it is because we all come from Venus (whereas males come from Mars) or because we may all eventually go through the rigors of childbirth, there is a certain link among us. There is a certain understanding that we have with other women that makes us understand that beyond shape and appearance there is an inner being that really defines who we are.
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I think Hollywood does really portray women to be skinny, pretty, and flawless. Total blame can’t be placed on Hollywood though because everyone has their own free will. To do what he or she pleases to do. Let’s be honest though no woman is perfect, they all have flaws. For this reason some men find beauty in women’s flaws. Young girls are at an age where their trying to find themselves and I feel like media puts a lot of pressure on them to look a certain way. This is probably why they start starving themselves and working out like crazy! It’s hard for them to look past these “perfect” women and find beauty in themselves. So they just keep comparing themselves to these women and pushing hard to look that way.
Beauty should be based on what’s on the inside not how good someone looks. Some women are unbelievably beautiful but their dumb as shit. Who wants to introduce that type of woman to their family?! NO ONE! Maybe if there wasn’t so much pressure on girls to look a certain way they wouldn’t develop the attitudes they have towards looking good. The way girls think and act is because they want men to notice them. So they dress in showy outfits, tan all the time, go to the gym 24/7, and get implants. All this is ok if you do it in moderation minus the implants. This is another thing that helps women get better bodies. They see celebrities getting implants or having certain body parts that are better than theirs. So they pay crazy amounts of money to have the “best” body around. Although I don’t think many women think of the complications that come along with surgery. There is always a story in the media of women who got plastic surgery and it came out wrong; leaving their body with more imperfections than they had before.
In conclusion, women need to find beauty in themselves to be comfortable in their own body. I don’t think anyone should have influence over what women believe in. Inner beauty and comfort ability in oneself is such an important aspect that every women should have. The way women dress or look shouldn’t have an influence on the type of person they become. Men find it more attractive when women have a great personality and a great sense of humor. Making them more beautiful than they think they are.
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As a woman I agree with this statement. There are all different types of women and we are all amazing. This whole image thing that holly wood puts in our heads is something we need to get over. In class people had different things to say about why women have these insecurities or why they dress the way they do. Some said they dress for the guys; they put on makeup and look pretty for guys. And in a way I can understand that because no matter how nice you are or how cool you are, the first thing they are going to look at is your appearance, especially if they don’t know you. If you want boys who you don’t know to look at you, you have to look a certain way to get them to even pay attention. But I think some women take it a little too far. There is a difference between looking pretty and looking like a slut. I know way too many girls who will go out to the bars in 10 degree weather in a mini skirt and a low cut shirt with heels, there is no need for that. I go to the bars in a tank top, jeans, and flip flops and I still manage to get guys to look. And there is no need to cake the makeup on, guys are actually turned away by that because they are afraid of what you will look like in the morning, if you are just wearing a little makeup they know that you will still look the same when you wake up. Some people said that women dress the way they do because they are competing against other girls. While this is probably the most accurate reason, there is still no reason for it. Every girl is pretty in their own way and until they see that and start acting like themselves they will never be happy. This whole plastic surgery thing is a load of crap, unless you were in an accident or had cancer, you should not be getting plastic surgery, god gave you what you have for a reason; that is who you are so you should learn to live with it. Kind of opposite from the play, my roommate has a flat chest and for the first year that we were roommates she kept saying how much she wished she had boobs. Until I made her look in the mirror and walk around with me while I asked random guys what they thought about her, she would complain. After she realized that everyone that we talked to, whether we knew them or not, they all said she was pretty and it didn’t matter that she didn’t have boobs because her butt made up for it. Women need to realize that there is something special about each and everyone whether they realize it or not. They just need to take the time to figure out who they are and why they are special.
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I think this topic is one that hits home with women every where. Instead of focusing on body image, however, I'd really like to take a crack at the questions Laurie has posed. What does it mean to be a woman? Women come in all shapes and sizes. We have different physical features, hair lengths, opinions, and yet we are all considered to be women. In a lot of ways, the only thing separating men and women are physical differences. So what makes us women beyond that? I believe that to be a woman is to have a certain mindset. There are plenty of people who are physically woman, yes, but feel more like a man, and that's the gender that they identify with. Or, take female body builders for example. They are not really the norm for women. Men tend to have more muscle definition and strength, however these women work to have more masculine features. That doesn't mean they feel like less of a woman, though. They might feel as slim and sexy as a Victoria Secret model. On the other hand, there are many people who are physically men, but identify with and as a women more than they do men.
I know that life is never easy for anyone, but being a woman is so damn complicated sometimes. Not only do we have to deal with the physical difficulties women face, such as menstrual cycles and pregnancies, but there's also the pressure to look nice in every possible way. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror, butt naked, no make up and say, "I am beautiful" and be completely happy with the way I am. I could say that I am, and at some times in my life I really do feel that way, but every morning I wake up and feel the need to cover my face with make up. Today I babysat my three and four year-old cousins. The three year-old, Chloe, came upstairs with me to my room when I went to put my makeup on this morning. As I put on my foundation she asked, "Why are you painting your face and making it dirty?" Oh, the innocence of a child. I miss the days when I thought boys were yucky and didn't care what they thought of me. I couldn't bring myself to finish my makeup while she was around.
I think in order to make a change in the overall outlook of beauty, men and women every where need to realize that we are all human and we are all beautiful. I know that that sentence may sound corny or ridiculously hippy, but it's true. Unless we change the way we see each other, we're not going to change the way we see ourselves.
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I agree with what she had said in the video, because a lot of movies portray the thin women who look like models. Movies portray women who seem perfect in every way, and do not often portray the average women. the average girls are all different shapes and sizes that are not shown in the movies. If they do portray a real life women for example "Precious" the actress who played the lead role was criticized for her weight and was told she should lose weight. I think society has come to a point where they want the idle body that does not exist and put pressure on everyone to give them that idle body. The reality of it is that it is not possible to have that "it" body everyone is different and no one is perfect.
The pressure that is put on girls is hard to bare and that is how many girls and boys become self conscious and have negative impacts that come from it.Worrying about how much they weigh or how thick they are for black girls. Are you wearing the right clothes and have the style? Does my hair look nice? The emotional problems that come from society wanting women to be as perfect as a picture is very harmful. The emotional problems can be eating disorders, depression, and many more. it is sad that society affects many young ladies mental state of being. Is it really in to be really thin? Why are women in the black community portrayed as video vixens? I personally think that my opinion on that is they want that image and who is to tell them that they can not do as they please. I rather not have that type of image associated with my name by any means. I respect my body and love in every way shape and form. But i do not put someone else down because they want to do that. Same thing goes for playboy they want to pose naked go ahead it is there body. I just do not like all of the pressure that society puts on women day after day.
I am proud that society has not taken its tool on me as much as i have seen in other women these days. I have met people that have eating disorders and the disorder has distorted their body to an unhealthy look. To thin is not in for me i want a healthy look and not a dead look. I hope that society will come to realize that is has a big negative impact on girls and has taken a big negative toll on the bodies of women today. I want society to calm down with the perfect bodies in the media today.
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I get that you think that all women are beautiful, but what about men, do you think they are all beautiful, doesn’t matter what race or color? , humans are automatically attracted to certain things, certain people and certain races (in some cases), it is “normal” to think someone is attracted and another is not. I don’t get why people think some are mean because you make a comment about someone being unattractive or such. People have different taste in a lot of things, no need to deny it. I wish I knew someone who thinks that all people are beautiful and all races are beautiful in their way, it would be a different world.
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There a ton of difference of what each culture (and I do mean EACH culture) of the standard of beauty is. Some tribes in Africa send their women away to get fat or large because their standard of beauty much like that of the 1900's was that fat or large women are considered wealthy and suitable. Currently in America we all know what the standards are for both men and women, and for each they have to conform to some type of stereotypical person in which it forces people to act like somebody different. IF you honestly believe that everyone is beautiful then I know you are lying because there is probably some people you would never associate with because you think they are not in some way beautiful enough to even talk to.
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I think that to be a woman it is just to be comfortable in your own skin. We all know that everyone is insecure about something in their own way but if you love your body and work it the right way you will come off as a confident woman that people look up to and want to be around. Positive energy will flow around you and attract others to be drawn towards you. People always are harsher on themselves than other people are on them therefore if we just learn to love our imperfections and think of them as something to add to our unique personality our lives would be so much less stressful and richer overall.
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I feel that if we take away body image there are still numerous things about being female that ties together women of all shape, sizes and cultures. One for example is that we all have to go through the same things no matter what you look like or where you are from. We all have to deal with our gift from Mother Nature every twenty eight days. We have to deal with the bloating, the cramps, the headaches, the annoyance of having to always have tampons or pads handy and having to run to the bathroom every four to eight hours. We all have to deal with the gift of pregnancy. No male can understand those nine long months. No male can understand the morning sickness, the aches and pains of the big belly, the bigger milk filled boobs, the pain of a baby coming out and the joy of knowing that this little baby came from you. We also have to deal with differences in the real world. For example if you are a woman pursuing a career in business or architecture or engineering you will feel the scarcity of women in the workforce. You have to deal with the fact that some men will think less of you because you are a woman or that some feel that they can take advantage of you.
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I think Hollywood is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be; I don’t think that it is just a haven for the skinny white blondes, it really is for everyone. For example, women of all shape and sizes make it big; it is just which celebrities you want to focus on. Kate Hudson is stick thin, Jennifer Lopez is curvy and Queen Latifah is bigger boned however they all have made it big in Hollywood. All races are represented and all facial features are represented. I kind of see Hollywood as a way to inspire people. If you really want it and you put your mind to it, you can make it in Hollywood no matter what you look like.
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