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?
After this week’s lecture and the skit put on in class, I got to really thinking about the way women are portrayed in the media and how us, as women in society need to fit each and every stereotype thrown at us. I think we all agree that all women are beautiful in their own way but then why is our society so focused on changing our appearance to a norm? There are millions of companies out in the United States to change our physical properties. We have tanning salons to make our skin darker but we still do not wish to have black skin. Why do we strive for dark skin but not the extreme? We also have plastic surgeons being paid millions of dollars to get rid of our cellulite or our wide noses. I think it is funny that we all agree that we are all beautiful with our special characteristics but then why do we look at other women and comment on her different features. If we think that these features are what makes each other beautiful then why do we judge. In society we look at models in magazines and find ourselves wishing for the legs that go for a mile or the flat stomach. I believe those women are not the real women we should be looking at and idealizing. We should be looking up to the women who change people’s lives based on their activities and actions. A woman’s looks can only get you so far in life. There is always something we would change about ourselves if we had the money or opportunity. In class we talked about how women judge other women on their appearance and we also talked about how we judge ourselves. I think we are the biggest judges on our appearance because we see the little things no one else might see. We also see everyone else around us and the clothes they are wearing. In society it is all about buying the cute clothes, having the best haircut and obtaining the best physical features. We spend our whole life’s conforming to our society by looking at people on TV, in magazines and also by looking at women around us at school or work. If we did not conform then we would be judged so we have to keep up to the styles to keep us in society. I am not saying I refuse to conform, I think everyone has conformed in some way either by our clothes, makeup or physical features. There is so much out there to conform to the ideal women. The stores that give us that opportunity are in the best business because everyone wants to change something about their physical appearance.
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Yes the play in class I thought it made a lot of sense but I have to say its sucks that I think girls across the nation are not happy on what god gave them I think all women across the world should be happy on how god made them and how they should know every girl is not going to have the big boobs and nice plump butt. Which they should know if their butt is flat be happy and if you boobs are not big enough so what it counts on what’s inside not outside but every girls want to be the pretties and the best shape in the world and that where they go wrong at then they want to get these surgeries that messes up their bodies even more then what they want. Their so many things that can go wrong with those surgeries it’s not even funny but hey women these days don’t listen they see all the stars on TV with these makeovers and they are thinking hey if they can do it I can do it. Which little do they know every plastic sergeant isn’t the best they make mistakes as well and that’s when things get ugly? Also you have the long term consequences with the breast cancer and things of that kind which it all sums up at the end to be a big hassle which come out to be more problems then what you need. I really think women across the nation need to listen on what’s inside and know somebody out there in the world would love you for you no matter their shape and size once they get that I think everyone will be ok. This media these days get a hold of everything and they expect everyone to be perfect in every way possible if they don’t think that certain famous person is holding up to what they want they do everything in their power to bring that person down and what the media know that stuff hurt people in the inside so what do they do they really take on what the media say and try to change their appearance more than they should and all of that just fall down to every other girl in the world. Man I tell you this world is screwed up big time the more and more I go to this class I learn more and more on how this world we try and bring you down its kind of getting on my nerves big time. TO ALL WOMEN IN THE WORLD GOD MADE YOU BEAUTIFUL AND DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT AND IF ANY GUY OR MEADIA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT F them really
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The play that was preformed in class was very eye-opening and showed how extremely ridiculous plastic surgery can be. Turning around the obsession that our society has developed for woman with who want to enhance their breasts was not only creative, but also made me think of how ridiculous we are. It just seems so unbelievable the measures people go in order to modify themselves into what they think is perfect. TV shows are based around watching people go under the knife in order to come out looking completely different. Tabloids exploit celebrities who have gotten work done and make sure that they are exposed. Women fight to make themselves look good, but what is the point?
Because of the media, we are constantly being shown images of thin, tone, tan, and sleek women who have abs that you can wash clothes on and perfect hair, make-up, and clothing. Yes, most of the time these models are airbrushed to look like dolls, but young and impressionable girls still strive to look like the girls they see on TV, in movies, and in magazines. There are also so many shows that take a girl who doesn’t dress well or know the first thing about make-up and make them over into a more beautiful version of themselves. So many girls feel so uncomfortable in their own skin and don’t believe that they are remotely attractive. Although they don’t do anything as drastic as get plastic surgery, they still believe that they aren’t good enough and need to be better.
Jessica Simpson, who has been criticized time and time again for her body weight has recently came out with a show called the “Price of Beauty,” where she goes into different countries and cultures and finds out how those women define beautiful. By talking to women about their customs, she finds out that everyone thinks something different about being attractive, and what we think in the United States is completely opposite to what people across the world believe. Not everyone is obsessed with being skinny and having a thin perfectly straight nose.
Women today have become so insecure in their own skin that they forget to realize that they are beautiful in their own way. Everyone has something different about them that make them unique, and because we are shown day in and day out thin rail girls with perfect features, we lose any sort of confidence that we once had. Women come in all shapes and sizes and its okay! We aren’t all made to look the same and therefore we shouldn’t have to feel that we need to put ourselves through so much stress to be better than the next.
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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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I think that all women are beautiful and unique in their own way. Their appearance may play a big part on what they look like but the true beauty is really inside. I know that is really corny to say but I find it to be very true. I think beauty comes from within. Although, I know a lot of girls who try and cover up their personalities by dressing and creating an image that is not them. They are dressing for society. I know a lot of girls that have small boobs are always trying to make their boobs look bigger. They buy push up bras that have extra padding so it can create that certain “look”. While on the other hand, most girls that do have big boobs are usually trying to cover them up and make them look smaller. They always have trouble finding certain clothes and bathing suits to fit them. This is just a never-ending cycle that will probably never end with women. We always want what we can’t get.
It is very bothering to know that men and society are so obsessed with our images and the way we look. We must always be presentable for society and keeping up with the latest trends in order to be considered “beautiful”. I think the whole concept of boobs is out of control. The size of a woman’s breasts should not matter. We should not be judged by other guys because are breasts are too small or too big. How would guys feel if we could tell the size of their penis just by looking at them? Do you think they would feel a little self-conscious? What if their penis was a size A (the smallest size it could possibly be) would women still find that guy desirable? It’s much easier for men to sit there and criticize e women for their appearance because they can hide anything they want about their body behind baggy clothes.
I thought that the play that was performed in class was amazing. It completely revered the situation around and made it look completely ridiculous. Which is absolutely true, this whole obsession with big boobs is ridiculous. Boobs are simply just extra fat that is placed on our bodies. Guys apparently don’t like it when our fat goes to any other parts of our bodies, but when they go to the chest reason it is completely acceptable? I wish our society could stop caring so much about people’s appearances and start to look at the person under that. If you really get to know people and their personalities you will find that person to be beautiful too. Women are not all just about boobs, buts and curvy hips. We are normal human beings like everyone else in this world. We were given certain womanly characteristics and traits that make us who we are.
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I agree with the fact that all woman are the same, no matter what color or creed, woman are woman, we all have the same distinct features that our creator gave us and we all have roles to play on this earth whether mother or wife or just a good friend. Even though in the media often times the woman that are portrayed as beautiful are slim with big boobs, flat stomachs and clear skin that is not the only types of woman that are out there. The big woman who are not able to be a size 2 or 3 or beautiful in their own right and often times those women are the ones that more beautiful than the model types that we most often see. I think that if woman begin to feel more comfortable and secure in the skin that they have then there would be no complaints or comparison to this person and that person and the world would get the opportunity to see that beautiful comes in all shapes and sizes.
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There really shouldn’t be any judgment of what anyone looks like, because beauty is ultimately in the eyes of the beholder and the way each and every person has been created, they have their own gifts and contributions to the earth and long as they know that and start to take that into consideration instead of listening to the nonsense that others have to say, they would be in a better place within themselves. Being a woman is very important, we have the power to continue life and we should be happy for that and embrace it, even if there are people who don’t think that being a woman Is a joy and a wonderful thing, then they don’t have any idea. I love being a woman from the clothes to the shoes to the little quirky things that make me, me. I love getting my hair done and looking in the mirror and feeling pretty in whatever outfit I have decided to wear. Having a period might not b the most fun part of being a woman, but the fact that having a period will enable me to have a child in the future makes those five uncomfortable days all the worth while. This world wouldn’t be the same without woman, so every time think about it, I get happy. Women equal life!
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I believe she is completely right it is not what a women looks like that matter it’s really their personality however Hollywood doesn’t help the situation and neither does society. For example within my group of friends there is almost a certain standard for women if you are with a woman who is below the standard than you are looked down upon. I know this isn’t right but it happens with several aspects in life with guys like how much you can drink, if you can drink more people like you more and if you can’t drink much people look down upon you. It does seem like Hollywood has guys set on what a woman should look like and at this point in life, a college student, looks are a major priority to guys because the chances are most things won’t last long because of all the drama and stress associate with women. So just a little advice to the women out there if you are looking for a guy that actually cares about you for you and not your looks don’t be superficial if you are looking for a guy to be all over you at a party dress up a little and put on some make-up and guys will be all over you it’s your choice.
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What is it to be a woman? Many women ponder that question and the answer that they seem to come up with I wonder how substantial it is? Besides the physical attributes that are equivalent scientifically to be a woman I would say outside of that is that to be a woman is to be able to give birth to a child, and to be nourishing. Not to say that men can’t be nourishing but it’s one of the traits that is in a women. Of course not all women are the same so it’s hard to explain what it is to be a woman honestly. The thing that ties all women together is our ability to have children. I thought that the play was very interesting and a great topic to discuss. It was interesting how Sam’s wife pointed out that she notices that women around campus seem to wear less and less clothing. I do think that women, like me, get wrapped up in the media of what the “perfect woman” is and try to fit into that stereotype. I wouldn’t say so much with clothes but with physical attributes of the perfect shape. Girls will stress out over their weight because they think that if they aren’t a certain size then it’s not beautiful. I know that I have struggled with this from time to time and it’s very hard to escape because it’s all around you. Every time you look at a magazine, you see the perfect image of a woman. Or when you watch television there’s no escaping it. So what can you really do about it honestly? Hollywood doesn’t portray women of all shapes, sizes, cultures, etc because there is a stereotypical image of what a girl should be. I doubt much will change about it because I will admit that when I see someone that doesn’t fit into the stereotype I think that it’s not normal. Although I am proud of women like Beyonce who has embraced her shape and didn’t try to fit the stereotypical image. To comment on what Sam’s wife said about noticing that women are wearing less and less clothes on campus I would say that people are free to do what they want to do. I don’t necessarily think that if a girl isn’t completely covered up from her neck down to her feet means that she’s self conscious about herself and wants attention. Yes, some girls are that way and will wear close to nothing to get a guys attention, but I wouldn’t say that every girl who decides to wear a short skirt today should reconsider that. I think this comes back to body image and being ashamed of your image.
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The issue of women and body image is definitely a major controversy prevalent in society today. Women of all ages have a specific perception of what they consider to be "beautiful" and try the best they can to adjust themselves to fit that description. I would say this is borderline unhealthy? We need to learn to accept what we look like and add our physical features under the category of "beautiful" in our minds. I put the word "beautiful" in quotations because I feel that there is no exact definition of the word. Yes, dictionaries may define the term as an adjective describing someone or something visually appealing, but visually appealing can encompass so many different physical features, not just what is deemed beautiful by the media. We need to get passed the notion that there is only one type of beauty. Like she said in the video of this blog, women come in all different shapes and sizes and there is not one that is the best or prettiest. The media needs to put a stop to making people feel like they need to conform to celebrity standards. Many people don't realize that when celebrities are featured in a magazine, TV broadcast, newspaper, or other form of mass media, they are severely edited to fix what society deems as "imperfections" to ones physical state. Technology is so advanced that digital editors can actually re-create and alter what we seem to think are blemishes so ones physical appearance. I am still blown away by this technology. I actually once watched a YouTube video of this digitalizing feature and it really is amazing. It truly makes someone look like a completely different person. All people, men and women alike, need to start to understand that these visions of beauty that we strive to achieve are not worth the time, cost, and effort. Like Sam says, we need to accept what we were given because if we didn't have these particular features, our ancestors would not have been able to survive whatever environmental conditions they were subject to. Also, when you think about it, our physical features and our style is what makes us different. Ultimately, it is a huge part of our individuality. What does it do if we all try to look like teh same exact thing. We will essentially lose a large piece of what makes up an individual. I think that if we just learned to accept what we were given and stop striving to be something that we're not, people will be ten times happier. Once we realize that the media makes us want to have things that we don't have so that we can spend money to get the things we don't have, we can start accepting that it isn't worth it to mess with what we were given.
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This seems like an interesting question to respond to because of the skit we saw in class today. Laurie did a clever thing- in the play that she wrote she based it on the opposite of what our culture teaches us to think it beautiful. In America, the general consensus is that women’s breasts are supposed to be large. Laurie wrote a play about a girl who was going to sign up for extensive and intrusive surgery in order to get rid of her large breasts, because in that society a flat chest is desired. She even went a step further and wrote in the play that the main character’ mother and aunt had to have their breasts removed because they suffered from breast cancer. They HAD to get their breasts removed. They didn’t choose it for cosmetic purposes. The girl must have seen the suffering that they went through because of the surgery, yet she was willing to go through that pain and suffering for cosmetic reasons. Writing the play based on the premises of wanting small breasts as opposed to large breasts (as are desired in the United States), the class was able to really see how absurd this is. By having the girls act like they wanted the surgery that bad for something that wasn’t typical in our own culture really helped the class to take a step back and realize how much emphasis we put on women and their physical appearances. The fact that the girl was begging for someone to cut her open and remove her breasts because her society deemed that to be beautiful is really sad. Breasts are natural parts of women’s bodies- everyone has them. Whether they are big or small, they are essentially there for the same scientific function.
Unfortunately, to answer the question about what bonds women, if it isn’t our physical appearances, I’d have to say that one of the main things that we all have in common is that we ARE judged by our appearances, and we all feel enormous pressure to look like the women we see in magazines. Maybe I am just saying that because I am 22 years old. Maybe my mother and people her age and her stage in life don’t feel the same way. Think about all of the products that are out there, designed specifically for women to look beautiful (whatever that is, anyways?). Women shave their legs, go tanning, cut and color their hair regularly, take time to style their hair daily, use anti aging creams by the time they’re 25 years old, and buy clothes only if they are “slimming”. Slimming usually means “uncomfortable” by the way. Am I missing something or do men just shower? They don’t have the extensive treatments and routines that women subject themselves to in order to conform to what’s “beautiful”, which is kind of bull. So, I think women aren’t bonded by what they physically look like, but by the fact that their physical appearance is always scrutinized.
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I love this blog posting. I think this is a huge issue in our society. Women need to realize that the models on the front of magazines are not the ideal image of women. In my current women’s studies class, we are learning that being a woman is not a physical definition. Being a woman consists of so many things, I agree.
It isn’t a secret that women, especially teenage girls, face the most pressure to conform to society’s standards. From eating disorders, skin treatments, make-up clothes, we try so hard to fit the qualities that we see as perfect. And what does this do other than cost thousands of dollars and shatter self confidence. We live in a society where plastic surgery can fix anything someone doesn’t like about their body. Does anyone not see a problem with this? Women need to learn that they are perfect the way they are. We should worry about feeling good in our own bodies rather than straining ourselves to impress others. The models and actresses we view as the ideal women are often represented in misleading light. Cosmopolitan and other fashion magazines frame the “perfect” woman on the front cover. We need to understand that these “perfect” women are airbrushed until there isn’t a single imperfection on their face or body. And these women that we view as perfect only make up about one percent of the world’s population.
Beauty certainly does come in all shapes and sizes. Our society and Hollywood has gotten better over the years at representing a wider range of women. From Ugly Betty to Hairspray women who aren’t blonde-haired stick-figures are beginning to show up in our media.
Another problem with society is that women are always over sexualized. Just look at the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. Pamela Anderson represents the expression “less is more.” This is a problem because women shouldn’t be expected to show their “goodies” in order to be happy or successful. A lot of times the people we idol such as the Pussycat Dolls teach us to be sexy. Sexy is good at times, but that isn’t what a woman is. She shouldn’t have to dance around on poles and chairs with no clothes on to get a man’s attention.
A new trend is women beginning to invade the science and math careers. Intelligence is becoming a valued trait by women. It is important that women be appreciated for more than just their physical appearance. I really enjoyed the play that was performed the other day in class because it told the story on the other side of the spectrum. Things that men like in women are not always a woman’s favorite part of herself. With that said, women do need to love themselves before impressing society.
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I think that Hollywood completely destroys the image of women. It is terrible to think that there are so many miserable women in the world who look through magazines and watch movies and TV and strive to look like the women that they see. The fact is that these images are not realistic. Magazines use airbrushing techniques to make the women in these pictures look flawless. There are so many young girls who see these images and think that they are supposed to look a certain way. This causes everything from poor self-esteem to eating disorders. Young girls should be taught that they are perfect as they are and that everyone looks different. Women are all different shapes and sizes and there is nothing that should change that.
We are forced as a society to watch famous female celebrities getting cosmetic surgery all the time. This shows the women of today that it is okay to be unhappy with what you look like because you can always change it. I don’t feel that you should just change the way you look. If we all start doing this then we are all eventually going to start to look exactly the same and that would eliminate a lot of our identities. If women aren’t confident in themselves it makes it okay for men to look down on them for physical appearance as well. I think that this is a major part as to why women are still not where men are in the workplace.
Women’s bodies are structured to carry and bear children. The population would never sustain if it weren’t for the pain that women go through for nine months. This is something beautiful and special that pertains solely to women. Men cannot say that they did such a thing. I think that if women felt this way about their bodies then they would be less concerned with what size they wore and simply focus on the more important things in life.
I think that women have been given the idea that they should look a certain way so that they appear presentable to others. This is predominant in other countries where women do not have as many rights. Some countries require women to cover themselves, others require them to look perfect and put together so that they fit in with their surroundings. In earlier years when women were typically homemakers they had to look nice for their husbands when they came home from work. I think that women should be dressing for themselves. I think that they should do whatever is going to allow them to feel confident. It is sad that the confidence often comes from looking like these Hollywood stars, but until women can accept the fact they aren’t born into those figures, I don’t think that things will change.
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I agree with the girl in this video. While Hollywood does portray a certain image of women that sets the standard as what we consider “beautiful,” I think that the real issue of women thinking they are not good enough is really about their own insecurities and not accepting who we are. I know that most, if not all of the problem lies within our own insecurities, because I know so many people, who by many standards (the Hollywood standard), would be considered absolutely beautiful. Yet some of these women think nothing of themselves- think they’re too fat, too skinny, not pretty enough, not wanted by men. I think this shows that these insecurities have nothing to do with their own physical appearances, it has to do with the fact that they don’t accept themselves for who they are.
I also think its interesting that we make up this standard of beauty and sexuality. My friend who travelled the world last year on Semester at Sea described to me that women in India and other countries do not see the same thing when they see women showing their stomach, or wearing low cut shirts. To them, that is not a display of sexuality. Instead, many women in India think that showing off their legs is what is most risqué. I thought this difference was so interesting because it isn’t just that us as humans think certain things are attractive—instead, it really is a result of the culture we live in. Other cultures see heavier women as beautiful- it’s a sign of wealth and well being. It almost seems crazy when we think of what being so skinny means. In other cultures, people who live in poverty, who can barely survive day to day- those are the people who are that skinny. Why do we see that as beautiful? It seems more logical to see stronger men/women as more desirable- in nature animals seek strong mates to pass on strong genes and survive. No animal would want to be find a weak, skinny mate.
I think that more women have to get to the point that they feel the way this girl explains in this video posted on the blog. All women are beautiful, because beauty isn’t purely physical. Beauty manifests itself in many ways- I think that good, caring people are beautiful. And I think it’s more comforting to feel that beauty isn’t just a physical thing, because I’d like to believe that I can still be considered a beautiful person when I am older, and don’t look the way I look when I was 21 years old. Unfortunately, many people never feel this way, and instead they struggle with these feelings of not feeling good enough their entire lives.
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I think the way that society has always portrayed a "beautiful woman" as a thin woman maybe with large breasts, long wavy blond hair and dressed in nice clothes. But some of society now is starting to explore the beauty in every woman of every shape, size, age, or even breast size. People still immensely care what everybody thinks, its like a human instinct that everybody has deep down. And the pressure is on for the women. not only do they have to find the "perfect guy" but they have to impress and be better looking than all the other girls. Some girls try so hard at being beautiful. Just focus more on being and having fun, be yourself, dress however you want. Life too short to care That much about beauty, and who looks better. On the other hand we all have to admit that to some extent looks matter. I'm not saying they should but they do. I do understand that if you look beautiful outside you will feel beautiful inside and if you would like to enhance your breasts or plump your lips go for it if it makes you ultimately feel good but do it because of you. Don't try to be beautiful for anyone else.
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I LOVED Laurie’s piece we watched in class last week! It took me a few seconds to realize that this piece was about society’s obsession with flat chested women, not big breasted women. It’s amazing to step out of our own lenses for a second and look into some ideas in a new light. I also started to look at how much society, media, and Hollywood affects the body image and consciousness of women in our country. I think every woman feels they are beautiful in some way, but when they begin to compare themselves to all the other women standing next to them, that is when it becomes an issue.
Women thrive off of their looks in our country. As another classmate of mine has stated, this is what society defines as beauty right now. Why? It’s unfortunate, but it’s because that’s what people want. Men want to date women that look like the celebrities and models they see. Men have been conditioned to want what the image puts forth. Obviously some men have different preferences, like larger boobs or bigger butts, but someone put that image out there in the first place. Someone decided that that is the trendy thing a woman should want for herself.
But look at the confusion it causes. It causes people like Heidi Montag to undergo 10 plastic surgery procedures in a day… not that I think she looks better or that many people do, but her perception of beauty has been contorted by a weigh and body image obsessed society. Look at the cover of almost every woman-targeted magazine; it’s a woman with perfect hair, an unblemished face, airbrushed toned bodies, and revealing or tight clothing. It’s what the fashion industry wants people to wear. They make the celebrity look perfect. Why? They want people to think “Oh my God. She looks amazing.” They want people to want the image. They want people to buy their magazine. The trends may be a little recycled, but society adds their own twist. Right now that twist is tight, outlining, and low cut. I’m not saying that as a girl I want to always wear these clothes, but you have to wear them if you want to be considered “normal.” You have to own hardtails and Uggs and tight going out clothes if you want to even be considered by a guy (who is doing the same thing, to a lesser extreme). I agree that this puts a great deal of pressure on women that are overweight, but you can’t blame them for wanting to fit in.
We live in a country that dictates style, trends, and people that the rest of us want to emulate for some reason. It’s a twisted idea, but everyone wants to be included, you just have to draw your own line and not undergo 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day. I’m really glad Laurie brought this to class because I think it’s something really cool we can all take a look at in a new light.
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I actually enjoyed the video very much and it was enlightening. At first, I wasn't sure what the play was about and I thought it was a little strange until I grasped the message it was conveying. It is crazy how so many women in this world want to change the way they look and want to look "better". It seems lately that people are so obsessed with image and I think it is mainly because of media. We are so obsessed with eating healthy and working out to have the best body. My mom said to me that years ago people didn't just go to the gym every day like we do now. It has become an obsession and I cannot say that I am not included. I'm sure that almost all of the people in class think about the way they look and wish that they could change something about themselves. This play made me think, whether it is about breast implantation or weight, we are all competing to look better. I was shocked by some of the responses that followed the play. I was glad that people were being honest and telling their own stories relating to the play. Many people discussed whether girls dress to impress women or to impress men. This was one thing that I wasn't sure that I agreed with some comments. I definitely think it depends on the person. Some women may dress to make men stare or to get compliments from other women. It depends on the person and it may be a little bit of both. Many people seemed very sure that it was one or the other but we cannot be sure about this topic. It was also quite interesting that it was not just women talking, but also men. They had some things to say about the topic because in the whole perspective, the play was about egocentrism, not just about getting a breast reduction. Many people talked about what they thought about the video and it definitely sparked a lot of conversation and I enjoyed that very much. I like to hear what other people have to say about the topics that we discuss in class. I think that this topic definitely has some controversial issues along with it and it is very personal, which is why it surprised me that people talked about their own personal issues. Many people think that they are the only ones that wished they looked different and this is why I thought it was so great that people opened up a lot on this topic. Hopefully we will have more classes like this in the few classes that we have left in the semester.
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Honestly, women have been worrying about their images for years, and Hollywood just makes it worse. The skinny women with long hair and great personalities. The women in the movies that are drop dead gorgeous and our men crave to have something exactly like them. That’s why I think women are the way they are today. People are shown what is accepted in the media and in the magazines. For example, the young lady, Gabourey Sidibe, in the Movie “Precious,” was just in the news about a controversial topic of the famous magazine Vanity Fair. They were featuring all of the women who have been nominated for an Oscar for the academy awards. The problem was, she was not on the cover and she was one of the nominees. All the women on the cover was skinny, whit, and beautiful; she on the other hand was more than two-hundred pounds, black, and not as attractive as the media would deem her to be. It was a huge uproar and the magazine of course apologized for the problem… but did they mean it?
The fact that that happened wasn’t no accident. The way Hollywood thinks is the way everybody should think. Not to mention the fact that most women compare themselves to their friends as well. The whole “envy” and “jealousy” attitudes come out more so around the people we are close with. I also think it to be a cultural thing. A female who is voluptuous, such as having a nice size butt and huge breasts is accepted among minority men, mainly blacks. However, those qualities are seen as unattractive towards some or majority of white men. For example, my white female friend started to cry after one of my black friends said that she had a “big ass, very nice.” She started to cry because she didn’t want to have a huge butt. She carried on and on about only black men liking her behind and that most white men would tease her about it. Same instance for a white man and a black women. My friend is really into white men, however they don’t give her a chance because of her body size. They all told her that they preferred “petit women,” and now she is struggling to make sure she loses weight so that she would be accepted.
One thing I remembered from that miniature play about women and how they get work done on their bodies is that, “we should not carve our bodies for the fantasies of men,” (Mrs. Richards). That is true; people need to find somebody who accepts them for the way they look. And I know people hear that all the time but it’s the truth. The more we are not accepting of ourselves the more the right people don’t accept them. So, what women should do is simple, accept the person that you’ve become and everything should work out for your good.
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The play in class today was good. These are topics that a lot of females probably go through on a daily basis. When the question what does it mean to be a woman is asked? I answer there is no one response to this questions. All women are different in their own way. There is no one look, feature or anything to be considered a woman. Long hair, short hair, tall, short, these are all attributes of being a woman. But being a woman is different in different cultures across the nation. That’s a pretty difficult question to answer. I consider myself a woman because I am independent, I was born with breast and a vagina but there are so much more things deeper than that. Hollywood and the media don’t portray women the right way in most cases. I know in the black community women are portrayed to have wide hips and a big but and are most of the time thicker. And in the Hollywood community women are often slim, with nice long hair. Depending on the culture you are brought up in and the community you’re a raised in the way you maybe see the way a woman should look might be different. I think women all over the world need to learn that there is not a certain way all women should look. We have to love ourselves the way we are first before anybody will love us. Not everybody likes the look of the “ideal woman” whatever that look is suppose to look like. In Nigeria young ladies are often slimmer this is often a symbol that they are hard workers and their mothers are raising them well to become hard working women. When they become women they tend to get thicker which is a sign of wealth and success. Across different cultures women are portrayed differently. For the most part women in Nigeria are suppose to be the one who cook, cleans, raise the children and often don’t have a real career. Even though there are still women who don’t conform to this like mother who is a single mother making more money than my father will ever see. The media plays a great role in the way women are portrayed in American society though. Growing up as a child all my Barbie dolls were slim with longer hair and flashy clothes in there nice pink cars. Girls grow up wanting to be like the models they see on TV and in magazines. If people start telling their children about self love at a young age it might help them to learn how to be more confident in themselves. Women will always be beautiful in their own different ways.
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I will have to agree that we, women, are more than just a face and a body. We have more attributes than our physical appearance. Sadly, it is one of the first things someone, male or female, notices about a woman. Our society, especially the media, creates this unrealistic image of what women should look like. The media draws the ideal woman as almost 6 feet tall with long legs, long flowing hair, a size 2 body, clear and flawless skin, and a B or C cup size. Realistically, a woman cannot have all of those attributes. Beauty is not defined in one way and especially not by the media. The media also obsesses over trends and what celebrities are wearing. Consequently, our society has grown to be superficial.
I am 5 feet and 5 inches tall with a chest of a 12 year old boy. I am a size two, but I have more of an athletic build than that slender model-look. Throughout middle school, high school, and my freshman year in college, I struggled with my appearance. I felt like I did not look good enough. My best friend is one of those girls who fits image media makes about beauty. I always compared myself to the looks of other girls, my best friend, and celebrities. It really brought down my self-esteem and put a damper on my teenage years. During my senior year of high school, I had a rhinoplasty surgery. I had broken my nose quite a few times and I had developed a significant dorsal hump. I could not even fit my goggles over my nose. It was a reconstructive and cosmetic procedure. I thought my life would be so much better now that my nose did not have Mount Everest projecting from it. I had a false hope that I would start to get noticed more by guys and that the guy who broke my heart sophomore year would be on his knees begging me to go to prom with him. I was completely delusional. I had unrealistic and great expectations. After I fully recovered from my surgery, my best friend asked me about how I liked my new appearance. I was honest and told her I still felt unpretty. As a good best friend, she was honest with me. She told me that I always had the looks, but I never had the confidence to go with it. She told me thought that I was lucky because people noticed me for my personality and not my looks. She was tired of people knowing her as the tall blonde girl. She wanted people to know her for who she really was.
Finally, the first time in my life, I am proud of what I look like. I don’t need to compare myself to celebrities or my peers to feel pretty. I just had to realize that I had an inner beauty and just let it shine through. No one else can define beauty for you. Only you can.
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I feel like the most frustrating part about being a woman is that appearance is the ONLY thing ever talked about! It's absolutely a big issue for women and so many of us have poor body image and low self esteem because of the unrealistic images that are thrown around on runways and in magazines, but we perpetuate the cycle by choosing to discuss it all the time and focus all of our discussions about women on their bodies and appearance and body image. When there are discussions about what it means to "be a woman" appearance is almost always the first thing brought up, but it is not the same at all with men. If we would focus more on other aspects of women- our roles in society, stereotypes, and our different ways of seeing the world we would paint so much of a deeper picture of women. But all the time we're just stuck on the superficial issues and what's on the outside. Even when people, articles, plays, etc are trying to send a positive message- that we're all beautiful no matter what, big or small, tall or shirt, white black or brown, they're still just focusing on outer appearance. There are so many more important aspects of ourselves that we could be focused on, it's a shame to waste so much time discussing appearances!
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I think that this post is quite important not only because of the end message that all women are beautiful, which I completely agree with and more on that note that all people are beautiful and often individuals do not realize that in their own uniqueness and through their quirks they are beautiful because no one can ever be exactly the same as you. Also, there is importance in this post because of the commentary on how women are portrayed in the media. Often times, if not always, women seem to be type cast into the same roles. Conventionally beautiful women are cast as the heroines or the star where women who are perhaps not as marketable or conventionally beautiful play the friend. I also think that it is strange how often times in movies and on television, the blonde character is the good person while a darker haired counterpart will represent the bad side. I would like to think that as a society we are intelligent enough to make judgment on who is good or bad without having to see the overplayed color schemes used to tell us.
Also, my classmate said that being a woman is much more than appearance which I completely agree with. If being a woman only meant having different features than men the world may be a completely different place today. If women had been seen different merely in appearance from the beginning of time, or even for the past 300 years, civilizations would be completely different. Imagine a place with less gender discrimination, equality between women and men in the workplace and beyond. Many of the issues we still fight about today, not only in this country but around the world, could be pacified if starting long ago women and men were thought of as the same people just with some physical differences. Although this may have solved some problems, I am glad that it is not the case, in some ways. Being a woman means being able to express myself more openly than men, it means having more personal relationships and being able to show my emotions without fear of being called out as not “manly” enough. I think that even though the differences between men and women have caused innumerable problems the differences, although at times problematic, are what make us so unique and different from other species.
It may seem contradictory that I am saying at the same time if we only took physical attributes into consideration when defining the sexes that the world may have fewer conflicts then saying that I would not like for gender to only have such strict, physical definitions. I think that women (and men too!) are extremely special and without the gender struggles we would not have evolved the same way and we may be an entirely different type of peoples, be it better or worse, but the uncertainty and chance that society might be WORSE from the lack of gender differences is slightly concerning.
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I agree with her in saying all women are beautiful no matter how they look. I love women, but the media plays a huge role in many women’s appearance and self conscience ways. Many women do not like their appearance they always want something to look better and have a tendency to compare themselves with other women. Some females are just following trends that they see around campus or on television. I have spoken to many women who I would believe as very beautiful but they do not think the same about themselves.
Women should already know that they are beautiful and they need to have that confidence in order to realize how pretty they are. In my opinion, media always has the hottest girls in movies and television shows and women see that men love theses character, so everyday women try to resemble celebrities.
I love a confident women not cocky but confident. She knows what she is, what she has to offer a man and does not back down or feed into the many lies guys may say just to sleep with them for one night. A confident woman understands where a man is coming from in some sense, but carries herself as if she knows she is beautiful.
Every man has their own preference in woman, many men just like a laid back type of girl that they can have fun with. Many women are doing worry about their appearance more than anything else. When I m walking to class at 8 o’clock in the morning and I see women dressed up, make up on as if they were going to a party. That to be is a sign of a woman who worries about their appearance too much. I believe the issue is that too much woman care about what people say about them when they are not around. As for us men many of us could care less about what someone has to say about us when we are not there. It as though some women want everyone to like them even if they do not know them. And to women looking good all the time is the first step to everyone liking them.
As a man appearance does play a role in being in a relationship with a woman, because the first thing you see is how she looks but if a woman looks like a super model but has no intelligence or personality many men would not be with that lady.
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I couldn’t agree more. I though the play in class was definitely interesting to see the role switched where women typically want bigger breasts, but in this play they were in a world where women wanted smaller breasts. I hate that Hollywood and TV have sunken into so many girl’s minds out there that you need to have a certain body image to be beautiful. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and it’s horrible to see and hear about girls who are doing everything they can to change their bodies into something they aren’t… just because they think other people will find them more attractive.
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There is very much a culture, so to speak, of women. In other words, there is a distinct female culture. The play made me think of this culture and also allowed me to recognize the global community and identity of women. I thought of this when I was deciding who this play was targeted toward. It was not applicable or relatable to all women. Maybe just American women. But at the same time it was. There are so many different types of women. The American woman, the Muslim woman, the Geisha woman, etc. And even within these female groups, there are individuals with varying struggles and experiences, particularly with identity. But, see, that is the thing. The experiences are individualized but the idea of identity issues is static. Is this issue of identity, or many times body image crises a female thing? A facet of the female culture? I would hate to think that. There are many negative or stereotypical ideas that are of women. Shopping, gossiping, nagging, and of course, image obsessed. I do not want to sound like a radical feminist, at all! However, I think it is important to understand the true culture of women, especially on a global scale. Women represent strength and power. Unfortunately, we are plagued by images and roles we ought to be. We think there is an ideal image for women (which obviously varies from female group to female group) and we play into it. For what reason, I do not know.
The identities of women are so different across the global spectrum. In my opinion, we all feel similar though. We know there is a thread going through all of us. A thread that represents such things as motherhood and sisterhood. I wonder if this is because of our emotional nature we can feel this, and by emotional nature, I mean strength. But, to answer the question, there is no ONE woman. No matter our shape, size, or culture we just have special understanding. It is an unexplainable relatedness we feel despite are vast differences. Do men feel this way too, this balance of difference, but overwhelming likeness?
All of the comments in class about pressures from other females was weird. For all of the reasons I have listed above, I do not understand why we would do it to each other. Women have made so many gains, so many feats, and have literally kept society going. So, let's try to preserve our culture, and lighten the pressure and restrictions we place ourselves, and other women. Oh, and another thing it is sometimes a disservice to ourselves when we try soo hard to do the "man" thing and act like there is no difference between the genders/sexes, because there is and being a woman is a very special and unique title worth sustaining.
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The play in class was really good. I think it was really funny how Laurie changed the norm to smaller boobs. Women in society do follow what society thinks is beautiful or pretty. It sounded really weird to hear that some one would want to change their self to what society likes. It sounded so absurd for the girl to want to change herself. The funny party was also how she said she wanted to be a hooter girls, because their shirts come to the naval. We all know hooter girls have big breast and wear tight fitting shirts. It actually made a lot of sense. Why would women change their boobs so they could be bigger? I guess it does not really seem that bad when you hear it or let alone sound stupid when you see it? Flipping the script made it seem ridiculous, which it really is. I like how she made that come together. It flowed really well. It was an all together great play. I always knew getting plastic surgery was not what women should do, but I never really put a lot of thought in to it. Now that I saw the play, I actually feel like it sounds really stupid to do such a thing. All women are beautiful just the way they are. We as women should not change for anybody and we should not want to. Everyone should come to a place where they find their own inner beauty. Every woman is beautiful in their own way. I wish they would realize it. People put this set idea in their head of what beauty really is and try to change their image to what that is. There needs to be a change. I think they should do commercials like the play Laurie created to let women know what they are doing sounds really superficial. Superficial is not a role women should strive to be. Natural beauty is the best beauty. When you do not change anything about yourself, that is when you look the prettiest. All women need to know this. Confidence is key and that is all you need in order to feel beautiful. For you to get surgery to better your personal look is not right. Surgery is for a medical purposes only not a personal choice. I do not necessarily consider myself a feminist, but I have of course always believed that women are just as capable of men. I feel that history has shown that woman bear the same intelligence and capabilities that men do. We should have a mind of our own and do things for us. Every women should stay just how they were made.
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After reading the comments about how women are percieved I decided to do a little reasearch before i responded to the blogs. I found that nost women listen to the media andis influenced by the stupidist tings such as youtube videos. What is your idea of being beautiful? Is it having the lightest or darkest complexion? Or thin thighs versus thicker thighs? Have you ever stopped and thought that being beautiful doesn’t define who you are. According to dictionary.com, body images is an intellectual and idealized image of what ones body is or should be like that is sometimes misconceived in such mental disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Young girls particularly have issues within themselves concerning their body weight and images. Often it results to being obsessed with being the ‘ideal’ size and later causing mental disorders. In a society where young teenagers are faced with body and image issues daily, the media presenting certain content is the primary source for this issue. Young girls are constantly being told that they must be a certain weight to be attractive. This is mostly influenced by media videos and beauty magazines.
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There is absolutely no doubt that there is something that unites us all as women. No matter what color, race, class, SES, or location in the world we are all women and there are many ways in which we can relate to each other. To be honest, I even think that men of the world don’t have as much of a strong bond that unites them. For us, women, I think some of the biggest factors for this are maternity, periods, and sexism.
The biggest factor in my opinion, is the fact that we women are mothers. I think this is not just a factor, but a huge factor and that it doesn’t just have something to do with it, but it has everything to do with it. We carry the unborn children in our womb and we give birth to the children of the world and then take care of them and raise them on top of that. And often times, unfortunately, even raise them alone. We go though all the hardships of being mothers together, and in that we are all the same and we can all relate. I honestly think that we would not have as much of a union at all if we did not have this factor in common. There are certain characteristics that we all share just because we are born to be mothers. Those characteristics are biological and innate.
And then, of course, we have our periods! And we love talking about periods in SOC119. I don’t think that anyone could, well should, argue that this is not one of the fundamental factors for our similarity. Periods are these annoying and often unfortunately painful things that we all get and have to deal with whether we want to or not. I think that if you are not a woman, and you do not get your period there is just no way that you will understand. You may understand that they are painful and that they inconvenience us, but you will never truly understand the deep meaning of them. There is something more to them, there is a certain level of understanding and compassion between women when we get our periods. It’s something that is just very hard to explain…
Sexism is of course another grim but important factor. I think that oppression definitely unites people. It brings people together, in sexism, similarly to racism. We, the women, are together also because we are oppressed. We are oppressed by the whole population of men, and it feels like we are oppressed by the world. Because of that we stick together in many situations. We support each other and we stand up for each other because we all know how hard it can be and how much it can hurt to be a woman.
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Also celebrities are portrayed as having perfect attributes that many young girls idolize. Fashion magazines, videos, dieting commercials are just a few sources for this issue. These particular sources advertise popular “thin” celebrities to promote their ideas. For example: there are millions of thinspiration video’s to view online. In particular, some youtube thinspiration videos have a negative approach towards inspiring women to become thin or the “ideal” body size. These are videos that inspire women to want to become thin by any means necessary. Its one’s own choice to want to become thin and stay healthy but it’s a problem when your not healthy trying to make yourself thinner. Thinspiration videos have a negative effect on women and are not a good source for support. Some thinspiration videos accomplish the goal of inspiring women to become thin in a healthy productive way but some distort the reality.
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The media has an unrealistic image of what a woman should look like. Having all commercials, videos and beauty magazine feature thin celebrities only make women believe that that’s what they should want to look like to become beautiful. With thinspiration videos inspiring women through dieting pills and negative approaches, there need to be another method. For example: One thinspiration video found on youtube played I will sacrifice as the backround song. The song encouraged women to sacrifice everything they love to be the way they want even if it takes hurting themselves. It said “sacrifice life”. It’s encouraging women to do anything they need to do to lose weight. In the beginning of the video, it was an image of cupcakes and different snacks, mostly fattening foods. The video also showed pictures of highly respected women such as Halle Berry and Angeline Jolie. These women are role models to most young girls. This particular scene implies that you don’t want to be fat but be thin just like your role model and the women you see on television. Encouraging women to change their body image to look like an unrealistic image of what the media portrays as “beauty”.
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