Saturday, February 9, 2013

Body Image


With regards to the arguments made by Bartky, I thought about the Victoria Secret Fashion show as another example of how body image is portrayed.  The show suggests that women should look a particular way in order to be considered sexy or attractive to society. In reality though, these models don’t look like the photographs in real life; for TV and photos the models are photoshopped and smothered with makeup. It is all a fantasy that is unattainable and ultimately creates body issues and self-esteem problems in young girls and women. A lot of women watch this program even though they know it will make them feel pressure and bad about their own physical appearance because they are not as skinny or as pretty. This brings on self-esteem issues and false encouragement for younger girls. They may think that this is socially acceptable and that if they don’t look or dress in a certain way then they won’t be accepted. Men, I think, get this idea that all women should look like this and if they don’t they are looked down upon and not respected.

Dove started a campaign for real beauty which is shown in the second picture, depicting women of different shapes and sizes. The campaign is a way to announce the need for a wider definition of beauty. I don’t think physical appearance should be as important as it is in today’s society. Women used to be considered attractive if they were curvy and it is interesting how today that has changed. Women who are skinny are viewed as sexier and more desirable. What do you think caused this transition?  Incorporating different sized models is beneficial to society, so impressionable girls or boys are not subjected to the viewpoint of what a man or woman should look like.  We have grown as a society in which people can be unique and express themselves, so having different body types should be imposed in the media as well.
-emothersell

1 comment:

  1. Although I agree completely with the post and with the Dove Real Beauty Campaign I also feel as though not all women are being represented. Some women are naturally very skinny, I have a friend who has to work very hard to gain weight. Despite these campaigns showing 'real women' it could be sending a message to the 'skinny' girls that they aren't 'real women'. I am not trying to say that being skinny is what every one should be aiming for, nor am I saying that overweight women aren't beautiful, it's about being healthy whatever weight that may be.

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