Tattoos as deviant?

So I just noticed that this never posted over the weekend...I think I hit 'save' instead of 'publish'...sorry about that!


I thought our conversation about tattoos was really interesting and I enjoyed hearing a few different opinions. I think our society, as a whole, has come a long way in the past couple decades in regards to views on tattoos. I think that a lot of people have them, and most people know someone with one, and most people know that it doesn't change who you are as a person and having a tattoo doesn't define who you are. I do see how some people may still "disapprove", however, since the tradition of tattoos have stigmas attached. My grandpa from Puerto Rico still reminds me that most of the time when a woman has a tattoo "back home", it means she's a prostitute. But I do think that these views have changed over time and will continue to change.

I'm happy we talked about tattoos in the workplace, especially when it comes to being a teacher, because that is something that, I think, still has a long way to go and it's quite frustrating. I feel like in these instances there are still very traditional views and that's in order to maintain a certain image. People on the street may be more accepting, but when it comes to certain institutions there may still be traditional values in place in order to maintain a certain "look", and therefore not risking losing money. Unfortunately, when these institutions in our society hold these views, it still makes people feel like there is something wrong with tattoos and people with them are somewhat less professional or competent than people without them. I hope this changes one day because it is absolutely not true.

I found a few really neat pictures of parents on Pinterest who have tattoos and are posing with their children. I just think it's interesting to see people who may be pictured as being "rebels" or "deviants" with babies/children. It shows that everyone is capable of love and nurturing, and a little bit of ink doesn't change that.

No Fat Sizes

While perusing the internet, I found the following article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-wants-thin-customers-2013-5#ixzz2SSY5zAd0

This article shows the cultural focus of the nation. The clothes we consider to be "cool" or "awesome" are inaccessible to those who don't conform to certain sizes. As we read in "Women and the Knife", "for virtually all women as women, success is defined in terms of interlocking patterns of compulsion: compulsory attractiveness..." (168). What message are we as a culture sending when a clothing store, which is considered to be "good clothing", when there are no plus sizes. To a woman, it is demeaning, excluding them from these "cool clothes", and making them the "other". In this way, I feel it is discriminatory and reduces women to a position where they feel they are unnatural. This is not the message we as a nation should be sending.

As the knife cuts, we come full circle

As we have seen in class this past semester several ideas have come together for one last important topic to discuss and that is the topic of cosmetic surgery. This topic deals not only the women having to suffer due to medical authority telling them how to look, but also this topic has a freakshow twist to it. Women who are almost chomping at the bit to enhance and improve their distorted image all in the name of feeling better about themselves is something out of a horror show. It seems that society itself has only gotten worse with all the lessons we have learned from history, members of society are still hopelessly addicted to what the medical world can do for them, rather than what the medical has done and how it has affected us as a society in a negative way. I was almost speechless when I heard that celebrity joan rivers would rather die having plastic surgery than having any other type of surgery. I was shocked even further when no one even asked if she rather die of natural causes in a peaceful state. This in some small fraction is where we as a human race are at right now, mindless moldings of the medical world just waiting for our new and improved selves to become a reality. Personally, from a psychological background anyone who thinks they need plastic surgery should probably seek mental screening before hand. Perhaps negative body image is one of the great downfalls of our current society. What do you think?

-William Webster 

Cosmetic Surgery/ Is 14 to many?

Artifact: Joan Rivers on The Drs

http://youtu.be/5w7JHd4lE6w


14 Surgeries and Counting
Cosmetic surgery has played a key role in women’s lives in the last few years. Women have been manipulated by factors that allow them to look at themselves and brand themselves as “ugly”. In “Designing Women” by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughey, the two authors talk about cosmetic surgery and women, “Cosmetic surgery is an expression of women’s agency” Women express themselves through cosmetic surgery because they want to be “beautiful” in the eyes of society, especially men.
The artifact that I’ve chosen to represent cosmetic surgery is a panel of people talking with Joan Rivers and her surgeries. This is a great artifact because it shows a public figure and her child/daughter discussing important questions when thinking about cosmetic surgery. The discussions that occur between Melissa and Joan in this artifact portray a concerned daughter talking to her mother. The video starts off with an explanation about why Melissa and Joan Rivers are both on the show, “The Drs” by talking about Joan and Melissa’s new television show, “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best”. In the video, Melissa expresses her unhappiness with all of her mother’s cosmetic surgeries. She expresses to her mother that 14 surgeries are enough and that she should not get any more.
The artifact and cosmetic surgery are nicely related to each other. Joan Rivers has been an American icon for approximately 30 years. She is the face of cosmetic surgery, having 14 different procedures performed on her. An important moment shown in the clip of the panel is when Joan Rivers says, “I’d rather die having cosmetic surgery than knee surgery”. This was important because it shows the amount of surgeries women can consider to make them perceive themselves as “beautiful”. “surgical procedures, anesthetic, post-operative drugs, predicted and lengthy pain, and possible side effects, that include death is that her access to other forms of power and empowerment are or appear to be limited that cosmetic is the primary domain in which she can experience some semblance of self-determination” (177). All of these risks are situations that women are subjecting themselves to, in order to obtain society’s standards. Women have not educated enough to understand these risks and therefore are exposing themselves to danger. Melissa Rivers said, “You’re also a woman who had a hysterectomy and tummy tuck at the same time” Melissa Rivers’ quote is showing that her mother takes full advantage of every chance she gets to get cosmetic surgery. Melissa says Joan takes the opportunity to get a tummy tuck when undergoing critical surgery. In Kathryn Pauly Morgan’s “Women and the Knife”, Morgan explains the problems the patients may have towards cosmetic surgery, and “Patients sometimes misunderstand the nature of cosmetic surgery. It’s not a shortcut for diet and exercise.” These two quotes display how women go about changing their bodies to fit the standards of society.

Discussion Questions:
1. What factors contribute to women considering to cosmetic surgery and subjecting themselves to factors like Morgan describes in Women and the Knife, “surgical procedures, anesthetic, post-operative drugs, predicted and lengthy pain, and possible side effects, that include death.” Do you think that women educate themselves enough prior to receiving surgery?
2. How do lower and middle class women afford these procedures that they believe are necessary to make them self’s “beautiful”?
3. The media has a huge impact on women in our society with the bombardment of society standards to be beautiful and desirable. Why do you think women are drawn to meet these standards the cosmetic surgery?  As stated in Patrica Gagne and Deanna McGaughey in a statement from a woman “I remember seeing a model in Cosmopolitan, and her breast weren’t very big, but at least she had some. And I thought that’s what I want mine to look like.”
4. What do you think are the cultural norms that “Designing Women” talks about and what controls these norms?

Artifact Links

Here is Part 1 of the artifact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu6TdZRQpSE
Here is Part 2 of the artifact
http://main.stylelist.com/2011/02/02/bridalplasty-allyson-donovan/


Darren Pope

Cosmetic Surgery/ Bridalplasty Artifact

Going Under the Knife

                The artifact chosen to represent cosmetic surgery has two parts. The first part is a video clip from the TV show, “Fox and Friends”. In the clip, the panel discusses a new reality show entitled, Bridalplasty, which focuses on women competing for a chance to receive plastic surgery for their wedding. In the second part of the artifact, the winner from Bridalplasty, Allyson Donovan, talks about her feelings about getting plastic surgery and what her motivations were behind competing on the show.

                The first part is the video clip of a review of the show, Bridalplasty. The panel reviewing Bridalplasty on “Fox News and Friends” consisted of a news anchor, celebrity plastic surgeon, and a psychologist discuss the immoralities this show produces for its viewers. The panel talks about the aspects of the show that makes it controversial. The clip describes the risks and cautious mentalities the viewers of the show should have. The cosmetic surgery that the panel refers to is assumed to be uneducated procedures decided by the women on the show. The women are thought to be consumed by the prize and do not care about the risks of the surgery. The commercial that the news channel features shows the many changes that women consider when choosing to have cosmetic surgery performed. An important topic from the discussion of the panel also includes talking about how women are changing their looks in front of the public eye. The clip gives a list of procedures that include teeth whitening, Botox/skin resurfacing, breast lifts and augmentations, liposuction, tummy tucks, and nose jobs.

                The second part is the interview with Bridalplasty winner, Allyson Donovan. In the interview, Allyson talks about her rationale for competing in the show, “I just wanted what a lot of women that are in their 30s that have had children want: to lose the baby weight, get rid of the belly pouch, erase wrinkles and have boobs that don't sag down to your belly button.” Allyson tells the interviewee about how she used to be slim and in shape when she met her future husband, but eventually she gained weight after having children and wanted to get back to her previous appearance. Donovan also talks about her health issue with diabetes and how it affected her opportunities to have cosmetic surgery performed, instead replacing the surgeries with healthy alternatives. At the end of the interview, Donovan admits she was not nervous about arriving to the wedding and receiving a negative response from the attendees and her fiancé. Allyson’s husband John was not able to see her while the show was being produced and had to read about her appearance on the internet. It turns out that he also became motivated because of the show and lost some weight as well.

                This artifact relates nicely to the works of “Women and the Knife” by Kathryn Pauly Morgan and “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughey. The artifact shows women seeing themselves as ugly and wanting to make themselves more beautiful to not only themselves, but to the male gaze that Gagné and McGaughey talk about. Even though Allyson’s husband was not there to motivate her to get these surgeries, the producers on the show, or the pressure of remaining beautiful for her husband was enough to make her want to get cosmetic surgery. Morgan in her piece talks about how women seek cosmetic surgery because their bodies fail to show youthful femininity. The media can also have a huge impact on women by showing what it means to be beautiful and desirable. Women that have had children want to achieve the look they had before and perceive themselves as looking like the woman before motherhood. The authority shown here comes from many different locations. The male gaze is authoritative because women are influenced by male figures to be beautiful and attempt to meet those standards. Media also plays a huge role in being an authoritative figure in shaping women’s minds. In this artifact, it is unknown whether or not these women have educated themselves about the risks of cosmetic surgery. Media serves as an example of Focault’s Panopticon, where these women are being watched by society and do not know if they are making the right decision or not.

                The first part of the artifact shows the numerous procedures the women are competing for to win. While it shows the number of procedures, it does not show the cost. In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan describes the total costs to have cosmetic surgery, which can range from $10,000-35,000 for the surgery alone. The show does not even hint at any costs of having surgery and aims at making these women “beautiful”. This first part of the Artifact mainly is focused on the inconvenience the media has on women’s minds. The news segment is aimed at dismissing the aspects of the television show while the show itself is promoting women being more beautiful through cosmetic surgery. Around the twenty second mark of the video, the anchor describes of twelve women competing with one another to get surgeries performed on them. This could be important when we remember the concept of women comparing their bodies with one another from “Women and the Knife”. At the 45 second mark of the clip, the end of the commercial says that “the winner gets cut”. Gagné and McGaughney talk about how cosmetic surgery is an instrument to control their bodies and lives. In this show, there is no feeling of self-control because these women are competing to get so many surgeries done to their body. Towards the 2 minute mark, the question of the male gaze arises again in a different form. The men are isolated from their women, only to see them at their wedding with all of the changes taking place. The male gaze should still exist here, and the women are trying to maintain a look that their husband, as well as any other male watching the program will be pleased with. Finally at the end of the clip, the comment regarding the women feeling regret after a few years of marriage brings up a controversial issue. This should make women think twice before experiencing cosmetic surgery because they may end up not appreciating their own look after some time has passed. Cosmetic surgery is not really worth the time and the money to spend if the woman will feel regret later down the road.

                The second part of the artifact is important to use because it shows the many different aspects of thought processes towards cosmetic surgery. Morgan describes these thought processes of women considering cosmetic surgery, “We see working girls, dental technicians, middle-class women who are unhappy with their looks or are aging prematurely” Donovan talked about her displeasure with the way she looked after bearing a child, “When I first met John, I was in the best shape of my life. I was finally down to a size 6 and happier than ever. I had pretty much been overweight my entire life and finally lost all my weight.” The change from being “beautiful” to being “ugly” in Allyson’s eyes caused consideration towards getting cosmetic surgery.  Regret was a common issue that was brought up in the first part of the artifact and is just as important in the second part. At this point in Allyson’s life after the television show, she is contempt with her appearance. If there was a second interview conducted 5-7 years after she competed for surgery, there could be some different answers that Allyson would provide to those reading the interview. Allyson said she enjoyed the process which could lead to other women being influenced based on the “shared beauty culture” Gagné and McGauhney talk about in their reading.

                Authority plays a key role in these women’s lives. The authority can come from many different directions and cause pressure to force these women into deciding cosmetic surgery as an alternative to obtaining beauty. This artifact presents the issue of authority very nicely and can create many discussions on why cosmetic surgery is both positive and negative for women.

Discussion Questions:

1.      1.  In Morgan’s reading, “Women and the Knife”, Morgan talks about the three paradoxes of choice. These paradoxes are, “The Choice of Conformity-Understanding the Number 10”, “Liberation into Colonization”, and “Coerced Voluntariness and the Technological Imperative”.  What is the importance of these three paradoxes of choice? Is there an apparent male gaze described in these paradoxes and does the male gaze present any problems in the three paradoxes?

2.     2.  In the “Bridalplasty” clip about the review of the show, it’s revealed that the winner of the competition will receive the ultimate cosmetic surgery and be revealed at the wedding to everyone. What is the importance of media in challenging these women to get plastic surgery? Could this show possibly persuade other women to get cosmetic surgery because of their “shared beauty culture” described by Gagné and McGauhney?

3.     3.  In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan passes on some information from a surgeon in the field, “Patients sometimes misunderstand the nature of cosmetic surgery. It’s not a shortcut for diet and exercise” (168). Motherhood along with many aging factors attribute to women deciding to get plastic surgery. Are women being perceived as more lazy getting cosmetic surgery? Do you think women are ignoring health risks that come along with cosmetic surgery?

4.     4.  In “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughney, the authors talk about how surgery allowed patients to be treated in a way that they perceived themselves, such as getting more attention from men, and feeling young. What are examples of positive perceptions that will result from surgery and what are some examples of negative perceptions? Do these negative perceptions outweigh the risk of getting cosmetic surgery? 

Darren Pope

Don't eat that donut or you'll get FAT!!!

In this week's post, I wanted to give my "two cents" on the whole idea of the "fat tax" that most airlines want to use. I think that is extremely discriminatory and plain stupid. The idea of taxing a heavy person for flying is very sad to me because the airline companies just keep wanting to make a buck and they will find anyway to make said buck!! I can't believe that the airlines will go this low to make a quick buck. This is horrible and the person who came up with this idea should be fired on the spot.

I mean so what if a person is a bit too overweight or maybe a bit "hefty," they should still be treated like me and you. I don't care if a person is fat, they are still a person to me no matter what!! Fat is both cultural-based and genetics-based. We mentioned in class that people would rather spend $5 at McD's for dinner than go out to the store and buy groceries for a week's worth. In this day and age, people are too fast-paced to go out grocery shopping for healthier options. I mean my mom and I made it a weekly trip to go to TOPS to buy food for our family. We planned out what we wanted to have a week ahead of time so we could watch for coupons in the paper. Today people are so worried about everything else that they don't want to go home and make a meal; all they care about if this fast-pace world we live in.

We should not judge people just because they are hefty. I mean heavy people know they have a weight problem and many are fixing it. We should NOT ASSUME that just because someone is a bit heavy that he/she don't exercise or you know the old saying.

In the end, don't judge someone for being hefty. We need to stop labeling!!

~Chad S.