Have you ever heard about this quote "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder"?
Now. It is the time to talk about the most sensitive subject among everyone, especially women, the beauty.
There are so many devotes in the society within the concept of the beauty.
In my opinion, the exposure in the media about the beauty determines the concept and the grading-chart for beauty.
In America, studies have shown that girls prefer white dolls over any other 'colored' dolls. Despite to this idea, In Asian, girls prefer Asian dolls (or toys that the girls can physically assimilate with)
Why do guys want hottest girl to be the girlfriends? Or even, to choose as a fantasy in their minds?
Some people argue that it is in the genes; however, the concept of the beauty is changes throughout the time periods. Best example can be shown in arts. The portrayals of women who were considered Venuses at that time might not be seen as same in this time period.
However, the idea of having a glamorous body is universal. Glamorous body represents the maternity that is directly linked with people's unconscious mind.
Struggle to claim the beauty in the society differs within the racial community that one belongs to. From the reading of "a Letter to My Sister", is one of the many descriptions of how people strive to claim the beauty, but often times fail. An Asian woman who went through various plastic surgery procedures to assimilate to the society that she thought she belonged to. "Our inclusion into the American process turned out to be our worst form of oppression."
It is the 'love your body' week. And the previous picture in this blog post has the image of the over-weight girl with the sign that says "F*ck Fascist Beauty Standards". "Fat is NOT a Bad Work".
Love your body week is about promoting good self-esteem, good self-worth, good self-image and body possibility.
However, the action that she is doing in this picture gives me the sad smile, just like the women who do the plastic surgery to 'self-objectify' in the society, this girl is doing her 'self-defense' from the shield of love your body week's theme.
Interesting Post! I am formally aware of the study on how children decide to choose a white doll over a colored doll! I think that society and media contributes to that force. In society, people associate white with being clean, next to godliness, and good. In opposition, black meaning dirty, evil, and bad. Another intresting idea tha you mention is how men want their women to be really beautiful. I think that is also a media and society value, which everyone formally desires because of what media portrays important. Anyhow, I like your post!
ReplyDelete-Gerald Rabot
My problem with the term “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” is that by the time we are of age to appreciate “beauty” our views have already been shaped by the media. As this blog post says these idea change with time. What my father believed to be beautiful may not be the same for me. I honestly think that the only way that can change is if we, as a collective, change are reliance on the importance of the physical side of a person.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would rather watch a movie and form my own opinion than watch the trailer. That's how I feel about beauty.
I never really understood the fad about getting the double eyelid surgery. I think beauty is forced upon us by the mass media. I feel that the reason for Asian women who get plastic surgery in order to look more white is that for them, the white culture is a culture that represents power and wealth. By surgically alter their natural features such as getting bigger eyes and a certain type of nose gives these women a sense of having such power. Honestly though, I really like the natural look of a monolid. I feel it gives people character and uniqueness.
ReplyDeleteYour post triggered something that I've been gnawing at for a long time. In terms of the "fat is beautiful" I feel that the slogan is a little off putting. Personally, I don't think fat is beautiful. I think a Healthy is beautiful. It's one thing to love yourself but I believe that being obese and saying that "I'm fat, I'm beautiful, and there's nothing you can do about it" is an excuse for not living out a healthier lifestyle. It's one thing to be confident in your own skin. But it's another thing to flaunt unhealthiness and obesity. Obvioussly the same can be said about the other end such as being super skinny. My take is that loving yourself is to love your body which is to live a healthy and balanced life.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the beholder is constantly influenced by society so it's more like society defines beauty. It is an unfortunate problem, but it hold true on the influence our environment has on us. I do think that body-image issues affects everyone and it is something that cannot be helped. If you are poor man's version of anything, it's your self-perception. That has been a part of the human condition for as long as we existed and it is something that will be part of it for as long as we are here.
ReplyDelete