Women empowerment in the 21st-century beauty and fitness industry Joey Hung Throughout history, there has always been a huge emphasis on beauty standards. But, in our present day, mainstream media has drastically changed to focus on inclusivity and empowerment of women rather than an 'ideal body.' I have chosen the theme, "women empowerment in the 21st-century beauty and fitness industry". This theme is evident in the videos Beauty on Your Own Terms by Dove, You Can't Stop Us, by Nike, Body Hero, by Glossier and Kellogg Special K Commercial, by Kellogg's. The video commercial, Beauty on Your Own Terms, by Dove uses typical stereotypes to their advantage to show the theme "women empowerment in the 21st-century beauty and fitness industry." The video's motto is "my beauty, my say," which means you get to define what beauty means to you, and you get to express yourself however you want to. All the women in the video have had a prejudice against them because of how they looked but being unapologetic about their appearance allowed them to express themselves. An example of this is the first girl; people said she was "too pretty to fight." Because of how she looked, people did not take her seriously in her profession (boxing). But as she said herself, "my face has nothing to do with my boxing". Incidentally, she ranked number 1 in the country and number 2 in the world. This shows how labels cannot be put on someone just because of their appearance; everyone deserves to feel beautiful and express their terms of beauty. We get to express ourselves however we want to; our age, race, gender, hair, or body doesn't define how we act or what we are meant or not meant to be doing. Our experiences, beliefs, hobbies and interests shape how we express ourselves. We can't be defined by what we were born with because we can't change that. But what we experience throughout our life defines us and shapes us as a person. I relate to this because my appearance is very timid and shy. People have a certain expectation of me to be very conservative in the way I express myself. But I like to wear a lot of revealing clothing, like crop tops, because that's what I feel most confident in, but I've been judged by many people on what I wear. Just like Beyonce or Dojo Cat wear revealing clothing to show power, I wear revealing clothing to feel confident. Like the girls in Beauty on Your Own Terms, we should be 100% unapologetic about how we choose to express ourselves. The theme of "women empowerment in the 21st-century beauty and fitness industry "is present in the video commercial, You Can't Stop Us by Nike. The video uses imagery to convey this message. The commercial uses split-screen editing of various sports events to show diversity and empowerment. For example, they show a split-screen of a women's baseball team and a men's baseball team side to side. The two scenes clip together cohesively, making the subject (the person) looks as though they move to the other half of the scene seamlessly. This symbolizes that they're equals and that both teams should be treated with the same respect. It's like the expression, two sides of the same coin. Although women's sport is viewed so differently from men's sport, at the core, they're the same. Because women are capable of doing what men can do and can perform just as good as men, they're equals, but society has made that so hard to see. This goes for many other scenarios, black or white, skinny or fat, gay or straight; they are all humans, but there are seen so differently by society. This text/idea reminded me of my experiences when I was younger. I joined the Rugby team in primary school. It was long ago, but during that time, many people ridiculed me for joining as I was the only girl. I ended up getting the best player reward in my team, which made me feel like I was one of them. I think that's what Nike is trying to convey, that all of us are one. We are all capable of doing what the other can do. We can accomplish what the other accomplishes. The text empowers people with the message of diversity and equality. The video commercial Body Hero by Glossier expressed the theme, "women empowerment in the 21stcentury beauty and fitness industry." Glossier aims to empower women with the idea that "everyone deserves to feel beautiful." Feeling beautiful is not only reserved for a specific group of people but is open to all people. The example "If I can embrace my body and tell you I'm beautiful, then that means I'm a body hero" means that our beauty and our bodies should be celebrated. Because all bodies are different and unique in their own way. We are all born different; there shouldn't be a "beauty standard" because no one person looks alike. Additionally, the video visually represents a wide variety of women, such as POC, different size ranges, and powerful women. Being represented in mainstream media empowers us; it makes us feel beautiful and that we deserve to be beautiful. The idea of inclusivity in this text reminds me of the big K-pop wave of 2018. Before the K-pop craze, Asians weren't as represented in mainstream media. Many Asians, including myself, weren't confident or had low selfesteem. After K-pop "became a thing," I noticed Asians were treated differently in society. Asians were more confident, and people treated them differently from before. In some ways, it was a kind of uprising, an uprising of positivity and empowerment. Being represented changes views on minorities and sheds them in a better light. Representation reinforces positive views on minority groups and helps people feel belonging in society. Inclusivity and representation have only been introduced in recent years, but before our times, the media was far from empowering. This is discussed in the next paragraph. We might have thought inclusivity and empowerment were always present in media throughout history, but not so long-ago beauty commercials were nothing but degrading to women. The video commercial, Kellogg Special K Commercial, by Kellogs, was first aired in 1991. In contrast with the theme of empowerment, this commercial degraded woman who weren't in the "standard." The "standard" back then was a slim figure, pale skin, and ultra-femininity. In the Kellogs special K commercial it had multiple camera shots that focused on the woman's slender figure. They had close-ups of her waist before buttoning her jacket and a shot of her behind as she walked out the door to put emphasis on her body. The commercial was degrading to women who weren't as skinny as the model shown in the commercial. The imagery and message of the commercial make other women self-conscious about their bodies. The commercial creates an overwhelming pressure to conform to expectations of beauty. Conveying the idea of a specific "beauty standard" is harmful to women because it reinforces the idea that your worth is determined by your appearance. But our appearance is only a tiny fraction of what makes you you. Because Kellogg's is promoting skinny bodies as the only beautiful body, it suggests that fatter bodies aren't beautiful. What's most lacking in Kellogg Special K Commercial is representation, especially in different body types. If bodies of all types were shown, no one would feel left out or feel like they aren't beautiful. I believe inclusivity is the main aspect in empowering women. Beauty on Your Own Terms, by Dove, You Can't Stop Us, by Nike, Body Hero, by Glossier and Kellogg Special K Commercial, by Kellogg's all showed me how what is shown in media can strongly influence society and change people's views on beauty. Media is a powerful tool; it can be used to empower women, but it can also be used to shame women. Your uniqueness is your beauty.
