Alyssa McGavin
Sociology 1010
The Beauty Myth: Naomi Wolf
The everyday struggle to fit into society’s standards of beauty that we learn from the
media and socialization. There is an ever present struggle for thinness and perfection that can’t
be achieved and yet women are fighting for it every day. We are bombarded with images, from
billboards to television. Every magazine has a title about weight loss and making men love us.
Eating disorders are growing in numbers and the girls (and boys) that are struggling with them
are becoming younger and younger. When the first wave and second waves of feminism
stripped away the idea that a woman’s only value was in her ability to rear children and that
her purpose in life was to be a loving mother forever, society needed to regain its claim on
women’s freedom and confidence. Naomi Wolf says herself, “As women released themselves
from the feminine mystique of domesticity, the beauty myth took over its lost ground,
expanding as it waned to carry on its work of social control.”
In the first chapter, Wolf introduces the beauty myth and the hold it had on modern
society. Not only do woman prescribe to the idea that they must look like movie stars, who are
heavily made up with beauty products and photoshopped, but it has found its way into male
minds as well. It has to, for it to ultimately work as a way to subjugate women. They have
become blind to what “natural beauty” is and have the power in a conversation that women
can ultimately never win. “Men love to pretend that they love the ‘natural look’. And then you
question them, like, ‘what do you mean natural?’ And they’re like, ‘you know, like Kim
Kardashian.’ They literally don’t think she’s wearing any makeup. They have no clue.” Alice
Wetterland, from MTV’s GirlCode jokes. She is not far off. There is a constant attack on women
for prescribing too much to the beauty myth, or not prescribing enough to the beauty myth.
Social media is a war field for women, where they are judged solely on their appearance. The
power is given to men again in the form of “Sexual Selection.” Used by anthropologists to
explain why men and women select their partners, the beauty myth has become a falsehood
for reproductive success. Men want beautiful women, not because they are shallow or
socialized to, but because beautiful women are more like to be fertile. They cry survival of the
fittest, but lie of beauty is just another we have been forced to believe by socialization.
Reproductive fitness has literally nothing to do with the aesthetic appearance of the woman,
especially not one created through inferiority and consumerism.
With women entering the work force and the industrial revolution, women came to
connect the economy and success with their own beauty. They worked harder, as women tend
to naturally do, than their male counterparts, yet were paid significantly less. Even today, it is a
common statistic that women make about 70-80% of what men do and still it is easily brushed
off. They were seen as faint and easily fatigued. Skills are still brushed off and many women are
not hired even today for the simple fact that they are women. They are too emotional. They
aren’t as strong or reliable as male workers. They are more likely to get sick. They get pregnant
sometimes. There are many excuses employers use to justify discrimination against women.
Sexism ran rampant and it seemed the only way to survive in the overwhelming unfair system
was to be seen as a commodity, through their appearance. Different standards are set for men
and women in the work force when it comes to appearances. Many people say the first thing
potential employers notice is trimmed, painted nails in an interview. Yet, we would never
expect men to paint their nails. It seems absurd. And it comes down to little everyday things
that men and gender non-conforming individuals don’t notice that women painfully ascribe to
in order to stay within the social norm and achieve a high status of beauty.
Beauty as a field of work has grown as well, putting further pressure on women to be
valued only for their appearance. Modeling would be an obvious selection, which is mainly
female dominated and the appearance is the main factor in hiring. Strict weight limits and
height limits are put on girls, even then many do not make the cut. After they are hired, their
appearance is so altered that they often suffer from confidence issues. Not to mention, those
that don’t make the cut and those that would never even consider modeling because they don’t
fit into the narrow standards, are made to feel not good enough because they are not
appealing enough to be seen as worthy for modeling. There is also make-up sales and hair
salons. Many make-up stores or counters will only hire women who appear sophisticated or
young or pretty. They feel the need to set a standard with their employees for women to aspire
for. The workforce is maintained by almost exclusively women. It is the sale of products used to
alter and change appearance and it is marketed and directed almost exclusively to women.
The Beauty Backlash came with its price in the work force as well. Women who are
considered ugly or unfeminine are fired and then not taken seriously for trying to bring
themselves justice. Appearance is often blamed for sexual harassment and inappropriate
behavior in the workplace. The fact remains, however, that regardless of appearance women
tend to be harassed in the work place significantly more than their male counterparts. They are
catcalled and raped for the same reason. Sexism and the oppression of women. The patriarchal
society we have been socialized in has put women in a place of inferiority and these things,
harassment etc., are used by men to maintain power over women. Steps have been taken to
improve work environments, like Title VII, and there has been progress. But there is still work to
be done and many harassers are simply warned and punishment does not happen, even for
repeat offenders. Rape is hardly ever the fault of the rapist, but instead the fault of some
woman who was supposedly asking for it by her dress or demeanor. The victim of the
harassment tends to blamed for their looks or behavior, although that hardly ever has anything
to do with the situation at hand. It is embarrassing that our society constantly excuses rape,
sexual offenders, and harassers because of the impossible responsibility put on women to look
a certain way.
In comic books, Men are portrayed as valiant and strong. But when it comes to female
heroines, they are overly sexualized with poor character
development. In young adult fiction, there is a disproportionate
amount of young female heroines today, many are strong and
capable, but many are also define by their relationship and become
incapable of anything without their “secondary character” male
relationship. Even the strong characters are often wrapped in some
sort of love triangle or complicated courtship. In magazines, women
are always told how to improve themselves, especially in the eyes of men. There are not many
interest pieces, instead they are filled with sex tips and weight loss goals. They tell you different
ways to do makeup and hair, how to have clear skin, white teeth, and just generally be
beautiful. When men are pictured in magazines, they are depicted as people: usually fully
clothed, with emphasis on face and achievements. But when women are pictured, in both
men’s and women’s magazines, they are usually wearing very little and the emphasis is put on a
body part (legs, breasts, etc.) not the face, and sexiness or relationship goals instead of
personal successes. There is censorship on women’s sexuality in television, books, and movies.
A movie depicting male orgasm will usually garner a rating of PG13, but a movie depicting
female orgasm will garner a rating of R. Men’s butts in movies are usually shown with some sort
of comedic element that can’t be depicted with female behinds because of the exclusive way
their nudity is used as sexual, instead of natural. Despite the composition being essentially
exactly the same, male nipples are free to roam the world, where a woman’s will get her
arrested if she shows them in public.
Throughout the world there is obvious discrimination against women. In many Middle
Eastern cultures, male sexuality punishes women for being too arousing. When out in public,
women need to be covered from head to toe, sometimes even including the majority of their
face, to prevent being sexualized by men. If something does happen, the woman is persecuted
and blamed and no fault falls upon the man. In American culture, though we do not cover
ourselves from head to toe, the blame tends to lie in the same place. Religions often relegate
women to lower positions, ones without power or authority. They are meant to be clean and
chaste, and of course lovely in appearance, but without tempting men in their congregation. In
the LDS religion, a great deal of responsibility is put on young women to remain sexually pure
until after marriage and watch their actions so that boys their age were not tempted to do
something that would make them unworthy. There are certain parts of the body that need to
be covered and strict guides for modesty, that of course apply mainly to females. In other
religions, women can either be Eve or Lilith, a simple creature that brought the fall of mankind
through her stupidity or an overtly sexual one that will forever defile men of their virtue. The
theme is always central in its effect on men. Women are promised to men in the afterlife if they
are good, as if they were objects instead of people. Because in the sight of many, women are
just objects. But objects only worth consuming if pure.
A woman’s sexuality is used to sell products everywhere. Carl’s Jr and Go Daddy are
infamous in their exploitation of women as a marketing tool. They are some of the worst
perpetrators, but not the only ones. It almost seems weird to not see women sexualized as a
way to sell something. It’s another part of the beauty myth, being seen as an object, and the
capitalist benefit from it. But only men are the ones being marketed to, even the products
directed at women are directed at them so that they are better objects for men. Yet, for
something so commonly seen and apparently a great selling point women’s sexuality is vastly
regulated. Over 600 regulations on contraception and women’s bodies have been made in 2014
alone. Hobby Lobby and other companies fight over providing reproductive care for women in
their employee health insurances (Boxer). But no one is fighting over whether or not Viagra
should be covered. The double standard that women who have much sex are sluts and who
don’t have sex at all are prudes is non-existent in the male spectrum. Men aren’t expected to
remain pure, nor are they compared to used cars or a passed around chocolate bar if they
don’t. Then, when it comes to the actual sex, women are subjugated and abused, a lot of this
having to do with the influence of porn. They are expected to participate in sexual acts they
don’t want to in order to be seen as desirable. They have to be fit and shave every square inch
of their body, because body hair on women is seen as unsightly and unhygienic. The beauty of
the naked body according to society is something completely different to the everyday beauty
myth but it is just as harmful. Women are more likely than men to subject themselves to laser
hair removal or plastic surgeries, like breast augmentations or surgeries to lessen the
appearance of the labia, to be seen as more sexually desirable and beautiful.
Most of the starving people in the US and the world are women and children because they are
not given the same value of life as men. But
those who are not starving unwillingly, do it to
better fall into the beauty myth. “The rate of
development of new cases of eating disorders
has been increasing since 1950. There has been
a rise in incidence of anorexia in young women
15-19 in each decade since 1930. The incidence
of bulimia in 10-39 year old women TRIPLED
between 1988 and 1993. 42% of 1st-3rd grade
girls want to be thinner and 81% of 10 year olds
are afraid of being fat. 35-57% of adolescent
girls engage in crash dieting, fasting, selfinduced vomiting, diet pills, or laxatives.
Overweight girls are more likely than normal
weight girls to engage in such extreme dieting”
(Prevalence vs. Funding). The average weight of
a model is the lowest it has ever been.
Magazines and other forms of media show
women with their bones sticking out, who are skinny but also curvy in a way that is impossible
to achieve naturally. Many girls feel that their lives would be better if they were skinnier.
Statistics could be cited all day about the impact the media has had in perpetuating the beauty
myth that is causing girls to literally wither away and die before our very eyes so that they can
be accepted by society.
The last chapter before the wrap up was about violence
on women. Rape was discussed in the workplace, but one of
the most prevalent forms of violence against women is
domestic abuse. More American women were killed by their
male partners in 2012 than people who have been killed in US
terror attacks, US troops killed in Afghanistan, and US troops
killed in Iraq combined (What War on Women). Women are
killed for just being women constantly. Many women don’t leave their partners out of fear, but
many also won’t leave because of the deep seede insecurity caused by the beauty myth that
they deserve what is happening to them. They believe they won’t find anything better because
they are not good enough. If that isn’t absolutely insidious than I don’t know what is. There is
an overwhelming amount of violence against women and the response is not disgust, it is
blame.
Ever since high school I have identified as a feminist and am especially becoming
knowledgeable in their ideology in the past year. The struggle for beauty and the prevalent
objectification of women is something that I have always been passionate about but has taken
a back burner in recent feminist discussion to contraception and abortion rights. But the ability
to separate women from objects in our society is not common and more often than not many
people are unaware of the phenomenon. Even when it is explained to them, we have been
socialized to deny our oppression. I really enjoyed this book and think that more people should
read it and become aware of it. I thought it was easy to read and is important to sociology
because of the research it does to the oppression of women in society.
Bibliography
Average Women's Magazine. Hendricks, Christina 2014. Image
Boxer, Sen. "Why Are We Still Fighting Over Birth Control in the 21st Century?" The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 July 2014. Web. 9 Aug. 2014.
GirlCode. Music Television Network. MTV, Television.
"Prevalence vs. Funding." Get The Facts On Eating Disorders. Web. 9 Aug. 2014.
What War on Women? Infographic. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2012 Image.
Women Are Dying To Be Thin: Infographic. Rader Programs. 2014 Image.