Is Bolder and Better More Beautiful?
“The most dangerous social trends are those that subconsciously shift the way
society thinks about itself.” (Forest 166). Does this scare you? It scares me, especially
when I think of how true it is when applied to so many women—women I know!
Everywhere we go we see billboards, magazine adds, and commercials never saying that
women are beautiful just the way they are, but implying that women will only be
beautiful if they buy a certain product. Women are starting to ignore their own value and
beauty due to the media. There is always one more face cream to buy, more makeup to
try, and it seems the media is taking horrible advantage of women and their self-esteem.
Society has pushed women towards a negative spiral, promoting a lack of confidence in
her looks and convincing her that she doesn’t possess enough natural beauty to be
accepted by anyone. Will we let this continue?
Emily Prager writes an interesting article called “Our Barbies, Ourselves” on
Barbie and how reluctant she feels that Barbie was made by a man. Prager discusses
certain issues such as bust, genitals, texture, and sexual tensions that all convince her of a
certain masculinity about Barbie. She loved Barbies when she was little, but always
thought about why Ken never had as much exposure as Barbie did. Now looking back to
her youthful years, Prager wonders why it was okay with the toy companies to expose
Barbie so much to the world. Being a feminist, she wonders about Barbie and if Ken’s
genitals are “more powerful than hers [Barbie’s], more worthy of the dignity of
concealment.”(Prager 173). There is also a question of Barbie’s bust size compared to her
waist and her lack of “softness” (172).
Adam Forest writes an article called “Beauty and Violence” made up of criticisms
about the new motto used by the Bed Head 2000 line of TIGI hair and makeup products.
Forest describes a women’s makeup: the blue, green, purple colors for her eyes and
cheekbones similar to that of bruises as well as smeared red blood-looking lipstick. I
think he depicts somewhat of an exaggerated look however, very interesting-not many
people view this so harshly. He also witnesses the same message on a poster at a hair
salon--the girl looked like she’d been beaten. Forest claims that if women continue to
view the “beaten look” as sexy and socially accepting, this could very well change how
men will treat them--and how women will treat themselves!
Both Prager and Forest seem to point out some fault in our fast world. They say
that women have to be beaten and conquered like a bruised apple and have a twentythree-inch waistline in order to be lovable. I have seen women being mocked for not
wearing makeup and being teased about never “getting any guys” because they’re
considered overweight by their peers. This is saying that Americans care nothing of
intellect or morals--everything of physical attractiveness and money. It’s a fact that
women get paid more than men in two jobs: modeling and prostitution, both dealing only
with looks.
To girls, we thought Barbie was the coolest woman there was, the epitome of
perfection. But if we examine her closely, we see that she is something the vast majority
of women are not and shouldn’t want to be. Who would want to have boobs as big as
Barbie’s? “It is a fact of Barbie’s design that her breasts are so out of proportion to the
rest of her body that if she were a human woman, she’d fall flat on her face” (Prager
172). Does that sound fun? I like standing on two feet, thank you. But Forest does offer
us a challenge. “With current media and fashion trends pointing American society in a
dangerous direction, it will take a culture comprised of socially aware, anti-sexist men
and women to counter the movement.” (Forest 167)
I have seen many instances where women don’t feel like they’re good enough.
My aunt is restrained to a wheelchair and whenever she sees a gorgeous model, even
though her intent is humor, she curses at them with envy. It’s not her fault she can’t hop
up and start working out to get a better looking body. Society would tell her and all the
women I know over ten that they’re unlovable because they don’t weigh 110 pounds.
Why doesn’t the media spend an afternoon with my aunt and listen to her talk about
gourmet food, how lovely black peoples’ skin is, how good the wind feels or how she
enjoys her new flannel sheets so much. After that I don’t think they would say she isn’t
lovable and doesn’t appreciate life as it is even though she is limited. I’ve seen another
women come to the ice cream store I work at covered with skin alone to hide her bones. I
found out that she is lactose intolerant which is why she gets the fat-free, sugar-free ice
cream but she always had her new baby with her. I still wonder if that baby will grow up
thinking that everything about mothers has to be beautiful so God help her if she ever got
fat. I mean, people should take care of their bodies—not too fat and not too thin—and
who’s to say that malnutrition is sexy? Ethical maturity includes taking care of your body
and making sure it gets the proper nutrients and exercise.
Furthermore, these matters extend to women of all ages. The problem is that for
the majority, the media targets only teenagers and young women. “I am concerned that it
is targeting a very narrow market with a strong emphasis on the youth” (Prager 167). If
the majority of women are above their twenties, shouldn’t they be the ones needing
emotional and physical upliftment? My mom is in her forties and not too content with
bags under her eyes and gray hair. Why doesn’t the media encourage her? Convincing
her that she can still be beautiful just like younger women? Why are teenagers being
pressured into buying more makeup, lotions and diet bars when they’re for the most part,
already young-looking, fairly thin, and beautiful?
Telling women that they have to have money and a Barbie image to be beautiful
is personally damaging. Everyday I see women I love growing up, taking one more step
towards success--I just hope it will be without the media and in a more positive direction.
They need to realize that they were created in the likeness of the only Creator. Obviously
if the whole universe all came together so perfectly and without flaw, aren’t women, a
minute speck of the universe, without flaw? I mean, everyone does evil but God made
you in His image and different from all the other twiggy, skin-and-bone models. You can
work on your image to make it smaller and more appealing, but working to an extent and
sinking to Barbie’s level would be exploiting the lovely bodies we have already been
given. When I see women down on themselves, it gets me down. I start questioning my
looks, wondering why I can’t get my hair to stop sticking out everywhere and why I don’t
look good in shorts. Foolishly, I have to be reassured by women smarter than I.
Encouraging others about their looks and focusing on trying to help them will help you
forget your own petty “annoyances” and in the end, you will feel better about yourself
anyways for a better reason than looks. You will have an inner peace that you convinced
someone that they are valued above their thirty-nine-inch bust lines, perfect makeup, and
thin waists.
I know how threatening the media can be to a women’s self esteem. Even though
the majority of women don’t have a small waistline, an updated makeup job, and
enormous breasts, that doesn’t mean that we can’t love them for who they are. Doesn’t
every woman deserve the respect and admiration models get? If not then the majority of
women would feel unloved, ugly and down-right miserable. If everyone were a size one,
what variation would there be? The world would be so dull and unoriginal. There will
always be women who will be discontent with their looks but it is up to them to decide
how they will deal with their own mental issues and it’s up to us to not judge them for it.
It’s important to love people regardless of their physical attractiveness—not just those
who are drop-dead-gorgeous. But it will take a lot of effort to convince the media that we
want to be appreciated for what we already are and not what we could be. Will we take
the challenge?
Works Cited Page
Forest, Adam. “Beauty and Violence.” The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers 6th ed. Ed.
Stephen Reid. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. 166-167.
Prager, Emily. “Our Barbies, Ourselves.” The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers 6th ed.
Ed. Stephen Reid. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. 171-173.