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Sharmeen Anjum
September 22 2014
Elizabeth Chakkappan
Integrative Fake Seminar
First Draft Beauty Myth
The subject of my photos series is Maria Elena Nenkov. Through the assigned
project I got the chance to get to know aspects of Maria that I otherwise would have
never known and photograph her in different states throughout our meeting. Maria
arrived wearing a dark leather jacket over a beautiful leopard dress, shiny high knee black
boots, and was carrying a marvelous clutch with brilliant blue faux fur. She also had done
her own makeup and nails, perfectly sculpted thick black liner on her eyes with peachy
lips and various colors on her fingers, which automatically made me assume she is very
deliberate and conscious about her appearance. Captivated by the details to her strong
beauty look I asked her questions about her decisions with her appearance and Maria
started to tell me about her personal life and what she experienced growing up regarding
her aesthetic. As I was asking her questions, one topic that instantly took my interest was
when Maria mentioned how she used to wear a lot of makeup when she was younger
because her school prohibited it and how applying makeup subconsciously affected her
and made her feel a sort of acceptance by friends and strangers. Maria also disclosed with
me how with age her attitude changed and how her cosmetic routine was not as important
to her. I was getting the sense that Maria has been influenced by our patriarchal society
that we currently live in by our conversation. In relation to Naomi Wolf’s discussion of
gender from “ The Beauty Myth,” Maria’s situation, of how she used cosmetics to feel
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accepted in her younger life, goes with the notion of how there is a “secret “underlife:
poising our freedom: infused with notions of beauty.” 1 She felt the need to enhance
herself to feel accepted in our society that corresponds directly with the beauty myth and
how women feel like they have to live up to a standard of beauty. Nevertheless, her new
changed view directly contradicted this myth and proved that the feminine mystique we
all face does not define her individual life.
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Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
(New York: Morrow, 1991) 9-10.
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