CRJ #6

The ideal women's and men's bodies vary from culture to culture. In Western culture it seems that the ideal is to be thin, tall and without curves for a woman's body. For men it seems to be that they also need to be tall, fit, muscular and have good teeth (in my opinion). I, personally, think that women should be fit (even if they have some extra baggage), curvy- a woman's natural curves are beautiful, and height shouldn't have an effect on their appearance. I love to look into a crowd of people and see different body types and the people who have these body types feel good about themselves! Men have different body types, even in the Western culture. Some are strong, muscular and tall and others are smaller. This depends on what they do. Sports players will have a different body type than a skateboarder. These two groups are more respected than a "computer nerd". They are "unattractive" according to society. They are scrawny, usually have glasses and a pocket protector on hand.

I do not appreciate the societal aspect of women's bodies. It makes me feel extremely uncomfortable with myself. Even if I were a size 2, I'm sure I would still be uncomfortable with myself. When I see girls that are that small being so uncomfortable it makes me feel sick inside. I am not nearly that small. I would love to be a size 12 or 10 and I would be perfectly content with it. I used to play sports and was in very good shape, I wasn't skinny (size14) but I was healthy and that made me happy.

The beauty ideal has 4 parts to it. There is the contemporary images that society tells us to conform to. Then also we see the relation to power in society. Thirdly the beauty practices we have to go through to make ourself "presentable" to society. And finally corporate capitalism and the consumerism aspect of the spectrum. Society and corporate America have a large impact on the personal views that we carry within us. They are the ones who tell us what we need to look like and what we have to wear. Women need to wear make-up and men need to be fit and athletic. I never wear make-up except for the occasional wedding or special occasion. I don't even have any make-up with me here at school. One night when I was at work, I was talking with a co-worker of mine and she was telling me that in her sorority they had to wear make-up whenever they wore their letters. That baffled me beyond belief.

A "side-effect" of society's hand in the beauty industry is causing women and some men to be harmful to themselves. These side-effects are eating disorders. There are a few different eating disorders found today. These include anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive exercising to name a few. Women and men both take these matters into their own hands and it can turn out for the worst. It could result in death. 20 percent of people with serious eating disorders die because of the harm they have inflicted on their bodies (pg 244).

Media constructs the ideal female body in many ways. Advertising is the main source of this perspective on our bodies. Also, the fashion industry has a lot to add to what advertisers already promote. They show what they believe to be the ideal body type which in reality very very very few people can attain this body type. Only 5 percent of the female population has a fashion model's body (pg 229). Our views of women's bodies have been dominated by the male mind through the media. I mean, a male designed the first bra! That very well could be where the entire ordeal started... I don't know, but that's my guess.

The views we have on our own bodies and the bodies of those people around us that we compare ourselves to are developed from the media. We fail to make the connection that we can choose how we view things and not have to view them by society's standards. In my opinion we as a human being have enough things to stress over in our daily lives than how we measure up to society and our peers standards.