Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Of Princesses and Anorexia
Here's something I made for English11, an argumentative assertion which I believe concerns everyone, though is primarily concerned with women.
Everyday, we are flooded with mass media images of the modern illustration of what a beautiful woman is – a fair-skinned, slender figure with the longest, shiniest, straight (not to mention, tangle-free) hair you have ever seen. She is a fashionable knockout, a glamour girl, a perfect belle.
Given that the images we now see of today’s fashion and commercial models seem to be without faults, the ideal of beauty has become so far from possible that they must be computer-generated. But though achieving these beauty ideals is quite hopeless as it is impossible, women seem to be unstoppable from doing considerable harm to themselves in their quest for, well, a makeover. A case to illustrate this point is the upsurge of eating disorders. For what they see as a “beautiful” physique, women starve themselves, vomit and eventually, emaciate.
But not only are we told that we are too fat, we are also told that everything else about our bodies needs an overhaul. Media images impress upon us how milky white skin is “in” and how not having ultra-straight hair is a nightmare. But though we hopefuls try bleaching soaps which promise a fair complexion and undergo hair straightening treatments (to the point of desiccation), nothing we do is ever enough for us to parallel the beauties in film, TV, and magazines.
From convincing women that their value lies in their appearance, there is considerable and increasing profit to be made. The beauty and cosmetics industry can easily make the beauty-fevered, the vain, and the credulous pay sums for makeup, skin care products, hair care products and cosmetic services, and even surgeries which, more often than not, are exceedingly expensive.
Striving for unattainable beauty makes certain that women lack a belief in their own value. They wrestle with their low self-esteem because of what they think is a bad body image and struggle with feelings of what people think about their appearance. What we do for good looks reflects something about the modern female and it isn’t so glamorous.
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I'm not telling you guys to stop buying Likas Papaya, using hair straightening chemicals (which is quite ironic, given that I use hair curling chemicals) or something like that. I AM a vain freak too, but not to the extent that I have to conform and look like everyone to boost my self-esteem. I do have my own beauty ideals - pale skin, dark, curly tresses, dark, round eyes plus rosy lips and cheeks. So, who does that remind you of? Yes, it's Snow White! My absolutely ideal princess! But, yeah, of course, that's for me.
Since Snow White has already been mentioned, I might as well share something alse with you. An idea which I'd like you guys to consider is the trend in Disney princesses. This idea was conjured by Minnelle during one of our late-night chika sessions. See, Snow White (from the year 1937) was the very first Disney princess and she's kinda chubby like little ol' me (I don't deny it!) but as time and trends pass by, we see that Disney princesses become skinnier and skinnier. Have you ever wondered what Jasmine (a princess created in 1992) eats? or if she eats at all? What a waistline!
You know, perhaps, it has something to do with the rise of eating disorders in young women during that period in time. So, essentially, what this specialized theory is trying to say is that cartoons (most notably, Disney princesses) reflect the health conditions or state, in general, of young women (whose ages may be deemed parallel to the princesses in Disney animated features). Even Megara from Hercules (a Disney character created in 1997), though she isn't technically a princess, manifests the problem as well.
Can you see it now? Well, think about it.
Until next time, adieu!
UNREALISTIC BEAUTY STANDARDS OF TODAY
Everyday, we are flooded with mass media images of the modern illustration of what a beautiful woman is – a fair-skinned, slender figure with the longest, shiniest, straight (not to mention, tangle-free) hair you have ever seen. She is a fashionable knockout, a glamour girl, a perfect belle.
Given that the images we now see of today’s fashion and commercial models seem to be without faults, the ideal of beauty has become so far from possible that they must be computer-generated. But though achieving these beauty ideals is quite hopeless as it is impossible, women seem to be unstoppable from doing considerable harm to themselves in their quest for, well, a makeover. A case to illustrate this point is the upsurge of eating disorders. For what they see as a “beautiful” physique, women starve themselves, vomit and eventually, emaciate.
But not only are we told that we are too fat, we are also told that everything else about our bodies needs an overhaul. Media images impress upon us how milky white skin is “in” and how not having ultra-straight hair is a nightmare. But though we hopefuls try bleaching soaps which promise a fair complexion and undergo hair straightening treatments (to the point of desiccation), nothing we do is ever enough for us to parallel the beauties in film, TV, and magazines.
From convincing women that their value lies in their appearance, there is considerable and increasing profit to be made. The beauty and cosmetics industry can easily make the beauty-fevered, the vain, and the credulous pay sums for makeup, skin care products, hair care products and cosmetic services, and even surgeries which, more often than not, are exceedingly expensive.
Striving for unattainable beauty makes certain that women lack a belief in their own value. They wrestle with their low self-esteem because of what they think is a bad body image and struggle with feelings of what people think about their appearance. What we do for good looks reflects something about the modern female and it isn’t so glamorous.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not telling you guys to stop buying Likas Papaya, using hair straightening chemicals (which is quite ironic, given that I use hair curling chemicals) or something like that. I AM a vain freak too, but not to the extent that I have to conform and look like everyone to boost my self-esteem. I do have my own beauty ideals - pale skin, dark, curly tresses, dark, round eyes plus rosy lips and cheeks. So, who does that remind you of? Yes, it's Snow White! My absolutely ideal princess! But, yeah, of course, that's for me.
Since Snow White has already been mentioned, I might as well share something alse with you. An idea which I'd like you guys to consider is the trend in Disney princesses. This idea was conjured by Minnelle during one of our late-night chika sessions. See, Snow White (from the year 1937) was the very first Disney princess and she's kinda chubby like little ol' me (I don't deny it!) but as time and trends pass by, we see that Disney princesses become skinnier and skinnier. Have you ever wondered what Jasmine (a princess created in 1992) eats? or if she eats at all? What a waistline!
You know, perhaps, it has something to do with the rise of eating disorders in young women during that period in time. So, essentially, what this specialized theory is trying to say is that cartoons (most notably, Disney princesses) reflect the health conditions or state, in general, of young women (whose ages may be deemed parallel to the princesses in Disney animated features). Even Megara from Hercules (a Disney character created in 1997), though she isn't technically a princess, manifests the problem as well.
Can you see it now? Well, think about it.
Until next time, adieu!
posted by Joselle Feliciano at 10:47 PM