Co 1
Joanna Co
Professor Wills
English 100
19 September 2012
The Faces of Reality
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? You see your reflection, pointing out all your flaws and imperfections pasted all over your body. In a pressured world, such as ours, one of the main concerns a person constantly struggles with is the feeling of our imperfections being broadcasted all over the world. With viewers watching your every move and seeing your every flaw, you fight to become just like everyone else – thin, toned, perfect, beautiful, and make-up plastered, but does that really show your true colors? Your true identity? Everyday, we are presented with a perfect society, where nothing but perfectness exists. There is no room to show who or what kind of person you really are because people aren't informed of such appearances due to how the media portrays an average looking character. As society moves away from the past and into the future, however, the media and other influences have pressured individuals, but females in general, to become the appearance of “beauty” rather than its definition, which is described in Wolf's argument, “...there is a secret 'underlife' poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control” (10). In the end, societal pressures force women and males to conform to an ideal of beauty that is not only unrealistic, but which is fabricated in order to prevent them from gaining power, economically and socially.
To begin with, in the first image, there are three women, all with their own touch of originality, beauty, and imperfections. The first two women that are seen on left is what every female strives to look like. They desire the perfect hour-glass shape, thighs, tight stomach, and thin arms. Not only that, but teenage females are constantly fighting to look perfect and soon become “inspired” by models and actresses they see on magazine covers, movies, and runways. With the prominent facial structures and the thin body types, they are considered to be “perfect.” On the right side of the image, the female presented depicts what society would call “imperfect.” The young lady would be considered as imperfect because of her broad shoulders and plus-sized body. Teenage girls would look at that woman and consider her imperfect because of what the media portrays as the perfect body. She doesn't hold what the world would consider perfect because of how her hips look and how her clothing doesn't fit loosely, yet tightly, on her hips like they do on the other females hips. Also, society would call her thighs imperfect as they aren't stick-like and hold true to what a female body should look like. Equally, the postures of the women are all in the same provocative stance and they are giving the same seductive look, which proves that they are equally confident, but are looked at in different perspectives. They are, respectively, all confident in their own ways because due to how society portrays women, it takes a great deal of confidence to pose in such postures, model or not.
In addition, the image would fit perfectly with both Paglia's essay, “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery,” and Wolf's essay, “The Beauty Myth.” Paglia's essay can be considered an ideal argument because she states, “The eye can be retrained over time, and so we have come to accept a diminished and even demeaning view of woman as ingenue, a perk figure of ingratiating girliness” (2). The following describes the image because females can no longer appear the way they want to because of what society enforced as perfect. Due to the fact society views women in such a way as that, ladies are constantly fighting to become perfect just so bystanders don't point and laugh and have the struggle of daily embarrassments. In Wolf's essay, she states, “The modern hallucination in which women are trapped or trap themselves is similarly rigid, cruel, and euphemistically painted. Contemporary culture directs attention to attention to imagery of the Iron Maiden, while censoring real women's faces and bodies” (17), which connects to the image because individuals, generally women, are constantly hiding behind a mask of make-up, diet supplements, and hours of workouts so they can become what society considers the ideal person. Women cannot face the world as they truly would if there wasn't an image they needed to keep up with because of what males, females, and the rest of society would think.
As a result, the way society views women is illustrated in the second image of what is popularly known as the “Human Barbie.” The young lady, who has obviously gone under the impression that she wasn't perfect, took action and performed unnecessary changes to her body, to fit the image of “perfect.” The image shows a young woman in a bandeau, exposing all of her skin, and is primarily seeking the attention of the media and young adult men. Not only that, but the unnamed female is in a provocative stance to showcase just how perfect she is and is seen with a belly-button piercing to show how thin she is. She also has the body type, the curves, and the height of a model, and she has the cheek bones and bone structure as that of a model.
Additionally, if looked at closely, her expression is one that is not remotely close to being happy. Her facial expression is emotionless and her face looks plastic; therefore, she is clearly unhappy, especially since her eyes can showcase how uncomfortable and fragile she really is. Unfortunately, the majority of society would think of her as the perfect image of a female, even if she is unhappy; also, people can look at her and strongly say how they wish they were as skinny and perfect as she is – no matter how much money it took her to get that appearance and that exact figure of a barbie. In Paglia's essay, she states, “The ideal has become the bouncy Barbie doll or simpering nymphet, not a sophisticated woman of the world. Women's faces are erased, blanked out as in a cartoon” (2). The following argument illustrates exactly what the image portrays because the “Human Barbie” has literally taken the image of a Barbie doll. She has gone under the impression that in order to be seen as respectable, she would need to complete the whole “perfect” look and with her identity, she would gain that social power that women try to achieve; in the end, however, the woman shows little to no confidence, even if she has the “perfect” body and looks.
Consequently, the idea of a perfect body and image isn't just seen in women. The image of the perfect body is also seen in masculine men, who strive to be toned, in good shape, and absolutely die-hard handsome. The concept of men also feeling this way about their body is not really looked at because men are seen as powerful, courageous, head-strong, and mighty. The way the media portrays men is an idolizing kind as they never imply or show the weaknesses of men. Therefore, in the third image, a man with muscular arms and a toned body is shown in a seductive position, implying how gorgeous society thinks his body is. The difference between the lighting in the image shows what the media thinks is important and what isn't. For example, the lighting around his abdomen focuses on his six-pack, and generally, that specific look is desired by men of this generation; additionally, the lighting around his biceps also show how in shape this male model is. The lighting around his face is darkened with the intent of showing that the main focus of the image is the way his body looks. However, with the bulging muscles out of his arms, another main focus is his veins that protrude out of his skin, which many think is the absolute perfect image of a male. Not only that, but the position of where his hands are and his jeans being unbuttoned, gives off the “sexually” desirable look. In this society, not all males have this exact body and not all males can easily achieve this body, not without constant diets, work-outs, and supplements.
Particularly in “A Male Model's Quest for Perfection Through Bizarre Eating Habits,” he states, “...underneath the body make-up and sepia tones lies a well hidden secret; that the grins of cover models may as well be grimaces of anguish from the pains taken to look 'in the best shape ever'...” (White). The following statement enforces that men also undergo the faulty accusations that they are imperfect and this affects how men look at themselves. Although, the media isn't as open about men as they are with women, men are constantly fighting the urge to become perfect – perfect as the male models on magazines, which is described in, “...there does seem to be an affect on male body image from the unrealistic images of such fitness magazines” (White). White makes a great argument when speaking of the male body as one does when talking about the female body. Men may not be as prone to this kind of behavior as much as women are, but men do stress over the fact they aren't as “ripped” and “toned” as the media portrays men to be. In Wolf's essay, she illustrates, “Wodaabe men spend hours together in elaborate makeup sessions, and compete – provocatively painted and dressed, with swaying hips and seductive expressions – in beauty contests judged by women” (13). The argument portrays the image because the male model can and will be chastised by society like men once were when the Wodaabe were around. Also, it may not be around as often as it once was, but men can be judged by society, and some may take it the hard way or some can take it as nothing and live life the way they were before.
Last but not least, where there is insecure women, there are also confident women, who are unashamed by how they look and dress. In the last image, it depicts women empowerment because the image depicts a woman who is unashamed to admit she is strong and isn't afraid to wear what she wants. On her forearm, she has a tattoo of the word, “strong,” which can be seen as her not conforming into what society sees women as. She is unashamed and proud of who she is, which can also be represented in the bandana she wears around her head. By how her arm is positioned, it can imply that she doesn't need anyone, but herself, to exist in such a judgmental society such as ours. No matter where you are, you are faced with women with make-up caked onto their faces, skimpy clothing, and women who are incredibly thin they could break. The image portrays the complete opposite of that because the woman's face is plump and she doesn't need to show tons of skin to show that she can be known as the perfect image of a woman. In Paglia's argument, she states, “...the American standard of female sexual allure may be regressing” (3). The following affects the image because it portrays what society has created, the self-conscious, closed-minded human being. If it weren't for society making women look like a “...cutesy sex kitten without claws” (Paglia 2), women wouldn't have the daily struggle of becoming perfect to impress everyone, including themselves.
In conclusion, society makes women feel vulnerable and not confident within their own bodies. They are constantly fed with images and articles about how perfect it is to actually be perfect. The same goes for men who also struggle with maintaining an image of their own. No matter where they physically go or where their heart goes, the idea of being judged by your appearance will remain and it will be that way until society realizes that no one is “perfect,” but they are actually presenting who they really are. Women and men should be able to freely express how they want their image portrayed, not by what the media thinks is perfect. As Paglia states, “...women themselves must draw the line against seeking and perpetuating an artificial juvenility that obliterates their own cultural value” (3). The statement does not only go for women, but for males too because they also deal with societal pressures of being perfect. If we weren't so afraid to be ourselves, we wouldn't go under the impression that we needed to become perfect. Perfect is a word, it's nothing more but a word that describes things. Nothing is perfect, and the way society makes that word seem like it's the only thing that matters is absurd because it can take on a whole new role in any person's life.
Works Cited
Paglia, Camille. “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery.” Harper's Bazaar (May 2005). Print. Rpt. In Convergences. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
White, Neil M. “A Male Model's Quest for Perfection Through Bizarre Eating Habits.” Suite101. Men's Health, 17 May 2010. Web. 19 September 2012.
Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. Print.