This chapter does a good job describing the trend/obsession of girls and women today. They all want to be as skinny and as pretty as the models while having big boobs. The messages, like "your body is your central, crucial resource in establishing your net worth as a female," pressure us into thinking that this is the only way to fit in and be successful (216-17). We are judged more and more "by the size, uplift, and cleavage" of our breasts (228). More and more woman today are going under the knife or getting injections in order to look younger and prettier. This was then associated with employability. But in the long run, these surgeries can lead to many complications. And even with the stereotypes of big boobs equaling dumbness still in place, women still think that that is what is sexy.
But what comes from looking so Barbie-like... "illegible-rage" (219). We focus so much of our time and energy on an image that is impossible of achieving in a healthy way. Most of the time, girls get skinnier through anorexia and/or bulimia. And this "food deprivation tends to make one irritable" (214). Our frustration then is directed towards other girls. While we may laugh when we see it on TV shows such as Gossip Girl or even movies like Mean Girls, we end up enacting it in our own lives. And this bullying doesn't just happen on school (or even work) grounds; online cyber-bullying has been making an appearance as well. The mean girl has now become an icon in our society, punishing those who do not live up to the "standards."
I agree with Erica in the sense that I felt that Douglas did a nice job once again summarizing the unrealistic body images that women are expected to uphold. What I always enojoy about reading works by Douglas, is that the majority of the examples she provides I feel as though I can relate to. It was almost scary to me how I kept thinking like oh my god, I had those thoughts once, or I could quickly think of one of my close friends who had expressed the same desires to obtain a particular body type. It was interesting to think while reading this about how the "ideal" body type that we have in place now is a combination of two alomst polar opposites. It is just not realistic for us to maintain our pre-puberty bodies while haing our post-puberty chests. I was also shocked by the statitics that Douglas provided regarding the increased number of plastic surgeries. Even after all of the horror stories we have heard about plastic surgeries gone wrong, so many people would still be willing to go under the knife if it meant that we would be able to have the bodies we desired. However, since these expectations are so unrealistic it is no wonder that girls get mean while trying to obtain these goals. When Doulgas mentioned that girls are making other girls their enemies, I found myself agreeing. It is like the expression that girls get dressed up for other girls, I think that there is an underlying competitiveness to body type as well. While reading "Hormonal Hurricanes" it was interesting to think about two very different issues that women deal with, the desire to be thin and PMS, and how they are both used as excused for "girls being mean". I think that the overall message that I took away from these readings is that we are still not sure what affects so much pressure to look perfect are, and even more so what the general effects of PMS are, since each effect women so differenly.
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ReplyDeleteEmily and Erica bring up some really good points. I found the "Hormonal Hurricanes" interesting as well. PMS affects everyone so differently--for me, I know when to stay away from my sister when she starts breaking out and is crying when I tell her that what she is wearing doesn't match or something. But I found myself questioning if this article was actually factual or not...especially when it said "Under the influence of tidal hormonal flow, women batter their children and husbands, miss work, commit crimes, attempt suicide, and suffer from up to 150 different symptoms..."(94). Commit crimes? attempt suicide? It's not like when women get their periods they turn into Mr. Hyde. I was simply astonished by some of the findings in this article. As well as in the other reading, Lean and Mean. Basically, I have come to realize that being a young woman especially in today's society, is very hard. You have to deal with a lot of pressure that girls tend to put on themselves--either to look good, act cool, be pretty, impress boys, etc. And with this constant pressure to fit in, comes major issues with our body image and therefore we begin comparing ourselves to one another. I found myself, like Emily, reading and relating to a lot of what Douglas was saying and it got me thinking about my friends, my family, basically every girl I know who has had issues with a lot of what was raised. I think the class discussion today will bring up a lot of good points from both articles.
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