Body Image Campaigns: Calling To Action The Unrealistic Depiction Of The Female Body

Our culture predominately conveys women in the media as slender, their makeup, hair and clothing up-to-date with the latest fashions and all of this is achieved with little to no effort. Of course, this image is unrealistic, and distorted. Even though a little outdated, The Dove Campaign calls to action this distorted depiction, "The campaign started a global conversation about the need for a wider definition of beauty after the study proved the hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become limiting and unattainable. Among the study's findings was the statistic that only 2% of women around the world would describe themselves as beautiful." The video above shows a women makeup-free and the steps it takes for her look 'perfect' for an advertisement. 

Amanda Czerniawski of The Society Pages, praises this advertisement and critiques how this image of the 'perfect' women in the media creates many social implications in that a women can look 'beautiful' if she has enough money for cosmetics, surgery and the latest diet fads. Czerniawski states, "We invest in and manipulate our bodies and engage in body regimes to cultivate our physiques, often towards unattainable goals of perfection. We become subjects (in the Foucauldian sense) to our own projects of becoming, as we police ourselves and internalize a normalizing gaze." To add on to this, it also shows that there is an issue of health inequality to obtain this image. Many individuals are too busy working (may even have multiple jobs), being a parent and other stressors that eating healthy and exercising isn't on the top of their list. Furthermore, it is very expensive to eat healthy, 'organic' foods. 

Girls Scouts of the USA released a body image campaign in 2010. The campaign was created after the Girls Scouts Research Institute study found, "Some alarming things about how images of fashion models and other media representations of women's bodies affect the self image of the girls consuming them." Furthermore, the campaign believes that the representations of women in the media will not change until we change our cultural ideas about what is considered beautiful. 

I found this campaign more important and speaks to the most important demographic, young girls. Girls are constructing their gender roles and images in the media seem to have a stronger effect on girls than older women. Jennings et al (1980) research examines influence of televised commercials on women's self-confidence and independent judgement. From a social psychology perspective  the research found that, "By college age, women have already internalized the traditional feminine stereotypes  which are ubiquitous in our culture...this research strongly implies that even if women do not buy the advertised products, they buy the implicit image of femininity conveyed by the commercials, whether they know it or not." (Jennings et al, 1980: 204)

Resources: The Society Pages, The Dove Beauty Campaign, Girls Scouts of the USA, Feministing, Jennings et al. (1980)

Barney's Depiction of Disney Characters Spark Discussion

Photo Credit: NY Daily News

Barney's New York unveiling of their upcoming holiday installation Electric Holiday has created an outrage in the new depiction of beloved Disney characters. Characters such as Minnie, Daisy and Goofy are depicted as rail-thin so they could look runway ready for the installation. 

According to NY Daily News, Barney's changed the image of these Disney characters so they would look more appealing in the model world. "The standard Minnie Mouse will not look so good in a Lanvin dress. There was a moment of silence, because these characters don't change. I said, 'if we're going to make this work, we have to have a 5-foot-11 Minnie,' and they agreed. When you see Goofy, Minnie and Mickey, they are runway models." I can understand how individuals can be upset with these new depictions. Disney films captivate children's hearts and this installation is going to target a large demographic this holiday season in New York City. 

From a Foucauldian standpoint, Bartkay (1988) discusses the depiction of the female body image, "Female movement, gesture, and posture must exhibit not only constriction, but grace as well, and a certain eroticism restrained by modesty." Furthermore, women are supposed stay thin throughout their lives. "Under the current tyranny of slenderness women are forbidden to become large or massive; they must take up as little space as possible." (Bartkay, 1988) These images from the latest installation suggest this is what the real Minnie Mouse should look like under fashion standards. The important aspect is that this isn't the first time there has been a distorted depiction of the female body image. The best way to guide young girls to obtain a healthy image and perspective of femininity starts with family interactions and discussion about these issues. The Chicago Tribune discusses how healthy body images start with family interactions. Chicago Tribune suggests that parents can encourage their children to be open minded of the media around them.

• Help your children be conscientious of advertisements that are in the media and create a healthy discussion of how each of you feel about these representations. 
• Let your daughter know that beauty is more than skin deep
• Talk to your daughter about the news to help cultivate their moral beliefs. 

Resources: NY Daily News,  Chicago Tribune , Bartkay (1988)

Getting Your Body Back After Pregnancy: Social Implications of Gendered Notions of the Body

The perfect female body image is inundated in every facet of the media. The latest diet fads tell you how to loose weight quickly, magazine articles discusshow to have a beach ready body by summer, and television shows capitalize on getting individuals healthy. This depiction of the female body creates an unhealthy norm of what women are supposed to look like. Especially after giving birth, women are pressured to get their body back to normal in the fastest way possible. 

According to Sociology Lens, Ruth Marleen discusses the gendered notions of the body, expectations and weight loss. Marleen discusses how after celebrities give birth, they are immediately pressured to loose weight. I feel like there is nothing wrong with a woman wanting to get in shape, but shouldn't feel pressured to achieve results so fast. The photo slide show above displays various magazines discussing how fast celebrities got their body back. Achieving these body changes are done very quickly and may suggest to every day moms that this is something they may never achieve. Many of these woman under the public eye have the money to have a trainer, time to workout and have help in caring for their child. Marleen discusses how one of her acquaintances  who is a mother is discouraged by these depictions, "I look at Kourtney Kardashian and she lost all her weight in like two seconds! It's frustrating because it takes a lot to loose the weight. They can hire trainers, eat the best food, hire caregivers so they can go to the gym and workout. But for real moms it's not that simple." (Marleen)

From a feminist perspective, Dworkin & Wachs (2004) discuss how unrealistic these expectations are for women getting back into shape coupled with other social roles they have to manage. They examined Shape Fit Pregnancy Magazine by content analysis (issues from 1997-2003). The social implications result in an unhealthy manner of acheiving these results. Dworkin & Wachs discuss Barkty (1988) and Duncan (1994) research on these implications, "Feminist researchers have underscored how women do not frequently critique larger cultural norms as problematic; rather, many self-blame and internalize a sense of private bodily failure, embarking on fitness routines, plastic surgery, and dieting practices to rectifiy anxieties about bodily lack (Bartky, 1988, Duncan, 1994)" The results from the analysis showed a racialized, classes, gendered, sexualized matrix of domination. They found that the articles rarely mentioned getting back to work, 81% of the models were white, did not speak to the lower classes and there was little discussion of same sex couples. 

Resources: Dworkin & Wachs (2004), Shape Pregnancy Fit Magazine, Bartky (1998), Duncan (1994)