Twitter

Twitter in the past couple years has become a mainstream social media website. It is largely made fun of for the meaningless constant updates one receives. People always say "I don't care what this person had for lunch" or "how this person feels about their break-up." It is true that most people don't care about "this person" but the majority of people do care about what celebrities have to say. Twitter gives celebrities an opportunity to shed their divine status and inform the world about their flaws.  They use twitter to connect with their fan base and sharing their problems makes them seem relatable. Kim Kardashian, who has over 14 million followers, recently tweeted "Decided to not eat the cake! This pic put me in check ! LOL" and then attached this photo: 

https://twitter.com/#!/KimKardashian

Without realising it, Kim is a sending a message that Wolf summarises as, "Women's self-denial where food is concerned is represented today as good for her mate and even better for herself" (200). Later Kim tweeted "Up early gonna hit the gym!!!" This is only one of many enthusiastic work out tweets, making 14.5 million people feel like they should be exercising if they want to look and be loved like Kim Kardashian. Popular culture revolves around celebrities and I agree with Wolf when she says, 

"The larger world never gives girls the message theta their bodies are valuable simply because they are inside them. Until our culture tells young girls that they are welcome in any shape - that women are valuable to it with or without the excuse of "beauty" - girls will continue to starve" (205)

There are other twitter accounts that make women feel like their beauty is everything. For example Mens Humor is followed by 1.7 million people. The account recently posted, "Big Sunglasses: An ugly chick's best friend." This is suggesting that women who are ugly should go into hiding. These feelings can be connected with eating disorders, where women physically want their hated bodies to disappear. Men are comfortable joking about eating because dieting and thinnes is not encouraged among them. Mens Humour tweeted, "If You Choose a Salad Over a Steak, Membership Lost" (membership referring to the one's man card). Picking a salad over a steak is a choice that majority of women on diets have to make. Wolf says, "On any day, 25 percent of women are on diets, with 50 percent finishing, breaking, or starting one" (185). Because this choice is so closely tied with the female majority, it is perceived as feminine and frowned upon for men. Consistently choosing a salad over a steak can lead to malnutrition, and weakness and men are pushed to be the antithesis of weak. I hope that one day women too can be valued for strength rather than frailty. Unfortunately however, as more mediums for sharing information are developed, popular culture will continue to shape the public's view on body image.

Mission Impossible (pt 2)

What is so interesting about advertisements today is that nothing is a secret. Women know that photoshop is a customary procedure and commercials are digitally enhanced to make the product appear superior. Yet we still have a difficult time accepting that we will never look like the models on the billboards or have hair as silky as it is in the commercials. We should not however, blame ourselves for this false sense of hope. Particular images are ingrained into our brains, whether we want them to be or not. Specifically regarding beauty, we become accustomed to the images we see frequently. When we are exposed to something a lot, it is possible that we will take a liking to it. For example, when a popular song is playing on the radio all the time, we eventually find ourselves singing along. Despite knowing that these images aren't real, we see them all the time, and subconsciously acquire a taste for this them. Women want to be appreciated for their looks and society appreciates these images. Therefore, women continue to buy products that promise beauty and perfection, allowing the advertising companies to win.

Some companies have taken action against making women feel this way. For example, the movie referenced that back in 2006 Dove did a campaign for real beauty. It revealed to the public just how distorted images our. The original model whose photograph was taken, was virtually unrecognizable in the final advertisement. This campaign was a success, proving that women are more than ready to get rid of the artificial beauty ideals. Some other companies have recognized this, and either stopped using emaciated models or actually edited photos to make them appear larger. An article in the Guardian discusses the reaction to a nude photo of a plus size model in Glamour Magazine. "The overwhelming reaction to the tiny photograph, buried on page 194 of Glamour magazine 'shows that the world is hungry to see pictures of normal women.'" However, these photos of real women will have trouble competing with the glossy airbrushed pictures and it will take more than one company changing in order to reshape society's perspective on beauty. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/02/lizzie-miller-model-fat

Mission Impossible

I thought Jean Kilbourne's documentary was an accurate analysis of how advertisements affect the public. Her research was more focused on women, because women tend to be targeted and more affected by ads than men. Wolf stresses that products sell "by making women feel as guilty as possible" (96). Ads make women they aren't good enough and give them something to strive for by promoting perfection.



Women are expected to be the impossible:

• Emaciated models covering billboards are telling women to be a size zero, while Victoria's Secret campaigns tell women they should have D cups. As Kilbourne says, these two body types are incompatible. A 5'10" woman weighing 100 pounds is not going to have a curvaceous figure. Because it is not natural, women are turing to plastic surgery to achieve this "ideal look." Kilbourne stresses that the majority of models with large busts have had plastic surgery.  
• Photoshop is the more popular way to enhance images. Supposedly "flawless" models are edited to give them longer legs, smaller torsos, bigger breasts, and spotless skin. These images are then plastered on billboards, setting the standard for beauty. Real women are encouraged to look like artificial computer generated images, which is clearly an unrealistic aspiration.
• Constant weight loss ads are telling women to stay thin because fat is unattractive. Women are made to feel guilty about indulging in food. Wolf discusses a woman's options by saying, "women make the same distinction today, between eating to sustain life, and eating for pleasure" (98). However, at the same time as eating is discouraged, food ads have become more and more enticing. Society in part with the media is teasing women, as though they want to see women fail. 
• All kinds of advertisements have women in suggestive poses, while promoting virginity. The ad below is one of the images shown in the movie. How is a woman expected to be innocent and sexy at the same time? Not only are these ads infantilizing women, but they are also telling women to exhibit contradicting mannerisms at the same time.

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/tag/perfumecologne/

• Wolf highlights another impossible challenge for women: dressing for work. Wolf says, "the beauty myth blocks each path so that no woman can 'look right'' (38). She goes on to give examples of court cases where women were scrutinized for being too ugly and not feminine enough and criticized for being too pretty and too feminine. When it comes to dressing and presenting oneself in a work environment, women cannot win. There is a 100% chance that women will be wrong.

Make Up Cont.

Today I was discussing Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth with my family friend Alexandra, by the pool. Alexandra had never read the book and asked me to described Wolf's outlook on the make up industry (Wolf views it as a device to keep women subordinate to men). I soon discovered what Alexandra did for a living: she was the former head of marketing for a cosmetic company. She argued that make up had been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians, when women used black kohl to line their eyes.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/01/08-01.html

Make up was introduced prior to women joining the ranks of men in the corporate field. Granted, she is inclined to support cosmetics, but she does have a valid point. Wolf fails to acknowledge the existence of make up before the "beauty myth." Alexandra also explained why she wears make up. Already an attractive woman, she said make up makes her feel more confident. She believes that make up allows her to be the best self she can be. "It's a personal choice," she said, "And I choose to wear make up because it raises my self esteem." Wolf acknowledges the relationship between beauty and self esteem when she says, "...'beauty' lives so deep in the psyche, where sexuality mingles with self-esteem..." (36). Wolf says that telling a woman she is ugly, "...can make her feel ugly, act ugly, and, as far as her experiment is concerned, be ugly, in the place where feeling beautiful keeps her whole" (36). On the contrary, telling a woman the make up makes her beautiful can make a woman feel beautiful and therefore allow her to be beautiful.

I think that both Alexandra and Wolf have justifiable viewpoints. However, I'd have to agree with Alexandra when it comes down to why I wear make up. I wear make up regardless of the situation, because I feel more comfortable with it on. I was talking with my friend yesterday and she goes to an all girls school. When I asked her about make up she said, "Why would I wear make up to school? There are no boys to impress." Many girls probably feel the exact same way. I think the problem arises when women use make up as a tool to validate themselves for men. Wolf articulates that when women allow other people to determine their beauty they lose control of their sense of self worth. She says, "...the power elite can, whenever necessary, form a consensus to strip 'beauty' away" (36).

Make Up: A Blessing or a Curse?

I had always thought that women were luckier than men because they had the ability to manipulate their appearance using make up. If a woman has a blemish she can use cover up to hide it. If a woman has small eyes she can use liner and mascara to make them appear larger. Woman have access to lip liner, eye shadow, lipstick, lipgloss, foundation, blush, bronzer, etc...   Posters hang everywhere advertising these products. Beautiful celebrities, such as Sofia Vergara, Taylor Swift, Tyra Banks, Rihanna, and Drew Barrymore endorse particular brands of make up, suggesting that with such merchandise we will look like them. How could we resist these offers? The majority of women and girls incorporate make up into their daily routine, taking time away from other (probably more productive) tasks.

Wolf suggests that women proved they were able to match and in some cases surpass men in productivity while handling "two shifts," paid work and domestic work. She postulates that, "Someone had to come up with a third shift fast," to occupy women's time in order to prevent them from becoming more successful than men (25). She says women, "...had to add serious 'beauty' labor to her professional agenda" (27).

I had never viewed make up in a negative light; however, looking at it from Wolf's perspective, it does seem a bit like a scam. The public and the media encourage women to wear make up, whereas men are discouraged from using such products. When the concept of "manliner" was brought up in class, everyone snickered. Men who are too concerned with their appearances are stereotyped as feminine or queer. The public therefore shelters men from the make up mania, leaving them more time to focus on other responsibilities.

Before my brother went off to university, we had coexisting daily routines. We both had after school commitments, we had a similar work load and household responsibilities, and we ended up going to sleep around the same time. The only difference is that I was waking up an hour earlier to get ready for school. He would roll out of bed 10 minutes before leaving and have enough time to do whatever he needed to. I was expected to do all the things he was, working off one less hour of sleep. Of course it is a female's choice to allocate time to put on make up, but how much of a choice to does one have when beauty becomes a standard for success? Wolf explains the relationship between appearance and wealth by explaining, "The equation of beauty with money was not examined closely, and the power placebo of beauty was redefined to promise women the sort of power that money, in fact, gives men" (30).

And make up is not the only thing that wastes a female's time. Other products such as nail polish (again,  predominantly used by women and not men) have no purpose other than esthetic. And so the "list of things to do when getting ready" accumulates. In order to keep up with their counterparts, women feel the need to fulfill the criteria on this list. Quite obviously, had such products never been introduced and endorsed, women would not feel compelled to utilize them.

Wolf was able to change my perspective on make up, allowing me to recognize it for what it is: an additional burden for women to cope with. This realization will not prevent me from wearing make up, on the account that these images and ideals have already been ingrained in my mind.

Perspective Cont: The American Dream

Living as an expat in London, I witness firsthand the infatuation with America. I recently volunteered at a public British school where the kids were more eager to learn about America than what their teacher had to say about the history of England. They mimicked our accents, saying cliché phrases that they believe sound uniquely American such as, "Let's go to the mall, it's like totally awesome!" We were bombarded with questions about the weather and the food in the United States. "Is everything bigger?" "I heard the food was really good," "Is it a lot warmer?" Most of the kids couldn't even locate the US on a map, yet all of them had heard some rumor about the quintessential place. For them, America represented the unknown and adventure.

Just the other day, my taxi driver questioned me about the states. I was on my way home from SAT tutor and he asked me what the SAT's were used for. Having always complained about having to take the standardized test, I never considered how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to go to college in the US. "I never went to university, especially not AMERICAN university" he said, "But my friend's brother's son goes there, and he says it's the best experience of his life. He told me about all the things he's studying. I don't even know where I would begin." For the taxi driver, America represented endless opportunities and his dream was to explore this world of possibilities. His dream is handed to me with ease, and I take it for granted.

When Jasmine is noticing the changes in town she says, "...every little flat had a television set, and everyone had a close relative in Canada or the United States bringing back the latest gadgets" (88). For Jasmine, America seems like an advanced place where technology is apart of even the poorest people's lives. When her and Prakash are talking about leaving for America, they discuss opening their own store and what they would call it. "'Vijh & Wife,' my husband said from deep inside my embrace. 'Maybe even Vijh & Vijh'" (89). For Jasmine and Prakash, the United States appears to lend itself to social and economic mobility, something that is not very prevalent in India. Similarly to the students and the taxi driver's goals, Jasmine and Prakash want to experience their very own American Dream.

After analyzing different perspectives regarding the "American Dream," I wanted to examine my own thoughts on the subject. When I think of the American Dream, I think of an executive in New York City, who worked his way up from nothing. I think of women working side by side with men. I think of democracy. In short, the American Dream for me represents equal opportunity. And isn't that all Jasmine, the taxi driver, and the underprivileged students want? They yearn for the same opportunities as their counterparts in America.

It's a Matter of Perspective

What I enjoy most about reading, is that I am able to explore the world from someone else's point of view. Jasmine's perception of America is very different from mine. When she first arrives in America she notices trash cans lined on the edge of a clearing. She says, " So much trash in America!" (128). To me, trash piled into cans lined on the street, seems very orderly rather than overwhelming. I looked up photos of slums in Mumbai where trash engulfs the street, and my first response was, "Look at all that trash in India." Whereas for Jasmine, the trash mounds may seem systematic. These contrasting view points remind me of the HSBC adverts that line the walls of airports. 

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=12812&t=1

The ads are designed to highlight the fact that people can have contrasting views of the same image. I think this variance stems from distinct life styles. The reason Jasmine and I have opposite views might be because whatever we aren't accustomed to seems alarming.

When Jasmine is wandering the streets and encountering other immigrants she says, "I had been in America nearly a day and had yet to see an 'American' face" (129). I am curious as to what Jasmine believes is "American." To me, America is a melting pot encompassing people from all over the world. I think the defining "American" is more of a racial and ethnic blend than purely Northern European.

Most immigrants view America as a place where dreams come true. People flee to America hoping for a "better" life. But better is a subjective term and differs from person to person. The elder people that Jasmine speaks to in New York complain, "Our sons are selfish. Our daughters want to work and stay thin. All the time, this rush-rush" (147). I think the fast pace life of the city is exciting. A world where women can work without discrimination seems ideal. However, the 'old-folks' from India are familiar with different customs and don't find this modern lifestyle intriguing.

Everyone has a different perspective on life due to their background and how they have been raised. Whether or not you agree with someone else's opinions, it is important that you recognize the many sides of every situation.