Women's Bodies and Body Ideals

This chapter was very intriguing to me. What I’d like to do is take some of the main ideas and quotes that were presented, and analyze them individually.

The first idea that was presented was about the beauty ideal. This was expressed as when women grow up, they see images of what the ideal body type is for females. This in turn influences how they view themselves, and molds their actions and beliefs. However, these images do not take into account what the body is for, and how it transforms as we go through our life experiences.

Personally, I know that I have been influenced by this ideal that the media and such portrays. It influences my actions, what I do in my free time, what I wear, how I style my hair, and how I put on my make-up in the morning. I personally will not go out in public without make up on, and I hardly ever wear shorts or a bathing suit. And while I know that I am not very overweight, or that disgusting without make up, this beauty ideal has surely created individual insecurities in my personal life.

However, on the other hand, I do not believe that the “beauty ideal” is truly ideal. My body and clothes reflect me on a daily basis. I am always outside, in the mud, working with tools, and lifting heavy materials. I do not want to be super skinny because if I was, I would not be able to carry out my daily activities. My body needs to be able to lift and move ladders, endure heavy labor for ten hours a day, and be able to protect myself against things and people that can cause harm to me. I stand my own ground.

The second point dealt with the beauty business. The beauty business is a multi-billion-dollar industry that tries to tell people how they should look, and provide them with the methods to achieve the desired result. But many of the methods and products that they put forth actually do not work, or they do not give the results that they say they will

Let’s examine diet pills. They say that they will help you lose so much weight within a certain amount of time. However, many of them do not work at all. I use to know quite a few girls who tried them and were not successful. Personally, I use to take them, and I lost around 5-10 pounds in two months. But it really isn’t known if that was due to the exercise or the food I was taking in. In addition is make-up. You see these great commercials on television showing you that their product will produce flawless looking skin, great eyelashes, or reduce wrinkles. After trying many of these products though, those results can only be obtained by a relative few. Many of the models that are shown in the ads have been airbrushed to look more flawless as well. And why does it take make-up to obtain the “natural look”? Why can’t the natural look just be natural? It’s because most women who are natural do not live up to the beauty ideal of the “natural look”.

The third idea was commodification and co-option. The main point of this section is that “the body is considered inferior to the mind.” Therefore, the body is the main objection in life, which then causes it to be broken down into different commodities and individual pieces. Our bodies then are not seen as a whole, but as single parts of a puzzle.

I believe that many women do not want to be seen as just a body, however many guys believe that this is all that women are. I personally want to be seen for my intellect, my personality, my experiences, my goals and ambitions, my ideas, thoughts, opinions; everything except for my looks. Over my lifetime I have worked very hard to get to where I am at today. Numerous all nighters, immense amounts of studying, devoting my life to school and extra-curricular activities, and experiences my different options in life. I am not just a “piece of ass” or a “pair of tits” as some guys think. I am like an onion, with multiple layers that should be explored. My appearance is only the outer layer that gets ripped off and discarded. It is the underlying layers that are what is really desired.

Lastly, the final idea was “Whites Only? Forever Young? Always Able?” Here the chapter talks about how being White, young, and able is more desirable than being non-White, old, and disabled. However, many non-whites are more secure with their bodies, and older peoples are able to see their lives in a clearer perspective than they did when they were young. Lastly, becoming old is inevitable, and many people consider being old a disability due to things such as lack of sight, hearing, coordination, independence, etc. And therefore, as we age, we become disable, all of which is bound to happen eventually.

I believe that since most of the images seen in the media are typically of white women, that this could be why non-whites are more comfortable with their bodies; for they do not associate themselves with the images as much. Also, many older people do not see themselves as being disabled, and instead, it is only the younger generations that believe this. I will admit, I sometimes get irritated with older people driving when they do not keep up with the pace of traffic. However, it is true that they are just as capable as I am of many daily activities. To assume they are disabled just because of their age is naïve.