Tag Archives: chapter 6

A Fight Against Photoshopping or Objectification in Feminist Trappings?

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We’ve all seen the images… celebrities who look completely different than the pictures we see in magazines.  Here’s a few of the latest ones:

But, as well known feminist and columnist Jessica Valenti published in The Guardian, these “leaks” represent a violation of privacy, and celebrities who don’t wish to take up the fight against the narrow representation of body types in media shouldn’t be forced to do so. For example, Lena Dunham angrily responded to Jezebel’s offer to pay anyone who could obtain the original photos and publish them without her permission.  CNN’s Peggy Dexler points out that publishing Cindy Crawford’s picture without her approval to make a political point is just another form of objectification.

The publishing of pictures without approval is a violation of privacy.  Is Jezebel’s offer to pay anyone who could obtain Dunham’s pictures so far different than the hackers who broke into celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton’s personal social media accounts, stole pictures, and sold them to be published?

On the other hand, celebrities like Cindy Crawford’s pictures of her real 48-year-old’s body, with sun damage, cellulite, and a small belly, have the power to help women realize that the body type consistently shown to us in media is not real.  These doctored images have real world effects on women ranging from eating disorders to purchases of products to “fix” these issues with money that could be better spent in other ways.

What do you think?  Should these pictures have been published?  Would you share them on your social media accounts?

Be Pretty, But Don’t Wear those Slutty Heels to Work

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Recently, the prestigious Loyola Law School issued a memo to students including a statement about how female students should dress when clerking.

As is often the case with professional dress codes, women’s clothing choices were addressed, with no suggestions about what is appropriate for men.

This gets at the double bind faced by women in something as simple as choosing what to wear to work.  On the one hand, women are encouraged to look beautiful in their work appearance, as traditionally defined in our culture.  On the other hand, often women are judged for looking too “sexy.”

Ultimately women’s job performance should not be evaluated on their appearance.  It is an example of how “appearance counts” as a theme of femininity affects women in their professional lives in a significant way.

As Drexler argues here in a CNN editorial about the memo what should matter most is, “how women perform their jobs, and not which shoes they happened to choose that morning.”

Disney Plus Size Princess Petition

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Jewel Moore, a junior right here in Farmville, VA has made international news with her petition on change.org for Disney to include a plus-sized princess. In just under 3 weeks, Jewel’s petition has amassed over 25,000 signatures and national and international news coverage.

In part, Jewel’s petition reads:

I made this petition because I’m a plus-size young woman, and I know many plus-size girls and women who struggle with confidence and need a positive plus-size character in the media.

Studies show that a child’s confidence correlates greatly with how much representation they have in the media. It’s extremely difficult to find a positive representation of plus-size females in the media. If Disney could make a plus-size female protagonist who was as bright, amazing, and memorable as their others, it would do a world of good for those plus-size girls out there who are bombarded with images that make them feel ugly for not fitting the skinny standard.

The Huffington Post reports that Jewel is correct in her assessment of how girls engage in unhealthy eating behaviors.

The reaction to this petition also demonstrates social learning theory – how positive and negative reinforcement from others influences gendered norms (in this case, the importance of and type of ideal appearance for women).  For negative reaction, check out hostile comments made about Jewel in response to her petition and even broadcast on national news.  However, Jewel has also received a great deal of support in her quest for more realistic and a variety of body types to be represented in children’s media – my favorite is this great video created by an artist of his work to create a princess in Jewel’s image!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh5bYIubbIg[/youtube]

 

Asia’s ideal beauty: Looking Caucasian

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This is a real-world example of intersectionality that describes how ethnicity and gendered norms interact in women’s lives.

From the article: “The majority of facial cosmetic operations performed on Asians are considered “Westernizing” procedures. Two of the most popular, nose jobs (rhinoplasty) and eyelid lifts (blepharoplasty), are specially designed to make these features look more Caucasian.”

Interestingly, often it is the parents of who encourage younger women to undergo these procedures.

‘Normal’ Barbie By Nickolay Lamm Shows Us What Mattel Dolls Might Look Like If Based On Actual Women

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Here’s an example of what Barbie would look like if she reflected average measurements.  The creator of these photos asks, “If there’s even a small chance of Barbie in its present form negatively influencing girls, and if Barbie looks good as an average-sized woman in America, what’s stopping Mattel from making one?”

The article draws from a blog published by artist Nickolay Lamm – another example of an “everyday” person bringing national attention to a gender-related issue via social media.

‘Attractive & Fat’ ad spoofs Abercrombie

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In this interview with activist and artist Jes Baker, she explains what motivated her to write a public letter to the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch after he had been quoted saying that they did not offer women’s sizes over a size 10 because “We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”  This is an example of how institutions (in this case business) influences gendered norms because while there are XL and XXL men’s sizes at Abercrombie, you won’t find larger women’s sizes.

Baker has prompted a change.org petition and created a Abercrombie ad parody to “challenge the separation of attractive and fat.”  Check it out!

Daphne Halloween Costume Decision

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Here is a link to an article about the young boy who decided to dress as Daphne for Halloween one year.  The blog the mother wrote about it is also very interesting – both the blog and the comments responding to her give insight into how closely many people believe gendered norms should be followed, as well as the assumptions people make about sexuality and decisions to act outside of gendered norms.