Bluest Eye- Research Paper
 In the essence of all that is beautiful, time vanishes. A young girls reflection- which was once decadent in all that is innocence-has faded. She unwillingly awaits the next few years. She is aware that rumored mouths will soon bury loath deep into her young soul with hopes that it grows in her consciousness, confidence and her peace of mind. With the body of a young lady and the soul of a battered animal, she (along with thousands upon millions of other girls) will change themselves in an effort to follow that of malicious beauty standards. As seen in the frailness of Pecola Breedlove, a character from Toni Morrisonâs The Bluest Eye, these standards negatively impact the female youth because they force aesthetic generalizations onto the African American community, resulting in a lack of self confidence (which leads to not only self exploitation but also competition), and most importantly, a separation from self.
 Civilizations bathe in a false sense of confidence that has been created by aesthetic generalizations which were derived from western societies. During the Industrial Revolution the United States of America (with England close behind) had become known to the general public as the âutopian societyâ. As the States began to monopolize and become the basics of importation, many developing countries looked to the Western Hemisphere as the way many things should be. However, with this false stigma of the United States, came along this âideaâ of beauty and what it was exactly. Many businesses in the 1920s with the expansion of visual technologies, commodity, consumption, and urbanization- found ways for women to be on display in the public eye (Tice 147-156). What people now refer to as âpin upâ girls, were found on every advertisement; home/house supplies, cars, bathing suits, etc. The woman found on these ads were usually healthy, perky, blonde women. with small noses, big round eyes and plump red lips-delicately placed on a porcelain visage.  Caucasian women were, and controversially, are the face of what many perceive to be beautiful. Toni Morrison's  novel, The Bluest Eye, takes the reader into the eyes of a young child and how she perceives the world. In one instance Claudia, the main character, speaks of her hatred towards the dolls that her mother had gotten her. The little white dolls with flailing limbs and blonde hair. In contrast, when Pecola is introduced into the novel, it speaks of Pecola's tea cup which had a picture of Shirley Temple (a caucasian child star) and Pecola's own fascination with blue eyes and her adoration for Shirley Temple in general, while also describing the adoration that the adults had for the white dolls in which they had attempted to push onto Claudia- the main character. Claudia, in a sense, represents the suffocated confidence of African American women in a world of eurocentric beauty when she speaks in hope of Pecolaâs repulsive baby, saying that â[It had] No synthetic yellow bangs suspended over marble-blue eyes, no pinched nose and bowline mouth⊠[She] felt a need for someone to want the black baby to live- just to counteract the universal love of white baby dolls.â Throughout the novel, Morrison poetically describes how beauty standards can cause self loath, especially in a society that bases a womans worth off of their ability to appeal.
 In the United States it is quite clear that the Westernized female body  is the alpha of all anatomys. In America, beauty is based from a "reinforced idea that women are supposed to possess a light complexion and straight flowing hair" (Crosby 320). Not many  cultures, if any, fit this description. Especially not African American women. And that is where the problem truly ys. You cannot judge the beauty of a rose the same that you judge the beauty of an enchanted doe. Now, relate that to the human species; contraire to Caucasian women, African American women's hair is "textured and less fine". Because of this obvious-yet vital difference- African Americans hair is referred to as âkinkyâ and ânappyâ, showing that African American women are bullied and teased by their counterparts and peers because of their heredity and the chromosomes that cause their hair to coil rather than flow (Crosby 320). Because of this, African American women, in general, take hold a burden of self loath that causes them to suffer from aesthetic depression and low self esteem. This point is beautifully painted when Toni Morrison allows us a glimpse into the mind of Mrs. Breedlove- who later in the novel would deem herself as unworthy of not only Chollyâs love, but her own.
 In an attempt to gain the beauty of Caucasian women, African Americanâs began to rely on aesthetics materials, and their complexion as an effort to get ahead and feel worthy. In a generation of falsified beauty- insecurities breed like that of bacteria, especially in youth. In an effort to conform to the Eurocentric beauty standards women sought faith in âperming hair, or wearing a weaveâ (Crosby 321) regardless of itâs cost. These false extensions allowed for african american woman to feel like the Caucasian beauties that dominated the media and adds. In The Bluest Eye, Mrs. Breedlove even plays into the sorcery of manipulating oneself in hopes to achieve confidence (and maybe even make Cholly pay attention to her).  She would do her hair like that of the women who played in the theaters and she would dress herself up to feel adequate for her own eyeâs approval. Yet when her tooth had fallen out, it was clear that she had her place, in the shadows of beauty with  which the African American female characteristics reside. This inability to be as beautiful as the Eurasian standards, immobilized young women even in this day (as well as young men) causing them to exploit themselves in social media.  This is most evident in today generation, it is even said that this generation is in an age of âSexualized youth.â  In a world where many of peopleâs obsessions stems from their inability to be wanted, it is seen that there is a â[huge] focus on being sexy [that is] starting even youngerâ (Schleifer 1).  There is a battle over the female physique- in which males and females struggle with what they want to identify as âsexyâ or âappealing,â. A confusion of whether âthick womenâ or âtoned womenâ deserve more attention just throws the female body and mindset even further under the bus.
 That is the first step to separation. The second happens in the African American communities as the âDark skinâ and  âLight skinâ tear themselves apart in an effort to build themselves up, mostly because âDark-skinned females are regarded as inferior to light-skinned femalesâ (Thomas 1).. As mentioned before, fairer skin has always been treated as a delicacy in the human race. A person of a lighter complexion is seen to be more intelligent and hold a certain level of power  over those whom posses more melanoma. With this falsified scientific notion, we see jealousy and envy all wrapped in self derived stereotypes in the African American community. Morrison offers a vivid example through the eyes of Claudia as Claudia ponders Miss Maureen Peal. The new student:
âA high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back. She was rich, at least by our standards. As rich as the richest of the white girls... Frieda and I were bemused, irritated and fascinated by her.â
 This passage most accurately describes the separation in which the African American community takes upon itself in an attempt to swallow jealousy. This, in return causes a huge gash in how humans of the community take on and appreciate the beauty of individuals.  Akira Robinson writes in her article âLight Skin Vs. Dark Skin: Breaking the Mental Chains,â that the stereotyping that the African Americans puts on themselves is âcancerous, dangerous, and shape how [African Americans] view [themselves].â  The stereotyping that many African Americans label as jokes causes a poisonous division in not only the community, but creates a broken sense of unity to coming generations. Causing, later a broken sense of self.
 With the amount of vain thinking that generations are becoming exposed to, especially in the African American community, it is easy to understand the negative effects that come as followed. The âphysical, emotional and social well beingâ of individuals is deteriorating (Crosby 320). It is important that humans nurture themself, and their reflections. The African American community, though raped and forced to believe that the African characteristics that are inherited are only unappealing, should not dwell in stigmas of those with blue eyes.
Crosby, Elizabeth, and Kim McKeage. "The Role of Consumption and Advertising in the Creation
and Perpetuation of Beauty Stereotypes of African-American Women." The Role of Consumption and Advertising in the Creation and Perpetuation of Beauty Stereotypes of African-American Women (n.d.): 320-21. Google Scholars. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
 Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Vintage International, 2007. 249.  Overdrive.
 Rice, Karen Whitney. "Beauty, Bodies, Spectacle, and Consumption."Women's History. Project
Muse, 2006. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
 SCHLEIFER, BRADFORD G. "Innocence Lost â The Sexualization of Youth."Innocence Lost â
The Sexualization of Youth. The Real Truth Magazine, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
 Thomas, Justin. "Racial Divide: Light and Dark Struggle." Investigative Journalism. University of
North Carolina, June 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
