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Blog Post #5: The Gendered Politics Behind Tupperware

Having been unable to attend Beyond the Classroom, I am going to discuss part of my experience at the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference that Sarah and I attended the week of April 11th. The Naval Academy, one of America’s most elite military educational institutions holds Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference every year, during which university students and military officers-in-training from around the world come together to learn about and discuss a topic related to global security. This year’s topic was Women and Global Security. One of the most interesting talks during the conference was given by the CEO of Tupperware, who was formerly in the Navy and is currently a leader in the UN’s “He for She” campaign. The CEO, Rick Goings, claimed that Tupperware empowers women when hiring them to become salespeople. The logic is that Tupperware helps unleash leadership potential in women they didn’t know they had. He gave the example of an indigenous women in Mexico named Laty who was a shy stay-at-home housewife. Laty was encouraged to become a saleswoman and soon was the main provider in her family, which increased her status at home and in her community. She was able to move from place to place freely and achieved a level of self-confidence she had previously thought impossible. Laty then became a regional leader of the company, in charge of thousands of saleswomen. (Note that here capitalism is the anecdote to a lack of self-worth and community respect. )

Tupperware boasts that 98 percent of its salesforce is female. But what this number tells you is not necessarily that the company is doing good than harm. Women make up so much of the salesforce because they are selling to other women. And the reason that this connection is important is because there is an implicit, or often even explicit understanding between these two women that they are both the caretakers for their families. Saleswomen capitalize on this shared status to gain legitimacy and trust in ways a male salesperson could not. For example, most of Tupperware’s sales are outside of the U.S. and a large portion belong to India. In India, there is a commonly-used lunchbox system through which men go out to work, women stay home and make lunch for their husbands, and the lunch boxes full of tupperware are then picked up and delivered by men to husbands at their offices. So while some women are empowered as saleswomen and feel they have greater agency in their lives, they are doing it at the cost of encouraging other women to stay home and continue to perform the restrictive gender roles critiqued by authors we have read like Betty Friedan. At the conference, I confronted the CEO with this contradiction. Although the crowd went silent with anticipation, the relief never came and Goings did not actually answer my question. I asked him if he ever thought of marketing his products to men, to which he replied no because he didn’t think women would ever stop being the primary shoppers for the family. So I guess at least we can assume he doesn’t think gender roles are going away any time soon.

Emily F.

Are Body Positivity Campaigns Really Positive?

In 2013 the feminine hygiene brand, Always, began their campaign ‘like a girl’. This campaign consisted of a series of videos all projected to emphasize girl’s talents. In their first video, #likeagirl, Always cast kids, and then young adults, and asked both groups to do things like “run like a girl,” “throw like a girl,” and “hit like a girl”. The young kids took the instructions and ran, threw, and hit to the best of their ability, while the young adults performed the same tasks purposefully weak. The intent of the video was to ask women at what point in their life, “like a girl,” had become an insult.

In my opinion this campaign, was beneficial to women in that is emphasized talent in place of beauty. Other companies such as Dove and Aerie have also started body positivity campaigns in the past few years, yet theirs differ from Always in that the lesson they aim to teach is that women should find themselves beautiful. An example of a campaign put on by Dove is the video Real Beauty Sketches: You’re More Beautiful Than you Think, in which an artist who draws suspects for crime scene investigations, draws women twice: once using their own description of themselves, and again using another woman’s description of her. In every trial, the women’s description of herself is drawn less attractive than when another woman describes her. The moral of the video is that women should not be so hard on themselves.

Similarly, the Aerie campaign, aerieREAL, has begun to use a diverse range of models, showing women with tattoos, cellulite, and body types not normally seen in fashion. The aim of this campaign is to increase representation of different demographics of people in media and make more people feel “naturally” beautiful.

In the Rebecca Popenoe reading, ‘Ideal’, she discusses the differences in western body ideals from those in Niger, Africa. Despite the fact that there is little to no media influence in Niger, the people there are still bound by a set of beauty standards unique to their cultural values, environment, and economic orders. Additionally, Popenoe argued that when women in Niger failed to adhere to the body ideal, it was viewed as the result of her genetics, sickness, or witchcraft, where in western society however, a woman’s failure to comply with the body ideal was seen to be her own fault. These body positivity campaigns, somewhat reflect this concept. The Dove and Aerie campaigns, seem to kind of blame women for not finding themselves beautiful. The Aerie campaign in particular, states “women are their own worst critic” and “natural is beautiful”, yet simultaneously photographs and advertises women that, despite having non-conventional looks, still adhere to beauty standards.

In total, these campaigns have both positive and negative effects. I find that Dove and Aerie, can be especially detrimental in that they emphasize a woman’s value lies in her beauty. This ties back into Popenoe’s argument that unlike in Niger, western women’s ability to comply with beauty standards ties into her identity. I found the Always campaign better in that they emphasized talent in place of looks. Additionally it should be noted, that all three companies, in the end are trying to sell a product. In my opinion this only devalues the message farther.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ6wwJ6Qaf4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

Carina

@theblondevegan

In the article titled, "My Life With Orthorexia," from the website Refinery29, Jordan Younger describes what started out as a commitment to eating healthy and feeling better, but spiraled out of control into an obsession with veganism. As Younger notes, “My issue didn't fall into the traditional categories of anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. Mine was an obsession with healthy, pure, clean foods from the earth, and a fear of anything that might potentially cause my body harm” it is clear that this well-intentioned dedication to eating “clean” is a huge movement in our current society—possible the trendiest diet movement out there—but the strict restrictions that make it attractive to some can have disastrous repercussions on others.

Orthorexia, defined as “a fixation on purity, and a fear of foods that might derail that ‘perfection’” promotes a type of control or “super human willpower” over the body, which is one of the biggest signs of an eating disorder. As Younger states “Those of us who have a tendency toward extremes in other areas are more susceptible to developing it,” there’s an implicit link to normative beauty standards, but Susan Bordo’s idea of “non-sociocultural” factors comes into play—she states, “These non-sociocultural factors (among those most frequently listed: 'deficits' in autonomy, tendency to obesity, perfectionist personality traits and defective cognitive patterns...are then weighted alongside sociocultural factors as equally determinative of the disorders” (52). To me, Bordo’s portrayal of eating disorders as an issue with many determinants is especially interesting, especially, like Younger states, in the sense that people who tend to exhibit control in almost goal-oriented, “superhuman willpower” habits are at higher risk.

Additionally, Rebecca Popenoe articulates this idea from another angle, as she states, “For me, the sleek, streamlined female body I had been conditioned to emulate carried connotations of self-discipline, strength, industry, and general virtue”(62). By examining Popenoe’s text, it seems clear that there is a direct linkage between disordered eating, or female standards of beauty, and this idea of “self-discipline,” similar to controlling tendencies. In this way, the cultural emphasis on the “sleek female body” promotes this type of harmful self-discipline, illustrating that it may be a combination of societal beauty standards, a “tendency toward extremes,” and this societally induced repetition of the importance of “strength” and “self-discipline” that contribute to prevalence of eating disorders present today.

http://www.refinery29.com/jordan-younger-vegan-orthorexia

Susan Bordo, "Whose Body Is This?"

Rebecca Popenoe, "Ideal"

Kate Vibbert

Eating Disorders Don't Exist Within Binaries

In her written work “Whose Body is This”, Susan Bordo discusses eating disorders on the basis of cultural factors as opposed to medical factors. While there undeniably are cultural factors that play a role in the manifestation of eating disorders, I think that it can be harmful both to our understanding of eating disorders and to those who suffer with them to cast aside all medical analysis when analyzing eating disorders. Eating disorders can’t entirely be attributed to either nature or nurture; a comprehensive understanding of these disorders takes multiple factors into consideration. Eating disorders are recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, in its most modern version referred to as the DSM-5. As the most recent version of this manual was released in 2013, twenty years after Bordo wrote “Whose Body is This”, it is evident that our understanding of eating disorders has largely shifted. Firstly, eating disorders are no longer put into a binary of those who suffer with either Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa. Modern psychology recognizes that there are plenty of variations on eating disorders as we understand them, thus the term “EDNOS” (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) was created to include other conditions not previously recognized, such as binge eating disorder. As analysis on eating disorders get more and more refined with modern medicine and studies, the way in which we look at eating disorders is starting to reflect more of a spectrum than a finite set of conditions. Secondly, it has now been made evident that eating disorders, like most other mental disorders, have a genetic component that make some more predisposed to a certain condition than others. This demonstrates the biological, not cultural, basis of eating disorders. In addition, this fact makes it difficult to fully accept Gilligan and Orbach’s efforts to gender eating disorders as a female issue. While there are statistics available that show us that more women than men are affected by eating disorders, it isn’t a black and white issue that can be labeled as pertaining to one specific gender. Instead of looking at eating disorders as a cultural phenomenon affecting only women, as Bordo would suggest, I think they can be best understood as mental disorders that largely affect women among other genders. It is important to understand and be critical of cultural factors that affect and inform those who suffer with eating disorders, but the medical information we have at our disposal shouldn’t be neglected either.

Sources:

Susan Bordo, “Whose Body is This?”

DSM-5: http://www.dsm5.org/documents/eating%20disorders%20fact%20sheet.pdf

Michael Gazzaniga, Todd Heatherton, Diane Halpern, Psychological Science Fifth Edition

Isabel

Embracing Grey Space: That’s What’s Underneath Project

The That’s What’s Underneath Project is a YouTube series in which fashionistas, models, and people with particularly unique senses of personal style are interviewed on camera. Gradually, they not only reveal reasons behind why they like to wear what they do, but unravel their life stories while physically shedding layers of clothing. I have found this series to be particularly powerful and honest in a way no other one has. The interviewees range from punk musicians (like Meredith Graves of feminist band “Perfect Pussy”) to Orange Is The New Black’s Lea DeLaria.

In this particular episode, iO Tillett Wright is being interviewed. iO is an artist, activists, actor, and more famously the founder of a human rights group called “Self Evident Truths” a human rights project that photographs Americans asking “them whether they are “other than straight”, and photographing respondents who self-evaluate themselves to be “A[nything] other than 100% straight”. To date they have photographed 8,447 people in over 30 cities across the USA” (Wikipedia).” On a personal level of style, iO bends rules of gender in her clothing and appearance, and wears androgynous clothing. iO’s experience with gender in her body has taken quite a trip, she’s presented as stereotypically masculine and stereotypically feminine throughout different points in time, but never felt totally comfortable. However, iO has found that their style has evolved much like their understanding of themselves. Clothing has been a way for her to embrace the grey space of gender and transgenderism by learning that they don’t have to appeal to one side or the other. I am was really drawn to the honesty and openness she gives the viewers here. Moreover, she emphasizes the power of choice and power we have in dressing ourselves as a form of expression. Regarding bodies, this series reinforces the call for compassion and understanding and embraces the notion of gender being a spectrum.

Upon watching this video, I’m left wondering what the future of fashion looks like, and how normative expectations of bodies and beauty will evolve as the consciousness of society expands. In any case, I appreciate iO sharing their story and hope to be as confident in dressing myself and they are. There’s a lot to learn from iO….

~Julia P.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PhEppdwArA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IO_Tillett_Wright

You Can't Photoshop Our Culture

It has been well documented how often Photoshop is used in modern Western media to slim models’ and actresses’ figures, but in the past few years, an even more dangerous and telling phenomenon has emerged. Several prominent magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and (ironically) Healthy, have admitted to using Photoshop to actually make emaciated models appear larger and healthier by filling out their figures and blurring away signs of unhealthy eating habits (such as prominent bones, poor skin complexion, and dull hair). As Leah Hardy, a former editor of Cosmopolitan, said herself, “At the time, when we pored over the raw images, creating the appearance of smooth flesh over protruding ribs, softening the look of collarbones that stuck out like coat hangers, adding curves to flat bottoms and cleavage to pigeon chests, we felt we were doing the right thing.” While it may at first seem like the “right thing” to depict “healthy” women, this practice illustrates a dangerous negative cycle of unhealthy body image in the media. In effect, readers see the slenderness of the magazines’ models without seeing the reality of the unhealthy repercussions of dangerous eating habits, misleading young women into believing that it is possible and in fact an ideal to be both waif-like and have a glowing, sculpted, curvaceous figure.

This contradiction of slenderness and “femininity” (as curvy) inherent in Western media’s depiction of female bodies relates to Susan Bordo’s 1993 article, “Whose Body is This?” Bordo discusses the gendered and economic implications in the recent boom in the prevalence of eating disorders among Western young women, questioning why thinness has become the cultural ideal. She explores how the extremely thin ideal represents a restriction of the natural development of the female body, and that this “pathology” should not be considered an individual ailment but a societal issue. She also discusses how thinness has become associated with wealth, whereas for the poor, being thin indicates an actual lack of access to food, and thus has very different implications. Stemming from these discussions, the recent “reverse Photoshop” that makes emaciated bodies more “feminine” and curvy shows an erasure of these societal problems and an ignorance of socioeconomic ties to food and bodies.

Further, the idea that slender-yet-curvy bodies are most “feminine” contains implications of its own and cannot be generalized to the global sphere. In her 2005 article, “Ideal,” Rebecca Popenoe discusses her work in a small village in Niger where female bodies that would be considered obese in the U.S. are viewed as the absolute ideal. She observed that starting in childhood, women and girls are nearly force-fed to achieve their ideal bodies, which are considered beautiful and indicative of strong social standing when larger. In a way, the recent phenomenon of filling out models’ bodies seems to move the Western ideal more toward the Niger ideal of “large femininity,” but not when one considers that the Photoshopping is only occurring after a long history of depictions of impossibly thin female bodies. “Reverse Photoshopping” is not an indication of improving social ideals of the female body; it is a telling example of the larger cover-up (and literal erasure) of dangerous cultural ideas by the media.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-wade/youd-be-shocked-at-what-these-fashion-editors-are-editing-out-of-their-photos_b_4542067.html?ir=Religion

Susan Bordo. 1993. “Whose Body is This?” from Unbearable Weight

Rebecca Popenoe. 2005. “Ideal” from Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession.

Tira

According to Rebecca Popenoe’s piece “Ideal”, bodily ideals are partially shaped by different economic systems. In Niger, Popenoe found fatter women were the desirable ideal. The economy is based on men working on “the herding of animals and long-distance trade” (18), earning them money to buy food for their women. Women’s bodies become “symbols of their menfolk’s success.” (18) In contrast, the western capitalistic economy has men and women as workers and as consumers, creating a “tension between production and consumption,” (19) though social expectations of women as more prominent consumers still exists.

In an effort to examine the issue of body image in an original way, I looked toward the satirical publication, the Onion. I found a piece titled “Ronald McDonald Statue Bears Full Brunt Of Teenagers’ Mockery.” The image accompanying the text shows a Ronald McDonald statue sitting in the center of a bench outside McDonalds. In it, we have teenagers bullying the Ronald McDonald statue for the way it looks. The article is as follows:

“CLEVELAND—Remaining stoically silent throughout the barrage of vicious insults, unsavory accusations, and various other indignities directed at it, a statue of Ronald McDonald seated on a bench outside the fast-food chain’s Clark Avenue location is said to have borne the full force of a group of teenagers’ mockery Thursday. “Look at this stupid fucking thing,” said 15-year-old Brandon Callahan, mercilessly disparaging the statue by pretending to give it a handjob as four of his friends looked on and laughed, but perturbing the figure’s firm, unwavering resolve not a whit. “Who even put this ugly-ass thing out here? No one would ever want to sit down next to this dumb piece of shit. Fucking stupid corporate bullshit.” Having remained steadfast and assured throughout the approximately six-minute onslaught of teenage derision, the fast-food mascot is said to have further displayed its controlled temperament and unyielding grace several hours later when it cradled a homeless man’s head in its lap as he vomited, never once losing its expression of wholesome good cheer.”

The connection between this piece and Popenoe’s concept (that the formation of body image ideals partially occurs through economic systems) hinges on “Brandon Callahan’s” statement of “‘Who even put this ugly-ass thing out here?...Fucking stupid corporate bullshit.’” The insults of “ugly-ass thing” and “Fucking stupid corporate bullshit” are interesting. This made-up teenager has internalized certain expectations of being good-looking versus ugly, and has made the point that perhaps no one wants to sit next to something ugly. This indicates an idea internalized by this teenager is that ugliness is something to keep away from the public. It is unseemly. Ugliness is not something others wants to spend time around. It is also interesting that the statue is being called “corporate bullshit.” The statue is a representation of a corporate entity that produces the desire to consume (eat food). The statue remains “silent and steadfast” despite the teenager’s accusations. Perhaps the message here is that targeting corporations themselves to incite change for our bodily ideals might not be effective.

Kathleen Li

http://www.theonion.com/article/ronald-mcdonald-statue-bears-full-brunt-teenagers--52786

Western beauty standards are rooted in whiteness and perpetuated by cosmetic companies. In her article “10 Ways the Beauty Industry Tells You Being Beautiful Means Being White,” Maisha Johnson discusses her experience shopping for makeup as a Woman of Color. She notes that it is often difficult for WOC to find makeup shades that match their skin tones. While there might be many shades of make up designed to match people with fairer skin, there are usually only one or two shade offerings for individuals with darker skin. This attitude towards women of color essentially teaches them that their skin color is wrong and needs to be changed, instead of placing the blame on the cosmetic company or larger systems that perpetuate racism.

Historically, Johnson notes that “Anglicized” features are valued on women, especially on WOC. She points out Zoe Saldana and Jessica Alba as being WOC with notably slender features and lighter skin tones. The media often praises these women for their beauty as they are “white girls dipped in chocolate,” or WOC who embody the characteristics of white women. Furthermore, she also notes how in the media, the skin colors of WOC are often lightened through photoshop (such as what happened with Beyonce in a L'Oreal ad). These small changes to the appearance of WOC equate beauty and personhood with whiteness and otherize WOC, implicating that a “woman of color who ‘looks’ like her ethnicity isn’t attractive.”

Encouraging WOC to look more like white women has become a “multi billion dollar industry.” Not only are there creams and lotions that promise to lighten the tone of WOC’s skin, but many women also opt for plastic surgery (to widen the eyes, slim the nose, etc). Women with “kinky hair” are encouraged to “get a little closer to that unattainable beauty by chemically straightening [their] hair.” Thus, WOC are not worth “having products meant to celebrate [their] natural beauty,” but instead should buy products that will make them look more like white women.

All in all, this paints a very disturbing picture of the beauty industry. Not only do cosmetic companies selectively market to white women, but they also actively encourage WOC to change their appearances to become white, and thus become beautiful. For young WOC, Western standards of beauty create internalized self-hatred and the belief that to be beautiful, one must fundamentally change one’s appearance. This, in turn, funds the beauty industry and perpetuates the cycle.

Article: http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/when-beauty-equals-white/

Lauren

"Good Fatties" and Body Positivity

I recently encountered the article, “6 Ways I was Taught to be a Good Fatty (And Why I Stopped)” by Kitty Stryker on the site Everyday Feminism. A “good fatty,” according to her, is “the fat person who can never be socially acceptable, but at least publicly flogs herself for the sin of excess pounds.” In her article, Stryker details the many ways in which overweight people are shamed, and the “code of conduct” that they must follow in order to be accepted by mainstream society. A “good fatty” exercises, eats healthily, diet, “dress impeccably,” dress modestly and don’t show much skin, and are funny and always ready to poke fun at themselves.

Stryker explains how the pressure to be a “good fatty” has exacerbated her mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and anorexia. She felt constantly shamed and humiliated in public, whether it be at the gym or for simply eating two slices of pizza, to the point where she no longer eats out frequently and gets groceries delivered directly to her house. Her psychiatrist pressured her to go on an extreme diet, despite her struggle with anorexia– which in itself is not acknowledged by the medical professionals around her because she does not have an underweight BMI. Stryker describes how her body is both shamed and fetishized by men and women alike.

Stryker concludes by saying, “rather than trying to make my body smaller, more consumable, more pretty, I’m going to take up more space, allow myself room to breathe.” In the article centered around the cultural context and gendered nature of anorexia and bulimia “Whose Body is This?” author Susan Bordo describes how “femininity itself required the holding of breath, the loss of air, the choking down of anger and desire, the relinquishing of voice, the denial of appetite, the constriction of body” (50). Stryker consciously defies these notions of femininity that promote disordered eating and distorted body image by giving herself permission to have “room to breathe.” However, she still struggles with her anorexia, a product (as Bordo would argue) of the unifying element/pathology of eating disorders– cultural constructions of femininity and gender.

Interestingly enough, had Stryker lived in Niger amongst the people that Rebecca Popenoe studied, her body would be considered ideal beauty. I speculate, based on Popenoe’s analysis of beauty standards in Niger versus Western beauty standards (and the ways that they are policed), that an article “6 Ways I was Taught to be a Good Skinny” would not emerge. In the United States or other Western nations, a failure to conform to body ideals is attributed to an individual failure, as the “freedom to develop an individual identity” also carries the “personal responsibility to do so” (24). In Niger, a failure to be fat is attributed more so to their social context and circumscribed path in life, not on the person themself.

Western popular culture could learn much from Kitty Stryker’s article promoting body positivity towards overweight women and from Rebecca Popenoe’s analysis of the toxic effects on body image that Western culture of individualism promote. People’s bodies belong only to themselves, and acceptance of a diverse range of body shapes and sizes in the context of feminism and social justice is essential to lowering instances of eating disorders and mental illnesses and promoting positivity and healthy self-image.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/04/taught-to-be-good-fatty/

Ideal, Rebecca Popenoe

Whose Body is this?, Susan Bordo

Maya

An Internet Challenge that Promotes the Thin Ideal

In their article, “A4 waists, iPhone legs: Chinese women set bizarre new standards for beauty on social media,” Ben Westcott and Celine Ge describe the new trend in modern Chinese society, were women post pictures of them comparing their bodies to household items in order to document their thinness, and how this fad could in fact be dangerous. Comparing their knees to their phones and their midsection to a piece of paper, women who are taking part of this “challenge” are reinforcing the thin ideal. As the article points out, even a celebrity took part of this challenge and tells her fans to not “be green-eyed by those with an ‘A4 waist’. Just work out hard! Go Go Go!” (Westcott, Ge). There is nothing wrong with encouraging others to take part in fitness in a healthy manner; however, to emphasize the importance of working out to obtain a paper thin waist is putting these women’s health at risk in order to obtain the “ideal.” When sharing these images on social media, these women are endorsing the beauty standards and are encouraging others to strive to achieve the same degree of thinness that they have reached, or maybe even thinner. Who is to say that the next challenge will not be using smaller objects? Connecting to Bordo’s essay, “Whose Body is This?,” Westcott and Ge point out the sociocultural influence of these unhealthy extremes by pointing out that “[m]edia has played a significant role in transmitting thinness norms and values, which has shown links to increased body image dissatisfaction, eating disorders and lowered self-esteem among women” and that there is this misconception that there is a relationship between attractiveness, successfulness, and thinness (Westcott, Ge). These unobtainable beauty standards can effect the way women perceive themselves and can prevent them from engaging in the world. As Westcott and Ge explain, a study by Dove concluded that “six out of 10 girls choose not to do something because they don’t want to draw attention to the way they look, including not participating in classroom discussion or not turning up in school at all” (Westcott, Ge). Bordo’s feminist approach would emphasize that it is not these women’s fault for having these “flawed” reasons but that it is society’s fault for creating these distortions by emphasizing the importance of fitting a particular ideal.

William M.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1932291/a4-waists-iphone-legs-chinese-women-set-bizarre-new-standards

Dove's Real Beauty Campaign and Its Effectiveness

About a decade ago, Dove launched their Real Beauty Campaign. Originally, they had wanted to rebrand in order to sell more products. While conducting surveys of women across 10 different countries, only 2% of the 3000 women they interviewed considered themselves beautiful. This is where the idea for their Real Beauty Campaign came from. They decided that, while also branching out from soaps and introducing new products like lotions and shampoos, they also wanted to “start a conversation about beauty.” Dove began advertising on billboards and began including women of all different body types, ages, and races in their advertisements.

I find the origin of this campaign to be particularly interesting because the reason behind it was a capitalist one, with their goal to sell new products. However, despite promoting the idea that all women are beautiful, it’s important to keep in mind that Dove also sells beauty products like lotions and cellulite-firming cream. This is a major critique of the campaign that several people share, believing that “its cosmetic products feed into women’s insecurities,” while their campaign is aimed at alleviating those insecurities.

In addition to these ad campaigns, Dove also created a fund in 2004 in order to “organize activities including discussions about online bullying and photography projects capturing the beauty girls see in the world around them.” While neither the ad campaigns nor these activities will create change all on their own, it’s refreshing to see a beauty company sending out strong messages about the importance of body acceptance and body confidence.

However, critics have noted that “just because women are redefining beauty, doesn’t mean they are actually feeling differently about themselves.” Despite all of Dove’s efforts to make all women feel beautiful and confident through their advertisements, this is only a small portion of the beauty industry. Women are still bombarded by many other companies for beauty products or clothes, through mass media with models and celebrities that seem to have one prevailing body type, and these all send the same message to women that this one body type is preferred. Dove’s campaign is great in promoting confidence in women, but with so few other companies following suit, it’s difficult to change the mindset of an entire population of people that all body types are accepted when there’s still media out there that strongly suggests that this is not the case.

Even with that in mind, Popenoe discusses that even in countries without these forms of mass media, there are still ideas and pressures to have a certain body type. She specifically discusses women in Niger, who aim to gain as much weight as they can. This ideal body type exists without any influence from the media, solely from the attitudes of the people in their communities. I think that, while the media representation of women’s bodies if often blamed for women striving for a specific body type, it’s important to remember these ideas about ideal body types exist all over the world in places where there is no media to promote an ideal. While campaigns such as Dove’s are seen as progressive in American society, it raises the question of if the campaign will actually be able to change women’s views on body types. If ideas of ideal female body types exist for women all over the world, with and without media, will it be possible for campaigns like Dove’s to promote the idea that all body types are accepted? Or is this just an ideal that one would like to see accepted in society, but isn’t actually ever attainable?

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns-10_n_4575940.html

https://heucy.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/dove-real-beauty-campaign-e1390534548163.jpg (image source)

Kara

Short Hair, Don't Care

When I think of what the stereotypical American young woman looks like, one of the first things that comes to mind is long, straight hair. Supposedly, that quintessential look, and the feminine standards associated with it, are being questioned with the new trend of short hair cuts for women. Although all sorts of women, ranging from celebrities to college students like me, are opting for this hairstyle, it became apparent that not too much about conventional standards of beauty are actually being questioned. When I searched “women short hair cuts” online, the resulting pages varied in the content and commentary on the trend. When celebrities and models were discussed, many of the websites praised them for being risk-takers and made comments about how their “stunning cuts” and “impressive quiffs” were liberating and challenging societal ideals. Although these women may be getting their hair styled shorter, they have hairstylists, makeup artists, and designer clothing that help them to still conform to every other component of American standards.

On the other hand, when websites were focusing on normal girls and young women deciding to cut their hair, the commentary shifted. 17 magazine articles highlighted the issues of having a “pathetic little tail” of a ponytail, looking like a “sad, wet duck” after showering, and the need to avoid mirrors because “every time you see yourself, you’re going to get sad.” Glamour magazine suggested that women who are brave enough to chop off their hair will not be met with praise, but instead with fake compliments or remarks about being butch.

Though the media celebrates famous women for daring to “transform” standards for female appearance as they continue to abide by those standards, the media criticizes and shames normal women not only for their short haircuts but for their appearance and identity as a whole. While these normal women may be attempting to break away from conventional beauty standards (or at least keep up with trends), as Rebecca Popenoe described, the media and those around them share judgements that are internalized to create “these feelings of personal anguish” that arise “when striving for the thin body ideal”, or any other piece of the unattainable Western beauty.

Although the length of a woman’s hair is clearly very different from anorexia, I think that a lot of Bordo’s argument can also be applied here. The culprit of these pressures clearly falls in part on the media, which is “capable of indoctrinating and tyrannizing impressionable girls by means of whatever imagery it arbitrarily decided to promote that season.” There is an urge to emulate the “beautiful, cool, independent super woman of media imagery,” which can “produce a generation of women who feel deeply flawed, ashamed of their needs, and not entitled to exist unless they transform themselves into worthy new selves.” Thus, when celebrities begin cutting their hair short, girls and young women try to emulate that new standard by cutting their hair, too, but to little avail as they are critiqued by the media and others for still not being good enough.

Bailey

How Thin Privilege Draws the Line between Fat Shaming and Skinny Shaming

As a heavy Instagram user, I am constantly browsing through my discover feed (consists of posts liked by my friends or of recommended users) which explodes with posts from fitness gurus and their followers, fashionistas, and the like. Quite frankly, it is super rare that I ever go without seeing a post of a half naked body, male or female, captioned with #bodygoals or something along those lines. Additionally, whenever I click on these kinds of posts, I find a plethora of comments reflecting people’s desire to have the body shown in the post or the contrary. I’ve found that on posts that relate to the beauty of bigger bodies, there is always the same, oppositional response - “But what about skinny shaming?” What’s so irritating about this comment is that it completely overlooks the oppressed group and secondly, it disregards thin privilege.

Under the stigma of fatphobia, where fat bodies have neither societal acceptance nor value, a structure of privilege and oppression is formed. This automatically creates an unequal power dynamic between the two groups, which serves as the root of fat-shaming. Thinness permeates Western culture, and thus, fatness deviates from the accepted norm. We can see this unequal power structure and its consequences through representations of women regarding fashion, fitness, makeup over several different advertising platforms. Although some companies have increased their efforts to promote more body positivity and an all-encompassing representation of individuals (i.e. American Eagle’s “Aerie Real” Campaign), it is simply not enough.

Like any human being may experience, not all thin people love their bodies. Valid problems such as body image, insecurity, and eating disorders all present significant challenges for many thinner people, but these issues certainly do not negate their thin privilege. For example, someone with an eating disorder struggles on a daily basis with the symptoms and effects of illness, but can still possess the privilege of being thin. To reiterate, even though a thin individual may not be satisfied with their body, they do not have to face the same judgment and its extent that fat people face from society. The individual hardships that thin individuals face is clearly different from oppression; an oppressive system comes from society, not the individual.

In efforts to dismantle thin privilege and condemn fat shaming, the comment “But what about skinny shaming?” has become a legitimate rebuttal for some to prove that skinny shaming is just as common and detrimental as fat shaming. It is a way in which individuals can reassert their societal power and to undermine the body positivity movement and efforts to promote acceptance for fatness. Equality cannot be achieved without concentrating on the oppressed groups – thus, don’t let skinny shaming take over the dialogue about fat shaming.

Brittany

http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/10/lets-talk-about-thin-privilege/

TEDx Connecticut College April 16th

I was unable to attend the Beyond the Classroom event, but I was able to go to the TEDx event at Connecticut College on April 16th. At this event, I heard from a variety of speakers, including current students and faculty members at Connecticut College as well as professionals unassociated with the college. Their presentations were only 15 minutes each and ranged in topic from fostering kittens to police brutality. The presentation that struck me the most was the last one, which began by two seniors literally jumping onto the stage and throwing glitter into the crowd whilst screaming “We’re gay!” These students, named Rachel and Sal, specifically discussed being gay, genderfluid people of color.

The main topics they covered were being “exoticized” in the classroom, the problematic element of essentializing, homonormativity, and destructive ways of dealing with all of these experiences. Many of these topics were very enlightening. For instance, Sal and Rachel talked about how damaging it is to constantly feel like an outsider in the classroom when a teacher or professor cannot pronounce their last names. They addressed the double-edged sword of shows like Empire and Straight Off the Boat, explaining that although it is important to portray the culture and real-life experiences of people of color, these shows also further ingrain racial stereotypes, or, essentialize different races. Homonormativity is also rampant in the media, which Sal and Rachel pointed out when discussing the fact that the token queer character in TV shows and movies is normally portrayed by a white gay man. One of the most striking parts of their presentation, though, was when they told the audience that coming out as queer was not a startling or hurtful experience, as they were already used to being oppressed because they were people of color.

Obviously, these topics directly relate to many concepts we have discussed in class. The basis of Sal and Rachel’s presentation was being “so intersectional that it hurt.” Intersectionality is a topic we not only specifically explored with Kimberlé Crenshaws reading, but a concept we apply to all topics, as it truly is a lens for looking at the world. Additionally, a major part of the talk was about existing in “gray” areas, or, not fitting a certain binary. For instance, Rachel works with young kids and they sometimes ask her “are you a boy or a girl?” and she replies “I literally don’t know.” In class, we have assessed terminology like feminism, queer, woman/man vs female/male, and lesbian, just to name a few. Authors we have read that have attempted to also define some of these terms include Bell Hooks, Judith Butler, and Gloria Anzaldua. These authors struggled to redefine terms, as they often had hurtful connotations for their identities. For instance, Bell Hooks advocates for saying “I advocate for feminism” rather than “I am a feminist” so as to not indicate certain lifestyle preferences, like valuing her gender over her race/ethnicity. We have attempted a similar endeavor in class multiple times, as we think about who may be described by certain terms and who may not want to be. I liked the fact, though, that Rachel and Sal were incredibly comfortable with not trying to fit into any identities. This openness was eye-opening to me, as it was the first time I considered that maybe we do not need to define new terminology to describe identity… maybe people can just be who they are.

The final element of their presentation really tied together many topics we have discussed as well as brought them to life. When talking about sensitive subjects like gender, sexual orientation, identity, etc we always end up talking about oppression and the pain that it causes. However, these two college seniors brought these realities of oppression alive as they told an auditorium full of people their history with self-harm. Additionally, they listed statistics, like that 18-28% of gay and bisexual students experience dating violence. Although we have considered gay people and the oppression they face, as well as sexual assault and violence, we have not specifically looked at these overlapping factors. Overall, Rachel and Sal personalized and further explored the ideas and terms we have studied in class.

Other presentations in the event also related to Rachel and Sal’s. For instance, there was a presentation about the importance of intergenerational outreach programs and defying ageism. Although this presentation was focused on destigmatizing old age, I think a major element of Rachel and Sal’s presentation was not feeling validated in the current school system. For example, they stated that much of the anger and depression they experienced, which led them to self-harm, was because of the expectations that their teachers put on them. Thus, in this way, both presentations spoke about the harmful nature of age, whether it is high or low. This, again, is not a topic we have explored in depth in the classroom, and it was very interesting to hear about, especially from two different perspectives.

Finally, a presentation on police brutality and the reality for black people in America by Nathalie Etoka was very similar, especially to Rachel’s points, as she is black. For instance, Nathalie really focused on the past of black people in America and its influence on today. One quote that really stuck with me was: “The color of nostalgia is white.” Nathalie said this because white people have dominated America and history, leaving very little room for other races/ethnicities. This domination has continued, as Nathalie also stated that the humanity of black people is denied. To support this point, she explored the story of Scott Walker, a man who was fleeing a white police officer and was shot eight times in the back. With the evident oppression and fear that black people continue to experience, it is no wonder that Rachel said she felt like she was “climbing out of two holes at once” as a black queer person.

In the end, I feel so fortunate to have been able to attend this event. TEDx events are very honest, personal, and eye-opening. I have developed both an academic and personal passion for women’s, gender, and sexuality studies this semester, but to see so many of the topics we have discussed brought to life by a real person has really furthered my understanding. For instance, making a direct connection from police brutality to intersectional queer identity was not something I would have found so seamless and rational before this event. Additionally, I had never considered the vast repercussions ageism has. Finally, the true expression of oppression in the form of self-harm was something I had subconsciously considered, but its reality was undeniable as I listened to two captivating speakers tell their own stories. I certainly feel more educated after attending this event, as well as motivated to create more connections between various themes/topics in our class and consider their overarching results, like sexual assault, homosexuality, and age.

-Emily Grussing

NOTE: I was unable to attend Beyond the Classroom because of a professional conflict. Dr. J-D granted me an extension, so I could attend a different event and write on it.

Will and Grace : LGBTQ+ Identities in Media

The first time I remember seeing gay characters on television was in the show Will & Grace, there are two gay men who live with their respective straight women friends. This was one of the first mainstream television shows that aired a homosexual character as the lead and was meant to be a marker of progress in America’s acceptance of people who identify as LGBTQ+. However, the sole fact that there was a show in existence centered around the lives of two gay males hid the fact that the portrayal of the characters themselves were problematic. Typically, when minority identities are shown in television, it is a stereotyped or palatable version. For example, Jack one of the main characters is given the more stereotypical “gay” personality; he is flamboyant, effeminate, and enjoys fashion and acting. Will on the other hand is the “perfect” American man (other than the fact that he’s gay) he is a good-looking, white, successful lawyer living in New York with a variety of friends; there is nothing about him that would outwardly suggest his homosexuality unless he stated it. In addition to this, throughout the series no serious romantic relationships are maintained by either of the men (most likely for fear that it would make audiences too uncomfortable). In media, those who identify as LGBTQ+ must fall on either extreme end of personality types: either stereotypical and feminine enough to be ridiculed or natural enough to blend in with other straight, cis, white people. Although there has been some progress in the diversity of LGBTQ+ characters on television there still tends to be a certain “gay” identity that all characters fall into. This is a reflection of society as well, in Altman’s article he talks about how there is a set of styles and behaviors attributed to being gay: “I had gay friends. I ate at gay restaurants. I went to gay bars.” He also refers to the pervasive idea that to be validated as a true homosexual man you must act womanly. Much of mainstream media perpetuates these ideas, and influences our thought processes. And equally or even more important than what is on the screen is who is behind it and making the choices or writing the script – majority of directors and screen writers are straight cis white males speaking on an experience that isn’t even theirs to begin with.

Ayotola

Beyond the Classroom- Panel 1

Last Friday, I presented along with three incredible young women in the first panel of the Beyond the Classroom seminar. I found it very interesting to prepare for this presentation, because I already know so much on the subject. Could I expect my audience to be familiar with common ideas from feminism? After all, the conference is open to everyone and anyone, but I didn’t want to spend precious time talking about the three waves or anything. And then, how could I present in under ten minutes, when I could easily spend that time on just the summary of one book? Would I be so lost in my own thoughts that my speech would just come out as nonsense? In the end I think my “visiting planet” approach worked, but could have easily used more time. Although rushed, I think I did a good job of giving the audience just the basics of what they needed to know about my project, while still provoking their interest.

While Professor Dobrow, the moderator for the session, told me in our meeting before conference that it would be difficult to connect the threads between these four presentations, I actually think the four presentations aligned very well. Perhaps I am just a bit biased because I am seeing everything through the perspective of my project, but all of our presentations (minus Libby’s) talked about a woman’s capacity as a mother and how that is abused by society. Which is really something, considering the topic was women’s representation in the media. I guess it just goes to show how this motherhood is a topic that is intrinsically tied to how women are seen in our world. I won’t really summarize my project here, but essentially, it is about how motherhood is abused or valued in science fiction worlds. Reproduction, essential for the surviving of any civilization, can be either the honor or the burden on whom it falls on.

I think the most interesting panel which related to mine was Marissa’s. It was interesting to hear Marissa speak about how women in Japan are often forced into the narrow decisions of “career woman” or “housewife” with very little flexibility. Since a lot of women are choosing the career woman option, and filling their romantic needs in part with these same-sex romance comics, the birth rate in declining in Japan. I’ve actually done some research on this before for another class, and the Japanese media is quick to blame pop culture and manga/anime culture on young people being uninterested in family life. But the truth is, the constraints of insane Japanese work culture is what is making a lot of young people make a very difficult decision. It’s not nerd culture which is limiting motherhood, but work culture which stigmatizes family life. Marissa’s presentation was also interesting in that it covered how women find an outlet in writing these novels, and that is a particular interest of mine when thinking about why feminist, or simply women writers, choose science fiction as their genre.

Melissa

Technology: A double Edged Sword

I attended the panel on women’s bodies where we had a great discussion about self induced abortions, access to breast cancer screening, aging bodies, and menstruation in Nepal. One of the things that was brought up and connected to all of these papers was technology and how it relates to women’s bodies. For example, the first presenter discussed self induced abortions, which in the past were extremely dangerous. However, due to medical advances, the pill that people use at home now is 85% effective and could be 94% effective with proper information. This turns the discussion on its head because prosecution of feticide is no longer about protecting women’s bodies, it is about something else, most likely controlling women’s bodies. Besides providing safe abortions, another way technology has benefited women is with the mobile mammogram clinic that we discussed with the second presenter. This clinic has the potential to increase the screening of current patients and identify new patients in underserved communities around Boston.

However, the focus on technology is not all positive. The first presenter also discussed how the focus on a scientifically correct way to do an abortion has lead to a lack of choice for women. They cannot chose to have abortions in their homes because science says that it would be safer to do it in the doctor’s office. The third presenter also discussed ways in which technology can be harmfull. She discussed how the book “Our Bodies Ourselves” discussed aging bodies and found that over time, there was a shift from focusing on personal examples to focusing on scientific facts. She thought that the shift away from narratives made the book read like a scientific textbook and placed the burden of understanding the aging body onto the aging population. The fourth presenter discussed another way that scientific innovation has hurt women. In the end of her paper, she talked about menstrual shame in the US and abroad and how companies that sell feminine products have perpetuated it. She discussed how these products are meant to get rid of your period and hide it from others, and how they have been developed so that you can live your life as if your period does not exist. She even talked about doctors who treat menstruation as a disease that can be cured, which adds to the shame and stigma around menstrual bleeding.

Through these panels I thought about how technology is a double edged sword, it can both help women’s bodies and hurt them. I remember thinking something similar when we read the piece about The Gender of Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes. It was interesting how technology both helped the travestis realize their identities while at the same time causing potential medical problems. Each of these technologies, especially the hormones and the silicone, were beneficial to a point and while carrying real physical risks. I thought about how since these interventions need to be prescribed by doctors and are expensive, the travestis are forced to use them illegally and not as safely as they could. Overall, I think that technology has a lot of potential to help with women’s health issues and to make their lives easier, but because of the society we live in, it can be easy for these technologies and focus on science to become dangerous and limiting. I would argue that scientific advancements should be applied to women’s bodies only after a critical analysis of whether the new technology is genuinely beneficial or just reinforces patriarchal ideals.

-Nellie A.

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