In this photo, we see Arlene, a seventeen year old girl, waxing her legs. Though this may seem like a normal occurrence, it is also startling: the process of waxing literally rips the hair from one’s legs and, though she should be in a considerable amount of pain, Arlene is wearing an innocent and anticipatory smile. This is suggestive of the fact that, though beautification methods are often both ridiculous and harmful, women have become numb to the pain and rigidity of conforming to beauty standards and instead choose focus only on the “perfect” outcome. While Arlene’s bedroom may seem average at first glance, the use of her typewriter as a footrest is noteworthy. She appears to have completely discarded her education in favor of beauty and is instead using her intelligence as a mere prop; a decoration. The fact that she has thoughtlessly thrown a white, childish thong on her typewriter shows that her immature sexuality carries more worth and power than her education. Much like the thong, Arlene has prominently displayed a sexy black nightgown in her room. The dress takes up much of the frame, suggesting that Arlene has learned to believe that her sexuality is her most powerful asset. One of the more disconcerting aspects of the photograph is the fact that she has used her easel as a clothes hanger for this dress. Arlene is shown to have completely suppressed her creativity in favor of beauty and sexuality, and yet she still wears a satisfied smile. Paired with this distorted accomplishment is the angle of the frame: its position is oddly skewed, mirroring the distorted worldview we instill in girls every day. Though we hear talk of education reform in public schools every day, the real change we must implement is the teaching of girls how to be women.
2 comments:
This photo was interesting to see because the girl does have a type of look on her face that waxing legs and putting yourself through that much pain is normal. I liked the tilt that the photo was taken on insinuating that Arlene may have had a different look on life a few years ago but the media and sexuality has gradually taken over her priorities in life. You can see this with the night gown hanging over the easel as though it will be worn soon. I also think maybe most females who decide to wear lingerie have to keep up the image of freshly waxed and perfect. Also notice that there is no focus to the middle suggesting that there s nothing wrong or out of the ordinary with what the girl is doing to attain beauty.
This picture is very interesting because even though she is about to wear her night gown and go to sleep, she is waxing her leg to look pretty which is what she has to do if she wants to fit in. the black dress is also significant because she is about to wear the dress because it would make her look slim.
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