On the day before this project was due, I received a phone call from a family member in the hospital. She was brought back into care after passing out from malnutrition. She is only 16, and has been hospitalized for anorexia on six different occasions. I had planned on using a posed photograph taken beforehand for this assignment focusing on ‘Atypical Men’, but felt as if fate had brought her circumstances to be my subject in the nick of time. In this particular candid photograph, she was pinching at her stomach from overtop of her hospital gown in a frustrated manner, slouched in disgruntlement. This action symbolizes the “impossibly high standard of beauty girls of her age are pushed toward”; although she is emaciated, she still is not satisfied because of the “strong cultural messages she is receiving about ideal beauty” being unhealthily skinny (Rudman Glick 240). Her gown is open, showing her revealing clothing, although it was only about seventy five degrees today. Being a slave to the media, she is “striving to embody cultural ideals of beauty”, “femininity”, and “repackaging” herself “for male consumption” (Rudman Glick 241). She is facing a blank wall in a blank room. This impersonal setting represents her mind’s position, a blank slate to media impressions and subjected to uncongenial self-objectification. She is facing away from the camera, suggesting her body shame, insecurity and anxiousness obtained from her self-objectification. Even though she offered to pose for me and gave consent to me taking photographs of her IV’s and bracelet, I decided to use this candid photograph because it conveys her subconscious self-judgment although she fights to conceal it behind a mask of congeniality.
5 comments:
From an early age we are surround children with images and messages that reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful we must be thin. Today, you cannot read a magazine or newspaper, turn on the television, listen to the radio, or shop at the mall without being assaulted with the message that fat is bad. Adolescents often feel disgusted with them self’s if their weight hips, and breasts don’t match up to those of models and actors. She did a very good job capturing how this media influence has affected someone closer to her. She has allowed viewer to see the true side of how her family member. She allows you to see part of her body to show you how big of an issue this is. Her body has become unhealthy looking, but she’s is ok as long as she stays thin.
This is a very interesting photo, it conveys a strong feeling of sadness and that fact that this girl is upset about her image is very apparent though you cannot see her face. There is not much color in the photo and the little bit that is there comes from the girl’s skin which continually draws your eye back to her making you focus on the problem at hand no matter how uncomfortable it may be. You can see the back of her gown is open which shows venerability and weakness. However the gap in her gown is facing away from the windows, this could be that she is trying to appear strong and beautiful to the rest of the world even though it is destroying her internally.
This picture portrays “Beauty is a Beast”. The media pushes young adults to become something they think all girls should look like. Media plays a big influence on everyone to magazines, television, and billboards everywhere. Beauty should be the naturalness you posses inside of you and not what others command you to be. This robs females’ cognitive resources, including the ability to concentrate on important tasks (Rudman Glick). The lighting in the picture seemed very deem to show she’s in a sad place right now. But the light through the window to me means there will be happiness for the young girl. The hospital room and the care she’s getting represent another chance at being healthy and starting over.
My initial feeling about this photo was a feeling of emptiness. The girl sends the message of uncertainty and loneliness. It’s apparent that she is in some sort of a hospital setting because of the bed in the background and because of the gown she is wearing. I agree that her
position symbolizes her insecurity and shame. Reading the text you
quoted, Rudman and Glick say that “many women are willing to endure considerable discomfort or outright pain as they strive to embody cultural ideals of beauty and femininity”. That scares me! It is very difficult for any gender to block out cultural influences and be able to just simply be their selves; I think society makes our lives much
more challenging. I often wonder “what if there was no such thing as ‘media influences’ or culturally accepted views?” Throughout my life of being a female, I have had many experiences of feeling the need to “be a slave to the media”, so I understand why young girls feel the need to be pushed toward a high standard beauty. This photo is a good quality representation of “being a slave to the media”.
This photo screams a million different issues about the expectations of women and gender roles. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this photo was the feeling of shame. Most girls with problems like the one seen in this photo won’t even admit they have a problem. There is no mistaking the pain the girl in the photo is feeling, she seems hunched and her head is tilted downward emphasizing her weakness and insecurities as well as the shame she feels for herself. Shame that stems not only for her body, but also from the fact she’s taken her obsession with her body so far that she’s ended up in the hospital. The saddest part about this photo is the fact that this is what our society produces. For women there is always an “unattainable” beauty that they strive for their entire life and unfortunately, like this photo demonstrates, that the desire can go way too far.
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