I chose to create a mini collage, with the three photos chronologically organized to signify the passage of time. I chose the subtopic showing how gender is socialized in children which begins on page 240 of our textbook: “Beauty is a Beast.” Prom is considered by many to be an essential last step to high school, a rite of passage. And while I ended up loving the experience, thinking back on all the underpinnings of prom and the social rules that must be followed made me realize that it’s really just a dress-up occasion. Everyone dresses up as someone that they want to been seen as by their peers, not necessarily who they are. Many personality quirks or differences from the norm are quelled and controlled on this night, and I tried to show that in my photo essay.
The first picture is the makeup and hair step of preparing for prom. The sink counter is strewn with beauty products, showing that perhaps this subject is unsure of herself and her appearance. The subject is also turned away from the camera, signifying unease or shyness, and the reflection of her face in the mirror is an unhappy one. This unhappiness is accentuated by the fact that she is wearing pajamas, and the clutter of products in before her further shows that this “princessifying” is something to which she is not accustomed. Finally, the light behind her is in shadow, signifying her “leaving herself in the dark,” and is greatly in contrast to the light from the mirror, which is quite harsh, critical, and unforgiving/unflattering to her body type, similar to societal beauty standards.
The second photo is the last step of getting ready for prom, putting on the shoes. This girl has a ball gown on, and the dress will hide her sneakers, an indulgence and possibly a small concessions for her to feel comfortable and still her real self. The much darker, more subdued tones and color of this photograph signify that this is something to be hidden away, in this case underneath her dress, in order to complete the guise of what is “expected” of her appearance.
The last photo is the traditional “pose with the date” photo, before heading off to the actual event. The focus is centered, on the girl’s face, showing her shy smile, but is also showing that she is making a point to almost hide behind her date, in order to look more proportional in size, even petite next to him, rather than “the fat girl.” The fact that her date isn’t even looking at the camera, and is instead closing his eyes in contentment as he holds her hand, shows the audience that her intended audience, her peers, are blind to her struggles and are approving of her final, finished mask.
1 comment:
I never thought about prom this way, but after reading this it totally makes sense. With all the girls going out and getting a complete transformation pretty much. All the hair, makeup, nails, and clothes, sometimes it’s like you can’t even recognize who it is. The girls want to look “beautiful” without taking into consideration, they already are. The second picture that is very dark with the long dress covering the tennis shoes shows that she’s hiding comfort; she wants to look good but hide the parts that she thinks does not. In the last picture she is leaning on her date, to me that might symbolize that she depending on his strength and compassion.
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