Throughout adolescence young girls are taught to dislike their bodies and are expected to want something more than they already have, because what they were born with just is not good enough. As girls get older they are encouraged to wear more revealing halloween costumes. As the hems get shorter many young girls feel much more pressure to look and dress “sexy.” Even as young as middle school, young girls begin to start seeing Halloween costume ads with seductive faces and revealing clothes. Dressing for the pleasure of a man’s eye becomes almost routine by high school. So many girls get so caught up in these standards that society sets for them, whether it be during Halloween or even just when dressing up to go to the mall, that they almost lose a sense of individualism. It took me twenty years to become comfortable with myself and my body, twenty years. That itself tells you there is a problem somewhere. The way the media portrays beauty and what is sexy and what is not is so askewed it is frightening, and the impact it has on the children in our society is even more frightening. No one has the right to put so much pressure on little girls to look good that they genuinely believe that they are ugly, the concept in itself is vulgar and sickening to think about. Yet, society’s expected beauty norms remain the same, with such indifference to what we are really doing to little girls.
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In the photo the girl is outside of a home. I see this as a representation of girls being seen as separate from boys. The door she is standing in front of is closed, this represents a young girls options and opportunities if she does not conform to society's views of beauty. Beauty is a beast is the reality she is living with and trying to wade through. If she does not conform she risks being isolated and left behind.
As I viewed this photo, I was drawn to the creative elements and how the elements relate to gender roles that children learn in our society.
the wall of the house is covered with insulation construction paper indicating that renovations are being done on the home at this time. Likewise renovations or changes are happening in the life of the girl in this photo. The behavior, dress, and preferences that were once allowed are no longer acceptable. Whether she wants to or not, the girl will change.
The door behind the subject in the photo is closed indicating to the viewer that some choices have already been determined. Her body is changing, that change was beyond the girl's control. Her attitude towards boys is also changing. Earlier in her life the girl was totally focused on same sex interactions, but now she is beginning to be desirous of interaction with males.
Although the door is made of a heavy wood, there is a glass window in the middle that if looking through one can observe blurring images. This symbolic feature indicates to me that the girl can somewhat perceive that consequences and rewards of the choices she must make.
However as noted in the variety of clothing in her attire, there remains conflict in the subject as to the action to follow. The girl is wearing winter boots,a school sweatshirt and white tutu skirt. Her outfit definitely does not match. At this time the girl is undecided if she should clone herself to others. Should she do what her peers are doing, should she follow what she sees in magazines and on television or should she be different and not conform. In our lives we are frequently faced with such conflicts, whether to pattern our thinking and actions after others or to possibly be ostracized and as the poet Robert Frost said "Take the road not taken".
My first thought when looking at this photo was the concept of “Beauty is a beast”. In today’s society we have this image in our minds of the “perfect” woman and women who do not fit this or conform to this ideal are often ostracized not only by the men but also by other women. The closed door is a way of showing that the world can become closed off to women who do not fit perfectly into this tiny idea of what many consider to be beautiful. The unfinished house in the background represents the idea that this young girl is not finished developing yet is still expected to fit into the same beauty standard of a woman twice her age. The background of the construction is white to show the innocence that will inevitably be stripped from the girl because of society’s pressure. The girl looks unhappy because she does not yet fit within society’s expectations. The pressure she is feeling at such a young age can translate into problems further down the line such as eating disorders or extreme body alterations. Also, the girl standing outside of the house shows that she may already be on the outskirts of society’s idea of perfection.
To me this is a wonderful picture! This picture has all many elements relating to the theme “beauty is a beast.” The first thing that I noticed about this picture was the little girl’s outfit. She has a white tutu on along with a dark blue school sweatshirt. The tutu represents the girl wanting to be like a princess or girly while the sweatshirt represents more boy characteristics because of the colors dark blue and orange. The sweatshirt is also a school sweatshirt which shows how young she is. The tutu is also white which represents innocence and purity of being a young girl. The tutu also stands out to me in the picture because it is so bright which makes me feel that us viewers should notice that the girl is young right away since your attention goes right to the tutu. The fact that she is holding up a picture with larger breasts shows how at a very young age girls already know what girls are perceived to look like. They learn this through the media, friends and society. When looking at the red bra I think of the color of blood, relating to women having breast surgery’s to get the “perfect” image they want. Around the girl you can see construction paper which can relate to the girl not being developed yet. The since the paper is white is represents that right now she is innocent but once she is done growing that innocence “the paper” will be taken away from her. I think it is also significant that she is outside, meaning that already at such a young age she is being rejected from society. The door to me represents society being restricted to who is welcome in. You have to have a specific look to be accepted. The beauty standards that women learn to try to live up to today negatively affects them and who they really want to be. Beauty continues to be a struggle rather than a fun attribute to being a girl/women.
This picture shows how a child is shaped by media throughout childhood and adolescence. The construction going on behind the child represents the building up of the girl in the photo and how throughout childhood, children are shaped by what they seem and hear. The tutu on the girl speaks to her innocence while the picture of a woman's breasts appears in stark contrast. This demonstrates the duality of expectations placed on women. To be pure and innocent while at the same time appearing as a sexual object. This duality limits a woman's sexual expression into two categories which can create a conflict with oneself confining future generations of women into these extreme categories.
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