From Jennifer:
As
we all know, society as a whole pushes a variety of expectations among the
female population. Women are given a strict set of “rules” to follow pertaining
to their image. As young girls grow up they have their role models and the
medias example to follow when becoming the “perfect woman.” In this image I
hope to portray how desperate adolescent girls are to live up to the harsh
standards inflicted upon them by their peers and how detrimental these
standards are for their mental and physical health. These ideas are exemplified
through body/facial expression, symbolism, lighting, and spatial positioning.
The
first thing we see when we look at this image is a girl surrounded by a large
amount of beauty products. While analyzing the image we can see that she has
overdone her make-up while her mascara runs down her face. First off, I had her
look directly at the camera to accentuate how vulnerable she was to criticism.
The amount of make-up she is wearing is an example of how young girls are willing
to mask their own faces in order to conform to society’s expectations. It is
also apparent from the streaks on her face and her hollow, hopeless expression
that she has been crying because she feels that, no matter how much she has
tried to conform, it is never enough. Her legs are pulled into her chest and
she is sort of hunched over, which portrays her insecurity and
self-consciousness as a result of the judgement she has been or is afraid of
experiencing.
As
we look at the objects engulfing the girl we see a variation of make-up
products, skin products, pills, etc. The amount of make-up that is strewn about
illustrates how preoccupied young girls are with their image and how others
perceive them. Teenage girls are willing to buy whatever is promised to
“maximize their beauty.” In the middle of the picture, you see pills that have
been spilled out a prescription bottle. This is a representation of mental
illness, like depression, under the influence of women’s beauty standards. One
of the main focal points is the sign asking “Am I A 10 Yet?” This depicts how
she is searching for approval of her appearance from all onlookers.
The
lighting in the picture helps to draw more attention to the objects in the
image that surround the young girl. I used the flash to drown out her skin tone
and make her look defeated. Many girls feel scrutinized by their peers and have
a constant fear that their efforts to live up to these extreme beauty standards
will not get them positive attention, but exactly the opposite. Have you ever
walked into a room and felt like all eyes were immediately on you? Remember how
self-conscious you were? How you wondered what they were looking at? How you
thought “what’s wrong with me today?” The flash is a representation of the
“spotlight” young girls are under, like a microscope perfectly designed to find
their every flaw.
4 comments:
From: Katelyn
From this photograph you can see this young teenager along with other young adolescences her age look negatively when they don’t fit into the norm. This young girl desperately wants to be older than what she is. You can tell she wants to know what it’s like to say pain is beauty. From the photo you can tell that she is begging her parents or caregivers to let her be like what society thinks women should be. Young girls today are getting the wrong image that they must apply makeup or wear a certain type of clothing to fit into society’s expectations of “attractive.”
From Bree:
This picture does a great job of showing the overwhelming struggles of being a teen girl. The products surrounding her could show how many companies that are trying to reel her in to buy these items to become what society thinks is "beautiful". The look on her face also draws you in to her pain, the first thing I saw was her eyes and how sad she looked. The emotion on her face and the position shes in looks as if she's desperate to become perfect. The pressure to fit in and be physically pleasing is something every teen girl goes through and the stress of this is so unhealthy and this photo portrayed that.
From: Morgan
This photograph caught my eye because it relates to what I displayed in my photograph. Women are put into these beauty standards that are beyond realistic. Girls grow up trying to become these beautiful women they see all over the place whether its looking at their mother getting ready everyday, to models on television and in magazines. Women see and develop these beauty standards from childhood all the way up to adolescence and it continues to grow with the change of everyday life. I really am focused on how you displayed the bright blue bra in this photo, it displays that not only are the stereotypes of women's bodies need to be skinny and beautiful but also have a big bust. Everything about this photograph displays these beauty standards women try to display almost everyday, to makeup all the way down to the high heels.
From Elliot
When analyzing this picture, the first thing that catches my eye is the glaring sign which is asking the camera, and the audience, to judge the woman in the picture. We are asked to judge her against a standard that is created by the media and the companies that create the products that surround this girl. The way the girl is sitting, clutching her knees, a position which is typical of sorrow and mourning, we can also see mascara dripping down her face. A note also on her position is that the camera position makes her look really small, which gives us the idea that she feels powerless. One of the most startling things I can find in this picture is the measuring tape wrapped around her neck. The tape reminds me of a noose, symbolizing that these unachievable standards have the very real threat to kill young women.
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