Blood for Beauty

From: Coral

The idea behind this picture comes from the terror management theory and self-objectification. The terror management theory, as Laurie A. Rudman and Peter Glick state in The Social Psychology of Gender, is based on the idea that “people need to distance themselves from the human body to allay fears associated with mortality” (241.) In other words, anything that reminds us of our own mortality- in this photo I focus on creaturehood- makes us feel uneasy and even fearful. Women, being more obvious reminders of mortality by way of the very bodily and mammalian processes of menstruation, lactation, and birth, are asked to remove every trace of creaturehood wherever possible. In the case of this photograph, the removal of leg hair separates us from animals and therefore eventual death (as all animals die.) The use of nature colors- the green of the bathroom decorations and the loofa, the earthy floral pattern of the dress, and even the warmth of the photo’s tone- signify that it’s considered alright and even encouraged for women to identify with nature with its delicacy and maternalism, as long as it’s external and not part of the body.

The dress ties more into self-objectification. The self-objectification theory suggests that, “women internalize cultural messages that their bodies are objects to be consumed by men; as a result, their bodies become objects in their own minds” (Rudman, Glick 243) The exaggeratedly domestic 50’s style, gentle pattern, and accentuation of the breasts highlight the role of a woman to express her femininity by following a strict beauty standard. Even while performing a somewhat private, ugly task, the expectation to be presentable to a male audience weighs on the subject. The subject is wearing a wedding ring, saying she’s essentially found the love society has told her is all-important to her success and identity, but the standard remains, and she must be as un-animal as possible to deserve love or existence.

The visual emphasis of the photo, however, is the not insignificantly sized drop of blood running down the freshly hairless strip of skin on the subject’s leg. This speaks to the fact that, not only are women willing to conform to an inconvenient beauty standard like the dress, but we are willing to risk literally harming ourselves to meet that standard. Women starve themselves, undergo surgery, wear constricting clothing, spend thousands of dollars a year and countless hours covering imperfections with makeup, styling hair, removing hair, and following fashion trends, all to conform to an ideal image of what makes a beautiful, love-deserving woman. Although the subject’s face is slightly hidden because her unique identity matters so little, what we can see of her expression is calm as she looks at the blood she’s just drawn. What is an injury compared to beauty?