From: Taylor
This is my friend Olivia; she is a 17-year-old high school student who is getting ready to go to a friend’s party. As you can see she is trying to put on jeans that don’t seem to fit her. The reason she is doing this is because she is trying to fit into clothes that aren’t her size because society makes girls feel like they need to be a size 0-2 to be beautiful. It also represents women trying to fit into a role that is unachievable for many women. She would rather be uncomfortable by squeezing into size 2 pants that don’t fit her instead of buying a larger size. This is a representation of a self sustaining prophecy which is voluntarily fitting yourself into the stereotype of their own gender group because she is putting herself through pain just so she can “fit” into what society makes her believe is beautiful. She is someone who proved it is true that stereotypes are perpetuated through self-stereotyping. The textbook says, “men and women strive to fit into their own-gendered “culture” in order to embody the traits, interests, and occupations deemed appropriate.” She sees in the media so many models and they are beautiful because they are so skinny. By squeezing into these small jeans she is self stereotyping because she is giving into the idea that if you are a girl the only way to be pretty is to be skinny. She also proved that stereotypes are perpetuated through social interactions and confirmation. The textbook says, “behavioral conformation occurs when perceivers behave in ways that actually elicit stereotype-consistent behavior from others.” She would not just wear jeans that didn’t fit her if she didn’t see other women doing it. When she was growing up she played with Barbie like many young girls and from that she got the idea that your waist has to be as skinny as your neck. Since she has grown up with this idea and has seen many women who do crazy things to make themselves looks skinner so she did it too. I took this picture at a lower level because she is stooping down to society’s level by adhering to what is said to be pretty. Half of her stomach is cut off representing society making her feel small but not small enough to fit in the jeans. The lines through the picture represent the blurry line of wondering where she belongs in society because of her size because she is small but not small enough to fit into a size 2 jean. The darkness goes with society bringing darkness to her life by making her feel like she needs to wear a size 2 to be beautiful.
2 comments:
By Steph
The subject of the picture is something any girl and even guy can relate to. From jeans to shoes to undergarments, women find themselves trying to fit into the “ideal” sizes despite what is comfortable and functional in actuality.
Just by looking at the girl in the picture you can tell she is really thin, and as disclosed in the essay she is self conscious of her body and does not believe she fits society’s beauty standards. The fact that the picture does not show anything other than her waist down makes it so the viewer cannot see what she looks like in her entirety, so they (we) have to gauge it based on her size alone. That accurately represents how highly body size is held by society in accordance to someone’s beauty, the bigger the body the less beautiful the person is considered. That concept alone justifies why so many people try to fit into material things (such as clothes) and ideals (such as that woman should be thin and beautiful all the time.)
The lighting in the picture is really neat. There are no lights on in the room and the blinds are closed, but since it is day time outside and the sun just happens to be in the right place the sunlight is shining through the blinds. The lines from the blinds show on her legs and it draws more attention to the main point in the photo and well as create a aura/mood for the photo of kind of sad and solemn, which is what most young people feel in reference to their bodies.
From: Téa
It’s possible society is still being effected by this today. Magazines edit their photos, showing girls what they think is the true meaning behind “beauty”. Photos are influencing little girls into wanting to be skinny and that can lead them to become anorexia and/ or bulimia. Skinny and slender mean the same thing but one is more negative than the other and can affect females.I like how her hands/arms are covering most of her stomach and I feel as if that represents her insecurities about her stomach and the struggle fitting her jeans for a party that society “believes” what beauty is. This has been a problem for women since men and women have been on this earth: bustiers to corset to waist trainer. All those objects are telling women on how to be smaller but now with a choice even though deep down females know otherwise. Your not small enough, skinny in this way. If you don't look like Barbie with her neck and waist being the same size, extra skin showing, and make-up covering her face. It’s as if self sustaining prophecy also doesn't like anything natural. Self sustaining prophecy is affecting beauty and appearance. Appearance because of guys want this type of body which can make women feel a type of way. At the end, women aren't being respected on what beauty is and that means body weight, hair-- anything that is representing a male. All this can get worst if more of it is shown in the world, making women less confident and insecure. I believe if the media, anything public representing this stops then women will believe that they are confident, strong, and the main focus, beautiful. Women will believe they can wear whatever they want because not wearing your exact size can be unhealthy and affect the female more. I like this a lot, because I- as a female am not between sizes 0-2 and sometimes when a female is, she isn’t healthy. I may not be those sizes but that doesn’t mean I'm fat or unhealthy. Society may think that isn’t beautiful but at the end, who are these people saying what beauty is? There are many different definitions on what beauty is especially since people aren’t raised the same, not everyone likes the same exact thing and more.
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