In this photo, we see a adolescent girl at the age of 13 getting ready to go to school in the morning. When I took this photo I wanted to reflect on the process young girl go through just to look the part in society. From a young age girls are taught to look presentable wherever they go which includes, hair, makeup, routine cleanliness, scent and overall appearance. The angle of the photo signifies society or the way others are always observing her to make sure he looks "perfect". In my photo she is applying lip gloss in the process of getting ready and to enhance her looks. The black and white effect on the photo represents the harsh reality that society has, there is no hiding from womanly primping. The color makes all the elements stand out, and symbolizes how beauty standards are not something new to women. Black and white in a photo usually portrays old ,worn, emotional or has a dark meaning. The perfume and toothpaste placed on the counter acts as another element of expectation ,because if one was to skip out on these duties they would probably be judged by others. If a female decides to skip out on her routine then it is seen as nasty, but if a male does it then it is seen as an admirable “manly smell” .Most women even carry around smaller versions of parts of their routine around with them to re-apply at any time. If you go into any woman's purse or bag you will most likely find a mirror, perfume, and a lip product of some sort,which is the norm for women. They are held to a standard to always be pretty at all times.
Thirteen is the prime age of both womanhood and teenage beginnings ,many girls are just now learning how to navigate society. In Laura Greenfield's photo essay, “Girl Culture” another young girl the same age solidifies that it is not an easy task to grow into a woman by saying, “I’m only thirteen. It's kind of scary. It's a hard feeling to not know where you fit in at all”.
Works Cited
Greenfield, Laura. “ GIRL CULTURE”. Photograph. ZoneZero, 2001.http://v1.zonezero.com/exposiciones/fotografos/girlcult/greenfield05.html .
3 comments:
From: cassidy
This photo speaks to me in many ways. As a child growing up although I was young I always struggled to fit in because I wasn’t skinny or the body “norm” for females at the time. This cause bullying, and other traumatic experiences growing up that would lead to my mental health and self confidence being nearly destroyed. Unfortunately, this social contrust cause things such as low self esteem and poor mental health regularly. This photo depicts that message very clearly by using the tools they used. Such as, angles, color, filter usage, background utilization and lighting. The angle shows as if you are looking in on an intimate moment between a young girl and her own reflection and learning to live up to society’s “standards”. The lighting and color adds a deeper effect to show that this type of beauty “norm” has been occurring for tens of years. The way the photographer uses the background space adds to the way they portray their message of beauty standards being ridiculous for women, young women and girls. The placement of the perfume and toothbrush show that things like this can always be on a females mind and that society doesn’t let us forget that we are supposed to be a certain way to be considered “pretty” or “normal” and to fit in to a certain mold shaped by society. This social construct needs to be addressed and confronted to help prevent the damaging of young girls and women’s mind set about themselves as well as others.
From: Kollie
At a very young age, girls are thought that beauty is what we see on TV, social media, games etc. so girl are pressure to be like the characters on the social media, that to be beautiful you have to put on makeup, so from a very young age girls learn how to put on makeup, because they want to be/feel beautiful like society constructed. The doll girls play with have on makeup on, their parent put on makeup, and parent teach their kids at what age they should start to put on makeup. So in this society you being a girl and not wearing makeup is not part of the “norm.” from a personal experience, growing up, makeup wasn’t my favorite thing to do with my sibling and even how I don’t put on makeup because is just so uncomfortable to me but also because I don’t know how to apply it. In high school I always use to get laugh at for not putting on makeup, just because is high school so I should put on makeup/ or at least know how to apply it. To me the picture also reflect the focus and drive that girls has, the look in her eyes when she’s putting on the lip stick, but the color of the picture also speaks differently to me that all girls are power and beautiful within them self, if they just believe that beauty comes from within.
From: Jaqueline
I really liked the meaning of the photo and its relative theme to the everyday life of most girls, the black and white effect puts emphasis on the fact that this routine is mundane and expected of woman, all throughout time we have been expected to be dressed to the nines and be prim and proper every day we step into the public eye. And the photos use of a younger girl makes it even more striking because a girl as young as thirteen is already conditioned to fit this societal norm or she risk being ostracized or facing negative consequences. I remember going through the same process which the young girl is pictured doing. Straightening my hair, putting on makeup and perfume, and more, ever since i was twelve years old. And I'm sure many other girls do the same thing every single day, I even do my makeup to drop my sister off at school. These task as so expected of us if a woman or girl shows herself to the public without being completely made up she faces negative consequences such as humiliation and harassment. The angle of the photo also represents this, the angle being how others see her, not how she sees herself, highlighting the importance of her impact on society, how she will always be under the scrutiny of others while out in public and that it's not how she sees herself that’s import, but how other see her.
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