When
is the turning point that makes adolescent girls feel like they need to act,
dress, or be a certain way to impress someone or to even be accepted in society
today? My guess is somewhere between the ages of 12-15, which is way too young.
The unrealistic beauty standards that are placed on adolescent girls make it
hard for these young girls to be themselves. These standards follow girls all
throughout childhood and even in to adult hood. Where do children learn these
norms? We as a culture pressure girl to conform, to be someone else’s idea of
perfect. This picture I took explains how we make girls and even women feel
when society tries to make them fit into a very small category of what is
expected of girls as they grow up. In The “Two Worlds” Of Childhood essay, the
author describes that boys and girls are socialized to create two different
worlds with very different rules. Girls are encouraged to follow beauty
standards seen in movies or media. Girls are trained to cooperate all their
life so why would they decide to speak up about these norms? “According to
gender schema theory, children learn gender schemas from their social
environment” (1). These unrealistic norms make young girls feel like they are
never good enough. These girls are silenced because they have no choice but to
try and live up to these norms so even though they may be unhappy with these
beauty norms or it might pain them they still do it. Girls who do not conform
to these beauty standards or girls who try to be themselves are looked down on.
I
used many different techniques to convey the message that these beauty norms
harm girl’s development even into adulthood. I used a high camera angle to
convey the feeling of smallness that girls feel when they feel like they can’t
compare to other girls. Another technique that I used is Gaze. The gaze of the
subject is downward which is a sign of insecurity and a lack of confidence,
which a lot of girls feel throughout life when they are trying to compare to
other girls. One last technique I used was senses. Covering the mouth shows
that adolescent girls cannot speak out about these norms even if they wanted
to. They fear being ruled as less or stupid for questioning the way of society.
In the Two Worlds essay “Gender schemas become part of self-identify,
influencing children’s preferences, attitudes, and behavior as they strive to
act in socially appropriate masculine or feminine ways” (1-2). We as a culture
need to encourage girls to break out of these norms, be whoever they want to
be, and be happy.
4 comments:
From: Natalie
First, your picture is very creative, and I can relate to it as well. The way you capture your photo and the angle really shows what most women must go through to be accepted into society. This isn’t shown in TV or movies because it’s the media and media play an important role in the way women are supposed to look like. I wasn’t even allowed to wear makeup when I was 12, and I was the only one in my middle school who didn’t look like a clown since everybody around me wore a lot of makeup. The creative technique used for this photo really expresses how women are looked down on in society and it should be much different. Once again, your photo is very creative and very well thought out and I appreciate how you chose this for your topic.
From: Ryan
Starla,
Your picture really caught my eye, I think you did a wonderful job. I really like the way you used creative techniques to display your message to the audience. I agree, the media has a very negative effect on young girls. These subliminal messages keep young girls from being the person they want to be. Instead there just a projection of society's "perfect girl". Its terrible that we silence these girls; we teach them they need to conform to society's standards and that they are never good enough.
To me the high camera angle displays the feeling of disapproval as if were looking down at the girl because "she isn't good enough". The girls is also not looking directly at the camera; to me, this displays a low self esteem. I really like how you wrote on the mirror. This behavior isn't normal, so it shows that she could be in distress. To me the writing on the mirror shows that there might be nobody listening to her, so this is the only way she can vent this negative energy. Instead of focusing on our differences we need to embrace them and realize that every girl is beautiful in their own way; weather or not they conform to society's standard of a "perfect girl".
From: Meagan
I really like the topic that you picked because I think it is a big thing in girl culture and I can relate to it so much. I always knew that I did not look and act like the “normal” beauty standard. I think this picture really shows what girls have to go through to feel accepted. We should not be standing in front of the mirrors shaming and hating the way we look. Society taught our minds to think that the only thing beautiful is what you see in the media or the girls you see on a runway. This creates many issues for girls within themselves. A creative technique you used that caught my eye was looking down in the picture. When someone looks down like that, especially in front a mirror, it usually means they are ashamed of what they see. This is something that is so common in our society due to the fact that we are told we have to look a certain way. The way the color of the lipstick stands out in the picture draws an eye to see what it says. This is a great way to get someone’s attention. I think you did a really great job pointing out the ways in which society almost forces us to think about ourselves in negative ways.
From: Johnny
The image that you presented is truly powerful and can convey a lot of symbolism and meaning that you are trying to present. The strong messages that are shown on the mirror, the individual gazing down and just the viewer's reaction when presented this image clearly demonstrates issues and degrading comments that women face daily. The comments on the mirror can put forth a question that we can all ask ourselves: is it okay that we continue to aestheticize and objectify women, even though it is clear that women are constrained in this small box of ideal, yet unrealistic beauty standards? Overall, I believe that the image presented is extremely powerful, and so much more can be said about how this image can be interpreted and read. In my opinion, the empty white space surrounding the photo demonstrates a feeling of isolation and almost a feeling of insanity because of how women are constrained in this small box of unrealistic beauty standards. Yet, women try to conform to these standards to avoid the constant and abusive criticism of the general public. The photo taken in the bathroom also demonstrates the location where we tend to spend most of our time fixing ourselves and adjusting to beauty standards, and also the place where we tend to criticize, judge, and degrade ourselves because of the constant pressure from the public.
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