CRJ #6

Critical Response Journal #6

Disciplinary beauty practices are those done to correct flaws in the female body. Bras were designed to lift the breasts because it was viewed medically that breasts did not have the proper ligaments to hold themselves up to their proper position. Other disciplinary practices include diets. There are numerous consequences these practices can have on a women’s psyche. There reality shows airing today display plastic surgery and body augmentation to be normal. Girls who are not born with the ideal image can be “fixed” for the right price. This phenomenon is spreading across the globe as more and more women decide to change their bodies. In China, according to “China’s Cosmetic Surgery Craze”, it is popular for women to have their legs extended in order to reach a “normal” height. There is also facial surgery to change the more classical Chinese features to be more Caucasian styled.

Men and women both face body norms. Men’s norms are to be athletic, trim, and muscular. The women’s norms are much more demanding. Women should be thin, delicate, beautiful, and sensual. There is a typical power divide when it comes to the ideal body. Men are muscular because they are considered strong, while women are deemed naturally weaker and thus given the “delicate” feature.

The sexualization of women’s bodies has changed over times and in between cultures. According to Brumberg in “Breast Buds and the Training Bra”, it isn’t until the inventions of the corset and the bra that society becomes obsessive with the idea of busty women and hourglass figures. The media sends out a strong image of what beauty is: thin, toned, small facial features, and typically white, and blonde. While many white girls grow up under the pressure of obtaining the ideal beauty in ads, it is only a single curse. While white girls still have a slim chance of ever obtaining the ideal image, for other races it is nearly impossible. From the reading, “Body Ethics and Aesthetics among African American and Latina Women”, there are a lack of images in popular media of their races. The images that were present were of women that had many “white” qualities and lighter skin pigments. I think that every race has another image to fight, the stereotypical image that correlates with their ethnicity. According to the reading the women polled were prefer not to consider that there is a mythical body ideal but rather a set of body ethics every woman should try to maintain. These ethics include style, body acceptance, and respect. The important part of one’s appearance is that you are comfortable with yourself, that you respect your body, and dress appropriately. I think that all women have an image of ideal beauty. I don’t think it necessarily correlates with the media’s image.