The common theme I found in these pieces was this: if you aren't thin, if you aren't light skinned, if you don't fit into the Western ideal of beauty then you are other, a freak that dares to deny the so-called normal and ideal their "perfect lie".
LeBesco tells us in Citizen Profane that "The fat person makes the ultimate bad citizen in that she or he reveals the American Dream for what it is : a fabrication." ( pg. 56). It was nothing new to be told being fat equated to laziness and that social stigma led to yet another type of discrimination. Turn on the telly, listen to the radio, surf the internet and within seconds of beginning any of these activities you will be exposed to a commercial that relates to weight loss or exercise. From the most appealing to some of the silliest things ever to be put into the media, all of these ads are aiming to make people feel bad about themselves and long for a better body. The vanity displayed by our culture when it comes to this constant exposure has come to border on the extreme. It assumes that everyone who is overweight is non-productive and merely lazy. Yet I continue to be somewhat at odds with this because I know several hard working people who are overweight that I would never label as merely lazy. Perhaps the most significant thing to recognize that the hatred for bodies that are "other" because of weight is that unlike race or gender, there is the belief that the person has made a choice to let themselves be obese. They're being willingly defiant. And keep in mind that hate and fear go hand and hand: people fear even the idea of that presumed choice. That no matter how hard they may try now, eventually, for whatever reason, they will become the thing they hate and in turn be looked down upon by others.
"...the meaning conveyed is that the pursuit of beauty is natural and timeless: it transcends race, gender, colonialism, etc. In this way, it cannot be critiqued or reigned in." (Hunter, pg. 64) I've noticed when I go to the make-up section at the store (yes, I support the monstrosity that is such the money monger...but I kinda look the corpse bit if I don't, so I've come to terms with it after a fashion)that there are more representations of women of color for the different companies in their displays. Celebrities such as Halle Berry and Eva Mendes are spokeswomen for Revlon, yet I've never thought of them as being "made white". I've always thought of the celebs, no matter what their ethnicity, that do make-up more along the lines of "well, of course they would want them for their ad. They're gorgeous and these companies will make a killing because women who buy into the whole beauty myth will want to try and be as beautiful as they are." Queen Latifah created her own special line of make-up specifically designed for women of color for Cover Girl. But again, while I noticed the direction of the advertising, I just didn't think of it in such a way as to think that black women were less than white women. I just thought okay, their skin has darker pigment, so it would only make sense for them to have shades of make-up specifically designed for their skin tones. Why shouldn't they have that? I simply don't understand the persistence to make so many into one norm when there are boundless magnificent alternatives that should be cherished instead of persecuted.
"We must create a dialogue that extends beyond these forums and into our daily lives, a dialogue that leads us to less shame, less denial and more room for individuality. It's up to the third wave of feminism to make sure this conversation continues and that a support network exists." (Richards, pg. 200)
There is something about beauty that appeals to all of us in this world, be it in literature, music, film, or people. I think what is imperative to remember is that just because someone does not fit into a neat little box of what one single person or one single group's ideal image of what is beauty doesn't mean that this person should be made to feel less, made into that loathed "other". We should support each other and cherish our differences and what we can learn from them instead of being so critical and trying to make everyone conform to limiting, biased "norm". We are all unique and have something very distinctive to add to the world around us. And after all, wouldn't the world be damned dull if we were all carbon copy perfect cookie cut-outs of the same person over and over again?
Brandy, I couldn't agree with you more. Especially about the Queen Latifah creating a line of cover-up formulated specifically for women of color- why didn't they already make that? Shouldn't all women, regardless of skin tone, be afforded the right to wear make up?? The beauty standards of today are not only unattainable, they are ridiculous. I don't have cable in my home because I don't want my daughter subjected to those propaganda like advertisements, but it barely has an effect. My 7 year old, who watches nothing but PBS, refused to buy a shirt while shopping because she thought it made her look fat. This is horrendous. Even without television, advertisements are hounding our daily lives. It is impossible to go out and not be bombarded by these figures of ridiculously tiny stick women, with pricey names and attitudes. As a mother, I find them to be repulsive and a bad influence. As a woman, I find them to be even worse. How can we ever uplift the self esteems of our future generations when we are filling their earliest years with unattainable fantasies???
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