The Façade of Pretty

As the semester winds down, the last section of the class has focused on productions projected onto the body. Lafrance simply wrote and could be summarized that there are two bodies that people have: one, our physical body that we are accustomed to, and second, the body we have after we add adornments and feel comfortable with the "first" body we have. Discussed further was the predicament that one is never content with the skin that one lives with. 

Vail's writing explains that those who get tattoos are doing it more so for the creation of the body and skin telling a story that is associated with that individual, rather than getting the tattoo to simply look interesting or "cool." The collectors of the tattoos also explained that it was important to them to have their tattoos to commemorate something important to them. From the publication date of the Vail writing, 1999, society has also moved forward in that tattoos do not carry the same stigmatization around the publishing date. However, there are connotations around the group of individuals and word tattoo that arises. Further, the body that decides to have tattoos and piercings seems as a political statement in that the individual opposes societal norms and uses their body, and by default skin, to portray their message.  

Extrapolating from the Lafrance piece, we can all relate to the pressures of having to "look good" and to look decent when leaving the house to go out into public because "first impressions matter." The phenomena of having to present oneself to be "pretty" or "handsome" has manifested itself in the stores where we buy our own cosmetics. Going down the aisle's to buy deodorant, body wash, tooth paste, lotions, etc there are so many products aimed to boost self confidence and the market tells us that one product can in fact aid in that depleted level of confidence. I can't help but think of the Queen song 'Under Pressure' when buying cosmetics because of the image to look "sexy" or "handsome" is so predominant and the advertising for specific products aids in that message that if you were to buy their product, you will feel comfortable in your skin once again.

Even looking at the comedic, ridiculous Jersey Shore, the need to appear tan and present the body in a new way (GTL) to feel confident is apparent. The need to be tan is to attract a sexual partner and when one of the cast mates did not feel "tan", they didn't feel comfortable. Tan skin --> comfortable and confident --> feeling better in the "second" body. 

Even pop queen, world mega star Beyoncé writes of the pressure of being 'pretty' and the discomfort of not feeling good in the skin one is born into. Her video "Pretty Hurts" exposes the flawed messages society sends to individuals to look and act in an attractive way if they don't feel great in the skin the have. In all, because one doesn't feel good in the skin their in, society helps to perpetuate that message and makes one feel like they're not worthy leading the individual to purchase certain items, participate in diets, buy certain clothing, etc. 

Mine are bigger than yours: Societies view of the female body builder.

What do we see when we see a female body builder? In the reading for today, Roussel et al, explains how the female body builders are Gender Outlaws in our respective communities. These women are trend setters when exemplifying strength and femininity. They embody a different standard of beauty. The risk of stigma is throughout society, but only outside of their subculture. However, do we really see them as such? Female body builders are seen in a negative light according to Roussel. There seems to be a contradiction of femininity and muscularity in our society associated with female body builders, as well aesthetic judgment standard of beauty, which is simply as Katian describes, as something that satisfies and pleases our sensory organs.

However, male body builders are looked at by society in a totally different way. Male body builders are looked at like the “real superheroes” of society, sculpting and creating bodies so massive that people are idolize them. However, what do these men do to get and maintain these bodies? Some body builders turn to surgery for their lean and sculpted muscles. Male and female procedures such as High- Def lipo-sculpting, which literally sucks away the fat around and in between your ab muscles, allows you to have the ultimate body builder physique. This is a common procedure among body builders because of the low risk. shortrecovery.periodhttp://maleplasticsurgerynewyork.com/bodybuilder/

Along with the social stigmatization, natural and non- natural female bodybuilders can face serious health issues. In an article written by Livestrong.com, official partner of the Livestrong campaign, it states that bodybuilding and overuse of your muscles can cause long-term negative effects. Long and strenuous pressure on joints causes arthritis, along with potential bone damage. What is more important are the effects that the life style of a bodybuilder can have on their cardiac health. Although the risks are minimal, they are still there. http://www.livestrong.com/article/549093-long-term-effects-of-natural-bodybuilding/

This article written by Roussel, looks at society through a heterosexual lens, but what about the lesbian or gay community and their beauty standards? Are female body builders considered beautiful in a lesbian of gay context opposed to a heterosexual one? The article by Brandon Ambrosino titled “The Tyranny of Bluffness” gives us a little proof on why gay or lesbian communities might think a little bit differently, it stated that a larger percentage of gays have and pay for gym memberships, trainers, spas and weight and managements programs. Are there any specific gay or lesbian body building contest or events?

           In this video above taken from YouTube, it depicts “The Gay National Body-Building championship” in Philadelphia. This event is specifically designated for gay and lesbian members of the Philadelphia community. What I found fascinating was the choice of the audience. The announcer had to be explicit in stating that this is truly a gay event, but don’t be alarmed. The video also depicts the way in which the Body building community operates as a subculture. Along with that subculture, there is annexed section such as the one shown above. The guys in the video that are heterosexual don’t go to see the female body builders, but the male. However the female attendees go to see both. 

Do You Even Lift Bro?

In today’s reading by Dworkin, the issue of femininity and body-building is assessed on varying levels. There is hard female body; which is women who have muscles that are so big because they have taken testosterone, and there is the soft female body; which is women who work out with no additional supplements or hormones. In this piece, Dworkin focuses on the soft female bodies to explain the “glass ceiling” of muscular female bodies. He interviews many female gym-goers and while some were non-lifters and other were moderate lifters, they all shared two things in common; the fear of getting too big, and feeling that the fit body is the new attractive body. 

            When we think of female weight lifters we often imagine the extreme; women with muscles as large if not larger than the men in their gym.

The problem with this is that it follows the common misconception that the more you lift, the bigger you will get. This is not true because women are not biologically able to achieve extremely large muscles without testosterone supplements. This does not stop many women from trying to push the “glass ceiling”in an attempt to get society to accept that women can be muscular and still feminine and beautiful. They have come a long way recently since the "fit" female body is seen as sexy. I found the ethnographic research presented in this reading to be helpful in understanding that even those women who actively weight lift fear growing to big because of the attachment society creates between masculinity and muscles/athletisicm.

In the above video you can see a female bodybuilder modeling for the camera. She is wearing a skirt and a feather boa which symbolize femininity. She also has her had done and has breasts that are obviously  unnatural. Muscles are so synonomyous with the male population that she must drape herself in female symbols to prove that she still identifies as a woman. Dworkin notes that in female body building competitions, the competitors earn more points if they put an effort into looking more feminine.

As women become more involved in male dominated arenas, they will face the problem of being slowed down by the idea that they shouldn’t act to manly. Being assertive in the corporate world is a manly characteristic. Being buff in the gym is a manly characteristic. Playing sports and getting dirty is a manly activity. Women are taught from a young age to act like a lady. The media advertises women with 'soft bodies' as being beautiful. This is precisely why all of the women in the study constantly have the fear of being too bulky preventing them from pushing themselves past societial boundaries. This is why women are still under the impression that they can be as 'big' as a man simply by lifting weights. 

Muscles

For today we read four pieces about muscles and how they can relate to the body as a project. The Tyranny of Buffness by Brandon Ambrosino and The Cost of Becoming a Superhero by Adam B. Vary showed negative aspects of the social construct of male buffness. These two articles also expressed the fact that overtly muscular bodies are not needed for all strength or athleticism, as Ambrosino said he was in pretty good shape but his body didn't reflect his diet or exercise in the way one would expect or stereotype as a healthy athletic male body, or represent the body ideal.

I felt this related to the images in Comparing Vastly Different Body Types of Olympic Athletes by Pinar. In the image article you see dozens of world class Olympic athletes but almost no two look alike. Depending on event and how the athletes need to use their bodies each individual their bodies are altered and constructed in different ways. “Referring to a body as an athletic build is often thought to be a perfect, rippling mass of muscle boasting a six pack, but Schatz's series reveals the wide varity of heights, widths, body shapes, and muscle mass that make up the physques of champion athletes across an array of Olympic sports.”- Pinar. Just as Ambrosino felt that he didn't fit the athletic build or ideal many of these athletes don't fit the stereotypical image either- but this doesn't make them any less athletic or powerful.

The superhero article went further into depth about what it takes to become the mass of muscle type of body. It is a lot of work and its dangerous to produce an over muscular physique. So if muscles aren't necessary for world class athletes or healthy normal individuals and producing these six pack abs and huge arms can be as much work as a full time job and can be dangerous, eating every 2-3 hours working out 4-5 hours a day etc, then why would someone aspire to this?

The main piece for today was 'Holding Back':Negotiating a Glass Ceiling on Women's Muscular Strength by Shari L. Dworkin. Dworkin's article provided further evidence to the idea of muscles and the “athletic build” as a social construct, the majority of women- even in the fitness community, don't want to be too muscular and set limits on their athletic body development. Women tend to either avoid the weights at the gym, or if they do lift they keep the weight they train with the same, reduce the frequency of lifting, or hold back when they start to see muscular development. This article shows that biological differences do not fully explain muscular differences in women and men.

Men use muscles to show power, health, and athleticism using their body. Women set limits on muscles in favor of “feminine” builds that are socially expected to be less muscular. Muscles have taken on a very social role and convey messages silently. Muscles for men are a social status symbol and for women, unless limited an monitored, are the opposite- they are looked at as deviant.  

Appearance Modifying: Is White The Standard?

The readings for today discussed the debate on whether or not plastic surgery, specifically cosmetic surgery, is being used by Asian individuals as a method to become more ‘Western’ looking. The argument runs in two directions: on one side, people argue that Koreans who get these surgeries are motivated by Western beauty and have the goal of becoming more Caucasian looking, whereas the other side argues that there are several other factors involved to motivate someone to endure the pain and cost of plastic surgery. The author of the BuzzFeed piece seemed to be narrow minded when analyzing Leo Jiang. In my opinion it is hard to believe that Leo Jiang change this whole appearance solely because he wanted to look more ‘white.’ Mr. Jiang speaks of the success and joy he has received from plastic surgery and the opportunities that have sprung up from participating in such body-modifying alterations. Yet he still wants to learn to speak his native language? Is this man confused about his identity and does not know which ethnicity he wants to represent? Or is the author of the reading oversimplifying the situation and not looking deeper into the reasoning why Leo Jiang would endure such surgery? I side with oversimplification of the situation. Having a crest in one’s eyelid is not exclusively a white characteristic. Here is a picture of different races and how the post-surgery appearance of blepharoplasty (double-eyelid) surgery can be relatable to all of these races and not just Caucasians.

Blepharoplasty surgery before/after:

     

Now, the eyelids of other races:

My point is that someone cannot generalize that Koreans getting these surgeries are trying to be “white.” Rather, they are trying to improve their appearance as a Korean. An overwhelming majority of these Koreans most likely want to continue to hold onto their ethnicity and not throw it away to become another race.

            In the reading, “Gender, Globalization, and Cosmetic Surgery in South Korean,” it discusses the popularity of plastic surgery in South Korean. However, the difference between this reading and the BuzzFeed reading is the fact that the authors give more insight on the underlying motivations for someone to get plastic surgery. They point to reasons such as, coming of age, caring for oneself, marking social status and success, and increasing opportunities. I believe that these individuals are partaking in plastic surgery mainly to improve their appearances to conform to what ‘their’ society sees as beauty and not because they want to erase their ethnicity in an attempt to become white. I understand that Western society has huge influence throughout the world and many of you may side with the BuzzFeed author with regards to Koreans consciously getting plastic surgery to become whiter, however, it is important to see this phenomenon in a light that does not focus on ‘whiteness.’

            One thing that I thought was really interesting was that Gangnam is a region that is known for being a plastic surgery mecca. Everyone knows the song Gangnam Style but few Americans know the message behind the song: that Gangnam is seen as “affluent and aspiration.” The music video demonstrates this clearly. When watching this music video, focus on the girls that are represented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Every single one of them conforms to the idealistic look Koreans want, specifically, having “soft” facial appearances. Overall, my main argument is that Koreans endure so much plastic surgery because they see videos such as Gangnam Style or they see other successful Asian individuals and therefore are influenced to look like those individuals. The large majority does not intentionally alter their appearance to become another race.

Just Bones

Usually our main concern is how someone else views us, especially family or loved ones. When a family member tells you that you are too “fat” it probably means so much more to the person getting critiqued than if they were to hear it from a random person off the street. My aunt is always on me for being “fat” while yes, I have probably gained a little weight in the past 3 years, even when I was thin she would tell me I was overweight. In the article by Bordo he mentions how a female 5’11, 132 pounds was getting “constructive criticism” from her boyfriend, that she was overweight and should get down to 110 pounds. She was probably trying to strive for that 110 pounds and definitely slipped into anorexia.

The internet along with other social media is a scary place in the world today. We see all these images of what we “should or shouldn’t” look like and some more than others try to attempt to change their lifestyles to look like exactly what they see. It is important that each person has their own identity and is comfortable in their own body. Words or images can scar people and they will do anything and everything to become that person in the image. Although these pro ana sites are also suppose to help the woman who are going through these disorders and be an escape for them, most of them are sending the wrong message to others who do not have the disorder.

http://thinintentionsforever.blogspot.com/p/pro-ana-tips.html

I looked through a lot of different pro ana sites and I found this one very interesting. The site gives you about 60 different “rules” as you may call it to become skinnier. Again I think these websites and images are the problem with todays society because if a girl or guy that is slightly bigger than the image they will follow these rules and try to get thinner and more than likely become anorexic. Most of the web pages I looked at said that for a normal anorexic person their calorie intake is about 400 a day, and that 4 meals with only 100 calories each.

http://missbodyissues.tumblr.com/post/74528298042/2-years-of-hard-work

Most girls feel the need to look like the picture to the right above. Even though she looks completely fine in the picture on the left she thought that body shape wasn’t good enough and got down to 110. In the first picture the girl looks completely healthy, has a nice body and if she wanted she could just exercise and tone. Instead she probably went on one of the “pro ana” plans and shed all that weight in the wrong ways and probably still isn’t satisfied with her weight and will continue to get thinner than the picture on the right.