Aesthetics and Autonomy Can Coexist

Pro-Quest Article “Women Are Not Harmed by Societal Standards of Beauty.”

What feminism can’t do much about is society’s general appreciation of beautiful women. Nor should it. Aesthetics and autonomy can happily coexist. Insisting that cosmetics and fashion are tools of the patriarchy leaves women with two options: they can either refrain from all traditionally feminine pursuits, and thereby make themselves beauty martyrs; or they can engage in them, and thereby be left with the view that they are victims of male oppression. Yet a woman can reconstruct her face, take two aerobics classes a day, and wear corsets, bustiers, and fishnet stockings, and still be a feminist.
Feminist theorists are hardly the first, of course, to denounce beauty in the name of a higher good. The Puritans believed that ornament and sensuality distracted women (and men) from their spiritual duties. A drab proletarian chic was practically an article of faith among the fellow-traveling set during communism’s heyday and was picked up again, with variations, by privileged revolutionary students of the sixties.

“Women Are Not Harmed by Societal Standards of Beauty.”Opposing Viewpoints: Feminism.  Jennifer A. Hurley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Ventura College (CCL). 3 Nov. 2009

Barbie Girl

According to the Article “Barbie Girl”:

For every second that ticks by, two Barbie dolls are sold in the world. In fact, the average American girl between the ages of 3 and 11 owns about 10 Barbies.

The image women have of perfection has considerably altered how our society portrays females through the media. Our culture has an unhealthy obsession with beauty, good looks, and the idea of having absolutely no errors.

Flip through any magazine, surf through any channel, and watch any movie. The ones who stray away from perfection typically get unpopular roles such as the villain, the nerd, or the irritating third wheel.

Why are we constantly aiming for the airbrushed bodies, the double-0 jeans, and artificial smooth hair?

According to recent studies, over 90 percent of women are unhappy with their appearance in one way or another.

To compete with the false beauty created by Photoshop and hours of cosmetic work, the average female hinges at any opportunity to buy new clothes, beauty products, and diet aids.

It is estimated that the diet industry done is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion dollars a year, gaining a large percent of their profit from insecure women. Research indicates that exposure to images of thin and attractive females is related to the loss of self-esteem, growth in eating disorders, and depression.

According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Inc., one out of every four college-aged women attempts and succeeds at damaging tactics to remain thin – fasting, refusing to eat, extreme workouts, laxative abuse, and forced vomiting are some of the methods being used.

The ugly truth of our society simply comes down to this: personality comes second to appearance. So who’s to blame? The media.

Though we are never to judge a book by its cover, the media have brainwashed and bombarded females with worlds that are nothing like our true society. By continuously portraying these ideal images, the media hasve created a belief that attractive people are better than the less attractive.

From the moment we were born, the media have targeted the mass to rely solely on appearance, all starting with a simple Barbie doll.

Not a Barbie girl
Cheng Li.  Northwest Asian Weekly.  Seattle, Wash.:Sep 5-Sep 11, 2009.  Vol. 28,  Iss. 37,  p. 9 (1 pp.)

Wrong Message

Eco-Fest Flyer

ECO-FEST

Ventura College’s own English 1A and English 2 are throwing an Eco-Fest!

VC Work It Out will have a table representing! Please come by and support us and the students of Ventura College.  If we get enough supporters or members, we will do the necessary paperwork to become an offical club! Here is the information :

Save Santa! The Ventura College Eco-Pirates Present: Eco-Fest– A DIY Day for Action

Thursday December 3, 2009,  8:30am-1:30pm
Ride to Save Santa December 4th and 5th, 2009, @10pm

Calling All Ventura College Women!

     Sick of feeling unmotivated, frustrated, sleepy, and unenergetic? Not happy with you appearance or the way you feel about yourself? Or just looking for some ‘grown-up’ time?  Join this group and get ready to make a positive change in your life!

     This group is inspired by the book Nowtopia by Chris Carlsson. What caught our attention is how we rely on the materialistic world around us. We need to join the movement of doing things ourselves and ignore the beauty standards of social media. Every woman is different, whether it’s the way we grew up, our eating and exercising habits or our bad habits (chocolate!), we are still the same to the fact that we are WOMEN!

It’s time for a change on how we see ourselves! It’s not decided which days we will choose to work out or have group discussions, but it will be determined soon so stay tuned!

     Don’t be shy! We’re all here to motivate each other and its a great way to make friends! If you have any ideas or questions that may help or you just want to do it…leave a comment or email me at christina.henderson24@gmail.com

    

WE CAN DO IT! =)