Glamour Wars
by A positive perception of self-image will only be created when individuals reject society’s distorted images and begin the process of constructing their own genuine mirror. It is far better for an individual to be a first-rate version of themselves than to spend their whole life attempting to be like someone else.
Advertising companies have begun to utilize sexual emotions and women’s bodies as a method of promoting the sale of designer jeans, perfume, and even rice. Society’s marketing technique is to entice women to buy products which appear to support the ideal public image with the promise that their product will transform women and relationships into individuals and situations acceptable by society’s standards. In one study explained by Santrock, “Teenage girls were portrayed as being concerned primarily with dating, shopping, and their appearance. They rarely were shown as being interested in school or career plans. Attractive girls were often typed as airheads and intelligent girls as unattractive” (2005, p. 207). Such messages have a profound effect upon the actions and outcome of our youth. According to Jean Kilbourne, adolescents are extremely vulnerable to the seductive power of advertising. Kilbourne claims that such susceptibility is linked to the inexperience of adolescence due to their current struggle in constructing their individual values, roles, and self-concepts (1999, p. 129).
Women and men must learn to step away from the distorted images projected by society and learn to love individuals and personal bodies for the unique characteristics they possess. Rather than simply gazing at the outward appearance of individuals, society must learn to look deeper. Stain glass windows are remarkable by the fact that one can not witness the true beauty of the window unless there is a source of light shining through the glass. Likewise, one is not truly able to experience the magnificent beauty of an individual until they study the entire being from within. We must come to realize that there is so much more to people than their simple outward appearance. As Anne Richards has previously stated, “we must take this opportunity to seize control of our bodies and the forces that manipulate them – mostly advertising and entertainment industries.” (Richards, 2004, p. 221). We must begin to reject the publicized beauty ideal and commence upon a journey in which the admirable characteristics possessed by human beings are valued and honored.
A positive perception of self-image will only be created when individuals reject society’s distorted images and begin the process of constructing their own genuine mirror. It is far better for an individual to be a first-rate version of themselves than to spend their whole life attempting to be like someone else. It is our individual decision to change our habits and opinions. No one can decide where another will stand.
- Gardner, T. & Jhally, S. (Executive Producers), Ericsson, S. (Producer), & Mary Pipher (Writer). (1998). Reviving Ophelia [Motion Picture]. (Available from Media Education Foundation, Inc., www.mediaed.org)
- Kilbourne, Jean (1999) Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York, NY. Touchstone.
- Matlin, Margret W. (2004) The Psychology of Women. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth/Thomson Publishing.
- Santrock, John W. (2005) Adolescence. New York, NY. McGraw Hill
- Sinclair, Amy. “Body Image Third Wave Feminism’s Issue?” Women’s Voices and Feminists Vision. Ed. Susan Shaw and Janet Lee. NY. McGraw Hill 2004.
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