As the title suggests, my first article is up on the College Green Magazine website!! It's an Ohio University online publication focusing on environmental issues in Athens, Ohio. Check it out here!
I'm so excited!!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
of Body Images that Aren't Our Own
Right so I'm horrible at updating blogs. Technically, this doesn't really count as an update cause it's a paper I wrote for class. But it is something that I'd like others to read so here it is. I've edited it slightly but here's the gist of it.
Fat is Descriptive Not Degrading
Prior to watching Miss Representation, I have always seen myself as a person who views the media in an objective sort of manner. I thought I was one of the few who managed to escape the clutches of media manipulation. After watching this film however, I have come to the realization that that is not true. This film has made me realize that despite the selective objectiveness I have towards the media, I was not sparred from the ‘thin is beautiful’ dialogue, among other things.
Having struggled with body image and self-esteem issues, this movie made me realize the objectification women undergo due to the portrayal of the female persona in the media. The media feeds us images of the supposed norm thus conditioning us to think that that is what women are meant to look like. They put in place unattainable standards yet expect women to do so through beauty products, extreme diets and expensive clothes. All this while I had always thought that the ideal image of beauty was defined by statuesque height, a size zero body, long flowing locks, blemish-free skin, perfect posture, doe eyes, a sharp nose, plump lips and an infinite number of characteristics. On top of that, I had always thought that said ideals were purely my own and were not socially constructed. After watching this film, I find that to be completely untrue. My idea of beauty was in fact constructed by the media! I found this revelation to be a breath of fresh air.
The media is the strongest influential force of humanity and I have always known this. But I have never known that I was a victim of it too and this film opened my eyes to that. I now can see how destructive these depictions in the media can be to consumers and it has motivated me to view the media even more critically. The biggest lesson I take away from this film is the notion that beauty is not something that people in advertising firms get to decide. Like the title of my paper ‘Fat is Descriptive not Degrading’, I will not let the media decide how I choose to see the world be it through words or images.
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