The Vexed Vagina: Rethinking Beauty
Bethany Zelent
Gateway Writer
Mar 21, 2013
The beauty regime for women in Western society is intrinsically entwined with a woman’s “level” of femininity. It’s rare nowadays to see any female without some form of makeup, and those that go au naturel are often branded as boring or plain, as if our self-worth — and self acceptance, for that matter — should come from a tube of mascara.
With the rise of celebrity culture and the working woman, products and advertising gimmicks have adapted to the busy mom lifestyle by emphasizing concepts like “mastery” and “control,” according to Susan Bordo, as if these products will bring solace to a chaotic life. The increasingly out-of-reach ideals of a thin, toned body and effortlessly put-together beauty perpetrated by the media are escalating women’s dependence on cosmetic products.
The notion that there is always excess hair, better shapes and sleeker styles reinforces the impracticality of these beauty ideals, breeding low self-esteem and poor body image in many women. Advertisers capitalize on cyclical aspirations by indoctrinating self-deprecation in women, because a dissatisfied market is a profitable market. By keeping half the population insatiable, advertisers are able to sell their products by claiming the newer, better, stronger formula will fill the gap of discontent and finally lead to their satisfaction.
The path to self-acceptance is treacherous and often in vain, as women tend to cling to negative rhetoric. Although Tyra Banks, for instance, has had several makeup-free episodes, it takes
much more than a bare-faced celebrity to rid generations of women from self-loathing. Tyra’s message of self-approval is lost to a skewed reality: as much as we are aware and understand the prevalence of airbrushing touch-ups, these facts are rarely enough to validate our own beauty.
Similarly, while Dove can attempt to convince us to accept the pro-age movement with its “Real Beauty” campaigns using average women as models, as consumers, we still judge the bodies of the “real women” in the ads. The wrinkly, curvaceous, flabby and pale bodies are such a foreign sight in the media that the airbrushed images of thin models and celebrities are actually preferable because of their familiarity. It’s difficult to grasp that the average women deserves to appear on television, because the already slim, young, happy and confident women in the anti-cellulite commercial, for example, captures our attention to make us think that this is our ideal.
Even in recognizing the “real” women on the Tyra Show and in the Dove commercials, North American culture seems to be afraid of what would happen if all women were sure of themselves, making it difficult to guarantee whether all women will be able to fully accept themselves in the near future. The beauty industry is worth $160 billion dollars worldwide and to ensure the same profits in years to come, advertisers will undoubtedly continue to negatively influence subsequent generations’ self esteem through the constant portrayal of unrealistic ideals.
While the future is unclear, we can start out small. Be brave and try going makeup free. Maintaining confidence without the lipstick is the only way to reclaim our beauty from the beauty industry.
Sources:
Bordo, Susan, “Hunger as Ideology” from Unbearable Weight. Pages 99-133.
http://www.economist.com/node/1795852
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Brava for writing this!
One of the hardest things about not wearing make-up are the assumptions people then make about you, “she’s given up” or “doesn’t she care what people think” or “are you trying to look like a man?” which is the same as saying - “How dare you accept yourself! My insecurities should be your insecurities!” We need to stop doing this to each other.
Challenge your girlfriends to a makeup free outing, there is strength in numbers, talk about why it makes you insecure, where that message comes from and why you shouldn’t listen. Hopefully you’ll realize that your naked face is your most beautiful.
Posted by Ally on Mar 22, 2013
I find the Dove campaign still limiting on the ‘range’ of the ladies represented, and it may be because of the negative reactions that may come out. These ladies still look like they have some nice curves, no birth scars, acne, boyish hair, piercings, pink or blue hair, size XXL etc. Discovering the website mybodygallery.com was helpful. It made me see how real ladies look according to height, weight and shape. I don’t wear makeup, jewelry or nail polish at work. I make it up with professional, appropriate clothing, a smile and energy to do my job well. First impressions count, but is a mask of make-up really necessary? I don’t think so. Being happy and genuine radiates beauty more than product.
Posted by Mirror on Mar 22, 2013
Great Post!
Posted by Chaka on Mar 22, 2013
I go to school all the time with no makeup. Life is hectic and I’m tired, so I might as well look the part. If you don’t like it it’s not my problem, because I think I’m pretty regardless of whether I put on mascara in the morning.
Posted by Kim on Mar 22, 2013
Great article, I can tell that you are very passionate about empowering women against the impossible standards of society. I would like to propose an alternate solution to changing a whole view of society and to instead promote self-acceptance. The image of some ideal form of beauty will always exist, whether it is the skinny toned body of modern day or the voluptuous victorian body in olden days. Having either image is equivalent to having an impossible form of beauty based on environment, and promoting either one would always lead to a portion of women being unconfident about their body’s. Women come is different shapes and sizes, and although stick thin Victoria Secret bodies are hard to live up to, completely disregarding them is unfair to naturally thin girls that now are uncomfortable with their bodies because of yet another thing society tells them. Also we must caution ourselves on the harsh languages we use on others, no matter if they are Victoria Secret models, as they themselves are possibly struggling with body issues are constantly bombarded with hate comments. We must fight bad body image issues at the source where everyone is in control, and that is self-acceptance. By promoting that, every women can accept the fact that there are things in life that they cannot change and embrace themselves in spite of it. What other people think or do is out of our control and that should be alright because it that is what makes us all different. Whether slim or curvy, all body images should be embraced. We must acknowledge the fact that we are all human beings and we succumb to faults like envy and hate, but instead of trying to change everyone around us to think the same way we do, we much first change ourselves and everybody else will follow. Let us not hate each other and instead learn to love ourselves. “We must be the change we want to see in the world.”-Ghandi
Posted by Carlie Yeung on Mar 22, 2013
Ah yes, but lipstick is still the best lip moisturizer around!
Posted by Donna Cave on Mar 27, 2013
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