As a woman, I often get frustrated by all of the contradicting images that are thrown in my face. I am told to be sexy. I am told to be innocent and "pure." I am told to be promiscuous but by no means a slut. I am encouraged to take care of myself yet indulge in rich foods. To show the effects of age though, is the mortal sin of sins. I mean Dove tells us to accept our natural selves; don't conform. YET at the same time I am bombarded by anti- aging advertisements. Various skin care lines tell me to reduce my fine lines, hide age spots, and smooth out my skin. WTF? I thought I was supposed to age with grace and embrace myself. Apparently not.
The most interesting part about anti- aging advertisements is that they tend to use famous actresses and models to promote the numerous skin care products. So when Eva Longoria (an already BEAUTIFUL actress) graces the pages of Vogue in promotion of a prominent make-up and skin care line, I think- Oh no! If Eva uses this product and she is already flawless then my skin must be absolute shit.
I'm sorry but no wonder women have major psychological issues. If we have acne, we have to hide it. EVERYONE has acne. I have acne. I heard a guy at my favorite bar in Bellingham say that he doesn't like women with bad skin; zits, bumps, bad pores, etc. I am thinking the best match for him is a mannequin. They don't have pores, zits, or bumps! Hearing this guy- who was super attractive- tell me this stuff made me super self-conscious. I mean, I want to embrace who I am naturally. But I am scared if I do that and eat those rich delicious foods that lead to a zit or two, then I am a failure. Since Vogue (one of my favorite magazines) is dominated by advertisements that help fund the magazine, I understand some of the absurdity of the ads. I mean, everyone needs money. What I don't understand is how you can have a Dove ad and an anti-aging ad in the same magazine.
*These particular advertisements I am using to illustrate my point were not featured in Vogue together... as far as I know. The images I wanted to use that appeared in this year's Vogue Shape issue were difficult to find. Therefore I resorted to these two images. You get the picture.
Do not get me wrong- Dove has a lot of problems that I will not address in this post, but at least the intent is to promote a healthy sense of self perception. Anti- aging advertisements tell me that who I am is not enough and I must correct this inherent error in myself before it is too late. Too late for what? Desirability? Love? Women more often than men have eating disorders, consume beauty products, and fall into a trap of self-doubt. In no way does an anti-aging ad cause this. But think about it. I mean I have a collective sense of myself that is based on the images around me. Advertisements like this enforce the idea that I am not good enough. And that is unacceptable. I am currently working on what it means to accept myself. At present I have a zit on my face. Does this mean I need to go buy a product of a skin care line to take care of it and be acceptable? Does it mean that I fail because perhaps that cheese quesadilla last night might have caused my zit?
The interesting thing is that advertisements are catered to those of middle to upper class white individuals. Even if the advertisement features a person of color, they are considered to be lucky to even be seen. Come on. Admit it, when you see the Dove advertisement of the Black woman exposing her curves, you think- wow! This woman who is already minimized simply by her color is now being exploited for her curves. Embrace yourself right? Eva Longoria is a woman of different ethnicity but she is accepted as sexy,acceptable, and worthy of our attention in various media facets. Mind you that very rarely is she seen as a soft, feminine woman but as a sexy and animalistic creature dominated by the male gaze. Her skin and weight are flawless. Whereas the Black woman in the Dove advertisement will never be seen elsewhere. If a white or Black woman who were considered to be of normal size and skin type promoted a skin care line in your favorite magazine, would you be more likely to use it? No. Because that makes you common and not part of the elite. Celebrities make their status acceptable in the form of a skin care line. I mean, if you use a particular skin care line then you will look like Jessica Biel, SJP, Drew Barrymore, or Halle Berry.
Perhaps my train of thinking is totally off. What do you think?
Wow you write beautifully, Kendall.
ReplyDeleteBeing someone who is late to the whole game of beauty and anti-aging products tends to make me not think about this controversy very often.
Growing up as a guy, I did not have these expectations put upon me so they are definitely new to me but I find that I embrace things like makeup because it's expected of women to wear it, and that's how I want, nay, need to be perceived.
Still situations like you mentioned involving the more culturally beautiful woman getting the job even if the other woman is more qualified....is sad.
As for the guy that remarked that he didn't want a woman that had zits...what the heck? What a rude thing to say. I mean sure we want to be admired and loved for how we look but we also want to be loved for something much more than "skin deep".
I'd like to think we've made progress in our society with women's rights and such but sadly we still have a ways to go.