I found all of the readings for tomorrow’s class really interesting and relevant to my own life. American society is obsessed with people’s image and at every age and walk of life. Colgate, even college in general, is one of the most judgmental and scrutinizing environments we encounter. Every day, I hear, and say myself, numerous comments about people’s weight, eating habits, style, and overall image.
Clearly, issues of exterior appearance are of upmost concern in every aspect of our lives. What we look like, what we wear, what we smell like, how we wear are hair, the school bags we use, and the car we drive all have potential to give us confidence as well as status. Therefore, as Hilary suggested, advertisement focused toward the appropriate group is crucial in the success of a product’s market campaign. It would be naive and ignorant to think that a nail polish campaign would succeed in a men’s magazine. While marketing to people’s desires is obviously crucial in advertisement, finding the fitting group to promote a product to is equally as important in the success of a campaign. I agree with Hilary that it would be “progressive” and “liberating” to advertise all products to all people, however it would be detrimental to the product’s success and disastrous for profits.
Further, in our society, it would be absurd to ask a company to design their market campaign based on equally advertising to everyone despite the detrimental effects it would have on profits. We are so infatuated in gaining money and wealth that it has become natural and obvious that a company’s main concern and drive is increasing profits and acquiring wealth rather than promoting gender unbias and equality.
This obsession with profits and market success was revealed in “The Body Project” by Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Brumberg discusses the insanely profitable market for bras that developed during the 1950s. Girls became obsessed with bras that could give their breasts what they considered the shape and “support” they thought was proper. Brumberg suggests, “the bodies of adolescent girls had the potential to deliver considerable profit,” (Brumberg, 113). Despite the fact that many of the miracle bras, diet pills, fat-reducing lotions, and even butt-toning sneakers (as we saw in the media culture projects) do not actually work as they claim to, people will buy them in attempts to perfect their bodies. In other words, people buy these products in response to what they claim to do rather than what they actually do in practice. Therefore, the image of these products often brings the companies profit and success rather than the credibility of these products.
As consumers, we abandon the lessons we have learned through life that tell us to buy reliable and sound products in desperation to perfect our appearance. In this “constant vigil” to perfect our bodies, we actually attempt to erase and remove “flaws” that are entirely natural and normal. We attempt to create an image of ourselves that is supernatural and inhuman. Shown by how often over the past century these standards of the perfect body change, these images are manufactured based on current styles and times and are therefore, very artificial.
Paradoxically, however, if we do not fit this image of perfection we consider ourselves inferior, unusual, disgusting, and sometimes even undeserving of human interaction. We dictate our lives around losing weight and fitting these completely unrealistic standards-to a point that some just long to “stop thinking about ‘it,’” (Brumberg, 123). Dieting standards and skinny bodies become such a regular and natural part of our routine that we often do not even realize they are there. However, we must remember that these standards are anything but natural and normal for our anatomy. Despite the fact that these standards are just about downright unattainable, they work their way in to our every day life and control our mood, mindset, and opinions of ourselves. How do we not only realize and accept that these standards are absurd and irrational, but also promote positive and natural body types as cool and ideal?
Additionally, I found Brumberg’s mention of the changing concept of private and public spheres of sexuality very interesting. Today, girls not only casually display, but also outright flaunt their sex appeal, arguably to gain male attention. As Yvonne in Brumberg’s essay realizes, her new silk dress was “revealing,” and “fit like paper on the wall.” Further, the sales lady who sold her the dress confirmed that this fit was definitely a positive attribute of the dress saying “when you are young you should show every bump,” (Brumberg, 107). Both of these women suggest that clothing that displays positive sexual attributes became not only acceptable but also desirable. As Brumberg argues, this new acceptance for the display of sex appeal reveals a greater comfort with, but also, perhaps, a lesser respect for what was once considered precious and for the eyes of one person only.
Further, as what used to be considered beloved and secret is no longer as highly esteemed or cherished (our body), we lose that personal connection with special people it used to be shared with. Therefore, we look elsewhere for “secrets” with our significant other. However, are these intimate secrets, such as piercings of the genitals, as fulfilling and meaningful as the “secrets” cherished by the generations before ours? Also, if our sex appeal is no longer a valued secret, does that mean that sex has lost much value and become relatively meaningless in our lives as well?
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