News Flash: When Makeovers Go Too Far

Article

It’s not difficult to find a beauty ad. In fact, they are usually hard to avoid. Virtually every form of the media batters into people how we are supposed to look and what to do to achieve such physical perfection. Women in particular are held to ludicrous standards that are especially hard to achieve if you wish to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle. Unless you have abundant time and money you may never look like Angelina Jolie, Gisele Bundchen, or Marissa Miller and yet we are all compared to models like them multiple times a day. With improving technology, women are going to greater extremes to become gain a stereotypically beautiful physique. In the past some television shows have highlighted these disturbing trends. Thankfully shows like the Swan and Extreme Makeover were short-lived after cries of disgust from certain audiences. It would appear however, that the E! network has not learned from such mistakes. A new show called, “Bridal Plasty” about future brides competing for cosmetic surgery is set to premiere this fall. This show is a reflection of our societal obsession with beauty; it reinforces the belief that women’s bodies are somehow inherently flawed and to be happy, women must change their physical appearance to achieve stereotypical perfection.

On the show, contestants compete in wedding themed games for the chance to win a surgical procedure. The last woman remaining after eliminations each week will win the rest of her desired procedures and her dream wedding. In a dramatic twist, the bride is not scheduled to reveal her new body until the day of her wedding. This show mirrors the belief in our society that women’s bodies are imperfect and need to be corrected for happiness. Because physical perfection is understood to represent complete perfection, women are going to ever more dangerous extremes in their beauty regimes. Pressures are causing younger women to start beauty regimes earlier, investing more time and money into the process. The beauty industry revolves around this notion and capitalizes on insecurity to profit. “Reared on reality TV and celebrity makeovers, girls as young as Marleigh [2 years old] are using beauty products earlier, spending more and still feeling worse about themselves.” Equating emotional or social characteristics with physical features creates dangerous mandates for women to correct their bodies. Women must remind themselves that the media and beauty industries are ultimately out to make money; they are corporations and therefore their bottom line is the profit margin. “According to a NEWSWEEK examination of the most common beauty trends, by the time your 10-year-old is 50, she'll have spent nearly $300,000 on just her hair and face.”

Beyond wasting money to meet these standards, women are also depleting their self-esteem. By comparing oneself incessantly to models, women and girls lose their sense of worth and become emotionally desperate for improvement. The number one cosmetic procedure is now breast implants. The procedure is serious and poses a number of health hazards- it is also completely unnecessary. The new growing trend depicted in Bridal Plasty is to get plastic surgery before your wedding to have “perfect” wedding. One British article claims this trend is due to women’s desires to be ever sexier, “Ten years ago you could not use the word "sexy" in the same sentence as "bride" - it was not considered appropriate - but now most brides want to show off their figure.”They feel that the only way to be sexy is to change their bodies. Disturbingly, I found one plastic surgeon that actually has created a timeline on his website of what procedures to get and how soon before the wedding. It is alarming how long the list is and curious that the costs are not included on the chart. Also interesting, is that this plastic surgeon has posted links to bridal shops and salons to assist the women in their transformations. What is most troubling is that these women on the show are all brides to be. They are clearly loved and yet they somehow still feel inadequate. I’m sure their fiancés love their bodies just as they are or they would not have proposed; it is sad that the women cannot also love themselves. Changing your body to the point of being unrecognizable is not a good idea right before you enter a holy matrimony. The strength of these relationships was built on a certain dynamic, and such a dynamic will inevitably change after the bride undergoes a total transformation. It is dangerous to assume you will have a stronger marriage just because you will be a stereotypically prettier bride.

Furthermore, many plastic surgeons disagree with rewarding women with plastic surgery and question the ethics of the doctors willing to do the procedures: “It totally undermines the doctor-patient relationship," says Dr. Gayle Gordillo, associate professor plastic surgery at Ohio State University. "The ethical and social implications of this [show] are frightening." The article continues on to explore the probability of Body Dysmorphic Disorder within the patients. Multiple and repetitive cosmetic surgeries can be signs pointing to this disorder in which patients imagine physical flaws obsessively. They incessantly choose to have such “flaws” perfected and yet are never happy with the result; they continue to find problems with their physiques. It is a manifestation of one’s desire to achieve perfection and may result from low self-esteem. Doctors willing to operate on such patients only play into the disorder allowing it to spiral out of control. Plastic surgeons need to act ethically and the cycle.

I was shocked to learn that on a website dedicated to Body Dysmorphic Disorder the entire page is loaded with links to plastic surgeon websites and at the top there is even an ad for Botox. Treatment for BDD involves antidepressants as well as behavioral therapy to help end such obsessive thoughts about appearance. It is suggested that patients stop checking their defects and stop getting procedures to correct them: “While it may seem that a procedure to "fix" your perceived flaw is a good option, cosmetic surgery, dentistry or other approaches usually don't relieve the stress and shame of body dysmorphic disorder...Cosmetic procedures don't treat your underlying condition — they are only temporary fixes, at best.” Undergoing dangerous surgeries and disorders like BDD demonstrate how our flawed belief system is actually causing damage to our health. Shows, like Bridal Plasty that highlight the perceived benefits to such extreme measures are ignoring the undermining issue of low self esteem.

            Overall, the show Bridal Plasty is troubling for the dangerous precedents it sets for women. Women are now expected to go under the knife to look absolutely perfect for their wedding day. However, in a world that bombards us with images of beauty, advertisements for miraculous results, and procedures you can get at the dentist, this may not be surprising; the bar is constantly being raised and women will go to more extreme measures to meet the ridiculous standards. The show is a social commentary on or societal obsession with appearance. It seems counterintuitive to change oneself on the very day that a husband pledges his complete love for the bride just as she is, “for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part” but I guess the vows don’t include a wrinkles clause.

New Flash: "The Rise of Sarah Palin Politics"

The results of the recent midterm election put women in the politics in an interesting position. For the first time in decades, the number of women in Congress has declined. This trend is particularly peculiar given the most recent presidential election. For the first time in the history of the United States electing a female president or female vice president because a very real possibility, during the 2008 presidential election. Despite the fact that the election did not result in a female president or vice president, it gave hope to many Americans, especially feminists, that women were coming closer in gaining political equality. Also emerging from the 2008 election was the Republican maverick, Sarah Palin. Gaining attention for her comical one-liners and her dedication to Alaska and motherhood, Palin has now become a highly influential member of the Republican Party. During these midterm elections, Palin took it upon herself to lend her support to her fellow party members, especially for the female Republican candidates. Surprisingly, Palin’s endorsements garnered significant amount of support for a majority of the candidates in question. The New York Times article, “Palin’s Endorsements Lay Base for a 2012 Run,” calls to question Sarah Palin’s involvement in the midterm elections and whether it was a strategy for laying a foundation for a presidential nomination in the 2012 election. Regardless of the scrutiny Sarah Palin has received for her unique political technique and use of the media, the results of the midterm elections indicate that this approach may resonate better with the public than the staunch feminist one used by the majority of female politicians.

Sarah Palin has been able to utilize the media to build her fan basis as well as to foster support for the politicians she choose to endorse in the midterm elections. After capitalizing on the various media outlets in the 2008 presidential election, Palin continued to use these media outlets to promote her candidates for Congress. Christine O’Donnell’s highly publicized campaign for Senate was Sarah Palin’s brainchild. O’Donnell’s campaign and the resulting backlash eerily resembled Palin’s in 2008. Each woman was bombarded by questions and interviews that addressed concerns about their qualifications for running for office. Both also became targets of Saturday Night Live attacks. In each case, the women tried compensate for their questionable pasts and under qualifications by playing up their womanly charm to seduce the public. Particularly in Sarah Palin’s case, she went as far as to denounce feminism and promote her housewife values. Her SNL spoof highlights her strategy. To get where she is today, Palin has used the media to promote her enlightened sexism approach to politics. When discussing Sarah Palin’s role in politics, Douglas describes the media’s coverage of her, “Recently there was a woman who commanded the national stage, attempting to take on a role no woman had before. She was, of course, attractive- she had to be- and had a set of skills that made her seem right for the job… some Americans- particularly male pundits- remained deeply uncomfortable with ambitious women” (267). Although Douglas is definitely not a fan of Sarah Palin, she does acknowledge that Palin successfully played up her feminine wiles to gain media attention. Whether the media has displayed Palin in a positive or negative light, she has still received an extraordinary amount of face time and has been able to get her name out there, which helped the Republican Party in these midterm elections and will potentially open doors for her in the 2012 presidential election.

Rather than taking a feminist approach to politics, Sarah Palin has capitalized on her motherly qualities to convince the public that she a qualified political leader. In fact, Sarah Palin has all together denounced feminism. When running for Vice President, she promoted the idea that women did not need to forfeit their responsibilities at home to pursue their careers. She fully embraces her motherhood and uses it as a point to separate herself from other politicians. She has even given herself the nickname, “Mama Grizzly.” Sarah Palin has used these family and home-based values to reach out to the American public. In a way, Palin denies the existence of a “Mommy Tax,” by putting up the façade that she can easily balance her home life and career. In reality, the public is aware that this is not true, given the media coverage of her family. Palin is so determined to keep up this public image of a perfect mother and career woman that she is now starring in her own reality television show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” which documents her home state and family interactions. When choosing Republican candidates to endorse, Palin particularly sought after female candidates, who share her same conservative values and public image of putting family first, despite their career choices. Newly elected South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley, was quickly taken under Palin’s wing, as they worked to promote her image as a politician dedicated to her family. According the New York Times article, Palin’s publicized support for such candidates may be a part of a larger campaign strategy to not only alter the values voters expect their politicians to live by, but to also secure her spot as a viable candidate in the 2012 presidential election.

The success of Sarah Palin’s approach to politics calls to question the future of feminism in politics. It was alarming, especially for feminists, to watch as Sarah Palin’s endorsement of various Republican candidates had such positive effects on voter approval. Douglas describes (in a disturbing way) Sarah Palin’s viewpoints and her opposition to feminist ideology,

So here was a woman who was anti-choice, anti-sex education (that worked out well), anti-day care, using the gains of women’s movement to run for office, and to silence those who might have a few questions about her qualifications. Pit bull feminism was about exploiting forty years of activism, lawsuits, legislative changes, and consciousness- raising- all of which Palin benefited from- in the hope of undoing them all (271).

The rise of Sarah Palin and anti-feminist politics is especially concerning given the steep decline in the number of women in Congress after the midterm election. The majority of the women voted out of office were women who had fought and represented feminist ideals. Several of these women were even elected in 1992, during the “Year of the Woman.” Meanwhile, the number of women being voted into office support Sarah Palin’s anti-feminist political ideology. While there are other external factors that could explain this transition, it is difficult not to be worried that years of feminists’ hard work have been reversed, and Sarah Palin’s politics is becoming the new norm for female politicians.

Response to Sara

The reading for this week was really interesting. Mink brings up excellent points about how welfare is both a class and race issue and that middle class feminist were not concerned with it because it is not a main threat to them. Women working in the home as caregivers is important as being the caregivers of other people's children. Sara and Carolyn both raise excellent points in their interpretations of Mink's article. The idea that childcare is in fact really expensive and these single mothers are working to pay others to care for their child when they can just stay home and do so is an issue. The fact that the jobs that are offered to these single mothers are low wage jobs they cannot afford to get out of poverty if they have to pay a great amount to childcare. The point that Carolyn brought up is really interesting and one that i didn't think of as far as welfare reform. I agree that welfare needs to be reformed but the idea that it could be optional for women to work but still have some sort of requirement method for welfare checks that deal with the home like classes on parenting or working from home are great ideas. This method is similar to what they do with people who receive unemployment checks. This article really uncovered how single mothers are being marginalized as a group and how welfare affects them directly and if it is an issue for so many women why is it not a main concern of feminists?

Response to Sara

I feel that Mink made some good points in her article but she did not completely convince me of her argument. I do agree that welfare needs to be reformed because of the many loopholes through which single mothers seem to fall, but I also think that the welfare system as a whole needs to change for men and women alike. Especially in our current economic situation, the nation should be spending their dollars wisely; we need to ensure that we are spending our money effectively. In terms of welfare, I think that this means the money should be going to the people most in need and most deserving. There are many people that may need welfare but are taking advantage of the system. My father works as a welfare fraud investigator, and I have heard anecdotal evidence of the many ways in which people take advantage of the system. He alone, recovered about one million dollars for the state. I think if welfare reform was passed, the government should include harsher punishments for those that violate the law, so that there is more money to spread to the honest people. I understand that single mothers are forced to work outside of the home, and this may be detrimental, but there may be no other way to ensure that mothers are working to pull themselves out of poverty. We cannot police homes enough to ensure that the women are in fact raising their children well, keeping a nice home, etc. That work is of course valuable work but there just may be not simple way to ensure that such women are in fact doing that. Perhaps if the law included something about required parenting classes or a course about working from within the home such a law would not need to be included.

Main Reading Post for 11/04

The article, “The Lady and the Tramp(II): Feminist Welfare Politics, Poor Single Mothers, and the Challenge of Welfare Justice,” discusses the failure of upper to middle class feminists to stand up for poor women without a voice in promoting their rights to welfare. Mink states that these feminists are supporting gender inequalities and a female caste system by not standing up for poor women during the welfare debate. The welfare bill that passed Congress requires women who receive welfare to acquire jobs outside of the home. The bill only specifically mentions women, which Mink argues segregates poor women and recognizes them as a separate “caste group.” She especially points the blame at female politicians who idly stood by and let Republicans implement the bill. She claims that women, especially the politicians could have made a difference because of their unique position within the government, that people would have been forced to listen to them. By requiring women on welfare to work outside the home to qualify for it, the article claims that women are being deprived of equal citizenship. The bill also intensified racial divisions.

I think one of the article’s most interesting points is when it states that these white middle class feminists view mothers who need welfare as women who really need feminism and victims of a patriarchical system. Many feminists view the home as a site of oppression. But little to they realize that being able to stay home with their children without the need to make a salary is a luxury. I definitely agree with Mink on this point. Childcare is extremely expensive, and if these women on welfare are forced to work outside the home, then a large part of their salary will then have to go towards paying for childcare. Additionally, it is not fair for feminists to claim that really all these women need is feminism in their lives. Clearly the women on welfare have much more important things to think about or work towards then going the feminist movement. This feminist assumption is a fairly ignorant one.

''The Stripper Myth'' Response to Carolyn

The readings for this week they all dealt with what women have to go through in regards to the work force but focused primarily of poor or underclass women. I appreciate all the article's and "Mommy Tax" shed light on the issue of being a mother and having a career a issue we had discussed earlier in the class. The reading that really stood out to me was in Listen Up. "Reality Check" really interested me because as a college student I feel like we could all relate to Hakin-Dyce in her efforts to find a job which we probably all will be doing after college. This story reminded me of man jokes and movies that i have heard or seen. The most recent is a joke Chris Rock tells about the "Stripper Myth".




Another movie that I think talks about a girl in a similar position but she chooses to strip and we learn about her struggles with that is "Players Club". This is a real scary issue that becomes a reality for so many women.

Summary for 11/2

The four readings for class all discussed the costs related to being a woman. In the workplace, women are not afforded the same rights as men. More specifically, women with children are often discriminated against and many other women are forced to turn to sexually demoralizing jobs to make ends meet. “The Mommy Tax” by Crittenden explores the myth that women are equal in the job force. One anti-feminist group claimed that women made ninety cents to every man’s dollar and Crittenden challenges the claim stating it does not include women with children. Women with children make a measly seventy cents to every man’s dollar. Furthermore, they are often forced to take unpaid maternity leave and work schedules that pull them away from their children for fear of consequences. Crittendon includes several anecdotes to prove her point, including her own story about the loss of a calculated $600,000. Rather than leaving the job force altogether, many women opt to work part time. Crittendon goes on to show that part time mothers make disproportionately less money for their hours; many claim the workload is actually the same as a full time job and they are just making less money. I felt that Crittendon made some very good points in her article I was just a little disturbed when she wrote that “It seems like a high price to pay for doing the right thing” (89). I think it is judgemental of Crittendon to write that the “right thing” is for women to quit their jobs to raise their children. Many women successfully raise happy and healthy children while working part time or full time jobs. Crittendon should have also considered the prospect of the father staying home to raise the children. I think it is only a very small minority of women that can afford to raise their children in Crittenden’s “right way.”
“Maid to Order” by Ehrenreich explores the growing trend of housemaids. She explains how paying someone seems to justify demeaning them and the majority of these workers are women forced into these careers for financial reasons, “But in a society in which 40 percent of the wealth is owned by 1 percent of households while the bottom 20 percent reports negative assets, the degradation of others is readily purchased,” (59). This type of job creates a unique predicament for the working class. Pay for some companies is strictly controlled based on attendance, a problem for women that may have children, unreliable transportation, etc. The nature of the work is also troubling for one’s health. Women especially strain their knees and backs while working and the job is not meant to ever be held long term. Beyond damaging the workers, this growing trend is teaching children “that some people are less worthy than others, that the employer has ‘something better’ to do with her time.” I think this is an interesting point to make because all of the people I know that have cleaning maids take little responsibility for their belongings. They do not pick up after themselves because they assume that someone will do it for them. Cleaning is seen as a waste of time and left for someone that has nothing better to do.
The remaining two pieces appear in Listen Up. The first, “Reality Check” explores one woman’s struggle to avoid poverty while also avoiding demeaning jobs. As a college student, the author was trying her best to make it by and was almost forced into becoming a go-go dancer. I think this can be tied back to “Maid to Order” because women can be forced into a variety of jobs that are demeaning to women, if not explicitly sexual. Being forced into cleaning up after a man can be understood as equally demeaning as being sexually objectified by a man. The other article “Knowledge is Power” explores one woman’s challenges on welfare. She writes how no one chooses to be on welfare or wants to be on welfare. I must disagree with this point. While I feel that the majority of women on welfare do not want to be on welfare, there are a lot of people (including women) that do choose to remain on welfare. My father works as a welfare fraud investigator and he examines these cases daily. There are many women that lie in order to gain more money from the government; many say that they are raising their children alone, are paying for daycare, and job searching while they are not. Many young women are also encouraged to get pregnant at a young age in order to receive welfare. For most people I would agree that being on welfare is unfortunate and stigmatized, but I think the people abusing the system need to be reprimanded before the system can begin to offer more services.