In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf describes beauty as judgment for women. She claims that women are forced to conform to the society's beliefs of beauty. Wolf writes that as women become more and more liberated and "the more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly the images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us". Essentially women are undoing the equality they have achieved or are achieving by judging themselves according to beauty. The beauty myth is female beauty used as a political weapon against women's advancement; Wolf compares this to the old feminine ideologies that once had control over women. The “successful womanhood” used to be characterized as by the perfect housewife, cleaning and cooking, taking care of the children at home, now the this womanhood is characterized by “the gaunt, youthful model”.
I agree with Wolf to the extent that this crave that women have for being beautiful makes all of the advancements women have made seem pointless, but this is ideology of beauty is in no way recent. Women have always strived to fit the societies requirements of “good looking”, whether it is now, when women starve themselves in order to be stick-thin, or before when ‘beautiful’ was defined by other qualities. “The quality called ‘beauty’ objectively and universally exists. Women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it.” Men have always waned to "possess" women who are beautiful, women have always wanted the best husband, being beautiful must have seemed like a way of getting him.
Hello Ash! This is a great response to "The Beauty Myth" and I was only starting to get into it when you ended it. :( Perhaps you could go relate this to some elements of A Handmaid's Tale? For example, woman are greedy to become the ideal "beautiful" in society. This links to A Handmaid's Tale where Janice is greedy of the attention and envy she receives when she becomes pregnant. When her first birth failed, she hurriedly became pregnant again in greed for attention and envy from the other Handmaid's.
ReplyDeleteYou could also mention today's media and the effect it has on women. For example, in many movies like "She's All that" and "The Princess Diaries", one can depict how becoming beautiful makes you accepted and wanted in society.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading your response, your points were very powerful! Good Job!