Naomi Wolf, in The Beauty Myth, discusses how the beauty myth tells a story of how a quality named ÒbeautyÓ objectively and universally exists for all women. Beauty is the idealized image that all women wish to embody, while the men desire to have the beautiful women. Exactly what is beauty? What and who defines it? Patriarchal society has constructed the ideal women in relationship to themselves. Simone de Beauvior labels the female identity as ÒOtherÓ, thus presenting womenÕs opression and identity formation as related to men (the Self). The images of the ideal woman as presented in society contradicts nature, and focuses on differences between reality and fantasy. Wittig states that Òwe have been compelled in our bodies and mind to correspond, feauture by feature, with the idea of nature that has been established. Women are in constant pursuit of improving their bodies and selves in order to conform to the male ideal. Whether or not the image is attainable, women are trained to see this image as normal and beautiful, hence desirable. As Susan Bordo claims, it is the final image of what the woman becomes that lingers in our perceptions of what beauty and the female body are defined by, ignoring her initial image and forgettign the fact her personality has not changed. How does this normalization occur? From adolescence, and years before, girls are the perfect pupils to accept and internalize the image of the ideal woman. By examining the many factors which shape and influence her acceptance of this image, we can see how society employs this ideal image to mold womenÕs identity. By using this fantastical, ideal image, a womanÕs identity may be further exploited and hidden, replaced by this false, unnatural image of beauty.
Women are chided for being narcissistic, slaves to the mirror, fashion, cosmetics, and the diet, in order to maintain and/or improve their appearance. However, this is precisely what is demanded of women if they want to succeed in society and be attractive to men. Griselda Pollock succintly defines the essence of femininity as Ò being mapped onto the body by cosmetic, fabric, and fashion during adolescence(p. 431).Ó She further states how adolescence is a Òperiod of transition between the lack and the completion (p. 431).Ó Psychoanalytic feminist theory highlights the image of femininity and the social construction of gender. Chodorow assigns feminine personality as being constructed in terms of how the woman views herself in relation to other people ( In Gilligan, p. ) During adolescence, Erikson describes the development of a girlÕs identity as becoming enmeshed with her quest for intimacy. Girls are looking for a man in their adolescent years to give her an identity and make her complete. (Gilligan).
Feminist theories of representation commonly look at the
female body as a signifier of lack. The subjectivity of women further
allow her
to prescribe to these notion of emptiness and lack, and pressure her to
mask her true self into her new image. Images of women in print, cinema,
advertising, mass media, photography, and fashion magazines depict the
female body as a blank canvas without an identity. After the body is
identified as a signifier or lack, it then can be used in order to map the
identity of the female onto the body. The products put on the body, the
fashions worn and the services advertised give the woman her identity.
Pollock uses the example of BayerÕs test tube baby ad to illustrate this
point of adolescent identity.
Bayer is there to help her through this period of self-seeking.
With textile fibers and the stuffs for the fashionable clothes she
needs to wear. . . With raw ingredients for the cosmetics she uses
to create her own personality. And simple remedies too. Like aspirin (a
Bayer discovery) for the pain she will experience (Pollock 431).
The companyÕs products create the adolescent girlÕs ÒwomanÓ identity.
Thus, the ideal female image sends a powerful message of how a woman
defined by society must act, dress, feel, behave, and appear.
Stemming from this, Susan Bordo elucidates that womenÕs appearance has a Òplastic potentiality (p.452)Ó in that women have the ability to alter, mold, reshape, and change their appearance. Women, however, internalize their true selves, masquerading as Miss Ideal and hiding their potential emergent identity. This can be done by both temporary measures such as cosmetics and fashion, as well as more permanent, potentially destructive measures such as anorexia and cosmetic surgery.
First, cosmetics can conceal, coverup, or lessen any blemishes, scars, or undereye circles. Makeup can also brighten oneÕs eyes, make her mouth more sensual, and in the case of adolescence, add years to oneÕs appearance. Makeup ads promise to make you look younger, fresher, more noticeable, and ultimately more beautiful. While male actors will use tage makeup in order to define thier features and clarify their emotional cues, womenÕs use of makeup is for masking her natural face in order to project a normalized image of beauty. Cosmetics merely mask a womanÕs true appearance and face, one that is ÒnaturalÓ and displayed in informal settings, and the Òmade-up faceÓ, which appears at work, on dates , at school, and any time the woman wants to feel better.
Second, fashion has a similar effect in masquerading a womanÕs true appearance and image. Girdles, body shapers, and control top pantyhose slim the unwanted bulges, although there is a degree of discomfort involved. Tight fitting clothes, revealing slits and necklines, and high heels all sexualize the female body, yet adhere to societal dress codes for women. Do women wear high heels purely for comfort or height? Media is quick to portray anorexic models showing off their bodies in bikinis or short dresses, but it is still taboo to show a full figured woman in magazines wearing anything slightly revealing. Designers, of which men are included, dictate what the key looks of the season are, which women obey and copy. Clothing is also seen as a protective measure, in that the clothes protect her nude body from the male gaze.
Third, women change their appearance in more drastic measures through diet and disordered eating. By the time girls enter adolescence, over half of them have been on at least one diet, and they have had the Òfear of fatÓ instilled in them. Bordo discusses the success of Reebok and Nike in getting its women readers to buy their shoes after reading advertisements about the benefits of exercise and what their bodies could look like. ÒThe body is a signifier for a subversive model of femininity. . . women look toward it to see what they are lacking. p. 453).Ó The choice is clear. To succeed and be accepted, you must exercise and diet so your body looks like the ones in the advertisements. The body as signifier is also used in diet commercials. Women and girls are shown images of beautiful, thin women who look nothing like their ÒbeforeÓ pictures. Regardless of the small warning on every commercial (results not typical), women strive to replicate the results. Girls may find more covert, essentially more dangerous ways of dieting and becoming thinner, such as diet pills, throwing up, or becoming anorexic. The anorexic body is a signifier for submission to traditional femininity. She is weak, small, dependant on a male or strong figure, and does not take up a lot of room. Her body is seen as an object of hatred and disgust, and she relies on otherÕs images of herself as well as her own distorted image, in order to change her body.
Finally, cosmetic surgery exists as a permanent change to a womanÕs appearance and identity. With cosmetic surgery, a woman is given the chance, for a large fee, to permanently alter her appearance. Her breasts may be reduced or enlarged, her nose may be reshaped, or she might even undergo liposuction, removing fat from her body. Bordo questions the legitimacy of womenÕs desires to undergo surgery.As she claims, no one tries to make their nose Òmore JewishÓ or accentuate a nonwestern facial feature. Media saturates women with images of tall, thin, blond all-American , heterosexual women who portray the beauty ideal. While some non-traditional women are successful in media, they are seen as ÒeroticaÓ, different from the other women. These women are seen as the ÒOtherÓ, and she must either remold her body to fit in, or resist conformity at the risk of being alienated . Furthermore, Godeau discusses the use of the mirror as a way for womenÕs subjectivity to emerge and conform to societal standards of what defines woman. Women adopt the role of spectator,objectifying her body and seeing the relationship between two unreal iamges of herself.
Jacqueline Rose asserts that Ò women are meant to look perfect, presenting a seamless image to the world so that man. . . can avoid any comprehension of lack (389).Ó From these examples of womenÕs bodies as signifiers of lack and the ideal image, the body is indeed providing a masquerade for the womanÕs true identity. She should not be defined as a woman in terms of her ability to wear stunning clothes or run 5 miles. A woman ought to not be defined, but appear as her own definition in terms of what she does, what she has accoplished, and who she loves. Feminist practices of representation calls for the embodiment of women and new ways for the woman to express herself and view her own body. In order to destabilize these ideal images, we have to be willing to reject as a majority prescribed ideals of beauty and thinness. When women can feel comfortable seeing women of all races, sizes, and ages in fashion magazines and also proud of their own bodies, then we can rebuild the body as a signifier.The body will no longer serve as a mask, thus letting womenÕs true identity emerge.