The Beauty Myth

Midterm Exam

Part 1: Brief Essays - The Beauty Myth

1. Hunger (Wolf, 179-217): A) In this chapter, Wolf argues that women are starving themselves to be accepted by the society. They sacrifice themselves to look thinner. The inclination of the statistics were nasty. “two studies showed, the number of high school girls who thought they were too fat had risen from 50 to 80 percent.” (Wolf, 185). The way Wolf  described fat women was just awful. I feel like it somehow true that the female body its not our own but society’s (Wolf, 187). The illness of anorexia is just unacceptable for the society, how they think they still too fat for people to look at. That is not how women appreciate their body, not by starving themselves. B) I definitely agree with her arguments which is starvation isn't the solution to everything. “Women must claim  anorexia as political damage done to us by a social order that considers our destruction insignificant because of what we are—less.” (Wolf, 208).

1. Violence (Wolf, 218-269): This chapter is basically about cosmetics surgery. “Today what hurts is beauty.’ (Wolf, 219). These cosmetics surgery is horrifying of how women hurt themselves to make them acceptable by the society. Wolf argues that beauty is pain, and beauty is love. So she concluded that female won't loved if she does not suffer. Wolf put Victorian and the medical systems as an example where they pictures the natural as abnormality such as, childbirth as a surgical events, menstruation as a chronic disorder, also they treated pregnancy and menopause as diseases (Wolf, 222). The statistics for the cosmetics surgery is horrible where “When you see way women’s curves swell at the hips and again the thighs, you could claim that that is abnormal deformity. Or you could just tell the truth: 75 percent of women are shaped like that, and sift, rounded hips and thighs and bellies were perceived as desirable, and sensual…” (Wolf, 231).

Part 2: Music

1. Nicki Minaj - Anaconda: A) In this music video, Nicki released a female-dominated video which she expressed and enjoys her sexuality. She includes a very disturbing erotic women of color. However, in this music video the women are portrayed as “selling” themselves into the sex industry. Though, they are super comfortable with their body and they expressed their sexual desire by dancing in the jungle and “grinding” to the ground. B)  This music video has influences pop culture in many ways. This music videos promote “fake butts” which relates to unrealistic body image. However, this music video also promotes female sexual dominance through the use of women of color, and be proud of the curvy black body. But on the other side, if we look deep into the lyrics Anaconda discriminate those skinny people with no butts. I mean real and natural buttocks. C) The message that Anaconda sends to the society is to love your body. In this music video Nicki is really promoting her curvy, black body which is somehow empowering to love your bodies but at the same time is kind of disgusting how she expressed herself with that really thin pink thongs dancing on the floor. D) For me, this music video is somehow empowering in disgusting way, This song is really catchy. However, again it promotes to one your body. To give the society some kind of prove that women can also be dominating than men. Not just subordinate to men

1. Lady Marmalade - A) For me, this music video give a negative influence on pop culture for women. Because, this song is promoting prostitution. From the verse: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir” means "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?.” This video is basically promotes to sell yourselves. They are selling their own bodies to men. However, I really like all the clothes and all it is so fashionable.  But I think it has a negative influence to the pop culture since it promotes prostitution. B) Women are using their sexuality as disempowerment since their selling themselves. However, the song is also empowering since the lyrics “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” showed that this time the female is pursuing the sex, not pursued.

1. What Happened, Miss Simone?: A) Nina Simone is a Civil Rights Activist. On 1960s she became known as the voice of the Civil Rights Movement and since then she wrote the song “Mississippi Goddam” which is inspired by the church bombing in Alabama which killed four African American girls. She stood up for African American people for being an activist even though a lot of radio refused to play her music and a lot of venues that rejected her to perform due to the racial politics at the time. B) The song “Goddam Mississippi” was inspired by the church bombing in Alabama that killed four African American girls. it became the Civil Rights anthem. From listening to her performance, her expression was clearly bold of how she was devastated at that time and that fear and anger was just thrown in that beautiful music. C) She lived based on her mental illness and domestic violence. She was physically abused by her husband, Andrew. Nina said “He wrapped himself around me like a snake. I worked like a dog, and I was scared of him. And Andrew beat me up. I was deathly scared of Andrew.” She poured all of her rage and emotions through the way she plays piano and vocal techniques. According to her daughter “It wasn’t just sadness that gave her trouble; it was an unshakable anger.”

Part 3: bell hooks.

1. Ending Violence (hooks 61-66, ): In this chapter of bell hooks it explained that the domestic violence is not just happened between men and women. In fact, it also happened in same-sex marriage, and also between child and parents. She describes all of this as “Patriarchal violence” not just domestic violence. She argues that if she used domestic violence, people are sexist they will still think that the violence is between men and women when the truth is it happened to everyone. She argued that children are violated not just through physical, but also verbally. Parents often use verbal aggression to the children (hooks, 64). They are not just direct targets, but they also witness the violence that happened in their households. She concluded that these violence hasn’t gotten people’s awareness, so that “Women and men must oppose the use of violence as a means of social control in all its manifestations” and “Feminist efforts to end male violence against women must be expanded into a movement to end all forms of violence.” (hooks, 66). I do agree with her arguments where people must be aware that domestic violence is not just between male and female, it includes different age range and also with same-sex marriage. People need to be aware of this.

1. Liberating Marriage and Partnership (hooks, 78-84): In this chapter, hooks started with the traditional bonds of marriage where women are in a marriage where the men dominated the relationship. Patriarchal marriage bonds lacks the concepts of intimacy, care, and respect, just so that men can dominate the relationship. Many women chose celibacy or lesbianism just so they can avoid being in a sexist relationship. A liberating marriage is now started to appear where men are accepting that they also should divide the house chores viand child care (hooks, 81) and women started to gained class power and started to hire caretaker for their babies. This equal parenting makes more positive and fulfilling marriage where men and women started to aware about this sexist and feminist issues.

Part 4: Ads and Women

1. Ad (Calvin Klein): A) This time, the ad is not about women, it’s about men. This ad shows another Western Standard of Beauty in men’s perspective. I just realized that how both sexes can be applied to Western Standard of Beauty. B) This ad is selling sex. I mean, no men looks like that, well maybe some of them. But this “ideal” body IS NOT ideal. This is unrealistic. C) The product being sold is the underwear. But at the same time they are selling sex. D) The message of this ad is telling the men to look like this. To have a sexy abs and that male gaze. E) This ad is actually empowering for some men. Because I found that men’s perspective about their body is very different with women. They actually will work for this body. However, for women andWestern Standard of Beauty, it will feel disempowering for women. Because not all women want to look like Western people.

1. Ad (Magnum mini - Ice cream): A) The female body is represent sex. She is definitely selling sex with that pose as if it were the “orgasm” pose. the writing “Mini size, maximum pleasure” is actually giving the message that every size of penises gives maximum pleasure, do not feel insecure about it. B) The sexuality here is used as an objectification where women are only used as sex object. This ad represent after the female ate the ice cream, it will give her maximum pleasure by meaning orgasm. C)  The product that is being sold is mini ice cream for women who are “weight conscious” but actually this ad is selling sex by giving the female maximum pleasure. I mean, no one will get an orgasm after eating an ice cream. D) The message of this ad is that do not feel insecure about the size of your penis. Because every size, gives pleasure. The real message is that after eating this ice cream you will feel incredible as if you’re having sex. 

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