To me, body image is the way you and other people view you; such as your body type, style, hair, etc. I think that it is important to study this topic because it takes you deeper into the minds of humans and gives clues as to what makes them think this way.
There have been 3 main waves of feminism in our history. The first one took place in the twenties and was centered around women's suffrage, voting and women's rights. The second one was in the sixties and focused on equal pay. The third and final wave of feminism focuses on several diverse strains of individual movements that have taken place since the early nineties. During this time period we saw women enter into the Senate, the first women to become the United States Attorney General as well as the Secretary of State. It was a popular time for women to become independent and break into the lead roles of the workforce as well as in the political world. It is clear to see that the roles and standards of beauty for women have changed dramatically over the years. Back during the first wave of feminism, women were to be seen and not heard. They were the perfect housewives, wore very modest outfits and spoke proper English. Beauty was seen as the way you carried yourself as well as what you wore on a daily basis. Moving into the second wave, the women were less modest and becoming more outspoken, demanding equal pay as well as the same job opportunities as their male counterparts. The standards of beauty during this time period is where we begin to see the very thin girls, long blonde hair and beautiful facial features. This standard is basically the same to this day, with some variances here and there.
In the book, Body Outlaws, Ophira Edut explains the definition of a body outlaw as being someone who goes against the norm and accepts her body the way it is and doesn't try to change it to fit the standard. There are many women of our time who I would consider to be a body outlaw, but I think the best and or strongest example of this would be Queen Latifah. I believe her to be a leading lady in this role because even though she is scrutinized about her weight and size, she has never tried to mold her body to fit into the views of her critics. She did become a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, but not to become thin, but to become "healthy", campaigning for a healthy lifestyle in her perfect size; size happy.
http://www.dosomething.org/files/queen_microsoft.jpg
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Introduction
Hello blog world! This is my first time to ever blog..so bare with me..I will get the hang of it eventually.
My name is Kate. I am currently a full time student athlete at the University of Oklahoma. I am a senior, but will have to take a fifth year to finish up all the required classes for my major before I can move on to physical therapy school. Since I am in the Health and Exercise Science major, Body Images seemed to be a very interesting elective class for me to take. I am extremely fascinated by the human body and have only really studied it from an anatomical view. But by being in this class, I hope to learn about it from a psychological standpoint, if you will. It is fascinating to me the way the body works, especially the brain, and I am very excited to see how this class will break down the way the brain perceives your body and how it looks to you. I know we may not actually get to the psychological aspect of that, but I hope I can maybe get some help and maybe draw some conclusions for myself.
As we get deeper into the 21st century, the issues surrounding body images only get bigger and more complex. The ways in which technology, the media, and fashion have affected the American population is incredible. Kids as young as 10 are starting to worry about what they are wearing to school, and how other kids see them. Girls know that what is acceptable and "popular" is to be very thin, blonde and tan. The boys see that they need to be buff and athletic with a good sense of style to be accepted and cool. They get these images from the media and the very accessible world wide web. I don't really agree with 10 year olds having to worry about what they are going to wear to school the next day. I think that they should be worrying about making friends, what to eat for lunch, and playing outside for as long as they possibly could. These issues have only been made worse throughout time, and it will be interesting to see how and if these "standards" change.
Some questions that I would like to be answered, or maybe have help getting started on are :
1. How many people have a problem or obsession with the color of their skin?
2. How young are kids when they first start realizing fashion trends and what is acceptable to be wearing or looking like?
3. Who makes up what the standards for being beautiful? Who determines that? Do I? Do the fashion people?
4. How many people suffer from Anorexia?
5. How does the American standard of beauty differ from standards across the world?
-Kate
My name is Kate. I am currently a full time student athlete at the University of Oklahoma. I am a senior, but will have to take a fifth year to finish up all the required classes for my major before I can move on to physical therapy school. Since I am in the Health and Exercise Science major, Body Images seemed to be a very interesting elective class for me to take. I am extremely fascinated by the human body and have only really studied it from an anatomical view. But by being in this class, I hope to learn about it from a psychological standpoint, if you will. It is fascinating to me the way the body works, especially the brain, and I am very excited to see how this class will break down the way the brain perceives your body and how it looks to you. I know we may not actually get to the psychological aspect of that, but I hope I can maybe get some help and maybe draw some conclusions for myself.
As we get deeper into the 21st century, the issues surrounding body images only get bigger and more complex. The ways in which technology, the media, and fashion have affected the American population is incredible. Kids as young as 10 are starting to worry about what they are wearing to school, and how other kids see them. Girls know that what is acceptable and "popular" is to be very thin, blonde and tan. The boys see that they need to be buff and athletic with a good sense of style to be accepted and cool. They get these images from the media and the very accessible world wide web. I don't really agree with 10 year olds having to worry about what they are going to wear to school the next day. I think that they should be worrying about making friends, what to eat for lunch, and playing outside for as long as they possibly could. These issues have only been made worse throughout time, and it will be interesting to see how and if these "standards" change.
Some questions that I would like to be answered, or maybe have help getting started on are :
1. How many people have a problem or obsession with the color of their skin?
2. How young are kids when they first start realizing fashion trends and what is acceptable to be wearing or looking like?
3. Who makes up what the standards for being beautiful? Who determines that? Do I? Do the fashion people?
4. How many people suffer from Anorexia?
5. How does the American standard of beauty differ from standards across the world?
-Kate
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