This eight section article outlines the general patterns Michel Foucault uses to explain femininity and the modernization of power dynamics. The works goes through describing the disciplinary practices modern societies use to construct femininity and how this inflicts an inferior status on those being targeted. This power dynamic aims at regulation which is perpetual and exhaustive. The disciplines described in this piece are the ways in which society boxes women. These concepts are created to target women and submit them into working towards achieving an unattainable standard of beauty. Bartky begins by describing Foucault’s comparison of how prisons seem to be the model for schools, hospitals, and factories to describe the way this new discipline …show more content…
The current ideal for feminine bodily perfection is reflective of cultural obsessions, currently this lies in achieving and maintaining an adolescent-like silhouette. The societal pressures now enforced on women, more than ever through the use of social media, implies the expectation to have no body fat. This has led an exorbitant amount of woman and girls to become diagnosed with eating disorders. More women than men are joining weight watching groups or support groups for their over eating habits. There is now also the cultural idea of “spot-reducing”, targeting specific areas to reduce or enhance, specifically the butt, boobs, or stomach. While this may seem as though it eases the burdens of achieving femininity it raises expectations and punishes women for naturally having fat. This almost willing obedience to feminine requirements draws a fine line between what one does for themselves and what they do to abide by these gender norms. Another gender norm that faces women is how every aspect of femininity is analyzed, scrutinized, and restricted down to the way women sit and walk. Women are expected to maintain an air of constriction, grace, and modest eroticism all at once but they are not allowed to take up space. They must remain small and non-threatening to male dominance. It is as if women are encapsulated to a tiny box. If she tries to break free from this space, she is labeled as a “loose woman” in reference to …show more content…
Because of this dynamic, the impression is given that these disciplines are completely voluntary, or that they are natural. This dual sided argument is formed because women willingly undergo these painful transformations in an attempt to meet these standards, but they do so because the society around them is aimed at creating submissive and obedient arm candy for men. This presents what Bartky calls the “subjected and practiced”, a body that is inferior to another. This essentially is the idea that women are constantly subjected to these disciplines, like wearing makeup or being told they need to be skinny, that it makes the process of achieving this standard almost become second nature. The inferiority they face is a constant reminder that they must push to achieve these standards set on them by the
Essentially, industries decrease people self-esteem in order to make money and sell their advertised products. Companies advertise the “perfect” body that even the models do not have because of edited images, all the while contradicting themselves saying “be yourself”, then promoting unrealistic standards. Roberts inductive thesis fell at the end of the film, stating that the promise of being beautiful leading to a better life, is propaganda and that women’s health is not as important as corporate profit. The primary appeal in this documentary is the appeal to authority.
Despite the pressure to fit the societal mold of a perfect woman, some women fought stereotype by expanding the reach of their nurturing
Women are raised to prize being beautiful, but, contrary to what pop culture may promote, is never completely effortless. Becoming beautiful in the way that society defines it often requires hair dying, eyebrow plucking, trend following, makeup applying, leg shaving, and hours and hours and hours in the gym. Thus, in the words of Alisa L. Valdes in her "Ruminations of a Feminist Fitness Instructor," beauty standards serve to reinforce power relations in that they "distract us from the real business of our lives. " That is to say that is women were to spend the time and energy they currently devote to beautification on endeavors they considered to be meaningful, whether they be professional, educational, or personal, the men of the world would have one less advantage over their female counterparts. Therefore, one way beauty norms support existing power relationships is demanding valuable time from women in the name of
But as we become more comfortable with our bodies, American girls are going through yet another shift: we are judging girls based on not just their appearance, but also through their material possessions. It is a rare sight to see someone judging others based on their internal character, but Brumberg clearly illustrates how we have gone to a world of material
• Paragraph 1 - 6: The author asserts that women gained rights and freedom after long silence but contemporary women are not free as they want to. She explains that “we are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism,” (Wolf 185) which the notion of beauty is poisoning women’s liberty and rights. The images of “beautiful” women are used against women’s advancement. • Paragraph 7 – 8: Wolf describes that “beauty” became very essential in women’s life. For instance, women must have beauty knowledge, pornography invaded the mainstream, eating disorder rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery controls women medically.
In the essay by Yusufali, she boldly writes: "[By] reading popular teenage magazines, you can find out what kind of body image is "in" or "out"' (page 52). By this, Yusufali explains how women
They range from what women wear all the way to their main purpose in society. Not only can they be dangerous, it can be a downfall in society’s advancement. Because women are criticized daily by society’s unrealistic standards and gender bias, women cannot freely express themselves. Women are constantly pressured by the unrealistic beauty standards society has set for them. They are told to dress both revealing and modest.
Women are often presented as one-dimensional characters whose sole purpose is to fulfill male fantasies. They are usually young, thin, conventionally attractive, and submissive to men's desires. This not only reinforces gender stereotypes but also perpetuates harmful ideas about femininity and beauty standards. Moreover, these representations have real-world consequences for how women are treated. The objectification of women leads to a culture where they are treated as inferior beings who exist solely for men's pleasure or entertainment.
Since men set the expectations for women very high, it forces women to want to become perfect. To do so, women have given up many things they want to do. In Emma Watson’s speech, she states, “When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’”(Watson 1). There are many consequences for women because they need to sacrifice many things they like to do just to appear perfect to men. Similarly, Curley’s wife changes the way she looks because of men.
Power is an invisible form and has the capacity to control or influence the behaviour of a person. The claim given states that ‘employees are not the bearers of power but they suffer the effects of power’ draws attention to the key aspect of power in the organisations. For this reason, this essay will points toward the Weber’s theory for bureaucracy and how Foucault use the Panopticon as a metaphor to define the concept of power. Despite bearing some complementary perspectives, the differences between Weber and Foucault approaches to concepts of power and domination are pronounced. Weber (1968) defined power as the ability of an individual or group to achieve goals even against the resistance of others (Lukes, 1986).
Men and women nowadays are starting to lose self-confidence in themselves and their body shape, which is negatively impacting the definition of how beauty and body shape are portrayed. “...97% of all women who had participated in a recent poll by Glamour magazine were self-deprecating about their body image at least once during their lives”(Lin 102). Studies have shown that women who occupy most of their time worrying about body image tend to have an eating disorder and distress which impairs the quality of life. Body image issues have recently started to become a problem in today’s society because of social media, magazines, and television.
There are specific rules and regulations that women are to abide by to be considered appropriate. There becomes this self-imposed expectation that women find themselves abiding by. Young argues that women typically underuse and undermine the actual potential of their bodies. We do not use them to their full capabilities and all they have to offer. We
As stated that “the substitution of a fetish object or turning the represented figure itself into a fetish so that it becomes reassuring rather than dangerous” (Mulvey 490), she relates to the fetishistic looking, in which women can be seen as curiously and admirationaly look on; or it is considered as a bust to look fetish/ desired. But Mulvey proved impotent how women can get out of this suffering. She wonders “how to fight the unconscious/ structured like a language, [...] while still caught within the language of patriarchy?” (Mulvey 484).
Body image has become such a big issue among society especially females mostly. According to Mariana Gozalo, states “Using Will’s sociological imagination, I thought about how there are girls who wish to look skinny because it is what is being idolized on TV and magazines and online ads. “Social media make us believe that there is a “ideal body” shape. In my opinion, there is no such a thing as the ideal body shape, because everyone is beautiful in their own individual way.
This essay will approach the poem My Last Duchess, by Robert Browning, from two perspectives: Masculinity and femininity. The essay will illustrate how the abundant details of this poem can be clear representations of many of the concepts of masculinity and femininity contained in the pertaining theories. Among the theorists that will be used or referred to are Kate Millet,Janet Saltzman Chaves, Helene Cixous and Michel Foucault.