Blog #2 Body Outlaws

Body image is one's self portrayal of their appearance and how they believe others see them and it also refers to how we see other people. It's important to study body image because it's becoming a very pressing issue. We really need to see what reality is and not buy into what the media portrays as the perfect body image. Each individual needs their own set definition of what body image means to them and a body image class will lie down the fundamentals to make an assessment. The third wave of feminism focuses on body image and feminists are fighting for equal status. The standards of beauty of changed drastically over the centuries. There has always been a pressure for women to fit in with what women are supposed to look like, but each decade and century has its own expectations and looks. 

According to Ophira Edut, a body outlaw is a rebel with a cause,willing to step outside of their comfort zone to expose people to a body type that had practically disappeared from the cultural imagination. My number one pick for a body outlaw is definitely Oprah because she has always had problems with her weight, but she doesn't care what other people say and she's okay with what she looks like. I believe another body outlaw is Jennifer Hudson because she is such a beautiful woman and she very curvy and it seems she doesn't buy into the media's portrayal of a model who is a size zero. I think that another one is Tori Spelling and the only reason why I choose her is because the media constantly is criticizing her for being to small and she always just comes back with saying that she thinks she's healthy and she doesn't care what the media says. There are more women who I think are body outlaws, but those are the three that I'm going to mention for now. 

Men and women are portrayed in a sexual way when it comes to the media. When it comes to advertising, sex sells and we always buy into it. We see girls with clothing that barely covers their bodies and men who are shirtless with six packs and huge biceps. The girls are always beautifully tan and look like they are a size double zero and men always have that athletic build. I believe the our ideal of thinness comes directly from the media. I know that I watch a lot of television and I sometimes wish that I could look like the women that I see on the tv. Men and women sometimes take this pressure to another level and begin purging and becoming anorexic. I have a friend who is skinny and she constantly complains about how fat she is and I honestly sometimes want to just slap her, but I don't know what she sees when she looks at herself in the mirror. I can't be mad when she does complain because she probably sees herself as extremely overweight when she's not at all. 

Going back to how the standards of beauty has changed, I believe that gender roles play a huge part in this. Men are supposed to be strong and tough and their roles are to be the protector and the supporter of the family. Women are supposed to be gentle and nurturing and their roles are to be the housewife and to take care of the children and cook dinner and clean the house. When women tend to dress more masculine, we don't see them as women anymore and we want to stereotype them and say they are a lesbian or a tomboy. When a male tends to dress more feminine, we label him as gay and feminine. Gender roles definitely play a big part in body image and it's an issue that should always be talked about.