Cited Argument

A couple of weeks ago the internet was buzzing about a new music video from The Floacist, former member of soul group Floetry. Upon first sight, the video is kind of shocking as she is almost completely nude with nothing more than a loin cloth and pasties. It’s safe to say that where ever there are pasties there is trouble and people went crazy with comments after viewing the video.

A lot of the comments on the video were mainly harsh critiques about her body and whether or not she was wise to bare it. Many did not seem to be offended by the nudity in general but by this particular case of nudity. Youtube user screamatmebreazy made a comment that I found very interesting. She said “i feel sorry for this society! Men and young boys are used to seeing fakeass women. Even women made fun of her breasts. i will admit i fell victim to this thinking cause i looked at my own breasts couple years ago and felt like something was wrong with them because they sagged.. They’re SUPPOSED TO. I realized that 90% of women in Hollywood have fake breasts. There is nothing wrong with me... I’m supposed to look like this.lol”

Needless to say, this video has sparked a heated debate about the female form and the standard of beauty. To me it is clear that today’s woman is competing with a standard of beauty that is not attainably for many. In fact, past studies have shown that “during the period from 1979 to 1988, 69% of Playboy models and 60% of Miss America contestants weighed 15% or more below the expected weight for their age and height category. The researchers note that according to the DSM III-R, maintaining body weight of 15% below one's expected weight is a criterion for anorexia nervosa.” This is an issue that is only getting worse as the images of these abnormal women are distorting the average person’s view of what women look like.

If you ask me I thought The Floacist looked great in this video! She probably looked better nude than most of critics. My ideas about modestly aside I was disappointed to read the comments about this video because it is telling of the dissatisfaction many woman probably have with their own bodies. In a study done among a group of college freshmen is was found that “85% wished to lose weight.” Sadly I don’t think that the self-esteem movement headed by Dove is improving body image issues among girls because they have too much to compete with. Many of the bodies we see on television these days are enhanced on way of another and lucky for us many stars are coming forward with their so-called “beauty secrets”. We can be sure that many celebs that we praise for their good looks have had plastic surgery and/or rely on retouching to look the way they do and not even they can keep up!

Kim Kardashian has been one of the few celebrities to be more open about her flaws. As a full figured women, she has in some cases insisted on her photos not be retouched. She was featured in an issues of Life and Style magazine which was publicly “100 percent unretouched” but she has also been very public about her desire to lose weight as well.

I think of this when dealing with my daughter and I try to instill in her a high regard for herself. I try not to speak too much about my discontentment with my flaws in front her because I don’t believe that you can pass on something to your children that you don’t have for yourself.


Cited:
The Influence of Fashion Magazines on the Body Image Satisfaction of College Women: An Exploratory Analysis
Journal article by Sherry L. Turner, Heather Hamilton, Meija Jacobs, Laurie M. Angood, Deanne Hovde Dwyer; Adolescence, Vol. 32, 1997

ERIC WILSON, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/fashion/28RETOUCH.html

ADAM DREWNOWSKI, PHD, AND DORIS K. YEE, MA; Men and Body Image: Are Males Satisfied with Their Body Weight?