Respose

WGST 202

3/9/14

Response to #4

In today’s society, body image and gender representation have a huge impact on everyone’s lives and the way we see the world around us. Oppression is all around us and most of the time goes unrecognized because we are socialized to the ideas of it and unconsciously, sometimes even consciously, told that we are to abide by these customs. When it comes to the ideas of privilege, one will always find oppression. To have oppression, there must be a privileged person or group. In this response, I will be explaining the effects of socialization of gender and the influences of the five faces of oppression on the creation of body image. There are many different factors that go into these things, including the media and even simple “standards” we are told to live by. Women are supposed to be skinny, wear dresses and have their hair and nails done, Men are supposed to be strong and fit, never showing any signs of femininity.

Body image is a very large part of life, especially in feminine standards. Women are pushed every day, through media and basic interactions with others, to have a certain look, be skinnier, have longer hair, dress in the best clothes. Through socialization of gender, all of our interactions in the world are formed through the norms, customs and ideologies that we are held to. The media, being what I believe to be one of the biggest oppressors to humans, sets standards so high that even the best looking models and actors/actresses cannot meet them. The photos taken are edited so much that if you were to see that person in real life, you may not even recognize them. Out of the 5 faces of oppression, the one that best fits this idea would be exploitation. Women and men are subconsciously coerced into becoming something that isn’t real every day. Magazines put the skinniest females or the buffest males on their covers, with their perfect boobs or biceps. Television and Movies creating love stories that are more based...