Culture impacts and defines feminine beauty. Some of these definitions are passed down from generation to generation, while other definitions come and go. Many variables come in to play surrounding the continuity or the change in the definition of beauty. Before the advent of television, there were printed materials available with advertising. Though those advertisements were not to the scale they are today. Then along came television and the onslaught of advertising, during the programming. In the 1950s, women were presented in dresses and with make-up and precise hairstyles, often while making family dinner or with a baby on her hip. Today, almost 70 years later, the image of a mother with a baby on her hip making dinner doesn’t usually include her dressed in a dress. Practicality seems to have taken over in that image presentation. However, the idea of dressing up to be as beautiful as possible – often includes wearing a dress. Think about prom or wedding dresses. While the fashion style of the dresses has changed – the idea of wearing dresses on these occasions has held true for several generations. This is a simple example to show that while the practicality of household chores or dealing with a baby has moved away from wearing a dress – the wearing of dresses is still a part of the American culture of the feminine beauty concept.
Plastic surgery that is performed for purposes other than medically necessary are being performed for the express purpose of altering appearance. In the United States, plastic surgery is often referred to as cosmetic surgery. Generally speaking, having plastic surgery that is not part of a faith-based ritual or part of a rite of passage, is a personal choice. We have heard countless tales of women wanting to have plastic surgery in an effort to look more “normal”. It is important to remember that “normal” is socially constructed. In the United States, we are presented with “normal” in an exceedingly abnormal way. Print ads are not accurate indications of what people actually look like. Heck, we all have cell phones that have filters that we can apply to our own photos and selfies. How many times have you adjusted the angle of your selfie so you get the best look? I know I do it regularly. We have fooled ourselves in to believing that is “normal”. Models are notoriously unhealthy. Their diets are not balanced and are not considered part of a healthy lifestyle. However, the images they are portraying are that of healthy people. It’s sadly ironic, isn’t it? But what is presented as “normal” has women seen with a flat stomach, bigger breasts that sit high on the chest cavity, clear skin, thick hair, straight teeth that are whitened, a nose that isn’t too large, eyebrows that are groomed, no
excess body hair, full lips and high cheekbones. Photos are altered to gain this presentation. Many women believe that having this look makes them beautiful. That leads to the desire of having surgery in order to achieve this look.
In the video presented, “The Perfect Vagina”, Heather Leach is interested in women that are considering or have had labiaplasty. She wants to understand why women would consider the surgery in situations where there is no underlying medical reason for doing so. Through doing her research and interviews, she learns it is because the women feel pressure to feel more “normal”. The one girl, Rosie, said she had been made fun of because of her anatomy. She ultimately had the surgery and gained much happiness from having it done. Two other women that were followed decided against surgery when they went through some experiences that showed them their anatomy was not abnormal at all.
In looking at the practice of footbinding in China, we read a chapter from the book, “Snow Flower and the Fan”. It’s a first-person account of her footbinding experience. It’s written by an older adult reflecting on the experience. She describes the cultural importance of the act. It made a woman marriageable. It was also a status symbol due to poor families not being able to afford losing the labor in the fields for the time the little girl would be out of commission while the footbinding was taking place. The tiny, bound feet were beautiful. This quote demonstrates it best:
“And, though I knew nothing of this at the time, my feet would be something that would hold my husband’s fascination during the most private and intimate moments between a man and a woman. His desire to see them and hold them in his hands never diminished during our lives together, not even after I had five children, not even after the rest of my body was no longer an enticement to do bed business.” (See, pg 34)
I can only imagine how the transition away from footbinding challenged the foundations of their culture surround marriageable women. As big footed women were looked down upon, that first generation must have felt less of a woman.
Much like footbinding in China, female genital cutting is tied to cultural beliefs in a very large part of the world. It is a faith-based ritual and is also something that women have gone for generations. Men expect women to appear a certain way and that is considered beautiful. Women want to be beautiful as well. Though we are horrified at the practice, we must look beyond our horror to understand it is not horrifying to those that are continuing to practice the ritual. It is normal and expected. Just as performing circumcisions on male babies in the United States is very common and expected. The babies aren’t given a choice, the decision is made by their parents – often when they are hours or days old. Though some are performed due to faith-based practices, a large number are done for the aesthetics. Again, like footbinding, for female cutting to be outlawed it a big challenge to deeply rooted cultural beliefs.
In the readings and the film, the authors are demonstrating the theoretical perspective of the Interpretive Theory.
The Perfect Vagina. By Heather Leach. Accessed August 8, 2019. https://vimeo.com/groups/145051/videos/4704237.
See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Fan.
I agree with you that the images that we see that are normal are far from it and often lead to extreme measures. I think that us Westerners are hypocrites because we are so quick to judge other cultures for procedures like FGC and footbinding, but get highly dangerous plastic surgery done for vanity reasons. What makes us the judge of what is beautiful?
I recently took HPS 133 at MSU and learned about FGC, although most of the discussion focused on how women’s rights were being violated and men were trying to control the women. However, when I read Lisa See’s chapter and Newland’s article I don’t think we took the time to understand the cultural background behind the procedure. I think it’s perfectly fine for the women to get it done as long as it is not harmful to them and honestly I think the cosmetic surgeries we have in the U.S. are way more dangerous.
I love that you brought up that women choose to get plastic surgery to “Look more normal.” It reminded me of a book that I just read about the construction of what an able body looks like and how it is based on this idea of the “Perfect body” which is purely fictional and probably does not even exist in real life. It’s interesting how Westerners have to tear down and destroy their bodies in order to achieve normalacy and beauty.
Hi Jennifer!
I liked how you gave a specific example in the beginning of a feminine beauty standard in the US, and how it has changed over time. I also like how you discussed that footbinding and female circumcision are culturally based, which therefore creates difficult circumstances if they were to be outlawed practices. I’n not sure if you mentioned this very much, so my question for you is what do you think exactly would happen if practices such as these were outlawed? Would women be unsuitable for marriage? Or would women gain some authoritative power within their community? It’s interesting to think that the outcome could go completely different ways. In the video, “The Perfect Vagina”, Heather Leach tried to convince girls not to go through with vaginoplasties but was unsuccessful. But what if she had convinced girls like Rosie to not follow through? Would her self confidence continued to decline or would she find empowerment? It’s hard to tell since each of these practices serve some purpose within its respective society.
Hi, Jennifer,
I am very enjoyable to read your post and I found that you used example from videos and reading to prove your opinion. The definition of beauty always have a big difference when it crossed the culture impacts and regional impacts. In your example, I totally agree with your opinion about people used the angle of your selfies to make you look prettier. When people think this behavior is normal, people cannot really face the reality in a common way. People stayed in this model of thinking for a long time and they cannot accept their excess body hair and excess skin. In my opinion, I think nowadays there are people who always followed up the trend and people who don’t care about other’s think. In the video “The Perfect Vagina”, the surgery seems to have become a tool to build up women’s confidence and sexual attraction. Overall, it’s a great post.