The meaning of beauty and how it is viewed varies across all parts of the world and culture. In European and American cultures women are supposed to be tall and slender in order to be seen as beautiful. In African cultures women who have a large butt or breast are seen as beautiful. 27% of 11 year old European girls think they’re too fat. That percentage rises to 40% when they reach 15 years old.[1] Isabella Caro, nude model for the Italian anti-anorexia campaign, dies at the age of 28 in 2010. According to writer William Grimes her anorexia was linked to her death, “Though her anorexia was almost certainly a factor in her death, its exact role was not clear, and her weight at her death was not known.”[2] Another way those beauty standards differentiate in different cultures was demonstrated when Esther Honig, a freelance journalist from Kansas City, sent a picture of herself to several countries and asked them to make her “beautiful”.
Women are sexualized in the ads that we absorb every day. From perfume and clothing to food and drinks. In a Perrier ad for their sparkling water Dita Von Teese, a burlesque performer, is seen stripping down to a silk top and underwear and pouring the product on her chest.[3] Even toys are sexualized. The Bratz Dolls are dressed in miniskirts, high heels, and really tight clothing.
A solution to my issue globally would be to reduce the amount of sexual content in our ads. Also to reduce the amount of photo shopped pictures and to change the expectations for women and their body image. According to uk.reuters.com France is already changing their expectations of body image for women. “It’s important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health, especially for young women who look to the models as an aesthetic ideal," Health Minister Marisol Touraine.[4] Touraine is putting emphasize on the health of models and are encouraging models to take better care of their bodies because they know that young girls are looking at the models and what they go through to be the “ideal size”. We can start petitions to help reduce the sexual content and ads and show the world that sex isn’t the only thing that sells.
[1]WHO/Europe | Home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.euro.who.int/en/home
[2] Grimes, W. (2010, December 30). Isabelle Caro, Anorexic Model, Dies at 28. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html
[3] Bahadur, N. (2014, January 23). 7 Ridiculously Sexual Ads for Totally Unsexy Things. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/sex-sells-ads-should-have-thought-twice_n_4653226.html
[4] Labbe, C., & Vinocur, N. (2015, March 16). France Likely to Pass a Bill Banning Super Skinny Models. Retrieved from http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/uk-france-fashion-anorexia-idUKKBN0MC1PX20150316
Women are sexualized in the ads that we absorb every day. From perfume and clothing to food and drinks. In a Perrier ad for their sparkling water Dita Von Teese, a burlesque performer, is seen stripping down to a silk top and underwear and pouring the product on her chest.[3] Even toys are sexualized. The Bratz Dolls are dressed in miniskirts, high heels, and really tight clothing.
A solution to my issue globally would be to reduce the amount of sexual content in our ads. Also to reduce the amount of photo shopped pictures and to change the expectations for women and their body image. According to uk.reuters.com France is already changing their expectations of body image for women. “It’s important for fashion models to say that they need to eat well and take care of their health, especially for young women who look to the models as an aesthetic ideal," Health Minister Marisol Touraine.[4] Touraine is putting emphasize on the health of models and are encouraging models to take better care of their bodies because they know that young girls are looking at the models and what they go through to be the “ideal size”. We can start petitions to help reduce the sexual content and ads and show the world that sex isn’t the only thing that sells.
[1]WHO/Europe | Home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.euro.who.int/en/home
[2] Grimes, W. (2010, December 30). Isabelle Caro, Anorexic Model, Dies at 28. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html
[3] Bahadur, N. (2014, January 23). 7 Ridiculously Sexual Ads for Totally Unsexy Things. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/sex-sells-ads-should-have-thought-twice_n_4653226.html
[4] Labbe, C., & Vinocur, N. (2015, March 16). France Likely to Pass a Bill Banning Super Skinny Models. Retrieved from http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/uk-france-fashion-anorexia-idUKKBN0MC1PX20150316
|