The Media's
Influence on Female Body Image
Part 4 of 4
Wait, Sometimes Smaller is Better?
Something the media, and perhaps society, is less likely to publicize is the fact that while there are actresses having their breasts enlarged, others are having breast reduction surgery.
"Barrymore is pleased with the results of the breast-reduction surgery she underwent in her teens.
"I really love my body and the way it is right now," she says. "There's something very awkward about women and their breasts because men look at them so much. When they're huge, you become very self-conscious. Your back hurts. You find that whatever you wear, you look heavy in. It's uncomfortable. I've learned something, though, about breasts through my years of pondering and pontificating, and that is: Men love them, and I love that."" Source
Drew's everyday appearance, shown below, discloses nothing about the prior size of her breasts, and it is obvious she prefers their much smaller size, and evidently "Men [still] love them," which is demonstrated by the fact that they have since been revealed numerous times in film and print. Christina Ricci has also revealed her breasts in her movies, following surgery, but not prior, perhaps demonstrating an increased comfort with her body as well.
Note: While breast reduction surgery isn't as common as breast augmentation surgery, the collection of over 500 examples on one website demonstrate they aren't a rarity either. I've met a couple women who admitted to having had or wanting to have their breasts decreased in size, despite this being a somewhat taboo subject in our breast obsessed culture.
I have used the "Barbie" doll to make a point, as it represents fantasy. The doll represents what girls may want to look like when they are fully grown. Since Barbie is made of plastic the "skin" is unnaturally smooth. Her breasts are large and defy gravity. This and other dolls have smooth genital regions, which may play a part in the increasing popularity of cosmetic genital surgery that most often decreases the size of a woman's genitals. One sexual attribute is being enlarged while another is made smaller.
While we may want to run out and burn every Barbie doll in sight, this doll, and others, are merely representative of popular social expectations of women in American society. I don't believe the Barbie doll would have become so popular if young girls hadn't already wanted to look like "her" at the time the doll was first produced in 1959; Marilyn Monroe was a popular and buxom actress at the time.
At a young age girls are already aware of social ideals, or at least the media's representation of it. I spoke to one young girl who already knew why boys liked one particular photo of Britney Spears, it was one of her wearing a cleavage producing top. The doll your daughter wants or plays with may reflect what she wants to look like when she is an adult, as this is what society expects of her. Can she ever live up to this expectation?
If Barbie's measurements were increased to adult size she would be 6 ft tall, weigh 101 lbs, measure 39" at bust, 14" at waist, and 33" at hips, and wear a size 4 dress. The average American woman is 5 ft 4 in tall, weighs 163 lbs, measures 36-37" at bust, 29-31" at waist, and 40-42" at hips, and wears a size 11-14 dress. The ideal weight for a woman who is 5 ft 4 in is 114-151 lbs, depending on frame size. Are you closer in size to Barbie or an average woman? There is a huge difference between the fantasy represented by Barbie and the reality of the average woman. What does this do to the self esteem of girls and women? Source
Bad Hair Days
The following images are often presented in an attempt at putting down and belittling actresses and models. Some seek to prove they are less than us, to knock them off their pedestal. I present them so we can see they are the same as women in general, that they too have bad hair days, don't always or never dress up to go to the store or gym, have menstrual cycles that cause acne, and simply have bad moments and days. They are normal people some choose to idealize rather than admiring their skill or natural beauty. In many cases they fall victim to the same media that we do, of their own public image. What do you more closely resemble, their real or media image? Taking into account the information presented above, which image are you more able to copy? Or should you be your unique self, valued for who you are rather than who they "appear" to be? As the tabloids are quick to point out, their lives are no more perfect than our own.
