I am learning very rapidly that the person I am; is simply made-up, a mere Construction of society hidden in the façade of institutionalized discourse. What I am mean is, I always believed that it was due to my on volation (my own choices) that resulted in my personality, perception of self or even as simple as my favorite color. But it seems that all of that is false. As I grew up I was taught that boys like blue and girls like pink. That mere simplistic idea forms a part of who I am today and I can’t even claim that for myself.
We read Susan Bordo and her ideas of the female body, where she argues that women are being shaped by society to be pleasing the “others”. She claims that the media that we so faithfully listen to is continuously bombarding us with images and regulations that a female body is supposed to be, supposed to do. The Ideal body is dictated to us and molds us to be more like it.
It may seem like Susan Bordo can only describe women but look at men today, we all “know” that we are supposed to have muscular bodies in order to be received by society, we all "know" that we are suppose to eat meat (preferably everyday), we all "know" that the ideal guy looks exactly like a football quarter-back (or Cristiano Ronaldo for the more wildly received football). But the point is that we are formed by societies and that would have all been alright if the ideal self was actually good for us.
Such a cultural act of molding us into becoming the ideal, is harmful to most individuals; women start to starve themselves hence anorexia, bulimia and all kinds of eating disorders. Women won’t go out on a normal day without spending the time carefully laying on their foundations (as if the face was a construction site that needed a solid foundation) and drawing on their faces (make-up). Imagine how much time women would save if they just didn't care. We start forming our personalities according to the self centeredness encouraged by the society. Men are spending hours in the gym, buying weight products and trying to look like they can actually play a sport (irrelevant if they can or not).
In all I would say that, I would be contented being skinny but society disallows such nonsense. So I have to go to the gym...damn
I would be perfectly happy being skinny too, Aaron. I like your point about how much time we waste trying to be someone we're not. If we all just kept our bodies looking natural, we would save so much time, money, and energy on trying to change ourselves. If we all refused to change for the rest of society, our natural bodies would seem normal and there would be no need for us to freak out about what we looked like.
ReplyDeleteAaron, I love that you brought men into the picture instead of just focusing on women. From a girls point of view I never really thought about how guys were affected by the media and the judgement of others. I just assumed that men did not care as much as women. I find it very ironic that women are making themselves change for men and men are also doing the same for women. As Stephen said,maybe if we just stopped putting so much energy into changing ourselves there would not be so much pressure put on looks!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually going to thank culture for subjugating my docile body, as well as the bodies around me, because for everyone who isn't starving themselves or shooting steroids it arguably is a good thing. You want a "natural" body? Observe an apex predator in the wild, and note that the most successful specimens are the largest and fittest. Docile bodies do not exist in nature, however, physical prowess just happens to coincide with the cultural identity society has established for men. I for one appreciate the motivation that culture has impressed upon me (and those aroud me) to stay in shape and look...well, good.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a great observation: "Men are spending hours in the gym, buying weight products and trying to look like they can actually play a sport (irrelevant if they can or not)." I never thought of it in that way, but in my opinion you are absolutely correct. And a lot of things that we do, are merely for appearance.
ReplyDeleteWe spend thousands of dollars on clothing and fashion, attempting to portray our personality on their exterior. But here's a novel concept - just get to know the person! Wearing designer jeans, or having your hair colored and styled a specific way has no bearing on whether or not you will survive in the "wild". There is a whole lot of wasted resources and energy there!