Lentis/Technology and Conventional Norms of Personal Beauty

< Lentis

Introduction

The conventional norms of personal beauty have changed greatly over the years. Most beautiful people today would not have been considered attractive a few hundred years ago.[1] Today, the term “the perfect body” is ubiquitous in American culture, although most people feel they fall short of this ideal.[2] While up-scale clothing retailers and weight-loss companies benefit from society's desire to achieve "the perfect body", non-profit activists fight for a more realistic portrayal, arguing the need for perfection can have dangerous consequences.[3][4] Despite this fight, the desire to obtain "the perfect body" remains pervasive in U.S. society; it can be seen in the sales of manufactured toys, the media and entertainment, and through the rise in plastic surgery. This article will discuss today's conventional norms of personal beauty and ask the question, “How does technology affect a woman’s perception of 'the perfect body'?”

Barbie Doll

One case study that examines the sociotechnical interface of personal beauty is Mattel’s Barbie doll. The Barbie doll was created in 1959 and has evolved a great deal since then.[5] Barbie’s evolution demonstrates that these dolls reflect society’s perception of beauty.

"Beautiful Barbie"

Mattel’s first commercial for Barbie (1959) specifically markets her as “beautiful Barbie”. The commercial’s jingle ends with these telling lines: “Someday I’m gonna be exactly like you / ‘Til then, I know just what I’ll do / Barbie, Beautiful Barbie / I’ll make believe that I am you”.[6] However, a closer look into pre-1997 Barbie reveals that her proportions are not physically possible.[7]

According to Rehabs.com’s article “Dying to be Barbie” (2012), Barbie’s child’s size 3 foot and extremely thin ankles would require her to walk on all fours. Her 16-inch waist is less than half the size of an average woman’s and would leave room for only half a liver and a few inches of intestines. Also, Barbie’s neck is twice as long and six inches thinner than the average female’s, rendering her incapable of supporting her head. Lastly, a woman with Barbie’s proportions would not be able to menstruate, due to extremely low levels of body fat.[7] These startling revelations suggest that society’s image of the perfect body does not and cannot naturally exist in the physical world.

"Real-Life Barbie"

One woman who strives to emulate Barbie’s proportions through unnatural methods is Valeria Lukyanova. While she denies undergoing any plastic surgery beyond breast augmentation, before and after photos of the twenty-something Ukrainian beg to differ.[8] Plastic surgeons have claimed that Lukyanova must have removed some of her ribs, made her hips wider, and reconstructed her face.[9] Lukyanova desires to be- as many people call her- the real-life Barbie because, “to me, the Barbie doll looks perfect; it was created as a human idol”.[8]

"Normal Barbie"

In response to Barbie’s unlikely proportions, artist Nickolay Lamm created a new “normal Barbie", with proportions based off of CDC measurements for an average 19 year-old woman.[10] From side-by-side comparisons, the differences are apparent: “normal” Barbie is shorter, with smaller eyes and a wider waist, and her neck is shorter and thicker. “Normal Barbie"’s backside is also more pronounced, her limbs are fuller, and her breasts are set lower on her chest. Lamm questioned Mattel’s intentions, asking, “If there's even a small chance of Barbie in its present form negatively influencing girls, and if Barbie looks good as an average-sized woman in America, what's stopping Mattel from making one?”[10]

Consequences

Nickolay Lamm isn’t the only person who believes Barbie’s unrealistic proportions could contribute negatively to a girl’s perception of herself. Survey results link young girls’ desire to be skinnier to Barbie.[7] Girls ages 5-8 were subjected to a psychological study where they were shown images of either Barbie or a more realistic doll. The girls who saw images of Barbie were found to have less self-esteem and a stronger need to be thin.[7] Another study involved 6-10 year-old girls who each played with one of the two dolls. Those who played with Barbie ate significantly less food throughout the study.[7]

Further, Google’s Ngram viewer, an online phrase-usage tool, shows a strong correlation between the words “Barbie” and “anorexia” in the years after Barbie’s 1959 debut.[11] This collectively supports the idea that Barbie’s impossible body image negatively affects young girls.

Media and Entertainment

Like the Barbie doll,media and entertainment shape society's idea of the "the perfect body". The conventional norm of female beauty has changed throughout the decades, but with more recent body-altering technology, the discrepancy between how women feel they look and how they feel they "should" look has grown larger.

Disney Princesses and Beauty Norms

Disney princesses are a reflection of society's interpretation of beauty. Snow White was the first Disney princess, circa 1937,[12] in a time when fuller women were considered more attractive. 1930's media even advertised weight gain remedies so that women could appear more beautiful.[13] Similarly, Snow White's cartoon body proportions appear fuller and more realistic than Barbie's.

In the mid 1940s, this body image began to change. "Pin-up girls" became popular as girls on informal posters "pinned up" on walls.[14] These women, as well as icons of the 1940s and 1950s, advertised accentuated waistlines. Disney reflected this interpretation with its 1950's princess Cinderella, who had an over-emphasized, narrow waist. Disney didn't stop there, either; it continued this trend, which is still seen today. Subsequent female Disney characters mimic these unrealistic proportions and would look very different with realistic waist proportions.[15] While the body proportions of recent Disney princesses appear unattainable by real-world women, these princesses are not real; they are cartoons. Young girls may admire the attractive Disney princesses, but they don't necessarily feel pressure to compare their own, real bodies to them.[16] In a 2010 study, appearance-related media, specific to Disney characters, did not affect the body image of 3-6 year-old girls.[16]

Beauty Icons

The evolution of the conventional norm of beauty is depicted through beauty icons portrayed in media technology at different time periods. Twiggy, known for her thin build, was named "The Face of 1966" by the Daily Express.[17] Soon, "skinny" became the new "beautiful". Google's Ngram viewer shows a steep increase in use of the term "skinny" beginning in 1964.[18] Beauty icons of today have changed this ideal even further. Kim Kardashian is a very famous beauty icon, known for her pronounced curves.[19]Although young girls do not feel the need to emulate cartoon characters, they feel pressured to change when they see "the perfect body" on a real person. A study in 2010 showed that young women became more critical of their bodies after looking at models in a comparative way.[20]

Photoshop

In 1988, the invention of Photoshop[21] allowed technology to alter the body parts of anyone who fell short of "the perfect body". What was once limited to a small pool of beauty icons became a country-wide phenomenon: every magazine, advertisement, or public image now presented "the perfect body".

Photoshopped women are prominently exposed in magazines advertising personal beauty, which can negatively affect subscribers. Dove launched their Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004 to bring attention to the body image distortion occurring in the media and its potential negative effects.[20] A video was posted on Dove's social media page to illustrate how models look entirely different after photographs are edited.[22]

This pervasive ideal body image is correlated with a desire to be thinner. In a 1999 study, 11 years after Photoshop's invention, 20% of 9 year-olds and over 40% of 14 year-olds reported wanting to lose weight. [23] The dissatisfaction women feel often causes them to alter their bodies in unnatural ways. In the mid-1980s, there was a stark increase in use of the terms "eating disorder," "breast augmentation," and "liposuction"[24], and the upward trend continues.

Plastic Surgery

Statistics

Since 2000, cosmetic surgery procedures have increased by 104%. In 2013, 15 million procedures were performed, the most common being breast augmentations, rhinoplasties, eyelid surgeries, liposuction, and facelifts, respectively. About 90% of these procedures were performed on women.[25]

Causes of Cosmetic Surgery Rise

Researches have investigated the driving factors behind the rise in cosmetic surgery. One study performed by Ching et. al found that those who desire cosmetic surgery are generally less confident with their body image.[26] Other research discovered a high correlation between the desire to undergo cosmetic surgery and exposure to media/social-media.[27][28] It is reasonable to believe that the increase in cosmetic surgery procedures can be attributed to technological advances that allow the procedure to be safer, less invasive, cheaper, and require a shorter recovery period. Conversely, Edmund et. al demonstrates that these technological advances were made because of societal demand.[29] Collectively, these findings suggest that the rise in cosmetic surgery popularity is a result of societal conformity to the ideal body image.

Future

As plastic surgery becomes more popular, society, in addition to Barbie and the media, may begin reflect this ideal body image. Soon, cosmetic surgery may become the norm as beauty is redefined based on the cosmetic surgery capabilities. On an individual level, cosmetic surgery may improve a women’s confidence with regard to her body image. However, on a larger scale, the rise of cosmetic surgery may lead to more body image issues.

Who Cares?

Advocates

Many producers rely on the ideal body image to promote their product. Perfume, clothes, alcohol, and purse manufacturers often use attractive models in their product advertisements with the belief that sex sells.[30][31][32] Film-makers use “perfect looking” celebrities or cartoon characters to make their product more appealing. [15] The success of gyms, plastic surgeons, dietary supplement producers, and undergarment retailers relies on the individual's desire for the ideal body. Victoria's Secret recently ran a "Perfect Body” campaign, advertising a bra that could make any woman look perfect.[33]

Opponents

Non-profit activist organizations such as The Goddess Project, My Body Gallery, and Bare Reality, promote the healthy natural body.[34][35][36] These groups aim to negate the harm that the existing perfect body image has on women. Also, Dove promotes the natural body image and in their "Campaign for Real Beauty”, which it also uses to attract women to their products.[20]

Conclusion

Through Barbie, media and entertainment, and plastic surgery, technology can be seen modifying the natural body image. This is an example of Techno-Natural Perfection: the use of technology to innovate a natural state or being. The following Lentis chapters describe applications of Techno-Natural Perfection:

- Genetically Modified Food Controversy: Foods are genetically modified to meet production demands

- Steroids and Baseball: Steroids are used to increase the capabilities of the natural human body

- Cell Phones versus Face-to-Face Interaction: Cell phones are replacing the natural way in which humans communicate

- Fracking: The process of extracting natural gas from its natural position

Each of these chapters describes a technological innovation to a natural system and explains the harmful effects. Is it possible that all technological innovations to a natural system will result in negative consequences? The answer is still unknown. To discover more about Techno-Natural Perfection's application to personal beauty, the male body image can also be examined.

References

  1. ↑ Richter, A. (n.d.). You Probably Wouldn't Have Been Pretty By Ancient Standards. November 19, 2014. http://allday.com/post/986-how-beauty-standards-have-changed-throughout-history
  2. ↑ Vitelli, R. (2013). Media Exposure and the "Perfect" Body. Psychology Today. November 20, 2014. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201311/media-exposure-and-the-perfect-body
  3. ↑ BodyPositive® Boosting body image at any weight. (n.d.). December 9, 2014. http://www.bodypositive.com/removed%20pages/activism.htm
  4. ↑ Cusumano, D. (1997). Body image and body shape ideals in magazines: Exposure, awareness, and internalization. Sex Roles, 37(9-10), 701-721.
  5. ↑ History. (2012, January 1). November 20, 2014. http://www.barbiemedia.com/about-barbie/history.html
  6. ↑ Barbie Collectors Barbie Video (1959). 1959 First EVER Barbie Commercial. [Video File]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hhjjhYGQtY
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Dying to be Barbie | Eating Disorders in Pursuit of the Impossible. (2012). November 19, 2014. http://www.rehabs.com/explore/dying-to-be-barbie/#.VISwHmTF-ts
  8. 1 2 Vice. (2013, July 29). Real life Ukranian Barbie. [Video File]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoKwbbnlxi0#t=1194
  9. ↑ Sieczkowski, C. (2012, April 26). Living Barbie Doll Valeria Lukyanova Responds To Media Criticism. November 19, 2014. http://www.ibtimes.com/living-barbie-doll-valeria-lukyanova-responds-media-criticism-photos-693301
  10. 1 2 Bahadur, N. (2013, July 1). 'Normal' Barbie By Nickolay Lamm Shows Us What Mattel Dolls Might Look Like If Based On Actual Women. November 19, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/normal-barbie-nickolay-lamm_n_3529460.html
  11. ↑ Google. Ngram viewer: Barbie, anorexia. (n.d.)
  12. ↑ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (n.d.). http://movies.disney.com/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs
  13. ↑ Vintage Ad Browser. (n.d.). http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/beauty-and-hygiene-ads-1930s/7
  14. ↑ The History of Pin-Up Art. (n.d.). http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/pinupart/
  15. 1 2 Brantz, L. (2014, October 29). If Disney Princesses Had Realistic Waistlines.http://www.buzzfeed.com/lorynbrantz/if-disney-princesses-had-realistic-waistlines
  16. 1 2 Hayes, S., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2010). Am I too fat to be a princess? Examining the effects of popular children’s media on young girls’ body image. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(2), 413–426.
  17. ↑ "Twiggy – The Official Site". Twiggylawson.co.uk. 19 September 1949.
  18. ↑ Google. Ngram viewer: skinny. (n.d.).
  19. ↑ Kim Kardashian: Official website. (2014). December 4, 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. (n.d.). http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx
  21. ↑ 20 Years of Adobe Photoshop. (2010, February 1). http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/02/20-years-of-adobe-photoshop/
  22. ↑ Dove. (n.d.). http://www.dove.us/Tips-Topics-And-Tools/ArticlesAndAdvice/default.aspx
  23. ↑ Field, A. E., Camargo, C.A., Taylor, C. B., Berkey, C. S., Frazier, A. L. Gillman, M. W. & Colditz, G. A. (1999). Overwieght, weight concerns, and bulimic behaviors among girls and boys. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 754-760.
  24. ↑ Google. Ngram viewer: Eating disorder, breast augmentation, liposuction. (n.d.)
  25. ↑ 2013 Plastic Surgery Statistics. 2013 Plastic Surgery Statistics. (n.d.). http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/plastic-surgery-statistics/2013.html
  26. ↑ Ching, S., Thoma, A., Mccabe, R., & Antony, M. (2003). Measuring Outcomes in Aesthetic Surgery: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 111, 469-480.
  27. ↑ Sarwer, M., Magee, L., & Clark, V. (n.d.). What is beauty? Physical appearance and cosmetic medical treatments: Physiological and sociocultural influences. Pub Med, (29-39). March 1, 2003.
  28. ↑ American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2013 Plastic Surgery Statistics. (n.d.). http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/plastic-surgery-statistics/2013.html
  29. ↑ Edmonds, A. (2007). The poor have the right to be beautiful?: Cosmetic surgery in neoliberal Brazil. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 13, 363-381.
  30. ↑ Women fragrance and Men Fragrance by Christian Dior. (n.d.). http://www.dior.com/beauty/en_us/fragrance-and-beauty/women-fragrance-and-men-fragrance-by-christian-dio/axe-fragrance-fragrance.html
  31. ↑ Hollister California. (n.d.). http://www.hollisterco.com/shop/us
  32. ↑ Corona Extra. (n.d.). https://coronausa.com/verify
  33. ↑ ‘Perfect Body’ campaign sparks backlash against Victoria’s Secret. (n.d.). http://www.today.com/health/perfect-body-petition-twitter-users-slam-victorias-secret-campaign-1D80253890
  34. ↑ The Goddess Project Official. (n.d.). http://www.thegoddessproject.com/home.html
  35. ↑ Welcome - What Real Women Look Like. (n.d.). http://www.mybodygallery.com/
  36. ↑ Bare Reality. (n.d.). http://www.barereality.net/
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