Hidden Figures: Bringing the conversation of Intersectionality to the Center Stage

The book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly brings to the center stage a conversation on the intersection of race, gender, and choice of profession. Most people are just aware of the movie. But the movie was inspired by the Shetterly’s book. Shetterly was covered in the NY Times for telling the story of three inspiring African American women. She stated, “Being able to have a spectrum of the black experience is contingent on the history that gets written about black Americans. If it is just the first and the onlys, you never get the many.” You can check out the rest of the article here. 

Source:http://margotleeshetterly.com/

Shetterly believed it was important for the book to be made into a movie to reach the masses and to be documented. The movie depicts African American women during the Civil Rights Movement that worked for NASA and played a key role in the launching of astronaut John Glenn into space. Their stories were never shared, and Hidden Figures skillfully brings their hardship to the forefront. The analytical concept of intersectionality coined by Kimberle Crenshaw lends itself well to an analysis of Hidden Figures as a discourse. Intersectionality suggests analyzing issues such as race and gender, through a lens where the analysis does not start at the endpoints but where these identities intersect.  When analyzing discrimination starting with the individual that is “multiply-burdened" more issues will be addressed than analyzing issues that impact those that rely on a single axis framework. Crenshaw believes operating analysis using single-axis framework ultimately erases black women from the conversation. The interactions and relationships of the Katherine Johnson, the main protagonist, in the movie Hidden Figures with those that are in positions of power allows the viewer to see the importance of spreading the stories of the “many”.

Source:http://t1.gstatic.com

Katherine is in a profession that is driven by males.  She experiences a unique discrimination in her interactions with a privileged group such as white males. Her supervisor Mr. Harrison and his assistant Paul fall into this category. Her entrance to the new office does not go unnoticed. When she first walks in she is mistaken for a maid while she is wearing a work suit and heels. Prior to Katherine joining the office, the men in the room never saw a female, and certainly not a Black female, in an untraditional job. Paul was insulted when Katherine, a Black woman, had to review his work. The only other woman in the office was white and in a traditional role of a woman as a secretary so she posed no threat to the men in the office. Paul refuses Katherine access to information required to complete her job, and once she finally receives clearance to all the pertinent information, Paul refuses to accept reports that include both their names side by side. He states, “Computers do not produce reports.” What he really wants to say is Black women do not produce reports. Kathrine never responds to his comments but continues to include her name even if the sheet was torn off. Her persistence runs parallel to the plight of African Americans outside of the office setting during the height of the Civil Right movement. The placement of the bathrooms was another prime example of the discrimination. Katherine ran over a mile to find the closes bathroom for colored people. Mr. Harrison addressed the issue and informally desegregated the bathrooms. It is important to note that his actions were not motivated by a desire to end racism. Mr. Harrison wanted Katherine at her desk crunching numbers. This does not stop Mr. Harrison’s insensitive comments that ignore the presence of the women in the office by addressing everyone as “gentlemen.”

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/intersectionality

Crenshaw uses an analogy of a four-way traffic intersection. Traffic comes and goes from each direction. If an accident occurs in the intersection it could be from any direction or perhaps all of them. “Similarly if a Black woman is harmed because she is in the intersection, her injury could result from sex discrimination or race discrimination”. In the example with Mr. Harrison Katherine’s gender is consistently overlooked.   Mr. Harrison overlooks that she is Black because she is so talented in math and can get him what he wants, a man in space. But for Kathrine’s relationship with Paul, the “accident” is caused by cars coming from more than one direction. It is at the intersection of her race, gender and profession that Paul discriminates against her. In other words, the presence of an educated Black woman in the field of science intimidates Paul to his very core. Katherine’s interactions with both Mr. Harrison and Paul, two men in positions of privilege, show the intricacies in Crenshaw’s analogy of the four-way traffic intersection.

                       

Margot Lee Shutterley’s motivation to write Hidden Figures and allow it to be adapted in to a movie is in an effort to tell the stories of those that as Bell Hooks would say normally receive the oppositional gaze. This is the concept that Black women are not represented in the media. Movies and books like Hidden Figures allows. “…black female spectators to document what they see and construct their own dialogue with their own voice.” More than ever there is a need for storytellers to step to the forefront and tell the story of the “many” and not just the stories of the “first” and “only.”

Work Cited

Crenshaw, Kimberle (1989) "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989 , Article 8.

Bell Hooks. In Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992: 115-131.

Shetterly, Margot Lee (2016). Hidden Figures.

Post 4

            I find it amazing that in 2017, women are still having their bodies judged by society in ways that are similar to how they were just 50 years ago.  While there have been strides towards making positive change, such as celebrity women posting body positive images online, a lot of young women still suffer from something they have no control over.  Take for example an article in The Huffington Post where the author is sick and tired about cases of high school girls having strict dress codes on their prom dresses.

            One of the most recent cases had teenage girls being told to not, “wear clothes that would distract male students and teachers.”  It’s disgusting that a school would even tell their female students something like this because they are already limited on what they can wear.  Most schools require all females to wear dresses as opposed to suits as some young women choose to wear.  The dresses also have to be arms length.  This can get tricky when wearing heels as was the issue with another school where the young lady’s dress went slightly higher when she put on heels.  She had already explained the situation to the school and they approved her dress but the teacher at the front door of the prom apparently didn’t get the memo and refused to let her in at first.

            This is a dangerous precedent because this tells young women that the men around them will not be able to control themselves and that they’re asking for trouble.  Another interesting example is that of the women who filmed themselves walking around New York City while they were being catcalled.  When posted online, many comments were directed at what the women were wearing.  The first woman was merely wearing all black wear the only thing that was remotely revealing was her chest.  Even still, this did not warrant responses that were shaming her as she did nothing wrong.  There was nothing wrong with her outfit and she deserved to walk through the city without hearing degrading comments about her looks.

             Odyssey published an article last year asking the question, “Instead of policing girls and scorning them for wanting to be comfortable, why are we not questioning and putting the spotlight on certain boys who lack self-control when they see a spaghetti strap?”  This question perfectly sums up the issue when it comes to teenage girls who simply want to dress comfortably rather than conform to an unrealistic dress code, especially during the warmer months.  As the article progresses, it states something very true in our society and that is women are taught at a young age that they should not express their sexuality if it does not fit in with societal standards.  This reminds me of a particular playwright who went against the norm.

            Tennessee Williams always wrote his women as strong, independent and completely unapologetic about their sexuality.  For example, his play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof features a woman named Maggie who is constantly trying to seduce her husband Brick and this is featured on screen by Elizabeth Taylor who is fully able to capture Maggie’s sexual freedom and her pride in it.  When it came to Tennessee Williams, as director Richard Brooks once put it, “those women were bursting into a new age.  Sex for them was not a forbidden subject, it was a form of expression.”  However, despite the play and movie’s success, society as a whole has still kept women’s bodies to a virtually unattainable standard.

            When it comes to the world of modeling or beauty pageants, women undergo many changes to fit the fantasy of the perfect or ideal woman.  But that is exactly what it is, a fantasy.  The average woman comes in many different shapes and sizes.  What beauty pageants essentially do is set women back.  There are exceptions to this as in recent months; contestants have used their voice to make calls for social, societal and progressive changes.  This shows the inner beauty they all have, but in the end they are mostly judged for their bodies.

            While I tend not to get into political arguments, it goes without saying that Fox News has the worst reputation with their treatment of women.  When we see a female anchor or a panel that has women, they are always shown with their legs crossed and in very tight outfits.  There were even confirmed reports that this was actually a rule at Fox which means that instead of allowing their female employees to express only their viewpoint, they have to make sure they get their viewers staring at their bodies.  To me, it’s a sad and cheap way to garner ratings.  Fortunately, there are other news networks both on TV and online that do not promote that kind of environment which does give hope to any woman interested in reporting actual news.

“The Alienable Rights of Women.” The Rumpus.Net, 23 Apr. 2017, therumpus.net/2012/03/the-alienable-rights-of-women/.

 Steinem, Gloria. Sex, lies, and advertising. Publisher not identified, 1990.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of advertising.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of advertising.

Kramer, Beth Cone. “Stop Policing Women's Bodies.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 May 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-cone-kramer/stop-policing-womens-bodies_b_7428578.html.

“We Should All Stop Policing Women's Bodies.” The Odyssey Online, 28 Aug. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/policing-womens-bodies.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-cone-kramer/stop-policing-womens-bodies_b_7428578.html

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/policing-womens-bodies

Post 4 - Policing Bodies

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD VIA GETTY IMAGES

From an early age, restrictions are placed on female bodies. Whether they come in the form of dress codes, societal mores, or media influences; women and young girls are constantly being fed messages about what is appropriate dress/behavior and over time they are socialized into believing and accepting this narrative. Many of these harmful messages come to us through the advertising and television programs and films we consume. As a result of this constant imagery surrounding  female bodies, many women are led to believe they have to look a certain way to be ‘beautiful’ and desireable.

The messages women and young girls receive from the media are particularly damning. A study found that “41% of adults felt that media was responsible for dictating public perceptions of the ideal body shape” (Wykes and Gunter 205). For many years society has been telling women there is a certain way they should look, and the current trend right now is thinness. Wykes and Gunter argue that “the long history of representation made the post-World War Two shift to slender beauty acceptable because it fitted into a long history of imagery wherein women were the objects of the male desire and used to being presented as men would like them to be” (Wykes and Gunter 207).  An important take away from this statement is that women have been socialized into accepting this imagery of their bodies simply because it is done for the male’s pleasure. The idea that women are objects and therefore passive, while men are subjects and active by nature is constantly repeated throughout advertising, film, and television. It goes back to the idea that Berger had about viewership which argued that “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at” (Berger 47). This ideology is not only harmful because judges a woman’s self-worth based on her appearance but also because it reinforces the idea that women are docile, passive individuals with no opinions. Also it is important to note that men’s bodies are not policed in the same way as women’s bodies, this is not to undermine the expectations males have to live up to, but they are in no way the same as the expectations society has for women. This is summed up in Kilbourne’s Beauty and the Beast of Advertising “We don’t expect boys to be that handsome. We take them as they are. But boys expect girls to be perfect and beautiful and skinny” (Kilbourne 124). This quotation was taken from a survey of students in schools, it just shows how powerful the media is in captivating and normalizing the policing of women’s bodies.

The implications of this form of policing are seen frequently in everyday life. This is especially true in the workplace where women are expected to balance being attractive but not too attractive because then no one will take them seriously. The article stated that “women who are perceived as more attractive may be rewarded for it earlier in their careers but once they cross into positions of leadership that changes … beauty becomes a liability because our stereotypes around beauty are that they’re incompatible with capability” (Carpenter). This clearly illustrates the fine line women have to balance in order to be taken seriously in the workplace.This directly relates to the idea in Culture, where Wolfe states “ women are allowed a mind or a body but not both” (Wolfe 60). Also it relates back to the idea of madonna and the whore, in which women don’t want to be placed on either side of the spectrum instead they want to be safely in the middle. Alas, this is frequently not the case and many women are pushed into a side of the spectrum. It is important to note that a woman’s appearance in the workplace shouldn’t even matter because she is there to work and produce results; if people are discussing her appearance then they are taking away from her value as an employee and a woman. This policing of women’s bodies goes even further in the schooling systems.

At its core, this idea of policing takes place in schools around the country where young women are constantly being told what is appropriate and acceptable. The goal of dress codes is to make sure that the boys aren’t distracted by the girl’s attire. This argument is blatantly disrespectful and degrading to both boys and girls. Firstly, it belittles a female student to just her appearance at a place where her appearance shouldn't even matter and quite frankly if a boy is looking at her, why do institutions immediately blame her for getting too much attention, why don’t they question why the boy was even looking at her in the first place. Secondly, it makes demeans boys because it equates them as  animals who can’t control themselves. Although several individuals are speaking out and challenging the sexist nature of dress codes, there is still much to be done. These messages are being socialized into young girls and boys so by the time they reach adulthood they have normalized this behavior.

Image via: http://sgvnowproject.weebly.com/slut-walks--young-feminists-protest-rape--victim-blaming-around-the-world.html

A prime example of the harmful nature of dress codes frequently appears in rape culture. The article argues that dress codes can be used as a tool to blame the victim for an assault, “the child may believe the assault was their fault because of what they wore… the reality is only the assailant is responsible for a sexual assault” (Domitrz). Following the Weinstein accusations, Donna Karan defended him by arguing women who dress provocatively are asking for trouble. She said “How do we represent ourselves as women? What are we asking? Are we asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality”. These comments are obviously disheartening at the least but they represent a real side of the argument in rape culture. I think that because she is in such a position of power in the fashion industry nonetheless her comments were shocking to many, and in my opinion she deserved all the backlash she received after she made these comments and although she may not have said them with malicious intent, she is a powerful woman who many females look up to and she needs to take responsibility for her words and learn from her mistakes.

These efforts to police women’s bodies are harmful and degrading to say the least. They should not happen, but unfortunately they do. They are maintained by industries led by powerful men and they typically don’t want to challenge the status quo unless it is brought to their attention forcefully. It is our job as media consumers and makers to stand up against these policing ideas and argue for better conditions for all women whether they be in the workforce, school, or in the media.

Works Cited

Berger, John. Chapters 2,3. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1972.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. 1999.
Wolf, Naomi. “Culture.” The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women.
Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. SAGE, 2010.

Post 4: Policing Women's Bodies

Societies have a long withstanding history of attempting to and succeeding in policing women's bodies. There is a sense of entitlement and ownership of the female body that infests the male mentality and that in turn influences the way they perceive and treat women. In patriarchal societies, that dominating male point of view is reinforced through the media and politics.

c: thesassologist

Legislative laws policing women's bodies are rampant in our society. It must be stressed that most of these lawmakers are white male men who have no only demonstrated lack of knowledge but are unabashedly sexist. A particular favorite regulation is that of women's reproductive rights. It's a thriving mentality that women's bodies only serve as reproductive vessels. And so, abortion laws are constantly being limited on a state level under the guise of religious beliefs or being champions for human life. Politically, the narrative continues to be predominantly white men are making life changing decisions on women's bodies and reproductive rights without their consent. Yet again restricting women from being allowed to have complete ownership over their own bodies. Abortion rights was about, "...the right to have sex, play God, to bring life into the world. This freaked people out." (Nelson16 ). 

c: onsizzle

There is a lot of coding when it comes to women and the the clothing they choose to wear. If your style is more towards the conservative, you're boring and a prude. But at the same time you're considered respectable and someone a man should take seriously. However, If you wear revealing clothing you are written off as lacking intelligence and being sexually promiscuous (a slut), someone a man could never and should never consider committing to. It's perfectly acceptable to have a sexual relationship, in fact that's all she is good for, but never anything more than that. Society encourages the mentality that how a woman dresses defines her personality and, most importantly, her worth. It's a no win situation.

In more dangerous situations involving rape, their lack of clothing suggests they were "asking" for it. A dangerously misogynistic narrative that completely removes responsibility from a male rapist and places the blame solely on the female victim. The message is not "don't rape", it's "don't invite rapists with your body". A symptom of rape culture. 

The media reinforces the policing of female bodies in many ways. They present images of women who fit these toxic perceptions of women based on their clothing. They become familiar tropes in films, television shows, and even in our news that are reinforced to viewers repeatedly. Magazines will market women solely on their looks, encouraging the idea that their appearance will define who they are and what they achieve. If you want that boy you have a crush on to notice you, dress this way, wear your makeup this way. If you want to get that job, style your hair this way, wear this outfit. It's a psychological form of brainwashing that's effective in making women internalize these beliefs and magazines are, "...all most women have as a window on their own mass sensibility." (Wolf 70).

Media also has a way of stigmatizing women's sexuality. Owning it and being open about it labels you a whore, it's rarely portrayed as a positive quality that should be encouraged and applauded. The sexuality open women is morally ambiguous, lacking virtue. Thus she's often shown as being "bitchy", a bully, with masculine traits who takes what she wants no matter who she hurts in the process. High School stories are notorious for sharing this narrative. The virginal quiet girl who dresses conservatively is the one viewers should root for, the heroine whose lack of sexuality makes her worthy of owning the story. In horror films in particular, the promiscuous girl is notoriously one of the first to get murdered, like she's being punished for openly enjoying sex.

Media, in particular social media, has also been an easily accessible platform for bringing awareness to these issues and combating the policing of women's bodies on a mass level. 

Works Cited

Nelson, Jennifer. Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement. 2003.

Wolf, Naomi. "Culture". The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. 1991.

Post 3

Roe V. Wade Protests (Google)

The first time I learned about Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court case that led to the ban of laws that prohibited abortions, I was in a Medical Issues class. My teacher at the time had split the class into two and we had to debate on whether abortions should be legal or illegal. We had spent the week preparing our points to argue on the following Friday. When we had the debate the class had fully become engrossed into the issue. We were no longer in a classroom setting our mentalities had changed as if our fellow classmates were with us or against us. There was no middle ground even though we were just debating. This incident in my academic career taught me two things. The first, was when my fellow classmates and I were debating there was a lack of understanding form both sides. No one wanted to hear what the other side had to say. There was a constant push that “we were right” from both sides. The fact of the matter is after a certain extent we weren't debating about abortions but rather arguing about who was right. This showed me that people sometimes get too caught up in their ego and own mentality and are unable see what the other side has to say. We also should note when debating or arguing turns into a matter of “Who is right?” it is too easy for the individual to forget the grandiosity of the situation, there is more to the situation than your opinions. The second thing I learned was through my teacher, who was the only authority figure in the situation.His place in authority put him in the position to validate one's side opinion, fortunately he chose not to pick a winner because he could see the effects it could have on either side.

However mainstream media, elected officials, and individuals in authority positions in work and school settings continuously police the female body dismissing their value in their own eyes and the eyes of society. Roxane Gay explains the situation much more clearly when she states and quotes the following, “In her article, “Legislating the Female Body: Reproductive Technology and the Reconstructed Woman,” Isabel Karpin argues that, “in the process of regulating the female body, the law legislates its shape, lineaments, and its boundaries.” (Gay 3) If we look at this statement closely we can see that Isabel Karpin is saying much more than laws regulate and constrain the female body to a certain ideologies. Rather the hidden message that is being addressed is the recognition of the lawmaker, who will create policies that will benefit himself first and then benefit women through his understanding of them. The persepectives of these white hetrosexual policy makers, have lead to policies like the tampon tax, school dress codes that are incredibly bias and lack of access to health care providers. All these policies restrict the female body by not giving women the option or the opportunity to do what they want or need to do. If we all have equal rights why are women treated so differently because of what makes them women?

These policies and laws will then shape the rhetoric and messages that will be sent through mainstream media to young girls and women effectively changing their understanding of themselves. Kilbourne states, “This is the real tragedy, that many women internalize these stereotypes and learn their “limitations,” thus establishing a self-fulfilling prophecy. If one accepts these mythical and degrading images, to some extent one actualizes them.” (Kilbourne 125) This statement allows us to see how the stereotypes, tropes and ideals set for women limit their understanding of themselves and pushes them to be something they are not, the white hetrosexual male whish phantasy. In Where The Girls Are?, Douglas states the following, “This has been one of the mass media’s most important legacies for female consciousness: the erosion of anything resembling a unified self. (Douglas 13)  Douglas highlights the effects that these types of policies and messages from mainstream media and people in power. When one is constantly being told how to act, how to look, and even to extent of what careers they should have, they do not have an identity that is their own. The one projecting those ideologies has the power and is able to set standards that keep women in their place. This is why there is such an aggressive policing of the female body even from such a young age so women will not overthrow the man in his position. However, when a woman does something outside of what she is socially allowed there is such controversy and uproar. In ‘Hobby Lobby,’ and a Woman’s Right to Sexual Exploration Steele addresses the controversy regarding Rihanna's dress choice, which leads to the questioning of the woman's sexuality. She states the following, “Women have the right to explore our sexuality. The idea that a woman’s sexuality is purely for childbearing is outdated. Sure, for those who choose to live this idea, it belongs in the bedroom. But imposing that idea on others is just wrong. Sexuality can be complex and erupts for various reasons.” (Steele Pg 4) Steele's ability to question the societal standard and to be to be able to publish her opinion on controversy shows us that the same media that is used to oppress women can be used to empower them.

Stock Image (Google)

This principle can be applied to any form of media. An example of one form of media that I found very inspiring was this spoken word piece performed at a Poetry Slam by an LA team titled "Somewhere in America". I encourage everyone to watch and think critically of what is being said. It is only when we recognize the root of our problems and create discourse will we be able to challenge the authority that claims to grant us freedom even though it so openly restricts us to our bodies.

Citations

Douglas, Susan J. Where the Girls are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media Book .

Gay, Roxane . “The Alienable Rights of Women.” The Rumpus.Net, 23 Apr. 2017, therumpus.net/2012/03/the-alienable-rights-of-women/.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. 1999.

Steele, Tanya. “'Hobby Lobby,' and a Woman's Right to Sexual Exploration.” Rewire,
rewire.news/article/2014/07/10/hobby-lobby-womans-right-sexual-exploration/.

Policing of Women's Bodies

The policing of women's bodies has been a long-standing issue in our society. I believe policing of women’s bodies started with the way woman have been portrayed as inferior from the beginning. Sayings such as a woman should stand behind her man, support her man, do this and that for her man reiterates this inferiority. Seldomly do we hear a woman is her husband’s equal because in our society a woman is not equal to any man. But it is this picture of inferiority that has been ingrained in to the minds of the majority that put woman in a position to be the subject of constant policing. Woman have become an object of analysis; her body is always open for discussion. Please keep in mind women were not given the right to vote until 1920 that is a century and then some after the United States declared its independence from Britain. This point also highlights the severity of the issue, women have not been treated as equal for a very long time. Even with the right to vote, the playing field has not been evened out. How can it be when your opponent has had nearly 150-year start? That is why we have the ever present male gaze it is well established, well-oiled machine.

Source:http://www.siyawoman.com/anti-body-shaming/

Woman are valued by how well they can upkeep the standards set by society. And by “society” I’m referring to straight, wealthy, white males that own the mass media. The picture above clearly illustrates the constant comments that are said to women too often regarding their bodies.  An article on the website everyday feminism deals with a very intimate example of body policing. The post is a comic strip that touches on how men feel woman should groom themselves. Woman are constantly criticized for their appearance, decisions that they make about their sexuality, and decisions on reproductive care.

Many companies have attempted to create a conversation about body positivity such as Dove. I included the video below of Dove’s video in support of their Real Beauty promotion. Cathleen Meredith initiated Fat Girls Dance, and she shares people were surprised that at her size that she could dance so well with so much energy. The video discusses the  stigma around describing women as fat and the importance of self-love and acceptance.

             Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-owM4crSd4Q

While this is an incredibly inspiring video, and Dove’s initiative is admirable it is disappointing that shortly after this video is released another video was released and as a representative of Dove stated it really “missed the mark” and then some.  The video shows a Black woman lift her shirt and then a white woman appears. The advertisement was clearly distasteful.  But the release of this second ad is very telling of the companies real outlook. First it shows the lack of diversity in this company. How can you really care about Catherine’s journey to body positivity if you have no one on your team that looks anything like her? If Catherine was helping to make decisions at Dove this ad would not have seen the light of day. In the first video of Cathleen they 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/
oct/10/i-am-
woman-racist-dove-ad-not-a-victim#img-1

brought in Shonda Rhimes to tell her story with care. When Dove was given the opportunity without a token Black celeb to be the voice of reason they “missed the mark.” Perhaps companies like Dove and so many others are not as committed to these issues as they appear to be. Accurate representation in the media and in places where decisions are being made is necessary.

I’m not the only one that takes an issue with Dove’s Real Beauty campaign in a recent article in bitch media this issue was also addressed. The video discussed in the article was of two sketches being done one based on the woman’s description of herself and the other on the stranger's description of the woman. The stranger’s sketch showed the woman how beautiful she looked to the stranger.

It’s a nice notion that even on a woman’s worse days perhaps she do not look as bad to those that does not know her. Here is Lindsay King-Miller's thoughts on the  ad.

The ad’s statement was ostensibly heartwarming, but it didn’t sit right with me. Everyone in it was thin and able-bodied, and almost everyone was white—hardly a dramatic reversal of conventional beauty standards. And the viral advertisement reminded women that being found beautiful by other people was more important than what they thought of themselves. 

You can check out the rest of her article here.

Lindsay, my sentiments exactly!

But seriously this ad is problematic for several reasons. Why does the stranger’s opinion even matter? We are instilling in our young women to seek approval from others, and once again placing females as an object of analysis. This ad does not make any woman feel powerful after watching but reinforces the idea that women are inferior. I wait  for the day where no woman feels that someone else’s consent is necessary  to love the skin that she is in. 

Work Cited

https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/pretty-unnecessary-beauty-body-positivity

https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/heres-what-bothers-me-about-the-new-dove-ad

Berger, John. “3.” Ways of Seeing, British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 2008, pp. 36–64.
Bell Hooks. In Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992: 115-131.