Summary Of Maguire By Susan Bordo
Maguire reveals how Chrissy Teigen is rising above the norms she considers ridiculous and successfully challenging them by embracing her own body as it is and indirectly inspiring all women to do the same (Maguire, 1), while Bordo depicts women as powerless and helpless against these same norms, having no choice but to let the conflicting messages and impossible standards they are frequently bombarded with define them and their success as women (Bordo, 185-212). Bordo defines the ‘body as the enemy’ and discusses the ‘battle’ between a woman and her body, with those displaying eating disorders being classified as ‘deviant’ and ‘freaks’ by society; she seems to portray the situation as a bleak one of controversy and ‘double bind’ that traps women in a perpetual and futile struggle against themselves (Bordo, 185-212). Maguire’s message, on the other hand, is one of hope; she uses Teigen as an example of a woman’s power to successfully challenge the norms that restrain her liberty to feel comfortable in her own skin (Maguire, 1). The latter discusses empowerment through social media; the former suggests that this very media is the root of the never-ending struggle for women, claiming that “television and popular magazines…manifest opposition…[and] contradiction” (Bordo, 199). So then, which is it?…