Throughout history, society has looked at the role of woman with a domestic and submissive perspective. Women were the property of men, and were there to pleasure him, bear his children, and relieve him of the domestic duties. Throughout time the role of women in society has evolved; however, women still struggle to have full control of their own bodies. As Adrienne Rich said (Of Women Born):"Women are controlled by lashing us to our bodies." The theme of women being lashed to their bodies has been evident in America from the 1800’s until the 1970’s, as women have fought to gain the right to their own bodies and is still evident today as women continue to battle against patriarchal control of their bodies by the government and media. In
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This fictional image is impossible to achieve naturally. Advertisements on TV, in magazines, and on billboards are constantly focused on the female image. Statistics show that comments about a woman’s image were made about 28% of the female models in TV commercials, where as the male image was only commented on 7% of the time. The media’s focus on a woman’s “looks” is everywhere in today’s society, and with advertisements and commercials constantly reminding women of their looks, they are forced to compare themselves to the models within the advertisements. One-statistic shows that in one study 69% of girls admitted magazine models influence their idea of a perfect body. The problem with girls comparing themselves to magazine models is that the bodies of the magazine models are edited using Photoshop, and are not naturally achievable, which means woman are trying to make their bodies look like something that doesn’t exist. To help them try to replicate the bodies of the models in advertisements, women turn to plastic surgery. In 2013, there were 15.1 million cosmetic procedures, with breast augmentations up 37% since 2000. Not only is the plastic industry rising, but the diet industry is now making four billion dollars annually. These statistics show that women are trying to change …show more content…
Though they have more access to oral contraceptives and the right to a safe and legal abortion, the government continues to put restrictions on this freedom. In addition, corporations endorse a narrow image of what a woman’s body should look like. Women have come a long way in history to gain the freedom of their bodies, but it is time for them to truly unlash themselves from their bodies by not allowing society to dictate their image. This consumerism and corporate powers lash women to their bodies. It is undeniable that women struggle with the right to the privacy of their body, as well as with their body image. However, a women’s view of body image could be changed. Adrienne Rich says in her book Of Women Born,
Some contemporary theorists suggest that girls and women are increasingly able to ‘perform’ gender in a self-conscious manner. Accepting Judith Butler’s view that gender is to a great extent enacted or preformed, there is a possibility that, in the relative freedom of the postmodern world and armed with a postmodern consciousness, women will be able to variously accept, subvert or resist the normative enactment of the
This fictional image is impossible to achieve naturally. Advertisements on TV, in magazines, and on billboards are constantly focused on the female image. Statistics show that comments about a woman’s image were made about 28% of the female models in TV commercials, where as the male image was only commented on 7% of the time. The media’s focus on a woman’s “looks” is everywhere in today’s society, and with advertisements and commercials constantly reminding women of their looks, they are forced to compare themselves to the models within the advertisements. One-statistic shows that in one study 69% of girls admitted magazine models influence their idea of a perfect body. The problem with girls comparing themselves to magazine models is that the bodies of the magazine models are edited using Photoshop, and are not naturally achievable, which means woman are trying to make their bodies look like something that doesn’t exist. To help them try to replicate the bodies of the models in advertisements, women turn to plastic surgery. In 2013, there were 15.1 million cosmetic procedures, with breast augmentations up 37% since 2000. Not only is the plastic industry rising, but the diet industry is now making four billion dollars annually. These statistics show that women are trying to change …show more content…
Though they have more access to oral contraceptives and the right to a safe and legal abortion, the government continues to put restrictions on this freedom. In addition, corporations endorse a narrow image of what a woman’s body should look like. Women have come a long way in history to gain the freedom of their bodies, but it is time for them to truly unlash themselves from their bodies by not allowing society to dictate their image. This consumerism and corporate powers lash women to their bodies. It is undeniable that women struggle with the right to the privacy of their body, as well as with their body image. However, a women’s view of body image could be changed. Adrienne Rich says in her book Of Women Born,
Some contemporary theorists suggest that girls and women are increasingly able to ‘perform’ gender in a self-conscious manner. Accepting Judith Butler’s view that gender is to a great extent enacted or preformed, there is a possibility that, in the relative freedom of the postmodern world and armed with a postmodern consciousness, women will be able to variously accept, subvert or resist the normative enactment of the