Mirror, Mirror-
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| Wed, 03-05-2008 - 3:19pm |
Just something I've been thinking about. Funny how us women stress over every extra little bump and the majority of men do not. I guess it from our media and society but I sometimes fine this to be quite ironic!
A recent article:
All research to date on body image shows that women are much more critical of their appearance than men – much less likely to admire what they see in the mirror. Up to 8 out of 10 women will be dissatisfied with their reflection, and more than half may see a distorted image.
Men looking in the mirror are more likely to be either pleased with what they see or indifferent. Research shows that men generally have a much more positive body-image than women – if anything, they may tend to over-estimate their attractiveness. Some men looking in the mirror may literally not see the flaws in their appearance.
Why are women so much more self-critical than men? Because women are judged on their appearance more than men, and standards of female beauty are considerably higher and more inflexible. Women are continually bombarded with images of the 'ideal' face and figure – what Naomi Woolf calls 'The Official Body'. Constant exposure to idealised images of female beauty on TV, magazines and billboards makes exceptional good looks seem normal and anything short of perfection seem abnormal and ugly. It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than our mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence.
Also, most women are trying to achieve the impossible: standards of female beauty have in fact become progressively more unrealistic during the 20th century. In 1917, the physically perfect woman was about 5ft 4in tall and weighed nearly 10 stone. Even 25 years ago, top models and beauty queens weighed only 8% less than the average woman, now they weigh 23% less. The current media ideal for women is achievable by less than 5% of the female population – and that's just in terms of weight and size. If you want the ideal shape, face etc., it's probably more like 1%.

That is so true Pacific!
That is a good article, Pac. I was reading somewhere about the Barbie dimensions - here it is:
Although Barbie sold that "I can do it all" attitude, there were still limitations on her. A large emphasis, when Barbie came out, was on her beauty and clothes. This reflected the suburban ideal of a woman staying at home, waiting to look gorgeous and be "perfect" for her husband when he came home from work. Many women wanted to achieve the ideal body that Barbie flaunted. She also slowly became a symbol of the body younger girls wished to have when they grew older. Ironically, the dimensions that Barbie would not even be anatomically possible on humans. A women with her dimensions of 36-18-38 would not be able to live. The perfection Barbie portrays has influenced many women attain Barbie's body by having operations to make themselves "look like" Barbie. Cindy Jackson, founder of the Cosmetic Surgery Network, is a famous Barbie Doll human. She had more than twenty operations and dispensed more then $55,000 in her attempts to look like Barbie.
I do think we women have a lot more ways to look beautiful now - we can get basic plastic surgery for ears that stick out or a nose that is too big or a birth defect. I would consider these okay - am not into liposuction or boob enhancements though - and my own mom made sure I had plastic surgery for my ears when I was young because they did stick out like Mickey Mouse and I was self conscious and I am grateful for that today.
But we also have good hair dye, hair straightening irons, high-tech blowdryers, good makeup, teeth whitening tools, cosmetic dentistry, clothes in all sizes and types, cheap shoes, belts and jewelry from walmart and books on diet and exercise. So I feel that anyone can be attractive if they take the time to fix themselves up. But most important they have to be happy with themselves.
I would think that you could have a supermodel in a room - but if she has a bad personality and bad self image that would not take her as far as one of us who is a beautiful person and great mom and happy partner. Anna Nicole Smith is a good example I think.
No problem, Ang-
Here ya go!
http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html
the dimensions that Barbie would not even be anatomically possible on humans. A women with her dimensions of 36-18-38 would not be able to live.
Thanks for the article, Judy. It's so true. The Barbie doll dimensions are insane. I sometimes wondered while my DD played with Barbies if it would negatively impact her self image later. Wouldn't it be cool if they came out with a real woman shape type doll? Would that be as popular? I wonder-
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Angie