In the next couple of posts, I want to explore what the “true” essence of a female body is, and analyze the argument underpinnings of such ideas.
In many ways, it appears that society wants women to look a certain way, and most often, thin. If a woman is not thin, then she doesn’t quite measure up. Societal norms tell us that we should diet if we’re overweight.
When flipping through the channels recently, I came across a new reality show Thintervention with Jackie Warner. The individuals on the show, mostly female, but a few males, want to lose anywhere from 30-60 pounds. It seems that the presumption is that any “excess” weight should be eliminated, and that people should diet and exercise to achieve that.
I’m not against exercise or eating healthy (I do both of those myself). However, my concern is when the need to diet and exercise becomes compulsory, that individuals feel that they have to diet in order to achieve a specific body ideal. Where does this body ideal come from? Is the ideal female body really a skinny model? Most women do not fit into a size 0 or 2, but why do we feel such pressures to conform to the ideal? I think that in large part it centers on the presumption that the ideal essence of woman is to be skinny/slim, even when this flies in the face of the reality of the situation. Thus, reality (the average woman being a size 14) is turned upside down and apparent reality (being size 0 or 2) becomes the norm.
Thus, shows like Thintervention, which imply that there is a weight crisis which needs professional intervention (a theme to be explored later), utilize the apparent reality and the “true” essence of the female body in order to market themselves to individuals outside the norm.
My next post will focus on the essence of a specific body, that of a Hooters waitress, and I will introduce an ongoing court case that I will be analyzing more in depth in the weeks to come.
This is a very interesting topic. After reading your blog I started thinking about all the different shows on TV with the focus of weight. I have seen several different weight related shows as I have flipped the channels however the only one I can think of by name right now is Biggest Loser. Really when you just think of the name of this show it can give the body image of you being Loser because of your weight. Is this the kind message we want to send out to the young women who may be watching this? How does this affect their body image?
ReplyDeleteMarion: I definitely think that the naming of the shows matter. All of the shows are predicated upon the idea of a crisis: weight as out of control, and needing to be bounded into the ideal body type. The Biggest Loser, I think, is meant to be positive: the idea that people lose the weight and then become the winner as the smallest person. However, even if you're the king or queen of the losers, you are still a loser, as you've pointed out.
ReplyDeleteThintervention as a concept really gets to me because it not only draws on the theme of a body out of control, but implies a drastic need for help immediately (and draws on images of intervention for drugs and/or alcohol).
As for (young) women and body image, I don't think these types of shows are promoting a good sense of self. In fact, it simply adds to the desire to not become fat, to not have to go through the struggles viewers see depicted on the screen week in and week out.
The show with Jackie Warner infuriates me. As research has indicated, the average or "normal" woman is a size 14. Yet, magazines, tv shows, music videos, etc continue to tell society that the norm is much smaller. I am curious as to why there has not been more of a revolt against this change in societal norms. I, personally, love the Operation Beautiful movement because to me it is a sort of revolt against the unncessary standards. For your project, however, I think the ideas of dissociation fit really well especially in regards to this post.
ReplyDeleteRuth, interesting post here - I have also been watching the show and it fits with my interests in how we praise weight loss in our society. What I find really interesting about Thintervention is the way the ones who are not losing weight are portrayed. They show them sitting on their couch, avoiding the trainer's calls and generally cheating on their diet and exercise routines. And, I think that makes an interesting comment, If you really want to lose weight, you will work hard for it and if you aren't losing weight, you aren't making an effort.
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