One common body practice I, myself, take part in, is putting on makeup every morning when I get ready for the day. Granted I don't put on as much as some people, just a little mascara and lip gloss, maybe some eye shadow if I'm feeling really fancy. Some others, however, spend an enormous amount of time applying everything from lipstick to blush to foundation to eye shadow to mascara to eye liner, etc.
In our society's culture, girls are expected to begin wearing makeup at a certain age. If you wear makeup, you're pretty, beautiful, sexy, or gorgeous. If you don't wear makeup, you're plain and boring. This is an example of docile bodies because girls are always expected to change how they look to look better. Some girls spend an hour putting on makeup every day so they can feel they look good. Makeup is a self-esteem booster. It can work magic. Wearing makeup is also an example of a pursuit without a terminus because girls always want to be prettier.
They are never pretty enough, so they keep trying new and different ways to be even prettier.
When I look around in all of my classes I notice most girls are wearing at least some makeup, and if they aren't I find myself assuming they just woke up late and didn't have time to put any on before class. It doesn't even register in my mind that they might choose not to wear any because I'm so used to society telling us it's what we should do. I admit when I see a makeup advertisement I always think, "Wow, I wish I could look like that. Maybe I should buy the product and try it." But then I realize I will never look like the girl in the ad because she had a team of professionals put it on for her.
Wearing makeup isn't a bad thing. I really enjoy getting all glammed up for a night out, but I know not all girls feel this way. Some just wear it solely because people expect them to or because they feel ugly without it. Girls are basically "performing their gender" when they wear makeup. Girls wearing makeup is to be expected, but if a boy were to wear makeup, there would be more than a few eyebrows raised.
This is very true! I wear make up just to make me feel prettier and I feel like it is expected of girls to put in the extra time it takes to curl the eyelashes, or apply just the right amount of eyeliner. I like the picture you posted too because there are so many products you can use or applicators it is overwhelming. Culture has thrived over the make up industry which is kind of sad because why can't we just be naturally beautiful? It's just society today.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a very good example of a common body practice. I also put on make up every morning to try to make myself look better. But the real question is, when will that better be enough? Women really are always trying to make themselves look better if its from the make up they wear, the clothes they wear, or even plastic surgery that gets them that look. It really is an example of "pursuit without a terminus". Women will never stop trying to look better, and that's why we are examples of docile bodies. We have created this within our culture and that's why it is continually expected of us
ReplyDeleteReally good example of a common body practice. When I first came to US, I see all the girls have make up on, which at the begining is confuse to me. Because in China, not all the girls will put make up on everyday. However, I totally agree that when girls put make up on, they look better, but this is only one of the reason that girls put make up on. Most of the reason is that the society we lived in made the girls to put make up on, because they believe thats the right thing to do. This is a great example of docile bodies.
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