Take 1: Swimming Against the Waves

Ads for weight loss and ‘miracle stories’ of how ‘so-and-so lost fifty pounds in just three months!’ play continuously on television. Beauty and Fashion tips are published in hundreds of magazines that have the sole purpose of showing how beautiful you could become. They invade and overwhelm our senses, dragging us down into their glittering, shimmering pool that’s so deep we can’t help but submerge ourselves in it. Let’s say, though, that someone threw you a life preserver to pull you from that abyss. Would you grab hold of it or would you rather be pulled into the glam and glitz that has taken a hold of society? Well, Susan Bordo would tell you to grab that preserver and haul yourself back up. Better yet, she’s probably the one who threw it to you.

Susan Bordo is the author of the article “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies,” and a strong believer in women’s natural beauty. Natural meaning that women don’t need to have facelifts and liposuction to appear ’perfect’. She believes that women should feel comfortable with their differences and be happy with their natural body instead of forcing it to become a ’perfect’ one, but at the same time respecting the said body. After all, she writes, “When did “perfection” become applicable to a human body? The word suggests a Platonic form of timeless beauty- appropriate for marble, perhaps, but not for living flesh” (151). Basically, Bordo is suggesting that perfection is never truly achievable and that all of the treatments and effort that go into it are wasted efforts. Further elaborating, Bordo goes on to tell of the CNN Legal Analyst, Greta Van Sustren, who was never known for her looks, but for her authority and fairness. When she went and had a facelift done, Bordo claimed that “another source of inspiration bit the dust” (151).

The impact of the current happenings in today’s culture are hitting Bordo especially hard as she tries to protect her daughter from the onslaught of fake pictures. Pictures that cause so many young girls to indulge in acts of anorexia so as to look like the models they see on t.v. and in magazines, not even aware that most of those images have been airbrushed over. However, despite knowing of the falsity, Broco makes a valid point when she writes, “…you can be a cynical as you want about the ads…and still feel powerless to resist their messages” (154).

Broco does admit that there are some instances that give her hope that not everyone has been sucked into the whirlpool. Instances like seeing all of the women athletes excel in sports that don’t have a thing to do with gymnastics, and a woman proudly displaying her round stomach for all to see. But “such moments are fleeting”. In the harsh reality of the world, Bordo sees only the deterioration of natural aging. To summarize her view she quotes, “ “Aging beautifully” used to mean wearing one’s years with style, confidence, and vitality. Today, it means not appearing to age at all.” And as too many people interpret beauty to be flawless, real beauty dwindles and dies like a flower covered in frost.

I agree that Bordo is right to say that women should be happier with their natural bodies and respect themselves for it because my experience in everyday life has confirmed it. Everyday I see multiple people, most especially girls, eating very little and then running to the gym. Laughing off the fact that they don’t eat breakfast. Applying coat after coat of makeup to make themselves ‘beautiful’.

Beauty isn’t something that you can categorize in just a few words like most people seem to think. There are all sorts of beauty, just like there are all sorts of people. All types have merit and all types are gorgeous. But that goes back to what society thinks is beautiful and what isn’t. Some companies are trying to make a dent and show the world that ‘bigger can be better’. Take Lane Bryant for example. A very popular clothing line is now using ‘larger’ models in their maganizes and no longer refer to larger sizes as ‘plus’ since those sizes are becoming the norm as they should have always been (159). If one company can start it, there isn’t any reason why more shouldn’t and then continue on to the consumers.

I also concur with Bordo’s analysis that young girls (around the ages of twelve) should not be practicing strip teasing and flaunting about in skimpy little outfits at that age. Sharon Lamb, the author of “The Secret Life of Girls” thinks that those kinds of things are perfectly natural and that children should indulge. Hell no! A limit has to be placed and that starts with what is safe and what’s not. When swimming turns to drowning, the fun and games are over and the idea of playing ‘sexy, little princess’ suddenly don’t matter as much. You need to respect your body like you would a precious jewel. It is, after all, the main part of you and there’s no reason to make it dull so soon in life when it should sparkle and shine.

So yes, I do agree with Bordo that the world is slowly revolving around the glitzy lifestyle that so many women, young and old, hope to achieve, and that a true natural beauty is difficult to come by. But when you see that life preserver, you better grip onto it and at least let an anchor of reality seep into you while you indulge in the false way of life, so that when you come to realize reality as you grow older you’ll have some lifeline to pull back on.