Author Archives: fp149346

Frumpy to feminine

How we present ourselves is considered a very important aspect in most people’s eyes. Since we do not want to be judged by our peers, we try to alter how we look and dress to fit what our society presently thinks is attractive. It has been like this for a very long time. Men and women exercise and go on diets to try to mold their bodies to an image that is attractive.  As the host says in the video, “Before you can sell a product, you gotta sell you.” This is absolutely right when it comes to modern society. On billboards you do not see people who are look ordinary and dress ordinary, you see people who are attractive and are dressed nicely.

In the video, Chelsea is considered a woman who dresses “frumpy” or “unattractive.” In the series the hosts give the guest a makeover to make them more feminine. At the end of the clip, after Chelsea has been “transformed,” the host remarks: “It’s hard to believe that you’re the same woman.” Chelsea points out that she is in fact the same woman. Chelsea is right, she is definitely the same woman. Society judges us too much based on our appearance to a point that it is not necessary and overwhelming. How we look should not at all define who we are as a person. If we were to be proud of how we look  and ignore the way society judges us then we would all feel better about ourselves.

Chelsea is someone who does not follow this idea. In the video, Chelsea is shown wearing “unattractive” or “frumpy” clothing

Gender as a spectrum

Inequality originates from a divide or separation between people as different members of society. Before one is able to develop their own specific personality, they are already given an ascribed status. For example, if you are a white male from an upper-class family you are already distinguished as unequal to someone who is perhaps a lower-class African American individual. Society seeks for equality but there is so much about us that completely stops us from truly feeling equal.

Society’s idea of equality is that everyone has a right to vote, everyone has the same resources as everyone else, and that everyone is treated equally. Imagine if society reaches its goals of equality. Will everyone actually see other people as equal or will the population just treat everyone equally because of the laws that have been passed to enforce it? In my opinion, the only way to reach true societal equality is if there were no ascribed statuses that are immediately given to you after birth. This seems quite impossible since, as humans, we are able to see people’s appearances and distinguish differences based on those.

Even though my solution to true equality is quite impossible, Navajo traditions show a step closer to the removal of ascribed status in gender. Their traditions are remarkable to say the least – their idea of gender not as a divide between people but as a spectrum, is an amazing way to break down the walls between gender discrimination. The festival wherein all the males and females of the village exchange clothing really expresses the culture’s idea that there should not be such a difference between men and women. Cultures like these give me hope that society will successfully end discrimination based on our differences.

16 and Pregnant

MTV’s 16 and pregnant is a very popular tv reality show launched in 2009 that reveals real life footage of the struggle of young pregnant teens in America. The show depicts certain aspects of the lives of these pregnant teens pretty well when they talk about the different problems that will result in the baby’s birth, like who will take care of it, will the dad stay and how will they afford to raise it. But the show does not depict teen pregnancy completely since they only show teens whose families are willing to accept having their daughter pregnant at such a young age. In reality, most families either kick out their children once they find out that their kid is pregnant or has gotten someone pregnant. The show fails to follow the teens that are not allowed to live in their parents houses and try  to hold down a job to raise a baby, whose dad is probably not even there to support it.

This show is popular because it is an issue that most teens are surrounded by because of society. Teens learn about sex and pregnancy at a fairly early age in America as a mandatory class at school. Not to mention that American teenage society is fairly sexual therefore making the topic of sex and pregnancy strongly appealing.

In the episode, Jenelle realizes that being a mother is very difficult at a young age as she meets and also does not meet certain requirements for motherhood. One of the main conflicts that will occur when she gives birth to her baby is balancing her roles as a “teen” and also a “mother”. This role conflict is challenging since the two are not very similar, teenagers are rebellious and seek the freedom of adulthood without having actual responsibility. While mothers are bombarded by responsibility from their work and taking care of their kids. Role conflict can be very difficult and often leads to wrong decisions and not fulfilling the certain duties of a specific role.

Tiger Mom

Being born and raised in an Asian country, I was surrounded by kids whose parents expected so much from them to the point that they felt like they had no freedom in their lives. From being forced to play a classical instrument to having a pre-decided college major, some kids I knew who have “Tiger parents” were suppressed from having their own choice in life and felt depressed about their situation. But although their childhoods were tough, now when I talk to them they think it was necessary for their parents to push them hard earlier in their lives instead of learning the important lessons that their parents taught them now that they are already college students. The overall idea that kids with Tiger parents are unhappy and should be freed from their totalitarian governors is misleading because most people don’t understand the culture within the way some ethnicities treat their children.

Asian culture does indeed push for a more authoritarian style of parenting because ever since the 1800’s there have been massive amounts of Asian immigrants moving to North America to start a new life and earn “American money.” The thought of success and prosperity has made Asian parents stricter on their children in hope that they will get a good job and achieve success in a new prosperous country

When looking at this issue you have to see through unbiased eyes. It is just a cultural fact that to a lot of Asian parents, pushing their children is completely acceptable. Maybe to Asian parents the way that most American parents treat their kids is too lenient and “weak.” So it is not just to judge how someone educated their children if you do not completely understand the culture that comes with it. To them it is considered a norm of their society.

Price Of Beauty

Society’s image of “beauty” is an ever-changing concept that has tormented women for hundreds of years. In the late 1800’s beauty culture developed in the United States and a woman was considered beautiful if she had a thin waist and a large hairdo. During the early 1900’s “flappers” popularized the idea of showing more skin, thus making women much more self conscious about their figure. Presently, women who are skinny, toned, and muscular are considered females with the “perfect body.” Throughout the decades there has been a constant belief that to be beautiful, you have to weigh less, and look skinny. Isabella Caro started modeling in her last year of high school and decided that it was going to be her career. The moment that sparked the beginning of her anorexia was when a fashion designer told her she had to lose weight if she wants to be in the fashion world. Caro died on November 17, 2010 weighing less than 55 pounds. In the video “The Price of Beauty, Jessica Simpson meets Isabella Caro” you can truly visualize and understand that the idea of having to be skinny to be beautiful has become an issue of society. Models are not the only ones nowadays that are overly concerned that their bodies are not good enough. Today, women all over America are following special diets and strenuous exercise programs to be able to feel like they fit the image of what our society thinks is beautiful and attractive. It is understandable, even in nature we see plants and animals that adapt to present themselves as a better candidate for mating. But is it really acceptable to have a woman like Isabella Caro slip into anorexia because it is what our society thinks is good-looking? People everywhere, male and female, have such a strong feeling of dissatisfaction with how they look  that it is not just an individual problem anymore. If we look at this issue in a micro-level, individuals see billboards and posters of women with skinny waists and men with six-pack abs literally everywhere. Being exposed to all these pictures of people who are considered “better looking” than the average person has led society to be completely unappeased with itself.