Sunday, April 1, 2012
Capitalism and Perfection
The emergence of capitalism created a situation in which women both have more open doors and more walls to keep them in. While women have many more opportunities in the workforce and in social circles, the walls have been built in their heads. Mass media, which constantly feeds women images of what they are supposed to look like, dictates societies expectations of women. We assume that success in the workplace and the home also means a body which successfully fulfills societies expectations of beauty. Surely an "ugly" woman cant be happily married and a forerunner in her field! Capitalism is a system where corporations will manipulate people's ideas of happiness and success in order to sell them products. To create a consumer culture, it must be made clear that one cannot be happy and successful without buying it. And part of that culture means creating an idea of "perfection" which can only be achieved through buying products. For women, a major part of this "perfection" is based on body image. In order to appear "smart" one must have a sharp pantsuit and square frame glasses. Even dark eyeshadow and red lipstick can help! This connection between personality, perfection, and body image, is a creation of the capitalist culture which, in many ways, keep women trapped.
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I agree with you that capitalism is a system whereby companies, and individuals, manipulate people's ideas of happiness and success. It's a system that makes us question our beliefs and lifestyle. You may think that you mentally sound, but then comes a commercial telling you you're not and that you need to take this medication to cure you. Similarly, you may think that you have nice skin, but then a Proactiv commercial comes on telling you that if you're skin doesn't look like what you see on TV (which is most likely extremely PhotoShopped) then your skin is inadequate and in need of dermatological assistance.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that the capitalist society in which we live in is exacerbating the beauty/perfection ideal (like the example you gave with the Proactiv commercial). Because people can now "buy beauty", I think that perfection and flawlessness are now marks of the wealthy and successful. Therefore, beauty corresponds with power dynamics. For example, in my comm class, I learned that many women often report that they face unfair biases and stigmas in the workplace for being overweight or less physically attractive.
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