Our Inability to Move Past an Inescapable Image
I have this brutal addiction. I love seeing what actresses are wearing in TV shows.
I love seeing how stylists create their outfits and utilize current fashion trends.
But I sometimes wonder if I’m constantly comparing myself to girls and/or women who have been airbrushed and professionally made up and dressed.
I understand that this is constantly been something that’s debated in society, but do you really ever stop and think about it? Are people today being influenced by media to such an extent that it’s “brainwashing” us?
Everyone I suppose has an opinion on this issue but if we simply look at some facts and examples we’ll see that this is far too true.
The example I’m going to use are Bratz Dolls. Yes, the infamous Bratz. Scantily dressed with far too much makeup on their faces, and clothes in their closets that scream High Maintenance.
Bratz dolls are bright and colorfully dressed girls who love to shop do their hair and makeup and essentially be the “hottest” dolls in the toy box. When children are in their developing stages, 4-11, and old enough to play with such toys, these dolls leave a lasting impression on them. Their brains, like sponges, are left with an image of what society has deemed acceptable. And if it so happens to be that Bratz dolls are what they’ve grown up with since youth then they may hold themselves to such a standard.
Of course there is the occasional witty person who mentions how our generation grew up with Barbie and yet we don’t compare ourselves to her. However to fully analyze this comparison I feel as though Barbie needs an equally harsh judging.
Barbie’s appearance is so far from realistic that it’s almost painful. Her dresses were short pink and flirty and her legs were far too long. However the extras that could be purchased for Barbie weren’t exceedingly superficial. Barbie could be a nurse and help others, she could be a veterinarian and tend to wounded animals or she could pursue a career as an animal trainer. There was an idea surrounding Barbie, an idea that created her identity. Barbie was a strong female who could choose her own path in life, even her name is commonly used, Barbie – Barbara. If we take a deeper look at Bratz and define the title the word, as per the New Oxford American Dictionary, means: Badly Behaved Child, Spoiled, Rascal.
"PROSTITUTES ?"
This in itself is the foundation of the character, and associating such a word immediately gives off a terrible image.
You may be asking yourself how this has anything to do with fashion but let me remind you that the way women portray themselves begins at a young age.
Many young women of course can shake this impression as they grow up however there’s already an idea imprinted in society that keeps women portrayed in such an impossible way. and therefore not only do they grow up with it but it follows them into their youth. Therefore I think it’s time that we change this inescapable image and help the women of tomorrow.
As Jean Piaget once said “The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done”. So let’s take a minute and think abut what we’re teaching ourselves and what we’re teaching the young women of the world.
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