Analysis of Orbach’s Statement
According to Susie Orbach, femaleness is an aspect that has been widely blown out of context by women (1). Women develop certain unrealistic approaches to the issues surrounding femaleness with aims of belonging into the feminine world. The social and psychological pressures have been on the increase amongst humanity. The desire to feel appreciated and noticed by the rest of the society has pushed many individuals to ignore the reality and instead pursue fantasies and self motivated objectives. While women are considered as the ones majorly affected by the complicit femaleness, men are also equally affected by the pressures to feel accepted in the society.
The social aspects and desires determine the manner in which individuals integrate with society. Most people in the society have been following various unrealistic definition of appearance in order to raise their self esteem as well as their reveal their true self. These definitions have affected the lifestyles as well as the behaviors of most individuals in the world.
Women are the most affected of the two sexes. There have been varying definitions of beauty and it has been changing with time. The complicit nature of women in the definition and representation of femaleness has been influenced by the pressure from society of being accepted in the society. It is in the human nature to belong to a certain society. Appearance is one of the main aspects that’s that is used by both men and women to integrate with the society (Orbach 1). The definitions on beauty and elegance have been based entirely on looks. Other important issues like talents, special abilities and intelligence have been neglected and looks have taken over in the establishment of the standards for societal acceptance.
Poor feeding behaviors are common among women and female students, especially in colleges and other institutions of learning. The diets being taken by the women have been changing over time in the quest for achieving certain looks and body forms. Certain foods that are considered to affect the body weight are disregarded by the women due to claims that huge bodies are not beautiful. They therefore keep off certain foods, which in the real sense are beneficial for human growth. The development of such behaviors has caused lots of dietary complications among most women in the society. Changing diets and feeding habits have caused many women to suffer from malnutrition as a result of reduced food intake out of fear of becoming huge (Nasser, Melanie and Gordon 165).
The investment on cosmetics and beauty products has also increased significantly, their side effects notwithstanding. Some of the beauty products that have been increasingly produced by the beauty companies have imprisoned the women into following each new product with aims of achieving the perfect look. The quest for the achieving the ideal definition has caused many women to neglect basic caution and instead experiment on each of the products. The products have however come at a great cost, both financially and health wise. There have been many harmful aspects associated with the beauty products, with one of the common ones being skin diseases.
The men are also not different from the women when it comes to seeking acceptance in the society. Although each of the sexes has its own definition of the ideal appearance and looks, they crave for attaining these looks is equally worrying. For most men, achieving a well built gait is associated with power. Most men therefore pursue the quest of attaining this great body in order to raise their self esteem as well as true self. Comparison with other persons in the society is concerned as one of the best ways to gauge the perfect appearance from among the individuals in the society. Society has therefore developed certain standard looks that each of the persons strive to achieve (Nasser et al 170). Media and advertising companies have influenced the crazy quest for looks and appearance. There has grown a culture in the society, which has influenced the manner in which both men and women strive to attain the great looks and appearances. Their bodies have been turned as the only means of being accepted in the society (Orbach 64). Looking adorable and beautiful among women have been defined based on the size of breasts, hips and the shape of the entire body.
The men have taken on steroids in order to increase their body and develop that shape and size that is considered as the perfect body for men. The definitions have done nothing more than to enslave the society into following certain standards that have been developed as the ideal definitions for acceptance in the society. Social pressures and the standards that have been rising over the past years and the companies involved in the production of beauty products have taken advantage of the increasing demand to fulfill the human quest.
The human nature has therefore been affected by the changing culture in the world. Different individuals have had to deal with different consequences as a result of engaging in different unhealthy and unsuitable measures. Pushing for the fulfillment of certain standards associated with looks and appearance has developed in many institutions as many individuals struggle to achieve these statuses.
The men in the society have ended up taking drugs that are very harmful to their lives, but this has not appeared to be deterrence to pursuing these quests. Body forms and looks have even affected the medical institutions as most medical practitioners embark on finding solutions for the beauty quests, but at a cost. This craze has therefore affected the manner in which people carry out their activities as most people keep off most things that may affect their looks.
White and blue color jobs have also been interchanged in the society. This is because most of the ladies fear the risks associated with certain professionals as they are considered as endangering the looks. The quest by ladies to remain soft and adorable has intensified their distance from blue color jobs. The blue color jobs like those in the production and manufacturing departments are associated with various risks and the fear for loosing their looks.
The association of looks with beauty and elegance as well as the attachment of huge bodies with masculine attachment is a lie that people have been living with (Orbach 56). The companies have used these definitions to influence the manner in which people perceive and live with other people of the society. The attachment of these aspects with the various societal pressures is unfounded and for this reason, many people have defied the fact that they have been misused by the media as well as the cosmetics companies.
The development of new products each day to improve the beauty and appearance of individuals has developed as an abnormal obsession among the different sexes. Each of these sexes has developed certain ways of ensuring that they fit into the society. Feeling accepted and belonging to this emerging culture has undermined very important traits like intelligence and behaviors. People with special characteristics and good body features have been affected by this craze and have opted top change their looks in order to fit in the definitions of beauty and elegance.
Many women have been known to pursue cosmetic surgery in order to change their former looks and take the looks that are considered as elegant and beautiful (Reynolds 23). A unifying definition has therefore influenced the men to take steroids in order to attain certain body sizes as well as increase their self and esteem. This degrading culture has led to many ladies and men taking onto the beauty competitions in order to feel accepted and in order to make the people understand the meaning of beauty. The beauty that is widely publicized by the media and other corporations has made people to loose sense of the ideal interpretation of beauty.
Beauty and elegance has little to do with looks. Although looks have been developed as the definitions for beauty, there are other issues that are very important, and which have been neglected by many individuals in their quest for social acceptance. The society has been greatly affected by the ever rising comparisons and obsessions for beauty and elegance (Orbach 1). Men have died due to overindulgence in strength-enhancement drugs since these drugs affect the entire body and cause the people to have hormonal changes and these changes have caused the people to be affected dearly for their mistakes. The cultural changes have been increasingly threatening to the human system. Through the quest for acceptance and fitting into the community, people are driven to take risky and unworthy initiatives in order to feel part and parcel to the society.
The illustrations above show that there has been a growing concern among communities as they undertake certain initiatives to feel accepted and elegant in the society. The different interpretations of beauty and elegance have caused people to develop certain side effects in economic, social and cultural environments. It is therefore essential that people approach the social pressures with a rational mind in order to break free of the complicit interpretations.
Works Cited
Nasser Mervat, Melanie, A. Katzman and Richard A. Gordon. Eating disorders and cultures in transition. New York, NY: Psychology Press, 2001. Print.
Orbach, Sarah. Bodies. London, UK: Profile Books, 2009. Print.
Orbach, Sarah. Fat is an advertising issue. 2005. Web. 17 June 2011.
Reynolds, Jill. The single woman: a discursive investigation. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Print.
