Reading, Watching And Listening To Beauty Standards - Saarah
Reading, Watching and Listening to Beauty Standards - Saarah
Trigger Warning: This post contains references to eating disorders; reader discretion is advised.
Visit https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ for help.
This essay will be exploring how beauty standards affect women. There were many ways to approach this but I feel what would perhaps be more interesting is how certain types of media engage and educate audiences on the matter.
It would be dishonest if I were to say I have always been conscious of these societal beauty standards; it would be further incomplete if I were not to include the standards of beauty placed on men who are represented by more muscular ideals. Physical attractiveness is something all of us are judged against. Scientifically, it results in successfulness in procreating. Why then are we beholden to these standards by society, to look conventionally pretty, groom oneself a certain way and attempt to show ourselves in our best light physically?
Outside of genetics and biology and inheriting features from our biological parents, there isn’t a lot we can do to change our look. It is largely outside of our control, and for most of us, our paycheck. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported that women had 92% of all cosmetic surgery in the year 2019. While for men, this figure was only 8% respectively. For men a rhinoplasty was the most popular procedure, for women the rhinoplasty came in 6th after breast augmentation (implants or enlargement) or reduction, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and liposuction (removal of fat). My essay however, will focus on society’s fascination with body weight.
Society is constituted of the people around us, our networks, friends, families and colleagues. It is in the media we consume; the celebrities, the books, the films and television we watch. I have selected a book, a film and a music video to discuss this heavy subject, one of society’s biggest social taboos.
Firstly, the book is one I read a few years ago and one that shaped my opinions on this matter: Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield. If ever there was the one book for someone curious about this subject, weight and body dysmorphia, this is one I would press on any willing reader. Fairfield is someone who has for thirty years struggled with anorexia and bulimia. Fairfield writes candidly about how her thoughts take over and control her behaviour and self-destructive patterns. For me this was the first book I read on the subject, and it was the most educational. It taught me how society has a limited view on the feminine ideal and more often than not, it has nothing to do with “health”.
With weight, especially when you're a woman, everyone feels entitled to speak with you about it publicly. Are you pregnant? Dieting? It comes up over a shared meal, when asking if you'd like to have something to eat or, when you haven't seen someone in a long time. It's a shallow thing but people do speak up when they see a change. Plus, these days, it seems as if everyone is in the business of getting in shape…
Weight bias has become a prevalent, socially acceptable form of prejudice and discrimination. In a study by Falkner et al. titled Mistreatment due to weight: prevalence and sources of perceived mistreatment in women and men (1999), a sample of healthy adults (187 men and 800 women) enrolled in a weight gain prevention program recounted their experiences on the matter of weight bias. 22% of women and 17% of men reported weight-related mistreatment. The most commonly reported sources of mistreatment among women were strangers (12.5%) and a spouse or loved one (11.9%) (source: pubmed). Curiously this is not something only the morbidly obese people experience, the study noted. We all have an experience.
A more recent study: A Picture of Health (2016) by Credos et al. found that 41% of boys feel that the portrayal of men in media images is unrealistic. ‘Adults, as well as young people are finding themselves with issues surrounding body image. (Safeline 2021). We see heavily filtered images, badly filtered images on our apps, social networks and magazines. Where there could be an opportunity to help with body image acceptance, instead we find stereotypes, poor representation and incorrect language like ‘thin’ for anorexic sufferers, and the ‘fat humour’ so prevelant in US televisions shows.
Perhaps unexpectedly, it has fallen on our role models to help us feel better. Before we had the more popular clothing retailers offer larger sizes of clothing to fit plus-size women, we had body-positivity champions. My personal favourite is Meghan Trainor, but big stars like Demi Lovato and Beyonce also come to mind. The second media I selected is Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass 2015 song and accompanying music video. It has a memorable message of self-acceptance but was criticized for not empowering every body type. Despite this it reached number 1 in 58 countries. It was relatable and for many people, it was refreshing to hear.
The final media I selected was ‘To the Bone’ a film starring Lily Collins (2017) who plays an recovering-anorexic woman. This was like the other two pieces of media I selected, about conquering a life-long battle and finding your own identity. It is a harrowing depiction of what can happen when beauty standards limit and reduce a person, by going too far. The character’s desires are more complex than wanting to be thin or prettier; she wants to be comfortable, and her reasons are complicated. I selected this because I felt it showed the extreme of body dysmorphia and society being an underhand entity in what shapes us and who we go on to become.
To conclude, this essay is only a brief perusal of the influence beauty standards hold. The media I selected all have their own place in a much broader discussion. Some of these will be triggering, others will be life affirming, but they all exist as art works which can educate and be forces for positive, radical change, embracing identity and not image; and ultimately, standing up to beauty standards.
References:
BAAPS statistics available here: https://www.theprivateclinic.co.uk/blog/baaps-releases-cosmetic-surgery-2020-annual-audit/
How body image is portrayed in the media | Safeline - Believe in you - Surviving sexual abuse & rape https://www.safeline.org.uk/how-body-image-is-portrayed-in-the-media/
Mistreatment due to weight: prevalence and sources of perceived mistreatment in women and men - PubMed (nih.gov) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10574516/
More Posts from Di3t-cherryc0la and Others
SAFE FOOD
RASBERRIES YALL
they are 1 cal each 1 literally you would have to eat 100 to reach 100 cal for most peoples snack limit
and it’s a fruit so it has vitamins, healthy sugars, and WATER time to eat RASBERRIES
elsa hosk
Renee Beller thinspo. HER LEGS LIKE CMON.
Low Calorie Popsicles/Ice Cream Bars
So these are the ones that I just bought the other day. They are actually lower calorie than I had remembered.
They're pretty small, but personally they are the perfect fix for my sugar cravings and I don't feel bad if I decided to go ahead and have 2.
Here are some other options that I found online that may be available depending on where you live:
NOTE: Sorry for the long introduction, in some ways in contains an addendum which explains the gaps and breakdowns in my undergraduate performance. Also I’m sorry that notes are not a traditional way to begin a critical essay
There are many reasons why Nabokov is not a household name in the same way that classical lyricists such as Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and T.S. Eliot might be to your average college graduate. For, Vladimir Nabokov once wrote the most morally questionable book of the 20th century. Plastered around Spain you might notice the sardonic ire that taints storefronts labeled Lola, Lolita, and worst of all Sweet Lolita. For a second I imagined myself capable of writing a thesis on the history of the book, but as I dove deeper into the subject my frustrations boiled until I quite literally lost my mind.
Keep reading
Skinny Lasagna - 240 kcal/20g protein
Servings: 12 - 240 kcal/20g protein each
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar (25.5 oz) Italian herb pasta sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 egg
1 container (15 oz) reduced-fat ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package. Place in cold water.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook beef and garlic over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in pasta sauce, ground red pepper and 1 teaspoon of the basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat egg slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese and remaining 1/2 teaspoon basil until blended. Drain noodles. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce mixture over bottom of baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, 1 1/2 cups of the sauce mixture, half of the ricotta mixture and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spray 15-inch piece of foil with cooking spray. Cover lasagna with foil.
4. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
95 calorie cinnamon rolls!!
i am OBSESSED
i cannot believe that i just made these. HEAVEN!!!!
95 cal cinnamon roll + 10 cal cream cheese frosting = 105 cal cinnamon roll with frosting
O.M.G.
ingredients:
yields 10 rolls (serving is 1)
cinnamon rolls
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup of nonfat greek yogurt (i used 2 single serving cups of light & fit coconut vanilla flavored yogurt)
2 Tbs. coconut oil
3 Tbs. stevia (make sure it is volume equivalent to sugar)
1 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
cream cheese frosting (makes way more than you need for the cinnamon rolls, so you can frost a cake with the leftovers):
serving size is 1 Tbs.
1 box of sugar free & fat free cheesecake jello pudding mix
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cashew milk
1 smaller tub of light cool whip
directions:
mix pudding according to directions with cashew milk & place in fridge to cool until cinnamon rolls are done
preheat oven to 350°F
combine flour & yogurt until a dough is formed
knead dough on a floured surface for about 2 minutes
roll out dough into a rectangle
melt coconut oil in microwave for about 20 seconds
brush oil on rolled out dough
mix stevia & cinnamon and sprinkle over coconut oil on dough
roll up dough to make a long log
cut into 10 equal pieces
place cinnamon rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
bake for 20-22 minutes
remove pudding from fridge & mix in cool whip
macros:
for 1 roll
14 g carbs
2.9 g fat
2.5 g protein
95 calories
stay safe & listen to your body. if you're "new" here, run.
- elizabeth
How to poop again
Y’all my pro tip if you can’t poop is to eat dried apricots if you are not afraid of them or buy Macrogol. It’s a different kind of laxative and it doesn’t work instant but takes 1-3 days to work but it’s way more safe than regular laxatives. Also it doesn’t cause crazy diarrhea and stomach pain. They just soften your stool. You can take them for 2 weeks straight with no harm. Then you just need to take a break for a few days and after that continue taking them for 2 weeks etc. Even babies can take this.
I restrict a lot but still take a shit thanks to both BUT don’t overdo both or take them together bc then you WILL get diarrhea and stomach pain and you don’t want this. Maybe do this if you haven’t pooped in a week. But otherwise NO.
Also buttermilk is very good for you digestion. It’s filling and both low in calories and fat.
Please tell me if it worked for you and have a good poop! 💖
Meal Ideas
VEGETARIAN SAFE FOOD RECIPES:
-”Zoodle soup” (100 cal)
https://www.rebootwithjoe.com/100-calorie-vegetable-zoodle-soup-recipe/
- “Shirataki Noodles with Bean Sprouts & Red Curry” (42 cal)
https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/shirataki-noodles-with-bean-sprouts-and-red-curry/Default.aspx
- ”All-Vegetable soup” (32 cal)
https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/all-vegetable-soup/Default.aspx
- ”Cabbage and Tomato soup” (23 cal)
https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/cabbage-and-tomato-soup/Default.aspx
- ”Zucchini Parmesan” (28 cal)
https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/zucchini-parmesan/Default.aspx
- ”Balsamic and Olive Oil Brussel Sprouts” ( 82 cal)
https://mobile.fatsecret.com/recipes/balsamic-and-olive-oil-roasted-brussels-sprouts/Default.aspx
-“Fried Cauliflower” (60 cals)
use spray oil and basically just put chopped cauliflower in a pan
Food Log: 9/14
Hey everyone! I’ve let myself go a lot over the summer from being in IOP but now I’m motivated to get back to my lw, or maybe even my ugw :) So, I’m gonna start tracking my food each day and upload it here, as well as do some fasting
Breakfast:
Sugar-free Gum (5 cal)
Black Coffee (15 cal)
20 cals
Lunch:
skipped
Dinner:
Tilapia Fish (218 cal)
Broccoli (31 cal)
Cauliflower Rice (35 cal)
284 cals
Total: 304 cals
would today technically be an OMAD? Or does black coffee break a fast idk😭 I was aiming for a fast today but lmk if I made any errors here
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di3t-cherryc0la reblogged this · 2 years ago -
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weareyour4 reblogged this · 3 years ago
sw/hw: 125 lbs cw: 104.9 lbs forced to gain, trying to lose it all again :( gw: 100 lbs lw/gw: 92 lbs ugw: 90 lbs
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