Body Inclusivity in the Media
Body inclusivity in the media is virtually nonexistent. Throughout my research, I've been able to speak to a full-figured model, analyze the famous Barbie Effect, look at Disney characters and movie tropes through a microscopic lens, and acknowledge the lasting psychological effect all of these things have on people.
This project means a lot to me because I am plus-sized myself. I grew up with the Barbie Effect, I was and am treated differently because of my weight, I am looked down on. Seeing that the treatment I receive on a daily basis is not in my head is upsetting but validating at the same time.
Conversations with a Model
When I chose this topic to do my research on, I remembered I had a family friend who is a full-figured model. Literally nothing in my life has lined up to be this perfect before! Deanna Tennant is an absolute gem of a human and a stunning woman. She has worked as a full-figured model for 36 years. I was able to ask her all about the treatment she receives as a full-figured model, her thoughts on beauty standards, and what it's like to be a full-figured woman in America. Our conversation is below:
Maya: Do you get booked along with other full-figured models typically?
Deanna: No. Pretty much the whole 36 years I've been modeling...I am the only full-figured model that is booked. There are maybe two, but it also depends if I am working for the African American group. I'm the only white full figure, but in that culture, they like the curves. [In] white culture, even though they say they appreciate, there's still that taboo. A size six, eight, or ten is kind of too big. I'm pretty much a fourteen to sixteen, I fluctuate in between there. I'm in the Chicago area. I'm really the only one I know of that is booked and still if they have to cut anyone, they usually cut the big one, the old one, or the Black one. It's pretty much cookie cutter. They do kind of switch it up with like blonde or brunette, but basically, it's just me.
Maya: In your opinion, what involvement has the modeling/beauty industry had in creating the "beauty standard" and when did it first start?
Deanna:
Twiggy was the part where it really [took off]. And then after that, it improved. But not really. They say that they're trying to get more full fingered [models]. Designers like and clothe what they think looks better on a size two, four, or six and it's really more two or four. We joke [that those size models] are built as a coat hanger. The media is always saying that they're going more towards a full figure. When I model, 75% of the people are my size and larger. And when I get off the runway, people are like, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I totally appreciate this, I love seeing someone who looks like me" and then others say, "you're not full-figured!" I say, "I definitely am in the modeling industry."
Maya: Has there ever been a time in your life where your clothing size fluctuated? Did that ever affect the treatment you received?
Deanna: Yeah, I actually lost quite a bit of weight, and thought I could still model but I ended up losing gigs. They said they booked me as a full figure. There's almost a hierarchy where the foreign or
skinny girls [get more gigs] even within the modeling world. I am not treated as an equal, but I'm fine with that because I have to represent the curvy girls. So definitely, I pretty much have to stay within the fourteen to sixteen [range]. The only difference was when I really lost weight. I was probably down to a small twelve and they're like, "Yeah, you're too thin. We're not looking for that." So, it was fun having to try to gain weight back.
Maya: Do you like modeling? What has been the best experience? What is the worst part?
Deanna: I love it! Never ever did I ever dream, when I was growing up on the farm, that I would ever [get to] become a model. [We moved] up here and saw a fashion show and I was wearing something similar to what they had on. A lady approached me and within a week, I was working full time as a model. I only saw modeling as, "they take you in the back on Dateline 2020 and kill you" so we researched it and one thing led to another and I was doing it. Before 9/11, I was doing 190 shows a year. We don't do it during the summer and have a month off for holidays. So, a lot of nights and weekends, sometimes two to three shows.
The best experience was that I was able to travel. I was flown out to California to do the Bare Essential commercial. I was also flown to New York to work with
Linda Dano. She was a lady I grew up with. She was very flamboyant. Beautiful. Blingy. Everything I loved. She was an actress on Another World (a soap opera). She also has books out there. So I was able to work with her. I worked with Delta Burke. I worked with Richard Simmons. The other thing is just the exposure and being able to try on amazing things without buying them. It's almost like playing dress up as an adult, so you feel like a kid wearing these beautiful clothes and you get to do it as an adult.
The worst part of it. So, I'm just going to add that is is very critical. And when you do things, they're like, "your nose is crooked." "Your arms are too big" or whatever. So, it really messes with self esteem. I think the most insecure people in the world are models. Just because everything is judged on looks. And a lot of the models I worked with had some stories. One of my model friends was made fun of all the way through high school by boys and girls because they didn't think she was pretty. They would put dog treats in her locker and her lunch pail. So, there's that part. I would say the most insecure, including myself, are models because if you don't come out looking model-ready people make comments. I can look like the next homeless person or I can be super glamorous. It's an illusion we put out in society, but people judge people for having acne or hair breakage or gaining weight or whatever. A lot is on the positive, but there's a lot on the negative as well.
Representation in Children's Movies
Disney has a common body type they use for their heroes and a body type they use for their villains. Let's look at Ariel and Ursula in The Little Mermaid.
And we'll look at Alice and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
How about Governor Ratcliff and John Smith from Pocahontas.
The clear correlation here is that the protagonist (the character children are supposed to see themselves in) has a skinny, smaller body and the antagonist (the evil character who hurts the protagonist) has a larger body.
Larger-bodied character designs are also used for the "funny" characters. This is the case in most movies, let alone children's movies. This sends a subliminal message that not only are plus-sized people of less worth than others, but they are evil.
The Barbie Effect
The Barbie Effect is a commonly known phrase. It has inspired works of art and literature, including this poem:
"This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending." - Maggie Piercy
However, the Barbie Phenomenon originally started as a study. Aurora Sherman of Oregon State University and Eileen Zurbriggen of the University of California, Santa Cruz were psychologists who used 37 girls from ages four through seven in their study, "Effect of Barbie Play on Girls' Career Cognitions." Half of the group was assigned to play with a Barbie while the other half played with Mrs. Potato Head. The notable difference between the two dolls are the sexualized characteristics. After playing for five minutes, each girl was shown a picture of eleven different professions. Five of them were "male-dominated" fields, five of them were "female-dominated" fields, and one was neutral (restaurant server). They were then asked if they could see themselves doing these jobs when they grew up.
The results of the study showed that the girls who were assigned to play with Barbies saw themselves as only being able to have a job in a female-dominating industry while the girls who were assigned to play with Mrs. Potato Head saw themselves as able to have a job in any of the eleven professions shown. This study clearly shows that the dolls we let our children play with mindlessly are not mindless at all. They are not only effecting children's views of themselves, but their views of what is possible for them to do in life.
Psychological Effect on Young Girls
I don't think it's any big secret that the way plus-size bodies are portrayed in the media causes problems for young people's mental health, especially young girls.
"Women are more likely to have negative body image than men. They are given messages throughout their lives that their bodies and looks are the most important thing about them." -Susannah Woodbury
The New York Times reported that according to marketing research by the firm Yankelovich, a person living in a city sees up to 5,000 ads per day. Many of these ads promote the idea that thin is beautiful, retouching photos of models to look flawless. This is not an accurate portrayal of humans that exist on Earth. Beauty standards change over time, drastically. The "Twiggy" aesthetic was an unrealistic portrayal of women to be a thin as twigs. This was popular in the 70s. Today, curvy is popular. In the Renaissance, women were painted as they were, curvy and voluptuous.
A major psychological effect that is caused in part by the constant barrage of advertisement aimed at insecure young women is eating disorders.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder commonly found in young people. They become obsessed with losing weight, even if they are at a healthy weight. They become extremely thin and malnourished.
Bulimia is another common eating disorder in which a person will attempt to vomit up their food after eating it.
Binge eating is the third major eating disorder. This can occur when one has no control over their eating habits for a "binge," and then commonly will refrain from eating for a while out of guilt.
All eating disorders are extremely serious but can be treated with the correct intervention techniques.
Works Cited
“Twiggy.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twiggy.
“Linda Dano.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Aug. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Dano#:~:text=Linda%20Dano%20%28born%20Linda%20Rae,her%20work%20on%20Another%20World.
University, Utah State. “How Body Image Affects Mental Health.” USU, 30 Nov. 2021, https://extension.usu.edu/mentalhealth/articles/how-body-image-affects-mental-health.
“Anorexia Nervosa.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 20 Feb. 2018, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591.
Ekern, Baxter. “The Modeling Industry and Body Image.” Eating Disorder Hope, 20 May 2015, https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/the-modeling-industry-and-body-image.
“Binge-Eating Disorder.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 5 May 2018, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/binge-eating-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353627.
“Bulimia Nervosa.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 10 May 2018, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615.
“Barbie Doll - Barbie Doll.” PoemHunter.com, 1 Jan. 2004, https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbie-doll/.
“The Barbie Effect.” The American Scholar, 8 July 2015, https://theamericanscholar.org/the-barbie-effect/.
“The Villains.” Media and Cultural Analysis, https://counterarchive.hosting.nyu.edu/exhibits/show/disney/the-villains.
Comments
Post a Comment