Beauty is a
social construct; it has morphed and changed throughout time; it has developed
in unspeakable ways. Blacks are particularly vulnerable to these societal
shifts and standards of beauty. Why? During slavery, the bodies of black women
were commoditized and judged based on their ability to birth children by white
slave owners. In the readings at the beginning of the semester, I was astounded
to discover that many masters favored lighter colored black women because they
looked more like them. To many slaves, being perceived as beautiful was a curse
because it could lead to sexual harassment and extreme suffering. In contrast, slaves
who were not perceived as beautiful experienced harsher treatment. During
slavery, the beauty of black women was greatly defined by white slave owners.
To a large extent, the tone of their skin greatly determined black women’s
destiny.
What currently defines
ascetic beauty is media, the toys we play with as young children, and the
levels of insecurity that many individuals develop when they fail to meet the
expectations placed by society. In the early 1900's Marilyn Monroe was the
epitome of femininity. She was wildly popular for her famous curves. Over the
years, however, society has digressed, as women struggle to become a size 0,
obtain a certain weight, alter their skin color or use plastic surgery to alter
their bodies. Maintaining confidence in a society that places enormous amounts
of value on ascetic beauty is a challenge for many; for black women, the weight
they carry is tenfold. Curious, I delved into research t discover more. On
Gradient Lair, a blog about black women, Trudy writes:
“Colourism
and Eurocentric beauty myths impact how many Black women perceive beauty and
how beauty is portrayed as a concept itself in our society. Thus, deciding that
only thin and/or only those Black women with passing or light
skinned privilege and long straight
hair is beautiful and thereby more worthy of anything considered
good is problematic. Prizing beauty over every other facet such as a
fascinating personality, confidence, intelligence, talent, vision, kindness,
wit, creativity, humor, lovingness and all that Black women are then becomes an
internalized sexist reduction” (Gradient Lair).
I found this
quote to be extremely powerful and thought provoking. For black women, it is
not solely about how society perceives them; it is how those perceptions
influence and shape their opinions of self.
In conclusion,
aesthetic beauty is greatly shaped, determined and defined by society. MLK
dreamed that someday his children would “not be judged by the color of their
skin, but by the content of their character”. Society needs to move from
defining women by their size, shape, color, and inherent features to
appreciating each individual for whom they are on the inside. My hope is that
someday, each and every individual will strive to defy the social norms and
challenge others to change their perceptions of beauty. By doing so, it is my
belief that women, both black and white will attain empowerment.
Works Cited
"Gradient
Lair." Gradient Lair. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.gradientlair.com/post/47723075288/black-womanists-women-can-embrace-beauty-and-wholeness>.
"Operation
Equality." Operation Equality. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
<http://operationequality.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/beauty-is-a-socially-constructed-idea/>.
I find it interesting how closely Lair relates perceived beauty to positive attributes like talent, intelligence, humor, even lovingness; especially when this is a sexist construction as Lair mentions. There is no lack of evidence of constructed gender roles of black women. From slavery we received the 'mammy' character--the black woman with large breasts, cooking, doing housework, and caring for all the children, and raising the white masters children. As we read in 'Ground' many women, such as Fannie Cabett, were vital to many great Civil Rights gains but never recognized. I agree it will take a reshaping of both our physical sexist ideas of what a woman should be and also out ideas of what a woman can do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, here's a link to an artist who depicted what Barbie would look like if she had the features of an average woman, the contrast is dramatic. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/normal-barbie-nickolay-lamm_n_3529460.html
ReplyDeleteGood lord! That is wild! I think that the article does a fantastic job at pointing towards the dramatic ways in which Barbie can falsely instill an image of "beauty" into children (particularly girls) at such a young age. I would think that such unattainable "perfection" (or what society deems it to be) could cause many people with problems of self esteem.
DeleteI am slightly ashamed that I chose to overlook males interaction with society, masculinity, and what it means to be "handsome". I think that this narrative is equally as important and must also be examined and explored. When I have time, I fully intend to make another post examining and exploring just that. Thoughts?
Beauty has come a long way since the 1800s, and it is continuing to change and grow. To me it is not surprising that slave owners had preferences of what they thought was beautiful: Light skinned, skinny, beautiful features. And then the slave owners would then treat the darker skinned women more harshly. It is sad to say that this happened but the perception of beauty has always had specific classifications. Models would always be tall, skinny, prominent features, beautiful skin ect and the list could go on. Women would try to do everything in their power to changed the way they looked to fit in with their perception of beauty. I remember seeing in high school on the show True Life that a black girl was in a white family and they had the perception that she wasn’t as beautiful as them so she decided to lighten her skin. I know there are intense measures that can be taken to lighten your skin tone make it the color that you desire. This is sad but I see that society’s perception of beauty had come along way. Now there are the love your boy campaign by Dove, role models for all races to be beautiful and successful, and peoples opinion are progressing.
ReplyDeleteThe racism within the slave trade is extremely interesting to me. During the time of chattel slavery, blacks served as the lowest floor that whites could not fall below. Even worse, the slave trade created a racist system within the race of African Americans. It's so disturbing to consider the punishments and preferences the slaves endured in the trade based off an uncontrollable characteristic.
ReplyDeleteI read an online article with the author of Roots, the historical drama based on his family life. The interview is very pertinent to this topic. When asked what the root of racism is, he stated that hatred and the obscene emphasis of "visual" perception of people are the largest contributors. I agree with him, in that ignorance, hatred, and the emphasis on outer appearances play too large of a role in society today. I like how Noelle included MLK's hopes in her post; society could use a large reminder of the importance of what is inside rather than exterior appearances.
The article can be found: https://www.cbn.com/special/blackhistory/scottross_alexhaley.aspx