Short response 10/21

Joan Brumberg's article Body Project focused on the transition of women's lifestyles, customs and body images. During the 1800's women had to conform to the highly religious, strict and intolerant Victorian lifestyle. This was an era of extreme suppression and conformity. After WWI, women drifted away from this lifestyle and embraced a more scandalous and revealing way of life. Dresses were now shorter to emphasize and show off long, slender legs. Young girls began to focus and obsess over their body sizes and clothing. Typically, women who attended elite colleges ate well and maintained a healthy diet. By the 20's and 30's the trend had totally changed. Dieting was now prevalent amongst college girls. Previously, women had grown their hair out to be long and thick. This style transformed into a short bob, similar to a man's hair cut but just a little longer. Brumberg tells a story of a young lady who was very bright, inquisitive and seemed to be very comfortable with herself. However, this all changed when she had a growth spirt and grew to 5'6 and weighed 150 pounds. All of a sudden she felt inadequate to her peers and classmates. Thus, she decided to lose 30 pounds in one summer. She achieved this by severely restricting her caloric intake to an extremely low 50 calories. Her parents were furious at their daughter's behavior, but she was set in her ways. The weight came off, but she still wasn't happy with herself. Doubt and low self esteem plagued the young lady. The story itself seems quite typical for my generation. Low self esteem or body image issues is almost given amongst young women today. This links to Gloria Steinem's article in which she discusses the strength and influence that advertisements have on our society. Although she is trying to change this trend, I cannot see it working anywhere in the near future. After reading Brumberg's article I realized that women had to make a very unfortunate compromise. We could be free to wear what we wanted and express ourselves ---> independence, if we traded our self esteem and confidence. The women of the Victorian age were restricted in their dress and had little independence, but I can image that they did not have the extreme body issues that we see sprouting today.

 

                                                                    Victorian Age

1920's Women

Ideal Modern Women

Growing Percentage of Modern Women