Makeover Feminism Essay -- Social Sociology Feminism Essays

Makeover Feminism Most viewers of commercialized television or consumers of popular magazines have seen striking images of women whose demeanor has been dramatically altered. Many of these made-over women changed their body image by means of diet and exercise regimes, skilfully applied makeup, or elective cosmetic surgery. Possessed of higher education, honored careers, and families, these successful women often report that they felt some aspect of their appearance prevented them from reaching their goals. Responding to criticism from feminists, they defend the choice to enhance their appearance as a t issueical effort to win power in normative society. Drawing on popular media interpretations of third wave feminism, women compelled to politicize a personal decision to improve their image have wrapped this act in ideological jargon. Makeover Feminism is a cheeky new motto meant to express the idea that conformity to cultural norms of physical beauty achieved through arti ficial and sometimes extreme means asserts womanish power. These women deny endurance to patriarchal fantasies of the feminine ideal, claiming agency in the choice to alter their faces and/or bodies. Significant derives of females submit to costly and dangerous, deforming, and potentially lethal procedures in an effort to claim power through beauty. This trend is visible in the annals of medical journal statistics that demonstrate an increase in the number of elective surgeries undergone by women in the last ten years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Year tot up Annual Procedures----------------------------------------------------------------------------... ...ted, feminism is basically a shift from woman as eternal Otheralways defined from outsideto woman as Self. Makeover Feminism, despite its sincere discourse within the tradition, cannot accomplish the goal of female liberation. Works C itedAmerican Society of Plastic Surgeons. National Clearinghouse of Plastic surgical procedure Statistics. 2004. 12 Aug. 2004. .Donovan, Josephine. Feminist Theory The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism. sunrise(prenominal) York Continuum, 1992. Franzoi, Stephen L. friendly Psychology. 3rd ed. New York McGraw-Hill, 2003. Laing, R.D. The Politics of Experience. New York Ballantine, 1973.Lotz, Amanda D. Communicating Third-Wave Feminism and New Social Movements Challenges for the Next Century of Feminist Endeavor. Women and Language 26.1 (2003) 2-9.