Over the years, there have been several different stereotypes and criteria as to what makes up what women should or should not look like. Those who did not seem to meet those physical standards were looked past and had lower self esteems than those who fit the title of the “perfect woman”. This is shown throughout the course of history through social media – books, movies, plays, music, etc. Decades ago, the ultimate stereotype of a woman would be described as petite, fair-skinned, light hair, and light eyes. Some would say – a replica of a Barbie doll.
Nowadays, the new and improved stereotype of the ideal oman is wide hips, tan and flawless skin, flat stomach, and full lips. The constant change in this perception of the ideal woman is one that is affecting the way women view themselves, and what they think they can or cannot achieve in life. In the reading, “All Girls Must Be Everything” by Tina Fey, the author emphasizes the past and current stereotypes of how the idea of the perfect woman was portrayed, and how she views herself in comparison to these characteristics.
She believes that the characteristics listed throughout the reading are what made her eel more confident about herself, and are what led her fall in love with her beautiful differences even more. Although Fey took away a positive lesson from these false stereotypes, other women may not be as strong as her to do the same. Instead, they question their physical traits, and see themselves as inferior to those who seem to fit the criteria to be accepted into society.
Society and more specifically – the media – constantly portrays images of women in ways that make them feel as though they need to conform to society’s unrealistic expectations. These beauty standards are what lead to women onstantly being mentally brought down and more insecure about them. Compared to the traits that make up the perfect woman today, the characteristics that existed decades ago were very much different. As the author mentions in the reading, “this was the late seventies, and the seventies were a small-eyed, thin-lipped blond woman’s paradise” (21).
These were the so- called guidelines to live by. These physical characteristics arose from social media outlets, such as movies, where actresses like “Cheryl Tiegs, Farrah Fawcett, Christie Brinkley” were icons and ad “small eyes, toothy smile, boobies, no buttocks, yellow hair” (21). They were role models to look up to in this time period merely because of their looks and nothing else – not talent nor personality. Fey mentions an instance where she and her cousin were at the beach and saw “a girl [walk] by in a bikini and [her] cousin Janet scoffed, ‘Look at the hips on her” (20).
This girl that they saw did not have the ideal traits that were preached, so she was looked down upon and judged for being physically different than what was considered to be the perfect oman. Instances like these are what affect females who are naturally born “different” than the rest, and are compared to body types that are already enhanced to begin with. They are attempting to transform their bodies into ones that are based off of false features and characteristics.
Similar to how the girl mentioned above had hips that were not fit for society in that time period of the seventies, more than forty years later, the perfect image of the ideal woman has transformed into something completely different. Similar to the seventies, social edia outlets, such as movies and celebrities were the reason for the transformation of the perfect woman. As Tina Fey states: “But I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty.
Girls wanted butts now. ” (22) As mentioned in the quote above, this was the first attempt to change the existing template of what all women should physically look like. It was an attempt to change the current stereotype and instill a new concept into females’ minds. Rather than being petite, having narrow hips, and fair skin, they now wanted to have bigger buttocks and tan skin. Another example of a media- influenced woman’s footsteps to follow is Beyonce because “[she] brought the leg meat.
A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired” (23). More additions to the template of the new perfect woman include thick thighs and a muscular frame. Society uses examples like these to promote upgrades in body images by posting all over social media, and showing images of how celebrities have gotten surgeries year after year. These new additions only add to the lack of confidence and decrease in self-esteem amongst women who are not as genetically blessed as others.
As a result of the constantly changing templates of the physical appearance of the ideal woman, women begin to feel as though they will never be good enough to be fully accepted into society and conform to its expectations. Girls are exposed to these concepts and ideas at a young age, and begin to feel badly about themselves. For example, when Tina Fey says that “[she] may have only been seven or eight, but [she] knew that this sucked” (21). Even at that young of an age, girls still feel left out and as though they do not belong.
It brainwashes children to believe that there are certain people out there that are privileged and better than others. They begin to think about things, such as: “I panicked. What about the hips? Were they too big? Too small? What were my hips? I didn’t know hips could be a problem. I thought there was just fat or skinny. ” (20). It feels as though they have a set of rules to live by, so they begin to question themselves, and believe that they are not good enough. They feel like outsiders, and do ot think that being unique is a positive way of thinking.
As a result of feeling out of place and left out, women go out of their way to enhance their bodies in every way imaginable in order to achieve the look of the perfect woman. In “All Girls Must Be Everything”, Tina Fey states that: “if you don’t have a good body, you’d better starve the body you have down to a neutral shape, then bolt on some breast implants, replace your teeth, dye your skin orange, inject your lips, sew on some hair, and call yourself Playmate of the Year” (24). Women feel the need to change very aspect of their bodies to become more “perfect” and to fit in.
In doing so, it not only lowers self-esteem and self- confidence, but also leads to eating and mental disorders. In return, this holds women back from reaching their full potential in life because they genuinely believe that they are not good enough – even if it may only be for physical reasons. In conclusion, the beauty standards that the media portrays are unreasonable and constantly changing. As a result of that, women will never be able to physically be as perfect as society wants them to be.
Since they will not ever be enough they onstantly either look for ways to “better themselves” or resort to developing eating and mental disorders, which in turn affect their future potential to achieve their goals. In the end, the standards that women believe to be true, will not change unless it stops being portrayed through the media outlets. Over the years, women have begun to realize that they do not need to look or act a certain way in order to be accepted into society. They have understood that they can be themselves and society will still be willing to “allow them in” and not conform to specific standards or expectations.
