*CONTENT WARNING: In this blog there is analytical discussion
of suicide, eating disorders and body issues and how they are related to the
social constructs of beauty. Please read at your own discretion*
While reading excerpts from Fey’s book Bossypants,
it is very obvious that Fey uses humor to help address and talk about real
political and societal issues. However even through the humor, if you have lived
the issues Fey addresses it hits close to home, and for me it brought back a form
of negative nostalgia. The chapter that specifically produced these feelings
for me was “All Girls Must Be Everything”. Her descriptions of all the “deficiencies”
that women are perceived to have by society, are a lot of the things I was told
growing up were “wrong with me” and that if I wanted
to be “valued” I needed to fix myself (pg.21-22). These people who told me and other
young kids these things, ultimately assisted in creating self-image issues, eating
disorders, mental health disorders etc…
Fey also
makes a note in this section, that JLo and Beyoncé just added to things society
deemed as beautiful and I agree. However, please don’t take this as me saying JLo
or Beyoncé or other influencers like, the Kardashians, are bad people. I just
believe that through social media the issues of the social constructs of beauty
have become harsher and less forgiving, hence the title, “The Murderous Social
Constructs of Beauty”. The pressure to conform to society’s standards has become
so high strung that social media has become hell for anyone ‘outside’ of those
constructs. Due to the hell that has been created, it is being understood that
social media is quickly becoming an greater factor in teen suicide. A tragic example of this, is in 2019, 14-year-old Molly Russell took her own life. Her
father, Ian, believes that social media was a factor as they had found a string
of messages on her phone that ultimately concluded to Mr. Russell, that Molly “didn’t
have a sense of self-worth at the end of her life” (CBS). Some statistics to support
this idea are from a study conducted in 2017 by the CDC. The study produced
results that were heartbreaking and shell shocking. For example, the CDC found
that “In 2015, 36% of teens reported feeling desperately sad or hopeless…
thinking about, planning or attempting suicide… up 32% from 2009” (NYPost).
They also found that the rates among girls had spiked 5%, going from 40% in 2009
to 45% in 2015 (NYPost).
Now you’re
probably asking, “Kennedy, what does this have to do with Fey’s chapter?” The
answer is, it has so much to do with it. As many people know, social media is endless,
and it allows for endless exposure to things you may want to see and things you
may NOT want to see. Personally speaking, I love social media for things like countless
animal videos and pictures, mesmerizing pictures and videos of nature, and obviously
funny memes. On the flip side of that, some things that I hate seeing as I
scroll through my feeds are things such as, the Kardashians’ endorsing weight-loss products, or products to make the user “more desirable” (Fogarty). I get so
tired of seeing the #ads for products like “SugarBear Hair”, “QuickTrim”, and
waist trainers. These celebrities are so influential to many young viewers and
I will always believe that those #ads are extremely dangerous, because in the
eyes of the viewer the thought becomes, “If I want to be as pretty and
desirable as the Kardashians’, I need to buy this stuff.” Then for the people
who can’t afford it or are scared of it they resort to other measures.
I was
once one of those impressionable people who scoured my Instagram feed in a search
of a way to be pretty. Because I had been broken down and beaten by society’s
wrath, that I would do anything to be like the women I saw on magazines and in
movies. And that anything, turned into eating disorders, depression, heightened
anxiety and constantly worrying about my appearance. I am happy to say I no
longer am under the wrath of society’s constructs, because I now have role
models, such as Tina Fey, who embrace themselves and they show the world that
nobody is perfect and that’s what makes it perfect. I also actively use the “I don’t
care if you like it” method in my life and it has made such a difference in my
mental health and my fulfillment I feel with my life.
Associated Press. “Rise in Teen Suicide Connected to
Social Media Popularity: Study.” New
York Post, New York Post, 14 Nov. 2017, nypost.com/2017/11/14/rise-in-teen-suicide-connected-to-social-media-popularity-study/.
CBS News. “Parents of Teens Who Died by Suicide Hope
Speaking up Will Prevent More Deaths.” CBS
News, CBS Interactive, 1 Nov. 2019, www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-suicide-social-media-bullying-mental-health-contributing-to-rise-in-deaths/.
Fey, Tina. “All Girls Must Be Everything .” Bossypants, by Tina Fey,
Little, Brown and Company, 2013, pp. 19–26. Also
included a concept from page 143
Fogarty, Lisa. “6 Weight Loss Supplements Celebs Swear By
To Lose Weight.” SheFinds,
20 July 2017, www.shefinds.com/collections/weight-loss-supplements-celebs/.
I agree Kennedy that there is this profound effect of the superficial that is dangerous for young people. When you mentioned the Kardashian's it made me think back to the overall attitude I witnessed on their show. They can often use humor as a form of degradation or humiliation. It creates this cult-like mentality that frowns upon the poor, less-endowed, or unembellished individuals. It is harmful to expose young people to this "Keeping up with the Joneses/Keeping up with the Kardashians" mentality. The overt materialism and even familial tension where the insults can go flying is far from exemplar behavior. It has never, in my humble opinion, been funny for upper class individuals such as themselves to critique any lifestyle other than their own.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who also struggled with eating disorders, depression, and anxiety as a young person, it is mind-boggling to see just how many messages (subliminal or otherwise) that are thrown into the faces young girls, telling them they need to be thinner but also more curvy, paler but more tan, outgoing but more obedient. All of these things and more, the list could go on forever, heavily and negatively contribute to a child's sense of self-worth and self-respect; I am genuinely surprised that there are many people who still do not realize this. That is why it is so important to have conversations about beauty standards, like Tina Fey, and like you! Cheers to destroying the unrealistic expectations of women!
ReplyDeleteAs sad as suicide and eating disorders are, they are so relevant in society. I also Love how you brought social media into this as being a part of it. I agree that beauty standards do have a lot to do with a lot of these things. I hate that we are made to believe that if we are not the perfect image of beauty we are not beautiful at all. I love that you put your own personal battle into this, it makes it even more real and shows how beauty standards are even more relevant in mental disorders.
ReplyDeleteI just commented on Taylor's post about "looking like trash" that I was once incredibly worried with how I looked when I was younger. When I read that you used to search social media to find "a way to be pretty," I really sympathized with that. I would waste so much energy worrying about how I appeared to the world and what I could do to make that image seem as perfect as possible. I've since done a complete "180" now that I'm in college, and I hope to find my balance of still trying to be presentable but not caring so much lol. Anyway, I thought you brought up some valid points, and I'm so happy to hear that you're in a healthier place self-esteem-wise, as well as mentally. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie, honestly college was the turning point for me as well. I think it was helpful in my mind to see people wearing literally whatever they wanted and I really respected that, so once I started doing that and I realized no one really cared, my mentality changed drastically from what it was in high school.
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