Power of Culture in Establishing Norms - Essay Example

The Power of Culture in Establishing Norms It seems clear by looking through the available literature that women historically face significant restrictions on their activities and generally accepted threats to their welfare based on their gender. However, some leniency might be given to those women who match up to a specific social ideal. If she fits her culture’s idea of a ‘pretty’ girl, she is valued more because of the value of the husband she is presumed to attract or she might be able to achieve some autonomy by securing a higher paid domestic position. A girl who does not match these ideals finds herself much more limited in her options. Although women have attained much more freedom and greater respect as equally human, they continue to be judged more by appearance than personality, intelligence, talents or compassion. In the modern commercial culture, female role models have been mostly portrayed in the media as all appearance and no substance, or very little substance. TV has become our expression of the ideal as much as ancient Greek statuary was theirs, but it typically illustrates that happy and popular girls are very slim and tall with flawless complexions. The importance placed on this perfect image has created a culture that is inordinately focused upon appearance to the great detriment of most of its members. Girls exposed to this culture feel heavy pressure to do everything they can to bring themselves as close to this ideal as they can manage, many times developing unhealthy, sometimes fatal, ways of addressing their perceptions. This unhealthy female self-concept as a result of an innate need to conform to cultural norms is the focus of an article in Teen Voices Girl Talk about new programs being introduced by the Girl Scouts. The article reveals that 60 percent of girls compare their bodies to the bodies of fashion models and just a little less than that number admit they are trying to achieve that image for themselves. “Even though we know that these depictions are not based in reality, many of us still define our self-worth by how we measure up to them” (Harig, 2010). Because the images on TV are perceived to be the only possible images of success, girls everywhere adopt methods like going on starvation diets, inducing vomiting after eating or developing other eating disorders. They may also try to get plastic surgery when they are still young or try other crazy methods of bringing their body in line with these ideals no matter what kind of body style they have or what might be healthy for that form. The numbers reported in this article are credited to a survey conducted by the Girl Scouts Research Institute and not much more specific information is made available within the article, but they sound very scientific. Thus, the first half of this article establishes that there is a problem with the collective self-image of girls within the modern consumer culture. It points out the fact that the type of self-image girls are developing is very dangerous to their psychological and physical health. It also links this negative and dangerous self-image directly to the ideals of the consumer culture as they are demonstrated and displayed through the media. This psychological concept is also reflected in other research published in more scientific journals. A study conducted by Hobbs (et al, 2006) was designed to determine the potential effects media presentations might have on the self-perceptions of adolescent girls. The study was conducted by showing a group of girls various advertisements for weight loss products or other forms of ‘magic pill’ solutions to achieve the body beautiful with little or no effort. The study had a sample size of 42 participants who were shown print and TV ads and were then asked to share their impressions of the ads or products offered. “Common factors in girls’ interpretation of weight-loss advertising included responding to texts emotionally by identifying with characters; comparing and contrasting persuasive messages with real-life experiences with family members; using prior knowledge about nutrition management and recognizing obvious deceptive claims like ‘rapid’ or ‘permanent’ weight loss” (Hobbs et al, 2006). However, the girls in the study generally did not understand the deeper persuasive elements of these ads or the economic subtext of the products. As a result, the girls still tended envision the self in terms of a physical ideal or failure on their part. Even if they try to avoid these impressions, they are surrounded by role models who obviously only have appearance in their favor and continuously have these concepts reinforced by the skillful manipulations of television and film. These ideas are further reinforced by the unconscious impressions of their parents, friends and neighbors who have also conditioned to share these ideals. It is unsurprising, given these overwhelming conditions, to discover that adolescent girls come to believe the ideal form as the only means of achieving acceptance and happiness in the modern world. The study shows that the media fosters this belief and that this belief causes a majority of girls to engage in personally harmful activities that, even when overcome on a physical level, can leave life-long psychological scars. What is gratifying about this research is that the Teen Voices article is an indication that the research has had an effect on this real world issue. The second half of the Teen Voices article discusses initiatives adopted by the Girl Scouts that are aimed at directly confronting the public image of girls and women – bringing the focus deeper to the level of their humanity rather than concentrating so completely on their exterior appearance. They do this in two ways. The first initiative is to provide a platform for real girls to tell their real stories in a way that celebrates their achievements, talents and abilities. The second initiative taken was support for a new bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in which unhealthy portrayals of women in the media are combated by providing grants to support media literacy programs, to conduct research intended to further study the effects of image portrayal on the health of the nation’s youth and to create a National Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media (Harig, 2010). Although the article indicates the Girl Scouts conducted their own study, it is clear that other scientific studies supported their claims and gave them enough weight to make a change. The Teen Voices article reports on events that took place only this past June, but there are other indications that these kinds of studies are having an effect. The image of women on TV is changing a little bit. There are female news anchors such as Rachel Maddow who are not required to look like fashion models while they report the news. Differently-shaped women are appearing more and more in television shows and are not always shorter than the men with tiny waists and perfect hair. An example of this is the television sit-com Drop Dead Diva. However, there remains a long way to go before girls who don’t conform to the Barbie Doll ideal can feel as if they have an equal chance at success and happiness. Examples that this is so are found in the portrayal of Meg, the animated co-star of Family Guy, and in the fact that the heavier, darker girl is commonly cast as a sidekick or minor character. New stars such as Selena Gomez focus attention on the possibility for ethnic minorities to achieve success, but she is still considered an exceptional case rather than a true possibility. She also still fits the ideals of slender figure and perfect appearance. With the new initiatives brought forward by the Girl Scouts and others, as suggested through this study, it can be considered that these conditions may be changing into the future. Works Cited Harig, Stephanie. “Girl Scouts is Ensuring Healthier Media for Girls!” Teen Voices Girl Talk. (June 9, 2010). Hobbs, Renee; Broder, Sharon; Pope, Holly; Rowe, Jonelle. “How Adolescent Girls Interpret Weight-Loss Advertising.” Health Education Research. Vol. 21, N. 5, (2006), 719-730. Read More