Beauty has no color/ Stereotypes on beauty

                                                           "Am I not beautiful?'
          
            This picture is a representation of how pop culture's idea of beauty effects women. In the picture there is an African American woman with pictures around her eye of woman. The stereotype of a beautiful women in pop culture has lighter skin and is thin. The pictures around the African American woman's eye are all of women who are perceived to be beautiful throughout the media. Each woman in the picture is "thin" and white or has lighter toned skin. These pictures are placed around the woman's eye because this idea of beauty is perceived to her everyday throughout pop culture. There is a tear running down her face because she doesn't feel beautiful, there aren't many woman who look like her in pop culture and are considered beautiful. In the corner there is a bottle of bleach to represent the extremes that some women go through to feel beautiful. There are many stories about women of color who have tried to bleach their skin to become lighter, and there are also many women who have developed eating disorders just to stay thin.
    
            I was inspired to do a project on the stereotypes of beauty within  pop culture because I want women to feel beautiful no matter their shape, size or color. I hope one day that pop culture celebrates women of all shapes, sizes and colors. However, the only way that will happen is if people are aware of the harmful effects these stereotypes of beauty have on women. There isn't only one way to be beautiful and every type of woman should be celebrated throughout pop culture.

photo assignment

I chose to do my photo assignment on the stereotype that girls can’t play sports with or as well as guys.  Many times guys do not let girls play with them because they aren’t good enough, strong enough, or just plainly, they are girls.  A lot of the times when guys let girls play it's out of pity and when they do let them play they treat them as “girls.”  Many guys will not play as hard as they would if they were going against a guy because they are afraid of hurting the girl.  They are also afraid of looking like a jerk if they steal the ball from her or block her shot.  It doesn’t make sense that just because a girl is playing with the guys that they need to take it easier on them.  A lot of guys think that they have to take it easy on the girls because they might cry or get hurt, but if it were a guy in the same situation they wouldn’t be afraid to hurt them, block their shot or steal the ball.  Many guys instantly believe that any girl who plays with them will not be any good and usually don’t want them on their team.  Some guys find it to be an insult if they are the one who has to guard the girl.  Guys shouldn’t think that automatically because they are a woman they won’t be able to stand their ground.  These women should be given a chance to play without judgement just like all the other guys.

I was inspired to take this picture because I go to the gym often and play basketball or soccer with the guys.  I used to not want to play with the guys because I didn’t know many of them and I figured that they would treat me like a girl and not play to their full potential.  When I first started a lot of the guys treated me like a girl but now many of them know me and play against me as if they were playing with the guys.  Sometimes new people will show up and don’t know how to act when playing against me until my friends tell them to not take it easy on me.  A lot of the guys underestimate me.  Many times the newer guys seem to get upset that they have to guard a girl.  This attitude makes me upset because girls can be as good as the guys and they can even be better but the fact the I am a girl makes them not want to play against or with me.  Many times if the girl is choosing to play with the guys then they want to be treated equally.  

Photo for Social Injustice

 

 

For this assignment I chose to take a picture that takes in several things. For me this depicts the struggle of many youth, particularly young women, that feel they have to go to extremes to become the size that society tells them to be in order to achieve true acceptance. This is a picture that shows me with a tape measure wrapped around my head to symbolize how numbers connected to our size are all consuming and continuously on our mind. Not only are the numbers on tape measures to show the physical representations, but they're on the scale we know all too well. We are told from much to early that numbers are important. Sure we're told math is important with addition and subtraction, but we take that to a new level when we put it to work on our own bodies.

Bulimia, Anorexia, and other eating disorders are the other half of this picture. As it's clearly enough displayed, I'm leaning up against a toilet while clinging to the scale to express my psychological need to change my weight. Because of the numbers that are always on our minds, many develop eating disorders in efforts to change they're body to what they believe they should be. Too often we forget about health. All we want is "beauty", which basically translates into "approval" in recognition of the social media.

Popular culture has developed so many different ways to make the same idea and concept seem appealing. Many young boys and girls struggle with their weight and self esteem because while struggling with their parents telling them "you're perfect just the way you are, don't change a thing", society is telling them "you're not perfect yet but you can be. Do this..".

"Be skinny" they tell us, you'll get boys attention. "Be small they said" you'll feel beautiful. We're trying so hard to listen to what society has been telling us that we didn't realize what they've been telling us has been changing too. Now it's "Be skinnier" and "Be smaller" they say, society will accept you. While we're trying so hard for society to accept us, we no longer are able to accept ourselves.

Photo Assignment

I chose to do the photo assignment on gay and lesbian rights.  Homosexuality is becoming more acceptable in today’s society with states slowly passing laws on gay marriage but it is still a major controversial subject and it makes many people uncomfortable talking about it.  Sexual orientation isn’t a protected characteristic under the civil rights law like race, gender, ethnicity, and religion are, which makes it harder to fight for its rights.  One of the biggest challenges homosexual people probably face today is judgment and violence from other people the apparently know how everyone should love and live their lives.

            When a picture of two people holding hands is shown it usually brings a smile to your face because you know those two people love each other and that love is the most powerful feeling there is.  However, when two people are shown holding hands it’s usually a male and female, or so we assume.  That’s why in my picture I focused in on the light in the background to make it impossible to know for sure if these are people of the same or opposite sex holding hands.  Why is it that when a male and female are holding hands or showing their love for each other it is a beautiful thing but when couples of the same sex show their love it becomes looked down upon and rejected by society?

Photo Assignment-Beautiful

I chose to talk about how people in this world, especially women, portray others as beautiful. As women we often feel the need to look good and attractive a lot of the time when around others. In middle school we start to compete with other girls in how we dress and act towards other girls and boys. High school is when a lot of people start to find their self, what they like to look like and what they think others want them to look like. We can all probably agree that we have changed our appearance to fit what we think others find attractive. Whether its the way we dress or the way we do our makeup. 

My inspiration for this topic was because I can say that I have changed my appearance for another person other than myself. Im not proud of it but it happens, and being in college you want to fit in with others just as much as high school. I don't personally wear a lot of makeup or dress up all the time so when I get the chance to I make sure that I am doing it for myself. Whether you put on a cute outfit, do your hair, and load on the makeup or just throw on some sweatpants and a sweatshirt along with no makeup, both are beautiful no matter what other people tell you. Having a good self-esteem will obviously help with your decision for doing it for someone or for yourself but just allowing yourself to be true to who you are will make you feel better about yourself.

I love going out and running errands or hanging out with friends with no makeup on because I feel like a free person and don't have to conform to anyone's definition of beautiful expect my own. Being able to have a good view of what is important will help you figure out who you really want to be and not allowing others to tell you how you should look or how you should dress. So whether you're dressed up for prom or just hanging out around the house, make sure you stick to what you find comfortable and beautiful. 

Photo Assignment - Male Stereotypes

I chose to do my photo assignment with a focus on gender stereo types against males. Some of the stereo types can be seen as positive, some can be seen as negative. For the most part they are just inaccurate. Everyone is an individual with personal feelings, desires and goals, regardless of the individuals gender. Stereotypes are thrown upon men from the moment their pregnant mother finds out their sex. The babies room is painted blue, closet filled with sweatshirts and jeans, and toys like trucks, jungle animals and action figures are bought. Little boys are taught to be defensive, tough and to protect others. A study was done that confirmed that 22% of parents in the United States don't teach their sons to do household chores like washing the dishes and folding laundry.

Men are just as capable of household chores and taking care of children, as women are. Regardless of capability, they should be given the option to choose, before judgements and assumptions about them are made. It is this, that inspired my photo assignment. I had him stand before the mirror twice. Once with societies expectations of him written across it. He had a stern tough look, as men are expected to be seen. On the mirror I wrote "How society sees me...", along with adjectives like: "controlling, messy, doesn't know how to cook, emotionless, aggressive, not responsible for taking care of children." All are adjectives that could apply to anyone, not just men specifically, and some don't even apply to a variety of different men as well. The second time he stood before the mirror he smiled and showed off his goofy side. I wrote on the mirror "Who I really am..."with positive qualities that he has that differ from the expected stereo type of men. The adjectives I wrote for him were, "open minded, organized, loves to cook, expresses his feelings, easy going and family oriented." I feel that my photographs show and promote individuality. It's not necessary to fit the mold that society gives you. It seems that if one would, they would be giving up their personality and lose them self.

Challenge: Men's assertion within the relationship

          

          This image challenges the stereotype that men are the assertive ones in the relationship. As can be seen in this photo, both the man and the woman are insisting to pay for the bill. The woman is asserting herself by attempting to pay the bill instead of letting the man pay for it. By asserting oneself in a relationship, one can then have more or equal say in what goes on within it, which is great not having to walk down a lopsided two-way street.

           With pop culture changing over time, women have become more assertive within the relationship as well, and with modern age, a woman has more say in the relationship than she did in the past. As more women assert themselves, their assertion becomes second nature. Women making the first move has become a norm and socially acceptable as demonstrated in movies such as “My Girl” and "The Amazing Spider-Man". Normalizing women's assertions within relationships and within pop culture paves a path towards gender equality.