Annotated Bibliography

*Question: Do we have agency when it comes to what we perceive as attractive or appealing in terms of beauty and physical appearance, or do we automatically desire what the media promotes to us enough times?

Berry, John W., Ype H. Poortinga, Marshall H. Segall, and Pierre R. Dasen. Cross-Cultural Psychology: Research and Applications. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. This source is not argumentative; rather, it is a general textbook that covers the basics of cross-cultural psychology, including individual development, social behavior, personality, language, emotion, and many other topics. From what I have read from this source so far, I learned that “all human behavior is cultural to some extent,” as humans are very social (53). Also, girls and boys are socialized differently as children: boys are taught to be independent and assertive, whereas girls are raised to be obedient and compliant (73). All of this is relevant to my problem-posing question in that I am researching how deeply media and culture influence human perceptions of beauty. I feel that this source will provide a basic foundation for the rest of my paper––a general context for how culture affects human behavior. In terms of how this source is shaping my thinking regarding my problem-posing question, I again feel as though it is providing me with a basic understanding of my topic. For instance, knowing that girls are socialized to be obedient helps me to understand why many women are willing to acquiesce to harmful beauty standards.

Jeffreys, Sheila. Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print. Sheila Jeffreys poses this question in her book: “[Do] western beauty practices represent women’s subordinate status or can [they] be seen as the expression of women’s choice or agency” (5)? Ultimately, she argues that the majority of mainstream beauty practices are damaging for women because they are a form of psychological oppression (7). Besides this, I learned about many other feminists’ critiques of beauty. For example, Jeffrey quotes Andrea Dworkin, a 70’s feminist who views beauty practices as “the dimensions of [a woman’s] physical freedom…psychological development, intellectual possibility, and creative potential” (7). All of this relates to my problem-posing question, although I feel that Sheila focuses more on the harmfulness of these beauty practices than the media and the psychological processes that cause women to perceive these practices as desirable in the first place. I might use some information from this source, but I think I will focus more on the other sources I have found in my paper.

Perlmutter, Dawn. “Miss America: Whose Ideal?” Beauty Matters. Ed. Peg Zeglin Brand. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000. 155-68. Print. In this piece, Dawn Perlmutter exposes the sexist, racist, and classist nature of the annual crowning of Miss America. As she explains, this idealized version of women represents the values of white, upper class culture––a narrow, albeit dominant, portion of our country’s population (157). I learned a great deal about the history of the competition from this piece, including the fact that “one out of three Miss America contestants has been blonde” and that a previous winner, Alicia Machado, was “given an ultimatum to lose 27 pounds in two weeks or risk losing her title” when she gained weight after the competition (159). In general, this essay is relevant to my problem-posing question in that Perlmutter shows how white, patriarchal, capitalist values control the images of beauty that American women are meant to idealize. This makes me feel as though women have even less agency than I previously thought when it comes to what they perceive as attractive in terms of aesthetics.

Savacool, Julia. The World Has Curves: The Global Quest for the Perfect Body. New York: Rodale, 2009. Print. In this book, Julia Savacool argues that body ideals vary from country to country and are directly related to the economics of a culture (xiii). From this source, I learned that skinniness is mainly idealized in well-developed nations (xi). Though much of this information is common sense, this source will still prove useful for my paper, as it will allow me to also show how location affects women’s perceptions of themselves. 

Thesander, Marianne. The Feminine Ideal. London: Reaktion, 1997. Print. Marianne Thesander argues in this book that “women have been made synonymous with their bodies [for centuries]” and that the “female body has…been endowed with specific cultural symbolic significance” (9). From this source, I learned about female beauty ideals throughout history––from the eighteen century onward––such as the “slimming propaganda” that has dominated women’s magazines since the 1950’s (30). This information will be incredibly helpful as I write my own paper, as it is a direct example of how women have assimilated to various beauty ideals throughout history. It will also provide my paper with a historical context for my topic.

Vandenbosch, Laura, and Steven Eggermont. "Understanding Sexual Objectification: A Comprehensive Approach Toward Media Exposure and Girls' Internalization of Beauty Ideals, Self-Objectification, and Body Surveillance." Journal of Communication 62.5 (2012): 869-87. Business Source Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. In this study, Laura Vandenbosch and Steven Eggermont analyze the relationship between sexually objectifying media images and self-objectification for adolescent girls. As I learned from the source, levels of self-objectification increase as girls view sexually objectifying magazines, TV shows, and images on social media more often (881). This is relevant to my problem-posing question in that this study shows how deeply teenage girls are affected by the images they see in the media. Though I am still not sure yet, I think it might be a good idea for me to specify my paper for teenage girls to narrow down my topic. As of right now, I am addressing how all women are affected by beauty ideals promoted in the media.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: Morrow, 1991. Print. In this book, Naomi Wolf argues that, as women have become more successful professionally, they have also become increasingly subjected to impossible standards of beauty. I learned from this source that women lack role models––strong female leaders and revolutionaries––and thus idolize those whom they see in magazines and other media outlets (58). This, combined with the fact that women are valued mainly for their beauty in our patriarchal culture, encourages women to imitate “attractive” models and celebrities when it comes to their own personal appearance (59). This information partially answers my problem-posing question––that women imitate what the media promotes as “attractive” at the time so that they can try to take advantage of the cultural privilege associated with these physical traits.