We talked in class about the ways in which the media changes the way that we view ourselves. As is mentioned in the article Objectification Theory and Psychology of Women “self-objectification was uniquely linked with body shame, eating disorder symptoms, depression symptoms, and low self-esteem” (382). The reason that so many young girls have this shame about their bodies is because of all of the ads in our day to day life that objectify and sexualize women. I think it would be interesting to see if this particular store actually sells more clothing from using these mannequins, or if the people shopping there leave with a more positive body image.
One part of this article I found interesting was the history of when we started using mannequins, according to them " Throughout WW1 and the Depression, mannequins changed their outfits and body proportions to reflect society at that time." So when they first came about they weren't a size 4-6 when the average American is a size 14, they instead would change and show a reality. Once again the according to the article this changed in the 1960's "when British mannequin firm Rootstein began modeling their dolls after pop culture and fashion icons to reflect runway trends at the time."
I find it encouraging that there is some positive articles out there about women and their body, we shouldn't all have to fit into this crazy idea of the perfect body that the media is putting out there. If you're interested in reading the article and seeing the mannequins I have posted the link below!
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/swedish-mannequins-cause-a-controversy--192108535.html
There is a disease within our culture that infects every young women and teen- it is called perfection. Mannequins depicting undersized women with gleaming skin and designer clothing only make growing girls yearn for the unattainable. I think that Sweden is doing wonders by starting this trend of using proportionate "life-scaled" mannequins. If mannequins are meant to "reflect society at the time", then society is doing a horrible job of representing our true nature. Women ought to be encouraged to go out and do a little shopping without feeling belittled by appearances. The perfect body is no where to be found- it doesn't exist! If only stores would stop telling us that we aren't fit until we are to "size". Sweden, I give much kudos to you! The positive body image is the one that is reflected and accepted across ALL of society.
ReplyDeleteOkay, my first thought after seeing those mannequins was "Daaaang. Those look good!". They are larger than the average mannequin (but not larger than the average women) and represent a healthy body weight (if we are going by the BMI, which really doesn't give a fair representation of what "healthy" means). Like you said, it IS refreshing to see a positive change like this within companies. However, it is so NOT refreshing, and represents really how little has changed when you look at the simple fact that the link to the article says "swedish mannequins cause a controversy". Right off the back they are using negative rhetoric to describe what is happening.
ReplyDeleteI thought the most interesting thing in the article was that it mentioned how some people have commented saying that these types of mannequins promote an unhealthy lifestyle. REALLY ironic considering the huge and scary amount of women and children with eating disorders and skewed mental perceptions fueled by unrealistic images of women in the media. I would argue to say that the MILLIONS of images of smaller-than-average women promote a much more unhealthy lifestyle than a few mannequins representing the average women in Sweden.
I would love to see this take off! Slowly but surely I think it would help melt away all the "fat-hating".
I would agree with your statement Jordan that the images that we see of smaller than average women in the media pose a much more unhealthy and unsatisfactory response than if you see average looking mannequins in a store. And to add to the articles mentioning that the new mannequins may cause unhealthy lifestyles, aren't we already exhibiting unhealthy lifestyles on both ends of the spectrum. On the one hand millions of teens and women experience eating disorders but on the other end of the spectrum the U. S as a nation faces the epidemic of obesity and over eating as well so i really don't see the connection to the mannequins being the cause for health issues. Having mannequins of a more average size I believe would attract more costumers but to also expand on the ideals of clothing standards are how some stores have clothes with unrealistic sizes. I sometimes have to buy a large for a shirt to actually fit my body properly which demonstrates that all areas of fashion have effects on our society and need to be modified in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting. Mannequins in general are kinda creepy. I recently saw on Facebook that H&M is launching "normal" size mannequins that represents the image of body. Maybe that is the link of the new sweden method. I am really impress by this act. Mannequins represent the unrealistic body image that woman aspire to become. Having this new reality check will hopefully shape culture thin perspective. "Normal" size mannequins are altered to bring diversity body types, however it is also a promotion of their brand to "look at the clothes not the model" type of ordeal. Going shopping is hard enough already, its even harder when you are constantly looking at life size barbie dolls. I would love to see a mannequin that represented small people. I often see big, tall, skinny BUT short. WHERES ALL THE SMALL PEOPLE AT ?!!
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