Racial Ambiguity and Stereotypes

Recognize this celebrity?






It's Beyonce!

In the past, Beyonce has been accused of "whitewashing," or altering her physical traits to resemble those of Caucasian descent.  Her popular black and white music videos minimize her skin color while her bleach blonde hair skews her identity. Now, being famous, we have to wonder who is responsible for these ethical altercations.  Is it Beyonce's own choice of preference, or is there a bigger political economy at hand? It is important to realize that there are a lot of dollars at stake because Beyonce is a powerful celebrity.  Some parts of her management may be exploiting her image in order to cash in.  The beauty industry recognizes racial ambiguity as being widely relate-able across cultures because it keeps alienation to a minimum. The more people that can relate to you, the more people are going to identify with your cause and try to emulate your behavior.  Translation....big audience, lot$ of Ca$h. 

This L'Oreal advertisement was the first instance where Beyonce's "whitewashed" appearance was brought into question.  Since then, she has moved to more black & white music videos, and has adapted her appearance to the Westernized stereotypes of beauty including long flowing hair, lightly tanned skin, and full peach lips.

As the celebrity image is controlled by the media, we have to ask: what are the ethical implications of "whitewashing" a powerful, black female, and how should we respond as a society?

Imprefections Ignored

Keira Knightly was photo shopped for her 2004 movie, King Arthur.  The most noticeable difference from right "before" to left "after" is the change in her bust.  Keira, who often refers to her bust as "pecs," reported, "those things certainly weren't mine."  I've always thought of Keira Knightly as a small-chested actress, and have respected her for that.  I think its interesting that my perception of her being small-chested is caused by real-life enhancement. I'm not sure if she has had pressure to have plastic surgery to enhance this, but I am  glad that she has remained flat-chested and true.  However, I think that its odd that even after post-production enhancement, she is still scoffed at as being small-chested. 

GQ is going to amp up the sex as their targeted audience is stylish men.  Here, Kate Winslet has been photo shopped in order to give a more svelte appearance.  Her curves have been cut "in third" and to distract from her fuller shape, she has been cloaked by a dark mens-style shirt that hides her arms, part of her torso, and fullest part of her thigh.  To lengthen the eye, her outfit includes mesh boning and dark, slimming colors as well as dark, slimming panty hoes.  In reaction to the obvious physical changes (which would realistically require months in the gym), GQ admits to their actions.  I think that while it is good that they can admit that this image is not natural, the image is more powerful than the back-hand story.  While many people will see this image, not everyone while realize that it is digitally altered, and it becomes an accepted part of reality. 

Photo shop is not restricted to mature, developed, or even post-pubescent adults.  Disney has doctored up this promotional image of Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana.  The image on the left has an edited smile.  Miley Cyrus, who had normal teeth, ended up investing in veneers to ensure a more perfect, Disney smile.  This reminds me of the "flappers" that toddlers wear in the abhorrent Toddlers and Tiaras.  However, Disney decided to manipulate this image and give their star a bright, perfect smile.  I think this puts unfair pressure on our youth because here's Miley, a naturally beautiful young girl, and they see her with perfect hair, teeth, and skin.  On the other hand, they're dealing with acne, braces, and frizzy hair.  This manipulation causes our youth to hold themselves against this false standard and create an unreachable standard of beauty. 

Jennifer Aniston's Girl-Next-Door $141,037 Annual Beauty Regime

Found this article about Jennifer Aniston's beauty routine:

http://shine.yahoo.com/skin-guide/jennifer-aniston-spills-her-secret-perfect-skin-015700082.html

I'm constantly hearing about how beautiful Jennifer Aniston is.  She's the funny, loveable girl-next-door and one of the favorites from pop-culture hit Friends.  Last December, Men's Health magazine even named her the "Hottest Woman of All Time." Say what? Jennifer Aniston, over icon Marilyn Monroe, nemesis Angelina Jolie, voluptuous Christina Hendricks, and everyone else..ever?? Critics have claimed this a major upset.  I'm happy for the girl-next-door, but I do not agree.

However, Jennifer Aniston is a major player in public influence.  She makes her way into our homes, thus forming an impression of women and adding to the concept of what makes a woman desirable.  Countless times, I have heard men express their enthusiasm over how perfect she is; from her body, to her personality, to her sense of humor.  Yahoo journalist decided to take a look into exactly what it takes for pop-icon Jennifer Aniston to remain in tip-top shape.

First of all, I would like to point out that Jennifer Aniston's annual beauty regime clocks in at

"$141,037"or wayyy more than the average american's annual income.  With that kind of money, you could pay for a "four-year" ivy-league education, buy six Honda Accords, or even fly roundtrip from Los Angeles to New York -- in first class -- 44 times!" That seems like an enormous opportunity cost.  Yet, we are not thinking about the cost of the routine when we compare ourselves to the iconic beauty that she represents.  We tell ourselves that it is attainable, when in fact it is entirely unattainable for the majority.  Jennifer Aniston has access to red-carpet treatment, photoshop, meal plans, personalized workouts with top teachers, a crew of appearance specialists, a team dedicated to her skin, a famous hair stylist and plastic surgeon; we have Walmart.  It is not realistic for us to hold ourselves to the same standard of beauty as a celebrity when we do not have access to the same resources.  That would be like trying to make a couture dress out of a trashbag--we can try, but we aren't going to come close.  Furthermore, it is unfair for men to judge beauty against a celebrity such as Jennifer Aniston, or consider her a prototype,  because her annual standards for upkeep cost more than the average household brings in.  What Jennifer Aniston pays on her beauty regime for year, we pay for a house over a lifetime.  

408 Natalie Odisho

Lead in Makeup

Here's a new controversy surrounding findings of lead in makeup! This is disturbing because most of the more expensive brands have a higher content of heavy metals! I knew that makeup has some questionable ingredients (fish scales create glitter), but I never imagined substances such as lead! What are we putting on our faces!? When you purchase expensive makeup, you're assuming that you're purchasing something of better quality--something that is not harmful to your health. Ethically, should the beauty industry be required to disclose when they put heavy metals in makeup? Is it natural? While there are limits set as to how much metal makeup may have, what is really safe? There need to be long term studies of metal quantities in makeup to find out what we can safely have as ingredients. 

Article on Yahoo: http://shine.yahoo.com/green/heavy-metals-found-many-cosmetics-not-listed-labels-194900866.html

Dove's Beauty Bombardment

This is a very interesting video provided by the Dove beauty campaign.  Their mission was to bring light to the twisted techniques of the beauty industry.  Advertisers use manipulations to convince an audience of a message: in this case, advertisers manipulate the public’s perception of beauty and what we perceive to be beautiful.  When it comes to women, products are enhanced when they convince you that by using them you will be able to transfer their properties to yourself—in other words, this product will make you beautiful, sexy, cute, desirable, and attractive.  Advertisers have convinced us that a slim mold constitutes beauty; and if you do not fit this mold, you must not be beautiful.  Not only that, but they have morphed our ideals through such advertisements.  As this Dove ad shows, media has enhanced and presented us with false ideals of beauty.  This is not ethical.  By doctoring up images with photo shop, we are comparing ourselves to something inhuman and feeling inadequate in the process.  This mindset is a prelude for failure and consumerism.  We are all chasing a false, unattainable, and inhuman idea of perfection and trading our money, sanity, and confidence in the pursuit.  

I am mad that advertisers are passing off these images as reality.  Actually, I am mad that we accept these skewed ads as reality. We are just as responsible as the purveyors of the message.  Young girls, who are the most susceptible target to advertising because of their shaky self-confidence, compare themselves to the images we are bombarded with.  They see perfect models with perfect hair, perfect bodies, and perfect clothes; in comparison, they feel lackluster.  This affects men too.  From a young age, they are taught that these images make up the perfect woman.  As a result, they form their concept of what a woman should be—and search for that.  Additionally, women are trained to give up part of themselves in order to please others.  We are emotional caretakers by nature. I have heard so many stories of women feeling pressured to change their appearance by boyfriends.  Girls will permanently change their bodies through surgery as an effort to keep their boyfriends happy.  Is this ethical? Is this the direct example of how beauty advertisements distort perceptions of what is realistic? I know that photo shop is relatively new to my generation, and I am unsure of the long-term effects that will ensue.  Should there be a disclaimer on photo shopped ads warning of their danger, like we have on cigarettes? Unfortunately, I think disclaimers would do no benefit as the power of images have a much greater presence in the mind than do the power of words. 449