Today, we discussed the nature of Frank Bruni's sense of self-worth and his low self-esteem. We concluded that because society often stereotypes the overweight, those who do not fit the ideal body form may not view themselves positively. We are often influenced by the perception of others and if others perceive us to be of little value, how soon until we embrace these ideas?
I'd like you read the following article about a photography project by HALEY MORRIS-CAFIERO and analyze her work in an attempt to understand our culture's obsession with physical appearance. What is the value in the photography project? What does she mean by "reverse gaze"?
Humans are judgmental in nature…in means of first analyzing one’s physical appearance and forming an opinion before discovering their personality and thus, the heightened importance of appearance. Some stereotypes being that those who are skinny or maintain society’s ideal body perception are healthy, responsible, confident, and ambitious whereas those who are “pleasantly plump” (as Mo says it) are judged as lazy, irresponsible, insecure, and careless; as portrayed in the media and society, they brand those who are obese with negative connotation meanwhile those appear to be skinny or “fit” are normally associated with positive connotation. In a society where there is an extreme emphasis on the ideal perception of a body through the media (movies, TV, and magazines), advertisements, etc, one would not be surprised that those who do not fit these ideal body are easily succumbed into the belief that they are outsiders and maintain low self esteem…they perceive themselves as ugly.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Haley Morris Cafiero reminisces about her struggle over her body and explains how she seemingly doesn’t have control over weight…going through food restrictions and over-exercise by finding new sports (soccer) to slim down her body, similar to Frank Bruni. Yet, as she progresses, she realizes that she respects her body and is comfortable with her body, despite the fact that “the world isn’t comfortable with it”. She started a project in which she would capture pictures of the expressions of strangers and she comments that those photos reflect the “ugliness” of the human nature. Sometimes, people don’t realize that they are instinctively making “unsavory” looks towards people and these photos not only gives her a voice (and encouragement and courage to those in the same situation as she) but makes people realize their judgmental nature and perhaps their cruelty (in essence). I also feel that she is making a statement that these discreet and fleeting expressions from people influences and harms the victim and how the extreme emphasis on appearance is impacting many people to attempt to match that of the ideal image of body, such as throwing up, dieting, starving themselves…it is making people self conscious of themselves and falsifying them to perceive themselves as imperfection and having many faults. Haley Morris Cafiero is a strong willed individual; however, some people do not have the strong wiliness.
In our recent class lessons, we focused and targeted on the stereotypes of obese individuals. I feel that we should consider the stereotypes of individuals that are skinny and match the ideal body perception; yes, we have associated that those who maintain the society’s ideal perfection have positive stereotypes such as being responsible, confident, ambitious (as stated in the previous paragraph), yet these people also received negative stereotypes as being vain, conceited, and uptight. They were portrayed to be self centered and superficial and sometimes were called many things that are worse than the comments of being obese and “pleasantly plump”. Whether such comments were out of envy and jealously, it demonstrates the judgmental nature of people in general. These stereotypes do not apply to just people who are overweight (what we were focusing on in class lessons) but also those who we deem as perfect and assume to receive positive comments. Essentially, no matter what size/shape, people are constantly being judged by these wide acclaimed stereotypes. Although, there is more emphasis and target of the stereotypes to be on those who do not maintain the society’s ideal body, it is important to note that stereotypes influence our opinions before knowing and getting acquainted to their personality.
There is an article over the common stereotypes of skinny/fit people and those who are overweight that I found online: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2012/05/weight-stereotyping-the-secret-way-people-are-judging-you-based-on-your-body-glamour-june-2012
When one first meets a person, one's brain looks for defining characteristics of a person and attempts to match them up with a known stereotype. These defining characteristics are almost always physical, as there is usually no way to judge someone's personality in the 5-10 seconds when you meet them. If someone possesses a characteristic that we have already experienced, our brain places connected characteristics on them automatically. For example, if we see someone who is sleeping on the street, we assume they are homeless, own only one pair of clothes, beg for money, are either mentally unstable or addicted to some form of drug, and uneducated. There is absolutely no basis for any of these traits, but we automatically place them in the group of "homeless people" that our brain has created simply because they have one characteristic of this group. However, this profiling doesn't have to be negative. It can be positive, or even a mixture of both. For example, if someone wears expensive clothing, we assume they have a lot of money. If they wear a suit, we might assume they are a lawyer or an investment banker. People who wear glasses often seem to be more intelligent than people who don't. The point is that we often assume that people have certain traits based on what is often just a single defining characteristic.
ReplyDeleteThis is why there is so much emphasis on physical appearance in our society. First judgments are only based of physical appearance. Being overweight brings with it the negative connotations of low income, poor decision making, and low stamina. All these things are considered "bad traits", and this is why our society considers being overweight as such a bad thing. We reject people who are overweight in the same way we reject the impoverished, a single trait carries with it a million other traits that define the person. Even if an overweight person isn't poor, and makes good decisions, we don't realize it unless we get to know the person very well.
In her article, Morris-Cafiero analyzes the reactions to her weight. She highlights that people who don't know her well at all laugh at her and mock her because of her weight. These people look at her and automatically assume a variety of negative things, such as stupidity, and then mock her for these traits which she doesn't have. What Morris-Cafiero does with her photography is a sort of reversal, she captures them in a moment when they appear unattractive, and then shows it to her audience. Again, without knowing these people, we assume they possess a variety of negative traits because they appear ugly (besides being unfriendly people for making fun of someones weight). We assume they are unintelligent, unconscious, mean-spirited people. Morris-Cafiero highlights the profiling that we perform on people who seem unattractive. She asks us to attempt to end our profiling, and not "judge a book by its cover".
Because of our judgmental society, Many people who are overweight have self-esteem issues and are not proud of who they are. However, Haley Morris- Cafiero is different. She realized self-criticism and self-pity was a waste of time. She realized there was no need to change herself, as long as she was happy. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same mindset. Within the first moments of meeting someone,it is human nature to judge on physical appearance. However, teasing that person and making retorts about them to your friends is a reflection of your personality. You might be the "perfect" weight, and you might be beautiful on the outside, but you are certainly "ugly" on the inside.
ReplyDelete"I feel like I am reversing the gaze back on to them to reveal their gaze". By revealing the dirty looks that people give her, others who see these pictures see those unfriendly people for who they really are. Those who judged Haley, are ultimately judged as well. Only the difference is that assumptions made about Haley were based on stereotypes, whereas judgments made about these people are of their true selves shown in the picture.
The Photography project is a way to show society its own true colors. By capturing the facial expression of a person when they see Haley eating or even just standing there, she shows everyone who is the truly ugly person in the picture. By doing so, she not only brings to light the social issue of stereotypes but she also helps other people overcome their issues with their weight. For Haley, getting emails about teenagers accepting themselves for who they are after they find out about the Photography Project, makes it all worth while.