Junior Project: Conceptual Photos
Engineering the Ideal Women
When asked who was responsible for creating the standard of beauty, surveyors gave a myriad of answers. They were quick to point fingers at a certain group, yet when everyone is pointing at one another, things become complicated. I began to wonder if everyone played a part in this: if instead of one tyrant, there existed an oligarchy of power players. I wanted to represent the tension and complication of this topic, as well as its effect on teenage girls. Five hands hold the paint brushes that shape my appearance: Men, celebrities/influencers, social media, media, and lastly, ourselves/society as a whole (these are reflective of the top five survey responses to this question). Each group is drawing what they perceive to be the ideal woman, and each shape represents overarching ideals. The shapes are represented in primary colors because as these colors function as building blocks for all other colors, these groups and ideas function as the foundations in creating the beauty standard. The symmetrical nature of the circle, square, and triangle point to the scientific proof that symmetry is more attractive but also that this has been blown out of proportion (as the shapes cover the majority of my face). The red arrow represents a progressive view, and is drawn on by my own hand which represents society as a whole. Throughout history, the triangle has been associated with kingship and male dominance, thus the green triangle shows the sphere of responsibility men may hold in this problem. The circle represents perfection and is painted on by the hand of social media. Social media upholds the standard of perfection because what is shown on social media is the “perfected” version of oneself. The hand of media draws on a square, which is a very rigid shape. This represents the mold of the ideal body type that women are expected to fit. The semicircle dashed line is representative of the mark of celebrities and influencers because the black dashed line is how the skin is marked before plastic surgery, which has been normalized by modern day celebrities. Additionally, these marks of pre-surgery warn of the permanence of the damage of this standard if we leave it to merely “play out as it will”. All these elements fashion the convoluted messiness on my face, which in itself is colorless. I have become defined by the hands of these groups; a blank canvas for the modern day impressionists.
Standing in the shadow of our insecurities
The scariest thing about insecurities is the fear of discovery. When surveyors were asked what their biggest insecurities were, it seemed that every body part made the list. Reading the responses made my heart heavy, partly because I understood their struggle and partly because I was struck by the uniqueness of their own. So much goes into the formation of insecurities: race, culture, family and friend relationships, and genetics are just a few of the major players. This photo functions as both a symbolic and literal representation of teenage girls’ struggle with insecurities. Projected all over and around my body are the actual words of surveyors. The most saddening response rests on top of my hand: “everything”. How tragic that we have come to a place in which teenage girls would be insecure about everything about themselves! There looms a shadow over me, signalling the seriousness, darkness, yet secretiveness of this issue. Girls rarely talk about their insecurities, and as a result the mind tricks oneself into growing the magnitude of that insecurity until it is larger and darker than reality. The red coloring adds an ominous mood, signalling the danger that occurs when these insecurities are left unchecked or unaddressed. Yet despite the darkness of this picture, there is a glimmer of hope. I stand there bearing the insecurities of others, and as they cover my skin they become part of me. This is representative of steps forward. By sharing the burden, it is lighter to carry, and by bringing these issues to light, the darkness and enormity of the issue separates from ourselves and becomes merely a shadow.
