Kate Grube
Draft: Summary
“The Empire of Images in our World of Bodies”

Susan Bordo isn’t beautiful anymore. At least, that’s what society has been telling her. Hollywood no longer embraces her type of woman: the over-50, slightly wrinkly, non-surgically enhanced woman. In her essay “The Empire of Images in our World of Bodies” she debates that women are constantly under societal scrutiny. Having been told that women in their 50s can look good, she says that this refers to “Susan Sarandon, who looked older in 1991's Thelma and Louise than she does in her movies today.” The amount of artificially restructured beauty that runs rampant in the US currently has led Bordo to her disappointment over the popularity of Botox parties and the frequent use of feminism as an excuse to participate. Unlike many of her peers, Bordo believes its impossible to ignore the effect had on women by the media. She gives this riveting example: “If you get rid of it through exercise rather than purging or laxatives, you don't have a problem. Theirs is a world in which groups of dorm girls will plow voraciously through pizzas, chewing and then spitting out each mouthful. Do they have a disorder? Of course not -- look, they're eating pizza.” She’s giving an insight to the problems that many girls have, and how normal these problems seem to be. Particularly upsetting to Bordo was an episode of a talk show where teenage girls who are considered “tomboys” are given a feminine makeover. Bordo exclaims that she wanted to embrace the girls and free them from their captivity in order to protect them from the pressure to look like a classically beautiful woman. Of the same token, she is baffled by the blatantly clear division of boys’ and girls’ toys and room accessories, and why a middle, more unisex ground isn’t taken for girls like her daughter, who love sports. Finally expressing a moment of shared anger between her fellow women, Bordo ends with a statement that yearns for all of her readers to share this disgust with the media.
On the whole, I share Bordo’s feelings, but I feel she may have gotten carried away at points. I feel like it would be hard to find a woman who is so confidant that she hasn’t been affected by these images in the media of beautiful people. Almost everything we do is dictated by things that we’ve seen others doing. We’re all sheep, really. I’ve experienced the things she talks about, and I agree. Growing up in the most technologically advanced generation in history, there’s nowhere where women aren’t exposed to other good-looking women worthy of envy. Even in magazines about things completely unrelated to beauty, we see beautiful women advertising prescription drugs or household appliances. Concurrently, when we do look to beauty-related things, all we see are pictures of women who are as thin as society deems them to be. The example she gives of the girls purging pizza is shocking at the very least. Its depressing. Obviously, they aren’t doing things that are good for them sheerly for the purpose of looking a certain way. This is something to be worried about. How can things be ok in a world where young women do this to themselves? While I am shocked at this, I will say that I found her rant about the Maury Povich show a little much. Honestly, yes, it is harmful to steer girls away from their natural place of happiness. Yes, they are thrusting feminine qualities upon girls who would not normally possess them. And, finally, yes, many of these girls are undoubtedly persuaded by their disappointed mothers, but if they feel as if they look pretty in their made-over state, and they continue to fit this pattern, how is that harmful to them? They have found a niche that they didn’t suspect to feel comfortable in, but is society really completely corrupting their brains to the point that in a matter of hours, these girls have completely changes their perception of what they like and dislike about themselves? Many times, they gain confidence, by feeling feminine and pretty. Why is that bad? Bordo should be proud of the girls who have decided to change. They have made a change that will make them even more capable of functioning in the world as the confidant women that they should be. Finally, her statement about finding appropriate room furnishings for her daughter really only reflects the horrible business decisions made by various dealers. As a majority, boys are more interested in sports than girls, and girls are more interested in stars and shiny things than boys are. Yes, there are many that cross this barrier, but for many families, this is not a problem. I don’t think this is a signal of a greater problem. In conclusion, Bordo really is on the right track and has pointed out some very important things that the world needs to be aware of. And while she occasionally got a little carried away, I am shocked by many statements she made.