Physical Appearance

Question 1

What did Charles Cooley say about development of self?

Answer 1

He said in his “The Looking Glass Self” thing:
ppl perceive selves from non-objective process mainly:
1. How do others see me? (they notice my weight)
2. How do others evaluate me based on what they see? (they see me as overweight)
3. How does their evaluation make me feel about myself? (I have less worth because people think I’m overweight)

Question 2

What did George Mead say about the development of self?

Answer 2

“The I and the Me”:
- Subject of sentence “I” = has power and agency and does the action
- Object of sentence “Me” = self as perceived by others and by the subject (view self in way society views you)
concept that cant see self as others do until I have developed a sense of self

Question 3

How does self-recognition tie into self-development?

Answer 3

As grow as baby, learn to recognize self as ‘ME’ - doesnt happen really until 18-24 months old

Question 4

What are Higgins’ “The Components of Self”?

Answer 4

a) The actual self (I’m overweight)
b) The ideal self (I’ve lost 30 lbs and I like how I look)
c) the ‘ought-to-be’ self (I should be happy with the way I look now and not determine my worth through my size/weight)
These parts all affect each other and create tension - we react with our actions, sometimes deviant reaction

Question 5

How has Higgins’ “The Components of Self” been argued against?

Answer 5

People have said the components are situation dependent - time/culture/trends (ex: your ought-to-be self is different when youre 20 vs when youre 60, or in 1950s want Marilyn Monroe body shape but in 2021 want Kendall Jenner body shape)

Question 6

What is Erving Goffman’s thoughts/research relating to the development of self?

Answer 6

“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” - the performance of self

• we are all actors on a stage (dramaturgical)
• we have front-stage and backstage selves (self you show others/present when others watching vs self you keep only to yourself)
• impression management = all activities we undertake to manage how ppl see us (how old/healthy/etc you are)
• — impression management only possible when we have developed socialized sense of self and have internalized the way others see us

Question 7

How does stigma impact impression management?

Answer 7

Those who have identities that are stigmatized have to manage impressions, use neutralization techniques
Those who also might be stigmatized just based off of their appearance (disability, weight, age) have to manage impressions

Question 8

Why are appearance norms (and deviance) social constructs?

Answer 8

They..

• change over time
• change across cultures
• are age-dependent
• women traditionally more likely to be evaluated based on appearance norms

Question 9

What is the ‘what is beautiful is good’ concept?

Answer 9

Things overall are better for attractive people and beauty gets you places

• live in better areas
• make more $ and more likely to be hired and get better jobs
• have statistically longer life

Question 10

What is the difference between scientific and social standards on body size?

Answer 10

Scientific = objective ish bc focused on health, ideal body = healthy body
Social = based on society's promotion of an "ideal body"

Question 11

What is the ‘ideal’ BMI range? What % of people in canada are in the overweight/obese categories?

Answer 11

Ideal = 18.5-24.9

62% men and 46% women over 25 BMI

Question 12

What are the health risks associated with being overweight and underweight?

Answer 12

Over: hypertension, type 2 diabetes, some cancers
Under: decreased immune function, anorexia/bulimia which = higher death rate

Question 13

What are the 3 main explanations for the cause of obesity?

Answer 13

Genetics (adoption studies with kid adopted out of obese family)
Endocrinology: hormones (thyroid related to weight gain, testosterone/pregosterone/estrogen, seratonin correlated to carbohydrate cravings)
Neurochemical

Question 14

What are the criticisms of the scientific view on body size?

Answer 14

1) there are social effects not being considered - why so many more obese ppl in north america? cant just be result of genetics etc
2) parameters are too narrow and are therefore misleading (weight =/= health)

Question 15

What are some of the social impacts that potentially affect ppls body weight

Answer 15

• more disposable income so can spend more on fun snacks etc
• restaurant trends to ‘all you can eat’ and drive through accessibility and delivery
• sedentary lifestyle from ordering food and watching tv/gaming/etc
• processed food yummier often
• prices: lower qual food is often cheaper so socioeceonomic status can have impact
• advertising and media intend to entice and convince viewers that food will bring happiness

Question 16

How have the ideal male and female bodies changed over time?

Answer 16

Male: become more muscular but still/more lean
Female: thinner (almost all women in playboy would fall under underweight BMI category), trend now toward tiny waist and thicc

Question 17

What is the impact of the media on body image?

Answer 17

Youth are exposed to ‘ideal’ body and will dislike their own body more the more they see this ideal
– if ask to pick “ideal” body out of photos, will choose someone not even close to representative of the typical human shape
Ideal body everywhere promote body dissatisfaction

Question 18

What were the main points Kristie Clements made in her book “the vogue factor”? What were examples she gave of the disordered eating of models?

Answer 18

• women in the industry were greatly impacted by the ultra thin standard imposed, hard to work in undystry that promoted this while it was so unhealthy
• the ideal image posted in vogue is absolutely unattainable and unsustainable
• huge impact also on the ppl seeing this as ideal and compare selves to it or expect that from partners etc
  examples: girls would faint bc not eating enough, ate tissues or smoked or did coke to reduce weight, get breast reductions

Question 19

What are the most popular cosmetic procedures among canadians?

Answer 19

1) breast augmentation
2) lipo suction
3) eyelid surgery

Question 20

Why is the beauty /cosmetics industry so profitable?

Answer 20

1. Individualism

2. Beauty Premium Economics

Question 21

What is individualism impact on beauty industry? What is the gender related aspect?

Answer 21

ppl want to look nice, be creative and individual with their looks, want help with personal health even mental health just from looking nicer
Ppl say they do procedures/etc bc want to, but West and Zimmerman study show that heavy influence from society etc so the ‘choice’ is actually within constraints, and ppl are subconsciouslt pushed toward the ‘strong man’ and ‘pretty petite woman’ types

Question 22

What is Beauty Premium Economics and how does it impact the beauty industry?

Answer 22

“beauty is good” concept teaches ppl that attractiveness is form of currency/power in society
..soooo ppl want to be ‘richer’ in that sense, which involves looking younger and healthier
= ageism! dont ever associate the elderly with attractiveness etc, ppl taught to fear aging bc become irrelevant and less valuable to society (young = attractive and attractive = valuable)

Question 23

What were the two interactionist theorizers on physical appearance?

Answer 23

George Mead = ‘the i and the me’

erving goffman = impression management

Question 24

Describe the general political economic perspective on physical appearance (critical theorizing)

Answer 24

• critiques capitalism (beauty industry needs capitalism to keep goin bc need new markets and consumerism)
• promotion of ideal body image that actually unattainable
• critique industry and advertisements
• – some pretend ‘we love all bodies’ but still not exactly
• – send messages of what needs to be changed (wrinkle softening bullshit = ageism!)
• – racism (whitewashing, products to lighten skin, all models/etc have european/typically white features like small nose, small lips, straight hair)
• – classism: lots cosmetics and procedures expensive so money = beauty essentially (@ kardashians)

Question 25

What has been changed in the market targetting mens physical appearance over the years?

Answer 25

• GI Joe dolls got waayyy more jacked
• PlayGirl publications: men became 12 lbs less fat and 25 lbs more muscle
• mens health magazines have increased sales, target men with cosmetic procedures and products

Question 26

how are companies expanding the beauty market?

Answer 26

• target men more (shaving, grey hair dye shit, more segmentation to distinctly target ‘family men’ vs ‘bachelor/single men’ etc)
• market to the gays! (esp bc often no kids so more money and more time for beautyy)
• other more specially targetted groups of consumers (working class, trendy people, moralists idek)

Question 27

What is the feminist perspective on critical theorizing on physical appearance and beauty industry? Who two main authors?

Answer 27

Naomi Wolf: eternally women looking to become prettier etc, but always feeling worse in the end bc unattainable so self esteem plummet! also right around 1970s during womens rights/emanciaption stuff these ads became more popular

Simone de Beauvoir: when ppl subjected to these ads, see body as object (alienation) “heres a new product to nicely decorate yourself with, just how you use pretty things to decorate your home (a possession) and make it prettier!” – so the only body a woman is proud to display is one shes spent tons of tme and money perfecting (just like only want show off home when clean and full of pretty things)

Question 28

What did Michel Foucault say with his critical ontology of ourselves?

Answer 28

Advertisements decide what perfect man/woman is like, based on discourses of femininty and masculiity
= discourses limit possibilities bc what not included in the ideal is therefore deviant
- cant seperate body from actual self bc ppl perceive you through your body and treat you a certain way based on it so end up stuck in “body is me” rather than just part of me or only container for the actual me
- alienation of body from oneself then bc ppl evaluate based on body and if non ideal body then negative eval even if great person (‘im overweight but im kind and funny and etc, why dont they like me’) – my body ISNT ME so discconnect
—- leads to depression

Question 29

What are the four categories of body projects? (Shilling)

Answer 29

1. Camouflaging: techniques learned through socialization practices (makeup, clothes, hairstyle)
2. Extending: overcome ones physical limitations (use contact lenses, cane)
3. Adapting: parts of the body removed or repaired for aesthetic or medical reasons (weight loss, muscle building, laser hair removal)
4. Redesigning: reconstruct body in lasting/permanent ways (cosmetic surgery, tattoos, piercings)