"Women are out to fit the clothes, instead of vice-versa"

While I enjoyed all of the readings for this class, the one which struck me the most was Betty Friedan'sThe Feminine Mystique. First published in the early sixties, I greatly appreciated Friedan's commitment to looking back and using statistical analysis of birth and marriage rates, education percentages and the like, to delve into the mindset of a 1950s woman. The pressures of femininity and womanly behaviors pervaded all throughout society. The fact that pre-teens were encouraged to buy padded bras to entice boys or that cancer patients chose keeping their luscious blond locks rather than loose their hair to chemotherapy are clear indications that the mindset of society in the 50's had detrimental affects to the population of women living in the United States. While most of her argument stresses the role of a woman inside the home as a matron and mother and how women struggled to find their identity outside of the domestic realm, one quote about body image was particularly moving.

Early in the excerpt, Friedan quotes a shopper who stated: "Women are out to fit the clothes, instead of vice-versa." I am particularly struck by this quote because I think it is one of the more relatable issues to today. While Friedan's argument of domesticity was particularly target to the women of the 60's, I am inclined to think that today the struggle for a non-domestic identity is less of a shocking and socially prohibited issue. However, I think one of the most frightening detriments that women face in modern America are the issues surrounding body image. The idea of 10 year olds buying push-up or padded bras to "join the man-trap set" is terrible. Young girls today still struggle with obtaining the ideal body. The notion of striving for an "ideal body" in my opinion, is probably one of the most threatening issues for women. With the national average for women being a size 16, the images of models, actresses, business tycoons, female politicians, etc. seem to be far from that average. Women are idealizing the people they see in the media, which is far from a true representation of the female form.

In cultures which ones admired curvaceous womanly features, today the "ideal" image of a rail thin, DD breasts is something which young girls and women alike are willing to sacrifice their health (and maybe their sanity) for. I think women look towards men for validation of beauty. Instead of fulfilling internal goals or being true to one's natural aesthetic, women alter their habits, bodies, and minds to appeal to the male aesthetic.

The habit of dressing in certain clothes to trigger a sexual response from men, or fighting to loose a few extra pounds to compete with the posters of models hanging in boys rooms, getting a breast enhancement to grab the attention of the cutest guy or dying one's hair to resemble the sexy star from the movies are all ways in which women are willing to sacrifice their unique identity to conform to the "ideal" beauty. It is unfortunate but true that the male aesthetic dictates how this beauty is defined.