“But I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty. Girls wanted butts now. Men were free to admit that they had always enjoyed them. And then, what felt like moments later, boom—Beyoncé brought the leg meat. A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired. And from that day forward, women embraced their diversity and realized that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. Ah ha ha. No. I’m totally messing with you. All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes.”
Tina Fey, Bossypants
Ah, Tina Fey. Gotta love her. This quote was taken from her new book Bossypants, and what she says is so true - American society has fetishized parts of women's bodies, while deeming other parts "less than". Tina jokes about it, but really - this is another example of racism and sexism becoming tangled up together, leading to an impossible-to-achieve body image that excludes nearly all women.
Upholding these ideas of what a woman, a man, a particular culture, an age, etc must look like and present themselves as perpetuates all ISMs. It's ridiculous, but it's so prevalent that I barely notice anymore. The past 3 commercials on tv were for products that will help women become "more beautiful", and they all featured a White spokeswoman with long, blond hair and blue eyes. So much pressure.
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