Body Image and Self Esteem

Girls: feminine adolescence in popular culture & cultural theory:

 "The feminine adolescent desires her-self as she might become- a potential visualized in connection to other girls and constructed through observation of her own and other girls' bodies." (Driscoll, 2002).

I feel like Driscoll makes a relevant observation to woman in American Culture. As a teenage girl develops social she will "dissolve opposite-sex friendships and become actively involved with same-sex groups to help define changing roles," (Kerlavage, 1999). As Kerlavage suggests the same-sex groups in adolescences become more important. I wonder who as woman we are trying to impress? Ourselves? Other Woman? Or Men? Adolescences is an emotional, physical and socially developmental time for girls that are on the verge of womanhood. America's visual culture plays a large role in how we as woman characterize ourselves in this society. In my opinion, I feel like many woman would agree, a strong woman in New York City is seen as physically slender, tan or glowing skin (usually showing a good portion of it), also dressed in current fashion trends. Unfortunately these attributes are all based on physical appearance. Appearance is assumable the first impression determining how a woman is perceived or judged. The cultural norm of the present day teenage girl in New York City sees these physical attributes and looks towards them as a model for what would make them perfect. Since these girls are in a time of developmental change they are more conscious of this visual culture.

The high school girls that I am observing are ranging from 14 to 18 years old. Between these four years there are many mark-able difference in physical changes and emotional behaviors. However, the one thing that is constant throughout this age range is egocentrism. Egocentricity is as much apart of adolescence as the physical growth teenagers experience. Freud suggests that narcissism is a normal transitional phase for one's ego. The obsession over personal body image is something that our society pressures teenage girls into indirectly. Normal behavior that girl's begin to adopt are painting/plucking/dying/shaving/dieting and exercising. Through observation I have seen freshman high school girls paint their faces with globs of makeup attempting to create the visual illusion of perfection and also by imitating what they see in magazines, on billboards, the internet and on the streets of the city. I feel like they want society to see them as an adult and not a child. The search for identity and perfection in body image can cause serious self-esteem issues that can last through adulthood. I personally have felt these pressures myself, usually pertaining to my body weight.

Until we can truly understand why we care so much about physical beauty we will be stuck in the same repetitive cultural norm. I feel like as a teacher I want to exploit this issue with my students in a way where they can form their own ideals on what is beautiful. As artists we understand that visually beauty is arbitrary. As an art educator I feel compelled to set a scaffolding for my students to come to this discovery on their own. Maybe it will help relieve some of the similar insecurities I once felt as a teenager.