The Body Project and Advertising

The outline of the origins of various “body projects” throughout the 20^th century in “The Body Project,” by Brumberg is an interesting perspective, because I think that contemporary obsession with body image is taken for granted because it is so prevalent. At the beginning of the “century of svelte,” in the 1920’s, the fashionable body type was slender with long legs, and a relatively flat chest (Brumberg 99). That time period also saw an increase of female mobility and autonomy due to increased entertainment options and proliferation of the telephone and automobiles (Brumberg 101). This increased independence marked the beginnings of where self-esteem became based more so on external factors instead of inner qualitie

s, “such as strength of character and generosity of spirit.” (Brumberg 101). The story of Yvonne Blue demonstr

ates just how malleable one’s “image” was perceived to be, even at the beginning of the 20^th century. The descriptions of her intentional modifications of her image and her fixation on her worth as determined primarily by external factors is not all too unfamiliar, even though it was almost 100 years ago. Perhaps most importantly, the idea embodied by Yvonne’s purchase of a tight-fitting silk dress, that the body no longer was solely something to be kept private, provided the basis for the immense influence of media and other cultural messages. In the 1950’s, the fash

ionable body type shifted to glorify those with larger breasts, partly in response to popularity of movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe, and thus began the commercialization of bras (Brumberg 108). Gradually, the rationale for the necessity of bras as we know them for ad

olescent girls had both a medical and so

cial basis, with advantages such as preventing “stretched blood vessels and poor circulation” being increasingly cited as time went on (Brumberg 112). This mode of “figure control” was associated with a better life, being prettier, and having more friends through advertisements (Brumber 114). By the 1970’s and 1980’s, the idea of fitness and of a lean “body with visible musculature” became normative (Brumberg 123). This ideal is reinforced not only through celebrities such as

Madonna, but by fashion trends, such as tight-fitting pants and mini-skirts.

Much about the way we perceive our bodies is shaped by the media, especially currently given the increasingly consistent immersion in popular culture due to technology. In “Sex, Lies, and Advertising,” Gloria Steinem describes how advertisers can strongly influence the content of magazines such as Ms. and in many cases have strict stipulations for the desired associations between their products and services and the ideas and topics contained within the magazine. The omnipresence of body image concept is even alluded to by Steinem, who points out that “dress for success” women in 1960’s advertisements were thin, white, and beautiful. In the 1920’s, women’s magazines gradually transformed into catalogs due to advertisements, thus changing the focus to creating a desire for, and teaching women how to use the products that were advertised. In terms of health and beauty advertisements, they surely reflected the ideals and trends described by Brumberg. Though Steinem’s article focused on advertising mainly as an instrument that often presented itself as an obstacle to the feminist image and messages projected by Ms., the general idea of how advertising as a form of media can manipulate other forms of media, which together manipulate consumers of media.

My primary thought on these articles, primarily that of Brumberg, was how similar many of the ideas and woes surrounding body image and dieting from the turn of the century are to today. Today I think that the idea of dieting and body image is taken to another level, with the self-consciousness beginning at an earlier age. In a slightly different vein, the part of “The Body Project” specifically about bras concludes with statement that the development of training bras begin sexualization of the body at an earlier age. Thus changes in fashion have not only blurred the distinction between what is public and what is private with regard to one’s body, but also has narrowed the gap between what is considered juvenile and what is considered adult in fashion. Brumberg contends that fashion reflects behavior by acting as an “interpreter” to onlookers and so dressing young girls in bras and other “adult” clothing articles implies “adult” behavior which translates to marking younger girls as sexual objects (Brumberg 118). Of course, this immediately made me think of raunch culture and Ariel Levy – perhaps a historical prequel to Female Chauvinist Pigs would trace this blurring of the public-private boundary of the body and extend Brumberg’s contentions to be a historical foundation for how our culture got to where it is now with the many ways that people display their bodies.