It seems to me that no matter how hard people try, popular culture (and the vast majority of the contemporary population) is going to promote these binary gendered presentations. For an example of this, let’s take a look at a clip from the tv show What Not To Wear.
We can see right away from the title of the video (“Tough Chick Tone Down”) that the person receiving instructions is going to way be too masculine for Stacy and Clinton’s liking. Within the first 15 seconds, Clinton describes Christine – the tough chick – as having a “tragic tomboy style.” Furthermore, when they try to get her to wear a dress she says it is not her style. Stacy negates that statement with a “you don’t really know who you are” remark and then talks about how “looks can help improve your life” (around the 1:20 mark). Well Stacy, looks can improve someone’s life. But unfortunately, those looks have to fit into what society as a whole deems appropriate.
Towards the end of the video, the gruesome two-some gets Christine into a dress and she says something along the lines of “I feel more like a woman.” But she feels like a woman by whose standards? Stacy and Clinton’s? Was she not a woman when she was wearing pants and button downs instead of dresses? Does she actually feel more like a woman? Or does she feel more like what she thinks a woman should be?
I used to love watching What Not To Wear and other tv shows like it. But ever since I started taking Women and Gender studies courses I can’t stand to watch them. No matter what woman comes on the show, they tend to get forced into this narrow style box that excludes anything that isn’t easily identifiable as feminine. As a female who doesn’t wear dresses and doesn’t fit into that box, it drives me crazy.
(Threadbared link courtesy of http://iheartthreadbared.wordpress.com)
(What Not To Wear video courtesy of tlc.discovery.com)
I have to say, I used to love "What Not to Wear". When I thought deeper about why I loved it so much, I realized that it's because we get entertainment and comedy from watching someone be forced out of their comfort zone. Your post raises some great points about the way shows like this force us into binary gender norms and deems us "different" if we don't fit those norms.
ReplyDeleteI found so many things wrong with that video clip, I could take for days. However, one of the most striking comments made by Christine was that she didn't want to dress too feminine because she didn't want to look "fragile". I think it's so ridiculous that society puts these labels on a woman based on how she dresses. Why can't tough chicks, or better yet any ordinary woman, wear pink and still be strong in mind and body?
I agree. I used to enjoy all kinds of "female bettering" shows, because I thought that it would empowering for those women to become what they want to be. It also wasn't until I started taking these courses that I realized that the women either 1) only wanted to look that way because "men will like it" or "I'll look like all the other hot girls," or 2) didn't actually want it at all. Being that both of those reasons are very socialized responses, I feel like such shows do nothing more than show women they aren't going to be "right" until the right people say so (e.g. Tyra Banks), and that there is, in fact, a "right" way to look. Such societal input no doubt adds to the female perception that she has to fit in the boxed laid out for her.
ReplyDeleteThese classes really make me analyze that kind of stuff, in thinking about it...I don't know anyone who would perfectly fit in society's boxes.
I still like watching "What Not to Wear," but not for their style advice, for tips on what is properly fitted.
ReplyDeleteThe fault was on both sides in the video clip. Stacey and Clinton should not feel that all women ought to dress in "women's" clothing, but it was also offensive that the woman who was being given the makeover thought that wearing feminine clothing makes one appear weak and fragile. I also hate that you almost know from the getgo that the tomboy is going to somehow be transformed and find herself to be beautiful and more confidant and womanly after changing her style completely. She was kind of a traitor to herself. I would've loved for Stacey and Clinton to help her find pants and shorts and shirts that fit her properly, but were still in her tomboy range.