10.

Sex = Food

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40868763@N02/3761724457/

I am fascinated by the way in which Naomi Wolf  equates sex with food in The Beauty Myth. She argues that food indulgences are seen in a way that sexual indulgences have been seen in the past - shameful, pleasurable, emotionally tolling. She observes that "while sex for pleasure was a sin; women make the same distinction today between eating to sustain life and eating for pleasure" (98). 

I recently read an article in the New Yorker in which a journalist makes a distinction between a meal and a dessert. A meal is what you need to survive (in keeping with Wolf's parallel, the sort of sex used for procreational purposes), while dessert is superfluous (like sex for pleasure). We indulge in dessert, not because we need to, but because we can. The sugary properties of desserts make them impractical in the long run in terms of sustenance (all we get is a sugar high and then a crash). Instead, they are wild and impulsive, about living in the moment. 

With the woman as the"domestic goddess," cooking being a traditional task, must she balance the menu with food and dessert? Is this not symbolic of the age-old contradiction women are expected to embody - on one hand the stable, fertile mother but also the flirtatious, sexually arousing vixen.


This parallel between food and sexual desire is drawn in The Handmaid's Tale as well. In moments of sensory desolation, Margaret Atwood describes her protagonist as suddenly overwhelmed with hunger, the desire to taste, to consume. Offred's desire to feel alive is associated with her desire to eat.  Oral consumption satisfies the senses in a big way - smell, sight and taste are involved. It seems that exhilarating these senses is a crucial part of being "alive".

Wolf agrees, saying "To be alive is to want to satisfy hunger" (126)


----
By complete coincidence I walked into my sister's room this morning and found her browsing a new website--foodporndaily.com---where drool-worthy images of food are posted daily. Fascinating that such a website exists, but also a bit creepy!

http://foodporndaily.com/pictures/soft-gooey-cinnamon-rolls-drench-in-cream-cheese-icing

9.

The Power of Language II


In Topshop, the words "BUY IT NOW. YOU'LL REGRET IT LATER" are painted on the wall.

I remember wandering through the store sometime last year, glancing at the words, and feeling suddenly offended. I couldn't believe how shameless the advertising was, that a retailer would attempt so decidedly to sway a consumer's opinion with words on a wall. Offense dissolved into disgust when I contemplated how many people the neon motto must have successfully penetrated.

I think I consistently underestimate the power of words. In advertising and media, word choice is critical, a result of meticulous study. In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf lists common beauty company mottos:

"Isn't it obvious what you should do for your skin right now? (Terme di Saturnia)

In this slogan, the choice "obvious" brings a condescending tone to the message, as if it is spoken from an all-knowing, ageless voice. The "right now" adds a sense of urgency. The listener is made to feel belittled, and taking advantage of this self-conscious state, is rushed instantly to do something about it, to correct one's ignorance with a new product.

"Stop damaging your skin"(Elizabeth Arden)

This slogan is spoken in the imperative. The "stop" makes the advertisement a command, not an option. The direct mention of a "you" adds to the effectiveness of the slogan on the individual level.

"Since 1956, there's been no excuse for dry skin" (Revlon)

Here, "since 1956" references the age of the company, and by extension its authority. The "no excuse" is effective in assuming that the reader has been making excuses, or has cheated herself of proper treatment.

(All slogans found on page 96)

In addition to these slogans, magazines today are littered with simple "do's and don'ts" that "scold, insinuate and condescend" (84). They are a limited, yet resolute set of orders.

8.

In Defense of Fashion II

My mom just sent my sister and me this movie via email.  I love how these women - as quirky as they are -  use fashion to their own ends. They use it as a way to exercise creativity, to sustain a certain youthfulness, to communicate whatever they want to the world.

I think the right to dress one's self is powerful and a critical part of feeling "in control." In Margret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, cumbersome uniforms are used to oppress women. Physically heavy and with extensive coverage, the costumes leave the handmaid's deprived of the simple, yet important power of bodily freedom. Certain colors correspond with specific roles in society. A woman's role and rights are insinuated immediately with whatever she wears. Women are not given the right to control their own immediate reality, the initial, visual message sent out to whom ever they encounter.

In this light,  power resides in the right to choosing how you dress. In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf references a number of devastating trials in which the key right withheld from women was the right to dress. In these examples, workplace dress codes are manipulated to fit the needs of the employers and to render female employees helpless. Wolf cites Diaz v. Coleman, in which she says, "a dress code of short skirts was set by an employer who allegedly sexually harassed his female employees because they complied with it"(39). In M. Schmidt v. Austicks Bookshops Ltd., another case was lost by a female employee after the court "ruled that telling a woman how to dress was no more than trivial"(40).

In reality, Wolf observes, "the area of appearance seems to be the one where women feel they can most easily exert some control over how they will be responded to" (43).

I often forget it, but with the process of getting dressed everyday comes the power to communicate.

7.

In Defense of Fashion


I find myself defending fashion all the time. As an Ecology student, well-versed in the crises of consumer culture, and as an teenager exposed to many intelligent people who believe that fashion is a hollow, superficial and materialistic industry, I am constantly attempting to rationalize my love of dress. 


I'm so sick of feeling guilty!


I have to admit, I was unsettled by Mary Wollstonecraft's repeated criticisms of dress in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In one passage on fashion, she remarks, "...calling attention continually to the body, cramps the activity of the mind" (81). 


I've been raised to think the opposite. My mother was a professional buyer for nine years. Working for both Macy's and Cost Plus, she traveled throughout Europe and Asia in search of goods (clothing, furniture, textiles) to sell in the States.  She continually brought Elie and me costumes, embedding in both of us a fervent love of dress. In our attic in the States, we've kept a stash of Indian saris, Scottish kilts, Russian skirts, Thai jackets,  and Chinese silk suits among other items. 


Recently shaken by dramatic documentaries about the perils of consumer-culture in my Ecology class, I asked my mother what she would say if someone were to tell her that her profession depended upon the evils of selfish materialism.  She responded by saying that, as seen throughout history, humans have adorned themselves with material objects for centuries, and that if produced ethically and sustainably, these objects can provide incredibly valuable commentary about what it means to be an individual in this world. Luxury items can be expressive and creative. They are a narrative of the individual human condition as well as a reflection of vast societal trends.


When considered in this light, fashion is unbelievably powerful. Take Yves Saint Laurent for instance, whose work, for me, visually narrates our era's trend towards worldly awareness, a positive effect of globalization. Throughout his career, YSL traveled the world and created collections inspired by African(1967), Russian (1976), and Moroccan (1968) dress. In a world quickly westernizing in every other way, fashion provides an outlet where cultural differences/diversities are celebrated and sustained. What some may consider a superfluous, luxury industry, may be the only place where this kind of cultural celebration is ensured to continue!

1.   2 3. 

1. Africa, http://deyoung.famsf.org/

2. Russia, http://picasaweb.google.com/FAMSF1/YvesSaintLaurent

3. Morocco, http://deyoung.famsf.org/

Fashion can also be scientific, in reference to the natural world. Alexander Mcqueen's Spring/Summer 2011 Plato’s Atlantis collection was the product of an intense study of the environment. Inspired by ecology and the theory of evolution, Mcqueen studied insects, reptiles, and sea creatures, arranging them in mathematical tesselation-like patterns across shift dresses. His unbelievable work no doubt inspires an appreciation of the natural world and its beauty - a crucial message in a time where humans are struggling to empathize with the environment.

1. 

1. http://igossip.com/gossip/alexander_mcqueen_spring_summer_2010_show/980228


Also significant to me, is the revived 1950s femininity of Louis Vuitton's recent fall 2010 collection. This "lady-like" trend has caught hold across the board. Even lower-end retailers are selling stock with defined high waist lines, synching belts, silk scarfs and the like. It is fascinating to me that something like this has come out of the belly-bearing-spice-girls-inspired 90s era.  Our trends are retrospective and I think this says something about our social values. Perhaps we are nostalgic for an era of respectful, dignified womanhood. 

1. 

1. http://www.fashionfame.com/2010/06/louis-vuitton-fall-winter-2010-ad-campaign/

Fashion is not a foolish enterprise, but an art form with the ability to embody crucial themes.  Wollstonecraft believes a concern for dress is a frivolous employment, used solely out of a "savage desire for attention," to occupy one's self "When the mind is not sufficiently opened to take pleasure in reflection" (80 & 120). In contrast, I think that fashion (as seen in the preceding examples) is highly reflective, inquisitive, and intellectual. It is a visual exercise to the greatest extent - visual art, architecture and design all rolled into one. It is not always a means of entrapment for women as Wollstonecraft says, but a critical mode of communication and expression.