abstract
The mixed media painting series, (DO NOT) YIELD to Body-Shaming, was created with the intent to bring about social transformation. The four individual paintings address an issue that affects all members of our society regardless of age, gender, or social status – body-shaming. The act of body-shaming – criticizing yourself or others because of an aspect of one’s physical appearance – initiates an unhealthy cycle of criticism, comparison and judgment. Rather than embracing aspects of our inner beauty and celebrating the uniqueness of our physical bodies, society too often highlights our imperfections, our weaknesses, and the “shameful” aspects of our bodies. This series raises awareness about body-shaming and seeks to modify the behaviors and eliminate the language of hate that perpetuates body-shaming.
the series of work: (do not) yield to body-shaming
artist statement
I chose to address the topic of “body-shaming” for the creative arts social commentary project because it is a term that I have noticed appearing in various media outlets (television, magazines, editorials, online articles, blogs, etc) with regularity. The topic garners intense discussion and criticism and I felt it is worthy and important to explore further through visual expression. It is an important issue that is relevant in our body-obsessed culture. It is a deeply personal issue that affects the way I think about my body and how I look at others’ bodies.
The act of body-shaming – criticizing yourself or others because of an aspect of one’s physical appearance (1) – initiates an unhealthy cycle of criticism, comparison and judgment. One of the earliest uses of the term “body-shaming” was used in a 2008 headline “No Celebrity is Safe From Tabloid Body-Shaming” (2), yet no bodies – even non-celebrity bodies – are safe from critique. The language of body-shaming is so ubiquitous in our contemporary dialogue about body image that it affects all aspects of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. It affects the way we think and talk about our bodies, how we relate to others, the products and food that we buy, and how we engage on social media.
Understanding the complexity of body-shaming is important. There are different manifestations, for example, fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, and weight-shaming are a few of the most commonly used methods of exploitation. One can be too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too old looking, too plain, too sexy, too flat-chested, too busty, too wide-hipped, too small-hipped, too muscular, too lean. The list of body-shaming smears is endless.
In body-shaming, one can criticize one’s own appearance through comparison to others or personal judgment or one can blatantly criticize another’s appearance in front of them or without their knowledge (1). Many of these manifestations are so pervasive in our culture and media that we unconsciously absorb them into our understanding, skewing our perceptions of beauty and self-worth.
Beauty and age double standards are uncommonly weighted unfavorably toward one gender – women. Women are certainly not the only targets of body-shaming, but it is fair to say that they are publicly judged more harshly than men on their appearances. I would argue that they are more often held to higher standards than men when it comes to maintaining “youthful” and “desirable” bodies. Of course, women are also guilty of “playing into” their own body shaming, Dr. Peggy Drexler points out (3). By doing so, women perpetuate a negative discourse about their bodies in which the act of body-shaming thrives.
In doing research for this project, the internet provided me with a trove of examples of body-shaming images and text. The speed and ease with which we can find and share images and comments with others all over the world has cultivated an environment and culture that breeds malicious and unwarranted criticism about physical beauty. Incubated by technology and the internet, media exacerbates this problem today.
Of late there has been a burgeoning movement to increase self-awareness about the language we use in our discussions about physical appearances. I support a shift from a language of criticism and judgment to one of acceptance. I applaud the women, celebrities and non-celebrities alike, who have the courage and confidence to acknowledge their physical uniqueness, what some may call flaws, and dismiss critical and unwarranted evaluation of their bodies. Self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-love are all positive and life-affirming forces for women. I believe our uniqueness and diversity as a human race reflects the creativity and love of God, the Creator.
Through this series of "signs of shame," I seek to communicate the injustice of body-shaming. I hope that viewers will approach my work with an open mind and will take time to reflect on how they personally relate to this injustice. I want to heighten the viewers’ self-awareness of body-shaming and for them to question: am I a victim of this? Am I guilty of perpetuating this? Where else do I see evidence of this hidden in my everyday life and speech? Through interaction with my work I hope that viewers are left with a desire to end body-shaming.
The act of body-shaming – criticizing yourself or others because of an aspect of one’s physical appearance (1) – initiates an unhealthy cycle of criticism, comparison and judgment. One of the earliest uses of the term “body-shaming” was used in a 2008 headline “No Celebrity is Safe From Tabloid Body-Shaming” (2), yet no bodies – even non-celebrity bodies – are safe from critique. The language of body-shaming is so ubiquitous in our contemporary dialogue about body image that it affects all aspects of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. It affects the way we think and talk about our bodies, how we relate to others, the products and food that we buy, and how we engage on social media.
Understanding the complexity of body-shaming is important. There are different manifestations, for example, fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, and weight-shaming are a few of the most commonly used methods of exploitation. One can be too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too old looking, too plain, too sexy, too flat-chested, too busty, too wide-hipped, too small-hipped, too muscular, too lean. The list of body-shaming smears is endless.
In body-shaming, one can criticize one’s own appearance through comparison to others or personal judgment or one can blatantly criticize another’s appearance in front of them or without their knowledge (1). Many of these manifestations are so pervasive in our culture and media that we unconsciously absorb them into our understanding, skewing our perceptions of beauty and self-worth.
Beauty and age double standards are uncommonly weighted unfavorably toward one gender – women. Women are certainly not the only targets of body-shaming, but it is fair to say that they are publicly judged more harshly than men on their appearances. I would argue that they are more often held to higher standards than men when it comes to maintaining “youthful” and “desirable” bodies. Of course, women are also guilty of “playing into” their own body shaming, Dr. Peggy Drexler points out (3). By doing so, women perpetuate a negative discourse about their bodies in which the act of body-shaming thrives.
In doing research for this project, the internet provided me with a trove of examples of body-shaming images and text. The speed and ease with which we can find and share images and comments with others all over the world has cultivated an environment and culture that breeds malicious and unwarranted criticism about physical beauty. Incubated by technology and the internet, media exacerbates this problem today.
Of late there has been a burgeoning movement to increase self-awareness about the language we use in our discussions about physical appearances. I support a shift from a language of criticism and judgment to one of acceptance. I applaud the women, celebrities and non-celebrities alike, who have the courage and confidence to acknowledge their physical uniqueness, what some may call flaws, and dismiss critical and unwarranted evaluation of their bodies. Self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-love are all positive and life-affirming forces for women. I believe our uniqueness and diversity as a human race reflects the creativity and love of God, the Creator.
Through this series of "signs of shame," I seek to communicate the injustice of body-shaming. I hope that viewers will approach my work with an open mind and will take time to reflect on how they personally relate to this injustice. I want to heighten the viewers’ self-awareness of body-shaming and for them to question: am I a victim of this? Am I guilty of perpetuating this? Where else do I see evidence of this hidden in my everyday life and speech? Through interaction with my work I hope that viewers are left with a desire to end body-shaming.
development
I chose to juxtapose body-shaming images and text from magazines and newspapers with images of traffic signs because of their commonness in our daily lives. We so often interact with and take for granted both body-shaming text and publicly displayed signs that guide our behavior by enforcing laws (e.g. traffic signs). Society unconsciously absorbs these “rules” into our collective understanding of what is right and wrong, good and bad, and beautiful and ugly. I used bold, bright, and recognizable traffic sign templates to capture the attention of the viewer. Upon closer inspection of the paintings, the viewers can see literal layers of materials revealing the figurative layers of meaning.
audience
My intended audience is all of society, but specifically, the victims (mainly women) and perpetrators (mainly the media) of body-shaming. I visualize other "signs of shame" in the (DO NOT) YIELD to Body-Shaming series as the body of a social marketing campaign aimed at raising awareness, and eventually ending, the practice of body-shaming. The campaign would seek to influence social behaviors, ultimately benefiting the target audience and general society (4). I envision the "signs of shame" being displayed in very public venues and less of a gallery setting. A successful marketing campaign would reproduce these images in locations where they would be most visible -- magazine and online ads, billboards, bus and train advertisements, commercials, etc.
challenges
The challenge as an artist is always to narrow down my focus to create a cohesive and clear body of work. I often work in series, rather than focusing on a single piece, because I usually have many solutions (ideas) to communicate my message. I scrapped many other "signs of shame" ideas that I felt did not communicate the problem of body-shaming as quickly and clearly as the final collection of work.
references
1. http://www.waldenbehavioralcare.com/body-shaming-what-is-it-why-do-we-do-it/
2. www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2013/10/stop_calling_all_criticism_shaming.html
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheila-moeschen/bat-wings-and-muffin-tops_b_3202858.html
4. http://www.social-marketing.com/whatis.html
2. www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2013/10/stop_calling_all_criticism_shaming.html
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheila-moeschen/bat-wings-and-muffin-tops_b_3202858.html
4. http://www.social-marketing.com/whatis.html