My paradigm shift essay focused on the shift from idolizing body and beauty standards to rejecting and ridiculing them. This shift came in the form of the body positivity movement. In my essay, I discussed that body positivity wrongfully blames women. For my TED Talk, I’ve chosen to expand on this topic by analyzing how skinny shaming has been undermined and ridiculed in the movement. In giving this talk, my goal is to convince readers that body neutrality is a more inclusive and effective solution for all women.

Topic: Body shaming and body positivity

Purpose: To analyze the current beliefs and attitudes existing in society, and persuade listeners to change their perspectives.

Thesis statement: Body positivity has ignored and invalidated many women’s experiences with thin and skinny shaming; In a world that feeds off of women’s lack of solidarity, we should adopt a policy of true body neutrality.

Introduction:

• To capture my audience, I want to start by asking them to analyze two separate women (Lizzo and Bella Hadid). I will highlight their differences both physically and in the way society perceives them. Then, I will explain that both of them are victims of body shaming and exploitation. I am hoping that by asking the audience to engage, I will gain their attention.
• Explain my own experience with skinny shaming, and how it has been dismissed. The goal of sharing this is to capture my audience’s emotional investment.

Body:

• Skinny shaming is a forgotten form of discrimination that has been ignored and undermined.
  • Examples of discrimination against thin people:
    • Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda lyrics
    • Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass lyrics
    • Lizzo’s comments about thin and midsize women
    • Articles claiming body positivity is not for thin women:
      • The Medium: claims the body positivity movement isn’t for thin women.

• Skinny shaming is a real issue in our society that needs to be addressed.
  • Examples of women being skinny-shamed:
    • Bella Hadid
    • Gal Gadot
    • Zendaya
    • Emma Stone
  • Articles expanding on harmful effects of skinny-shaming
    • Feminism India: explains how skinny-shaming is a lesser-known trauma
    • The Guardian: questions why skinny-shaming is normalized

• Body neutrality is a much more sustainable and inclusionary solution to body shaming in all forms.
  • Psychological research supporting body neutrality
    • Psychology Today: highlights the problems with body positivity
    • Medical News Today: compares body positivity to body neutrality
  • Women benefit from detaching the stereotypes from both their own and each other’s bodies.

Conclusion:

• Imagine a world where, instead of social media pressuring you to love your body, or shaming you for doing so, it simply doesn’t matter. How could de-stigmatizing and removing labels from the female body unite women?

Slide One: Side-by-side images of Bella Hadid and Lizzo (two distinctly different women) to show that women are often discriminated against regardless of their physical appearance.

 

Slide Two: I am still trying to find the right figure. I am looking for a dataset that shows how prevalent body shaming is in our society or how heavily it affects women.

Slide Three: Shows how society views body neutrality and how body neutrality dismisses the importance of physical image that is reinforced in body positivity.

 

For my paradigm shift projects, I will be focusing on the evolution of body and beauty standards. I will be addressing the subject’s changing public opinions and how they relate to other topics, including celebrities and public figures, health and psychology, social media, and feminist movements. I have chosen to narrow my focus to American beauty standards of the last century (1920s-present day) and therefor, the related topics from an American perspective. Likewise, my argument will now focus on how women have become victims and how it has effected women. One of my main goals in approaching this shift is to demonstrate the role that beauty standards and body standards have played in recent history compared to modern society. I aim to highlight the negative impacts, and therefor subsequent rejection, of these standards. Furthermore, I want the reader to gain a greater understanding of what the “body positivity” movement really consists of. My goal as the writer is to convince the reader to reconsider their current beliefs or biases regarding body and beauty standards as well as the following body positivity movement.

This argument really drew me in for a variety of reasons. The shift from praising and admiring body standards (and the related topics that embodied them) to rejecting and ridiculing them was relatively rapid. As well, the overall message of the movement doesn’t seem to be reflected in the behavior of women who supposedly support them. There are elements of the “body positivity” movement that are counterproductive and harmful— society needs to be aware of these conditions in order to change them.

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Editors, Content. “A Cultural History of Eating Disorders in the West .” Apollon Undergraduate Journal, Apollon Undergraduate Journal, 4 Aug. 2021, https://www.apollonejournal.org/apollon-journal/misunderstood-a-cultural-history-of-eating-disorders-in-the-west.

Information will be used to provide facts about the study of eating disorders. The text connects eating disorders to the western world and increasing pressure of beauty standards.

 

Giorgis, Hannah. “Jameela Jamil and the Trouble with #NoFilter Feminism.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 5 Dec. 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/12/jameela-jamil-airbrushing-nofilter-feminism/577333/.

The text provides background information on celebrities prominent in the “body positivity” movement. Information can be used to demonstrate a problematic and hypocritical aspect of the emerging movement.

 

Howard, Jacqueline. “The History of the ‘Ideal’ Woman and Where That Has Left Us.” CNN, Cable News Network, 9 Mar. 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/07/health/body-image-history-of-beauty-explainer-intl/index.html.

This article demonstrates shifting ideas of what the “ideal” woman consists of. It can be used to explain some of the direct results of such standards and expectations.

 

Kim, Stacy. “The History of Fitness Marketing: How It Killed the Joy in Exercise for Women.” Stacy Kim, 26 July 2022, https://stacy.kim/blog/how-the-history-of-marketing-has-killed-the-joy-in-exercise-for-women/.

The author draws a connection between body standards and exercise. This will be used to show how health and fitness directly related to beauty standards of the time.

 

McQuillan, Sarah. “The Problem with Body Positivity.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, LLC, 13 June 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cravings/202206/the-problem-body-positivity.

This piece offers an interesting perspective of why body positivity could be problematic. This information will be used to support my ideas of why the movement is harmful and needs reformed.

 

Pasquini, Maria. “Bella Hadid Gets Body Shamed for Her Thin Appearance in New Video.” People, Dotdash Meredith, 6 Dec. 2018, https://people.com/style/bella-hadid-body-shamed-thin-appearance-love-video/.

The article provides several examples of how a prominent celebrity is subject to body shaming. This source will be used as an example that celebrities are equally, if not more subject to discrimination.

 

Peyser, Eve. “The Instagram Face-Lift.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Apr. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/opinion/instagram-celebrity-plastic-surgery.html.

This article repeatedly bashes the Kardashian family for their supposed lack of transparency on social media. I will use information from this article as an example of how celebrities are treated in the body positivity movement.

 

Rollero, Chiara. “Mass Media Beauty Standards, Body Surveillance, and Relationship Satisfaction within Romantic Couples.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 7, 2022, pp. 3833. ProQuest, https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fmass-media-beauty-standards-body-surveillance%2Fdocview%2F2649017519%2Fse-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073833.

The text offers a variety of information on how mass media has influenced body image. Information from this article will be used to discuss how social media influences body and beauty standards.

 

West, Mary. “Body Positivity Movement: Benefits, Drawbacks, vs. Body Neutrality.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 29 Apr. 2022, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/body-positivity.

This article talks about the positive effects, negative effects, and alternate ideas regarding body positivity. This information will be used to explore alternate methods to rejecting body standards.

 

Introduction:

Goal: Allow the reader to identify the commonplaces being discussed and develop a basic understanding of what will be discussed in the essay.

• Introduce the reader to “The American Dream” in the context that it is being discussed.
• Introduce the reader to ways in which its elements (suburbia, white picket fence) have been harmful to American society
• Introduce the idea that toxic American standards could be even more harmful beyond our borders
• Introduce conflict diamonds and blood diamonds
• Thesis statement: American culture’s romanticization of the diamond ring has enabled ignorant disregard of the blood diamonds’ humanitarian crisis.

Section 2:

Goal: Give the reader an accurate understanding of how diamond rings are an active element in American society and highlight ignorance (allow the reader to imagine the blissful unawareness of American couples). Interrupt this thought process with questions of sustainability.

• Introduce “the diamond ring”
  • The symbolism of the diamond ring
    • Wealth
    • Love
    • Happy marriage
  • Interrupt the developing thought process by questioning the sustainability of diamond rings.

Section 3:

Goal: Expose the reality of blood/conflict diamonds

• Explain key characteristics and structure of the system
  • Utilizes slavery and child labor
  • Deprives sufferers of basic human rights
  • Utilizes profits to finance rebel-based movements and civil wars
• Explain the results of the system
  • Starvation
  • Death
• Provide examples of countries suffering
  • Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone
• List organizations or movements that have claimed to solve the issue
  • Introduce Global Witness and their report “A Rough Trade”
  • United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173/1925
  • The Fowler Report in 2000
  • Kimberly Process

Section 4:

Goal: Convince the reader that diamond rings are still idolized and blood diamonds are still real. Question why such an awful practice is still taking place.

• Explain the criticism of Kimberly Process
  • Narrow terms of certification
  • Does not target individual stones
  • Does not place responsibility on companies
  • Global Witness no longer observes the process
  • Authorization of unethical Zimbabwean exports
  • Key members’ withdrawal from association with the process
• Explain the criticism of brands
  • Boodles, Rolex, Cartier, and Bulgari
  • Opinions from Julie Kippenberg (associate child rights director at Human Rights Watch)
  • HWR’s ranking of top brands and their terms of responsible sourcing
• Why do we continue to see diamond rings?

Conclusion:

Goal: Allow the reader to develop the connection between our portrayal of diamond rings and the continuation of blood diamond practices.

• Explain how our demand (as a result of commonplaces and ideologies) for diamond rings is a major motivator in blood and conflict diamonds
• Introduce the idea that our perspective, or what we currently associate diamonds with, is supporting unethical practices.
  • Loving marriage
  • Wealthy and successful marriage
• Explain the artifact’s rhetorical proofs (ethos, pathos, and logos)
• Characterize the reality of the association (immoral, deceiving, etc.)

 

Sources

 

Throughout its evolution, the white picket fence has continually influenced American society. Prior to their suburban glorification, the rigid edges of a picket fence acted as defenders in the developing colonies. Facing the unfamiliarity of untouched wilderness and frequent flocks of enemy armies, colonizers counted on their sharpened-board borders. Amusingly, paint price inflation introduced the idea that your fence, painted or unpainted, represented your socioeconomic status. As a result, a white picket fence is associated with social class. Ever since, wealthy East Coast house hunters have been preyed upon by this association.

Yet, the Cold War proved that the purpose of the white picket fence had revolutionized. Following the American victory in World War Two, reunited with their returned soldiers, many were urgent to rekindle their families. Unfortunately, the peace formed by these communities had been interrupted by concerns surrounding the Cold War. Faced with the fears of Soviet spies, the friendly white picket fence had been abruptly uprooted, replaced by sturdy chain links. Exhausted by uncertainty, Americans sought to restore the dream of a suburban sanctuary. As a result, the 1980s revived the white picket fence, reviving the culture surrounding it. The white picket fence, born to ward off strangers, had now become an attempt to make them feel welcome.

Yet, not all fences are created equal. To those well established within its walls, the fence solidifies their success and social excellence. To those exiled, the fence is a delusional standard of superficiality. Regardless of the angle, the white picket fence accurately summarizes American ideologies. In praising the fences and the superficial standards they accessorize, the importance of size and looks in America is affirmed. Undeniably, the white picket fence has defined American suburbia, thus creating unity amongst neighbors and inspiring an arguably false sense of togetherness. Despite constant evolution, the white picket fence remains a standard symbol of the American Dream.

Two kids and a dog, guns in the safe, hamburgers on the grill— classic clichés of the stereotypical American house. However, the most important artifact of this hypothetically ideal American life is the house itself: large, green-lawn-lined, and wrapped with a white picket fence. Supporting this standard is the commonplace promoted all across American

 

culture: “Bigger is better.” I find this symbol contradicts the iconic American dream values of individuality and freedom, so an interesting question arises: Why are we dreaming of monotony when it comes to our homes?

By claiming to satisfy social fantasies, the American dream captivated its audience. In part, the modern obsession is sustained by property’s historical significance. Though owning is no longer required for civic engagement, the heightened respect and social status that accompanies such ownership is far from outdated. Because it has been idolized as a social trophy, people anticipate a sense of accomplishment or superiority. This metaphor has convinced Americans that physical possession is the key to freedom, despite the fact that freedom is characterized by its lack of constraints or conditions. The “bigger is better” suburban saga has baited an audience seeking social approval and a sense of civic significance.

Ultimately, I reached several conclusions regarding this commonplace and associated artifact. The very existence of these mundane, standardized communities is a contradiction of American individualism. Furthermore, the sustainability issues enabled by their creation violate the freedoms of others, a clear civic and social controversy. Just as the white picket fence contains the houses, the “bigger is better” mentality sets the borders of our authenticity. In a country with an undying passion for freedom and unapologetic individuality, “bigger is better” and white picket fences are blatant misrepresentations of the American dream. I have endless questions about how these ideas have shaped American culture. So I ask my fellow Americans— is bigger really better?

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