Nivea An African Argument

In Killing Us Softly, Kilbourne gives the example of the common advertising image of a black women in a jungle setting, wearing a leopard skin. In most media, white women are considered the “standard model” of what is desirable, both from the perspective of what a women should look like, and

Could she get him away? Would he fall for that long, wavy beautiful hair? Why take chances?” The language employed in the Hi-Ja hair advertisement was intended to provoke shame among African American women and instill fear of competition from more glossy haired, beautiful women. Advertisers intentionally employed this technique to convince anxious female readers that they needed to buy more beauty products in order to keep their men happy and faithful. Additionally, when describing the Hi-Ja hair cream, the advertisers were careful to include that the product was white in color. The advertiser’s decision to include this seemingly insignificant detail painfully reveals the racialized nature of early twentieth-century African American beauty culture and advertising. African American beauty advertisements overwhelmingly correlated lighter skin and straightened hair “with femininity, beauty, and romantic

In the context of physical appearance, black woman are only featured with body parts- mainly their “large, rotund behind” (Perry 137). The presentation of the face is mainly limited to white or lighter-complexioned women. The highest idealization of women is one that possesses a “‘high-status’ face combined with a highly sexualized body read by the viewer as the body of a poor or working-class woman” (Perry 137). Perry further substantiates her claim by stating that “women are created or valued by how many fantasy elements have been pieced together in their bodies” (137). She debunks the opposition arguing that the bodies of black women are appreciated by pointing out that only a minority of black women have such attributes, and those without are pressured and struggle to achieve such proportions.

During these years black entrepreneurs, journalists, and activists strove to promote black beauty ideals, practices, and products. But by this period a white supremacist beauty ideal was already well established; the black strug¬gle for dignity was against a foe that is fairly familiar to us today” (Camp 677).

In order to survive in this world, one must have enough courage to clarify things in life and make them appear easier. Courage is what makes us individuals different from others. It shows in what we believe and the power of belief over will. There is no courage without risk but courage can be fearful. With courage we can stand up for what we believe is right or wrong. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch , Link Deas and Mrs. Dubose show courage in different ways. Atticus shows his courage by taking Tom Robinson's case and defending him. Link Deas shows his courageously and bravely by standing up for Tom Robinson. Also Mrs.Dubose shows her courage by trying to stop being addicted to Morphine before dieing. Each individual that

In her arguments, Berry uses Clarks’ and Sorel’s modern advertisement to describe the more realistic descriptions of beauty standards. I found Berry’s argument quite convincing because of her example of anti-women shunning adverting. In Clarks’ ad, they promote a

In conclusion, impression management by women through hair styling is not exclusive to the African American culture. However, this documentary illustrates that this is a fundamental part of their diverse culture. The individual choices made about hairstyle preferences or deviance from the norm will ultimately foster a characterization of “good” or “bad hair”; which sets this group of women apart from women of other ethnicities. It must be quite damaging to the ego to believe that a naturally occurring characteristic as unique as one’s own hair to be perpetually “bad” when in fact, any hair can be beautiful in any length and texture. The debate surrounding “good” or “bad hair” in the African American culture is best summarized by one participant from the documentary, “having any hair at all should be” [thought of as having] “good hair” (Rock & Stilson, 2009). One’s self-image should not be dictated by general consensus or dominant culture and the choice of conformity or

As I was reading The Beauty Bias, by Deborah L. Rhodes, I came across a statistic that perplexed me, saying the total “annual global investment in grooming” comes to $115 billion (Rhodes, pg. 32). This shocking fact provokes a worrisome question: Why do we, humans, spend so much time, money, and thought on our appearance? As a complex question, there are several equally complex answers. However, the simple answer is that everyone else invests their time and thought into your outer shell, eliciting effort from you to improve what they study - your external image. The concern placed on one’s fashion choice or natural features by society takes away from larger, more pressing issues such as the declining economy, or feeding third-world countries.

Americans live in a media-saturated world, where images constantly flow from the pages of magazines, television, and computer screens. Media creates a brand of beauty by helping the viewer identify the item with the beautiful people that are selling it. They are selling a “brand” of beauty. Hundreds of years ago, a brand was sometimes burned into the skin of some slaves. The damage of the brand was not only horrible physical scars, but also emotional trauma. When society begins accepting the media’s brand as their standard for their own physical identity, or when ethnic groups are defined by these brands, the results can be just as devastating.

Information/Content: 30/30 The article is relevant and unbiased. It is relevant because skin care is a growing industry and can impact societies’ perception of complexion. In contrast, it is unbiased because Gerdman does due diligence to present both sides of the

Being a woman this heightens my social awareness as how others perceive me. Society dictates ‘the body beautiful’. Magazines, Bill-boards, TV and newspapers constantly suggest the need to have a perfect complexion. This influences

Consider how Africa’s geography has changed over time. What positive and negative effects would these changes have had on human populations on the continent? As their new homes changed they were able to adapt due to their innovative mindset. This can be attributed to the new found organization thanks to language. Allowing Africans to grow and expand throughout the entire continent. Other factors that can be attributed are the change in geography for some parts such as the Sahara drying out and swamps and lakes disappeared.

As an African-American The Perfect “Body” ad personifies some aspects of American society that needs to change. First the ad features women with very European facial features and hair, most of whom are Caucasian with

     We live in a fast paced society that is ruled by mass media. Every day we are bombarded by images of, perfect bodies, beautiful hair, flawless skin, and ageless faces that flash at us like a slide show. These ideas and images are embedded in our minds throughout our lives. Advertisements select audience openly and subliminally, and target them with their product. They allude to the fact that in order to be like the people in this advertisement you must use their product. This is not a new approach, nor is it unique to this generation, but never has it been as widely used as it is today. There is an old saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words,' and what better way to tell someone about a product

“Sex sells” is probably one of the most used catch phrases that every generation understands starting in their adolescents. With the right to freedom of information and availability of the internet access, there cannot be limits set on adolescent’s exposure to such media marketing. This becomes a challenge as every generation seems to be getting more active and savvy in their use of technology, earlier and earlier. However, the phenomenon of barely clothed men is new even to the younger generations today as it corresponded with the recent normalization of gay culture in the mass media as suggested by Parasecoli. Further, the author confirms that “the enthrallment with the body image, previously imposed mostly on women, is now becoming a common feature in identification processes” (p. 284). Seeing a man in an overtly sexual ad, even when the product that is being sold is unrelated to sex, has become a common