“Look How Sexy She Is”: Deconstructing Caitlyn Jenner’s Femininity in Modern Day America
In his 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer on April 24, 2015, Bruce Jenner came out as a transgender woman, making her interview television’s “highest-ever rated newsmagazine telecast among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.” Following her highly successful interview, Jenner’s emerging identity was revealed in a Vanity Fair cover interview by Buzz Bissinger. The magazine featured Jenner on its cover page, titled “Call Me Caitlyn” and photographed by Annie Leibovitz—the magazine’s first issue to feature an openly transgender woman. Upon its release, the image garnered immense public attention, and has been noted to mark a cultural shift in our thinking.as one
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In this paper, I have used Entwistle to establish the importance of dress in articulating social identity, as well have used her theory on the perennial nature of the sexual baggage affiliated with a female 's body to claim that Jenner 's case exemplifies how a woman has not been able to "desexualize" herself. Even at the of 65, Jenner relies severely on her aesthetic qualities to express her femininity: she must be dressed as a sensual object in order to be called a …show more content…
As Entwistle eloquently claims, " it is through our bodies that we see and come to be seen in the world." By using the phrase "come to be seen in the world," Entwistle introduces how dress serves not only as an expedient for individual expression, but also as a mediator between our internal identity and social rules. Our performance of gender is coherent with what societal conventions define as the appropriate set of characteristics of a woman. This dual purpose of dress is manifest in the manner in which Jenner dresses her body: all attempts are made to exaggerate the feminine aspects of her body. For example, her satin corset drapes alluringly around her hips, accentuating the curvature of her hips. She employs significant cosmetics to further beautify her face in order to create a sensual aura. The emphasis on her Jenner 's aesthetics is in concurrence with the importance placed on a female 's looks. The aesthetic appeal is often one of the defining characteristics of a female. And thus, Jenner 's body is dressed in the way a female 's body should be dressed. In conclusion, Jenner 's dressed body plays a salient role in Jenner 's articulation and expression of her new feminine
Freitas begins her essay using personal anecdotes describing the “terrifying” realization that she was one of the many girls that chose to dress sexier and push the boundaries. This allows for the essay to be
Following Joan Jacobs Brumberg throughout her conveying research of adolescents turning their bodies into projects the reader is able to see where all of the external beauty fascination came from following up to the 21st century. Brumberg effectively proves her point, and any girl of today’s age knows the struggle of which she continuously portrays throughout her book. Beauty has become such a preoccupation that it has gone from soap and washcloths, to makeup, to cosmetic reconstruction of body parts.
What does it mean to be classified as “transgender?” When an individual feels his or her biological gender does not match his or her gender identity, he or she may be considered transgender. This feeling of confusion may lead to frustration as well as more complicated issues related to mental health like depression. Some individuals may make the decision to medically change their biological gender to match their gender identity. One such individual, Caitlyn Jenner, made this transition and prompted additional discussion and promoted acceptance of transgender individuals.
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
Kim Addonizio gives stereotypes a whole new meaning by closely looking into the most typical clichés there are. Out of the many clichés, she touches the lust for that one tight; flimsy, cheap, revealing dress. These clichés' scorn women for wanting to wear a dress that may be too revealing looks cheap or looks “too” tight. Many women are subjected to this stereotype because it “typically” doesn’t conform to others’ opinions. She mentions this in her poem by saying “ I want a red dress./I want it flimsy and cheap,/I want it too tight, I want to wear it/until someone tears it off of me.” (1-4). Addonizio
As the stock market booms and society prospers, women’s fashion undergoes drastic change during the 1920’s. The hems of skirts and dresses rise to newer, more promiscuous level. The traditional long hair, supposedly the crowning glory of a women, is cut shoulder-length or shorter. Defined waistlines are lost, giving way to a shapeless and loose fitting style of clothing. Manufacturing of cosmetics emerges during this decade, and a variety of products become popular among women. The famous Gabrielle Chanel, more commonly known as “Coco Chanel,” introduces her renowned perform in the late 1920s (Yarwood 139). Peggy Whitley, dean at Lone Star College, sums up the newfound cosmetic craze in her American Cultural article: “Powder, lipstick, rouge, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, colored nails. They had it all!” Associated with the distinct new styles of the era, the iconic “flapper girl” is born. This term is often used for women who donned the edgy style of the time, particularly with a defiant and independent outlook on life. Outside the exciting and rebellious life of the flapper girl, everyday clothing also experiences significant change. Relaxed sport’s attire bec...
In April of 2015, Diane Sawyer premiered an interview on 20/20 that stirred up a heated debate within several, special interest groups in the US. Bruce Jenner decided to tell Sawyer that he was a trans woman, officially “coming out”. After a name and identity change in the public eye months later, Caitlyn Jenner became the media face of the transgendered community. However, as many quickly realized, Jenner’s point of view and experiences differed from other trans individuals in the US, and it drove an already hot topic into a fiery argument in multiple areas of social debate. While there are numerous supporters of Jenner, there are equally just as many that do not see her as a trans woman but a man dressing like a woman. These arguments are
First Mock discusses Jenner’s ability to successfully navigate the media maelstrom of being the largest symbol for the trans community. Mock compares this to her own experience of being a trans woman in the media. She also pays credit to Christine Jorgenson who formed the mold of what it was like to be the first person crossing the gender barrier under the media’s shallow lens. Next Mock interplays the ideas of glamour with privilege by illustrating Jenner’s ability to use her wealth and fame to put her in a position to choreograph her glamour to embody the cis-normative beauty ideal. She states that for many trans women, presentation as a woman by using glamour is a matter of safety in order to blend into a gender binary society filled with resentment and intolerance for the trans society. This leads into the disassociation most trans people who are transitioning face when dealing with healthcare. For most, this is a resource that is widely unavailable. However, due to Jenner’s privilege, she is able to have access to all the best healthcare for gender affirming procedures. Jenner was able to transition swifty, but this experience does not relate for most who often spend decades accumulating the funds necessary for the costly medical care. Finally Mock summarizes by saying that the trans community is fortunate to have access to the experiences documented during Jenner’s transition process so that more people come away with a greater understanding of the practices
Sarah Crawley’s article, They Still Don’t Understand Why I Hate Wearing Dresses: An Autoethnographic Rant on Dresses, Boats, and Butchness, draws on how society distinguishes appearance, responsibility and expectations in regards to women and men. She observes the gendered discrimination people often have, for women in particular, using her personal experiences; she focuses on women wearing or performing tasks that are strongly associated with femininity, contrary to the‘masculine’ responsibilities that are designated for men. In the article, Crawley expresses her disassociation of the typical gendered traits for both women and men, by being butch. Butchness, Crawley explains, “is a practice in a sexist, heterosexist culture that engages female-bodied people in the expression of ableness” (81). By performing butch, Crawley breaks away from what
The Barbie is a plastic, man-made female toy, which has perfect facial symmetry, unnatural body dimensions, and perfectly unblemished white skin. In Chris Semansky’s Overview of “Barbie Doll,” he explains that the Barbie “is invented to show women have been socialized into thinking of their bodies and behavior in relation to a male-controlled idea” (Semansky). The title directly alludes to the Barbie toy, which represents a design of a man-made construction of the female image that shows an unnatural human form that could only exist inside the imagination of men. Throughout both “Barbie Doll” and “The Birthmark” you will find the female protagonists seeking an ultimately perfect form, free of the characteristics that those around them see as unworthy. It is as if they are chasing the blueprint of perfection that is present in the Barbie. The original Barbie came with three outfits a bathing suit, a tennis outfit, and a wedding dress (Semansky). Her outfits clearly symbolize restrictions forced on female privilege, identity, and autonomy, where “she embodies the ideals and values of her middle-class American community” who expect her to “spend her days at the country club and her afternoons cooking dinner for her husband” (Semansky). This is directly similar to the “outfits” those around the women in “Barbie Doll” where the girlchild is born
I.) Juarez, Vanessa, and Claire Sulmers. "They Dress to Express." Newsweek 144.14 (2004): 62-63. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.
There are many ways people or individuals may feel a woman/man should present themselves, or behave a certain way. Many people act deign or uncharacterized with no internal drive like in the vignettes “Marin”, and “Alicia Who Sees Mice”.
In the article “Remember, ladies, fitting into that bikini is as easy as (eating) pie”, Dave Barry, humor columnist for the Miami Herald, uses whimsy and wit to give his opinion on the fashion industry’s portrayal of the “ideal woman.” The media has successfully plastered the image of the “ideal” female form in every nook and cranny of society, and it seems that Dave Barry is sick of it. Though his article is short, his point is clear. Barry is saying that women need to stop listening to the fickle fashion world that tells them they need to look like this pencil-thin, “one-size-fits-all” image that they sell, and instead, learn to be comfortable in their own skin-cellulite and stomach pooch included.
Freeman S. (2004). In Style: Femininity and Fashion since the Victorian Era. Journal of Women's History; 16(4): 191–206
Chapter nine is titled “Gender and Sexuality”. This chapter discusses terms such as “gender”, “sexuality”, and “sexual scripts”. These terms are closely related to the importance that the Lammily doll and the possible impact it could have on girl’s understanding of these topics which largely affect who they are and how they are perceived to be. Chapter thirteen, is titled “The Body, Medicine, Health, and Health Care”. My interest in this chapter as related to the article is because it discusses The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. I find this chapter to be especially important to this article. Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, “argues that the media confront the vast majority of people with unattainable standard of beauty” (Ritzer 383). Wolf’s argument is completely valid and provides an explanation to the debate of Barbie versus Lammily. The Barbie doll enforces this concept of the “male gaze” by constantly forcing the unreachable image promoted by the men who run the media and companies such as this. While the Lammily doll promotes the idea of the promotion and enforcement of an achievable standard beauty. The Lammily doll’s beauty is achievable because it is “average”, in the sense that this doll was created to closely resemble the average body shape of healthy nineteen year old