Morrison Beauty Standards

Ted Chiang was once quoted as saying that “Girls have always been told that their value is tied to their appearance; their accomplishments are always magnified if they're pretty and diminished if they're not”. The idea of beauty standards being so prominent in society operates at the nexus of race and gender; Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye reflects on the question of how society constructs the idea of beauty. The story portrays the problematic notions of gender norms and racism and the role of women in society by questioning the roles of the media and society. Morrison unravels gender stereotypes and societal norms set for women through beauty standards by using strong writing and well-crafted prose. This narrative therefore reveals problems rooted

The theme of beauty standards specifically the want for blue eyes is emphasized in the last chapter when Pecola suggests that she is ostracized from society because people feel jealous of her. She repeats the same statement “you’re jealous of me” (Morrison, 199) and “they’re pretty blue eyes” (Morrison, 200) when talking to Claudia and responding to why people won’t look at her. This repetition adds emphasis and therefore Morrison strengthens her argument by adding pathos for Pecola’s character. This is extremely significant as Pecola now has successfully convinced herself that the reason for her loneliness is jealousy. She now compares herself to Shirley Temples and Maureen Peals. Pecola fails to understand that people ignore her because she was raped by her father and now delivered his child. Moreover, Morrison also demonstrates that Pecola keeps obsessing over her blue eyes but also wonders if “what if there’s someone with bluer eyes”. (Morrison, 202) This quotation delineates how “blue eyes” is a metaphor for new experiences and even thought Pecola is deluded to believe she has blue eyes, Pecola is unable to capture different images and is unable to resolve problems and fights amongst her family members. So, the blue eyes don’t solve her problems. Pecola’s community compels her into loneliness and therefore she has imaginary friends and develops psychological disorders in order to cope with her lonely life. So, Morrison is clearly illustrating that even though Cholly is at fault for raping Pecola, Pecola’s community as a whole including her mother and Claudia and Frieda have failed to support her and this has led to her mental illness and her loneliness. This theme is prominent throughout the novel but it also is very significant to current media where still most female representations in fashion magazines are white, blue-eyed models. This idea of women