Place an order for a custom essay, research paper on this or related subject.
Models perform emotional labour to sell themselves to clients and agents, to create illusions for observers and the camera, and to find dignity in a job that is often degrading and humiliating’. From this we can deduce the fact that the article is discussing about the problems that face models in their careers and how they are viewed as objects and not as usual human beings.
Modeling, just like marketing involves selling of products to potential customers. As discussed in the article models on the contrary are just objects that wear products that the companies wish to sell. This requires them to watch their bodies carefully and treat them as assets. This in essence is objectification of human beings and they have no control over their bodies and themselves and have to fit into a system that is put there by the market. For instance they have to achieve the required height, age, weight and complexion. Apart from that they are required to alter their feelings in order to achieve the look that the audience desires. These are the codes that are set by the industry and if you can’t achieve them then you have no business being there.
This article explicitly examines the modeling industry by addressing how models manage their physical appearances and why they are forced to live lives that they are not comfortable with and the things they have to do in order to achieve their dreams. Also discussed in the article is what it takes to be a model and how hard it is to achieve superstar status in this industry where one is judged according to their looks. The main reason for the influx of girls who dream to be models is the over glorification of the career by American media all over.
Modeling seems to be a perfect escape for girls who wish to make a killing overnight only to realize that there is simply too much competition, criticism, rejections and having to pretend on all occasions which is quite hard. On top of that modeling is a tough career where apart from hard work, luck is also a great factor. For instance as shown in the article models only present themselves to potential clients without knowing whether they would be chosen for the job. This is because a client already knows the aspects he is looking for and it’s up to you to fit them and most of the times you don’t have control over them. For example if your eyes don’t match what is needed then you are out. It is as difficult as that.
Women have for a long time been judged by the way they look. To women beauty is prestigious and right from their days in school boys are approved socially by academic success whereas girls are approved for being slim (Gilligan, Lyons, Hanmer &Willard 168). The main reason for this is the culture that people live in where femininity is very different from masculinity. Over the years femininity has increasingly been sexualized and with the society taking a lot of control over the sexuality of women making them to try as much as possible to become sex objects (Holland, Blair & Sheldon 7).
As noted by Holland, Blair & Sheldon being a woman is all about being a perfect sex object and a model is the a perfect example of a woman with all the aspects of femininity. As a matter of fact most of the women all over the world sort of try to make their physical appearances to match those of models. For instance if you visit a number of gyms you will be shocked to find out that most of the young people you will meet are women as compared to men. Most of the women are also very conscious with their diets and would rather be hungry than increase weight and actually all the fabulous outfits are designed for slim women. While most of the men aspire to be successful financially most of the women aim to be physically like famous super models.
It is common to find a woman asking her girlfriends about her similarity to Tyra Banks and not whether she is on the way to becoming as successful as Bill Gates or Barrack Obama.
As much as more women are working in professional careers that require academic knowledge, their looks are still being emphasized in some of the. For instance air hostesses, customer care representatives and news anchors. These careers employ modeling in an indirect way because as so long as marketing of products still exist, it is the women who will be employed mostly because of their beauty.
Conclusion
The article takes the reader through the life of a model giving an in-depth look about what goes on from the start of a models career and behind the scenes right up to when we see them in the media. The article is also very informative on the difficulties that models undergo in order to appear on those glamorous magazines and other media outlets that we see them in and as discovered although the career depends on looks making people assume it is easy the truth is it is not. As a matter of fact most of the women as discovered in the article are aspiring to be like models in one way or another through the way they dress, eat and carry themselves out generally and this is mainly because of the cultural frameworks that we live in. Overall the article is informative about the modeling world and would be a good read to would be models.
