Teaching and Learning Guide for ‘Beauty Work: Individual and Institutional Rewards, the Reproduction of Gender, and Questions of Agency’
Authors: Kwan Samantha , Trautner Mary Nell 
Published: October 2009

Authors' Introduction

Similar to race, class, and gender, the body is an important signifier that shapes identity, social processes, and life outcomes. In our article, we examine the individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals and the social stigma and discrimination experienced by the less physically attractive. This body hierarchy is tied in part to the performance of beauty work, including attempts to transform and/or manipulate one’s hair, make‐up, and body shape or size. We explore these beauty work practices, highlight the gendered nature of this body hierarchy, and situate these practices in debates about agency and cultural structure. Are beauty conformists ‘cultural dopes’ who buy into an oppressive patriarchal beauty culture that creates docile bodies? Or, are these individuals ‘savvy cultural negotiators’ who participate in beauty work practices to reap material and psychological rewards?

Authors recommends

Bordo, Susan. 2003. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture & the Body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

A series of essays that examine Western body culture, including media images, weight loss practices, reproduction, psychology, medicine, and eating disorders. In her analysis, Bordo adopts a postmodern feminist interpretation, problematizing the female body as a cultural construct.

Davis, Kathy. 1991. ‘Remaking the She‐Devil: A Critical Look at Feminist Approaches to Beauty’. Hypatia, 6, 21–43.

Drawing on interviews with Dutch cosmetic surgery patients, Davis examines how women account for their decisions to participate in cosmetic surgery and how they view it in light of surgery outcomes. She argues that women actively pursue cosmetic surgery for instrumental reasons including regaining control of their lives, feeling normal, and/or righting the wrong of an ongoing suffering.

Dellinger, Kirsten and Christine L. Williams. 1997. ‘Makeup at Work: Negotiating Appearance Rules in the Workplace’. Gender & Society, 11, 151–77.

Dellinger and Williams analyze in‐depth interviews to understand the reasons why women do – or do not – wear makeup in the workplace. Women are negatively sanctioned when they do not wear makeup (e.g. they are questioned about their health or heterosexuality) and are positively rewarded when they do wear makeup (e.g. they are seen as more credible, feel more confident, etc.). The authors argue that such practices ultimately reinforce inequality between women and men, but that individual resistance strategies are unlikely to be successful given the institutional and structural constraints faced by women.

Gagné, Patricia and Deanna McGaughey. 2002. ‘Designing Women: Cultural Hegemony and the Exercise of Power Among Women Who have Undergone Elective Mammoplasty’. Gender & Society, 16, 814–438.

The authors address two feminist perspectives on cosmetic surgery using interviews with women who have undergone elective mammoplasty. One perspective suggests that women who elect cosmetic surgery are victims of false consciousness whose bodies are disciplined by a male gaze. A second perspective centralizes women’s agency; surgery enables women to achieve greater power and control over their lives. They propose a grounded theoretical synthesis, maintaining that surgery can be empowering at an individual level, but can also reinforce hegemonic ideals that oppress women as a group.

Gimlin, Debra L. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self‐Image in American Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Gimlin examines four sites of body work – the beauty salon, aerobics classes, a plastic surgery clinic, and a fat acceptance organization. Relying on ethnographic and interview data, she discusses women’s body transformation efforts and how they negotiate the relationship between body and self.

Lovejoy, Meg. 2001. ‘Disturbances in the Social Body: Differences in Body Image and Eating Problems among African American and White Women’. Gender & Society, 15, 239–61.

Lovejoy reviews several perspectives on racial/ethnic differences in body image and eating disorders including: (1) a psychometric perspective that focuses on attitudinal and perceptual body image; (2) white feminist perspectives that focus on social control and changing gender roles; and (3) black feminist perspectives that claim obesity is a problem for black women, see eating as a mechanism to cope with oppression, and acknowledge black women’s susceptibility to eating disorders. According to Lovejoy, black women’s positive body satisfaction can be explained through an alternative beauty aesthetic and the cultural construction of femininity in black communities.

Pope, Harrison G., Jr., Katharine A. Phillips and Roberto Olivardia. 2000. The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession. New York: The Free Press.

In contrast to the many works that focus on women, these authors discuss appearance stereotypes and appearance work related to men and masculinity. While more journalistic than academic in tone (and quality of research design), the authors draw on surveys, interviews, and archival documents to argue that women’s entrance into previously masculine arenas (e.g. male‐dominated occupations) has led to a sort of ‘threatened masculinity.’ As a result, men use their bodies to demonstrate masculinity (e.g. increased musculature) – often through unhealthy behaviors and practices, including steroid use and eating disorders.

Weitz, Rose. 2001. ‘Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and Accommodation’. Gender & Society, 15, 667–86.

Based on in‐depth interviews with women, Weitz shows how women use their hair (style, length, color, etc.) to conform to, resist, and negotiate hegemonic beauty norms, thereby gaining – or losing – personal and professional power and other advantages. Weitz’s article is particularly useful for illuminating how personal advantages can belie group advantages as well as the limitations of the agency versus docile bodies argument.

West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. ‘Doing Gender’. Gender & Society, 1, 125–51.

This article introduces the idea of gender as an accomplishment or a performance. Femininity and masculinity, the authors argue, do not automatically follow from biological sex. Rather, males and females perform gender in their daily routines and interactions with others. We ‘do gender,’ for example, through our appearance, behaviors, speech patterns, etc.

Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. New York: Harper Collins.

This book explores the relationship between unattainable beauty ideals and women’s social advancement. Examining issues including work, culture, religion, sex, and hunger, Wolf argues that despite increased advancement in the public sphere, women’s self‐esteem and equality are stymied by the beauty myth and an obsession with body perfection.

Online materials

About Face!

http://www.about‐face.org/

About Face is an organization whose mission is to equip women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self‐esteem and body image. Website contains images of positive and negative advertisements (along with discussion questions and company contact information), further reading suggestions, and links to other organizations dealing with either body image or media literacy.

Adios Barbie

http://www.adiosbarbie.com/

A website devoted to creating awareness about disempowering cultural messages about bodies, encouraging positive body image, and taking an active role in creating unique versions of beauty and identity.

Jean Kilbourne

http://www.jeankilbourne.com/lectures.html

Jean Kilbourne is an author and lecturer whose works focuses extensively on the depiction of women in advertising. Her website includes recourses for change and postings from organizations with opportunities for individuals to get involved in activities/events that challenge destructive media images. The ‘Film & Video’ link also includes films on advertising and western beauty culture.

Lauren Greenfield

http://www.laurengreenfield.com/

Lauren Greenfield is a photographer whose images capture, among other things, the toll of beauty stereotypes and beauty work on women of all ages. Particularly relevant are Greenfield’s collections titled Girl Culture and Thin. The website includes photographic images, short films, links to Greenfield’s books and films, and further resources, including readings for teens, activists, and educators (including an extensive discussion/exercise guide for Girl Culture).

Love Your Body Day Campaign (National Organization of Women)

http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/

Website for NOW’s annual body‐image campaign that began in 1998. Includes activism resources (primarily for college campuses), including a Powerpoint presentation with images and text about how commercial images (with a focus on advertising) affect both women and men (‘Sex, Stereotypes and Beauty: The ABCs and Ds of Commercial Images of Women’).

Newsweek, Lifetime Spending on Beauty

http://www.newsweek.com/id/187758

Interactive graphic, ‘The Beauty Breakdown’, shows the average cost that women in various age groups spend on beauty products and services. Graphic also includes links on the right‐side menu to other Newsweek articles and photo essays related to beauty work.

Sample Syllabus

We encourage use of this article in various Sociology, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Cultural Studies courses including Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Gender, and the Sociology of Body.

Focus Questions

In what ways does your level of physical attractiveness affect how others treat you? How does your race and gender shape your response? Consider various contexts including school, work, gym, church, etc., and how social context might affect social treatment.

What are some individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals? How are physically unattractive individuals stigmatized and treated differently? Why do you think individuals make assumptions and treat people differently based on physical attractiveness?

What are some common forms of beauty work practices? Do you engage in any of these practices? Why? Why do you think others engage in these practices? How do practices and consequences differ by gender? By race? By sexual orientation?

How is beauty work a gendered double standard? That is, how do beauty work ‘obligations’ differ for women and men? Also, what are some contradictions women face when they perform beauty work? In other words, what are some of the costs to performing – as well as not performing – beauty work?

What, if any, forms of resistance are an effective means of social change? Do ‘alternative’ appearances, i.e., body piercings, scarring, or tattoos, or advertising campaigns such as the Dove Real Body campaign constitute resistance to beauty ideals that promote social change? How might different strands of feminist thought envision social change?

Seminar/Project Ideas

Reading Assignment: Beauty Assumptions

Select photos of both conventionally attractive and unattractive men and women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Select these photos in pairs, varying preferably all but the level of physical beauty, e.g. attractive white woman versus unattractive white woman, attractive black man versus unattractive black man. If possible, use ‘before and after’ makeover photos. Before students read the assigned article, ask them to rate the person depicted in each photo on various personality characteristics. Use semantic differential scales and pairs such as happy‐sad, beautiful‐ugly, intelligent‐unintelligent, healthy‐unhealthy, honest‐dishonest, friendly‐unfriendly, etc. After students have read the article, revisit their responses. Are there any patterns of assumed characteristics based on level of physical attractiveness? How does race and/or gender affect responses? Use this exercise to transition into a discussion of the article.

Journal Assignment: Media and Our Beauty Culture

Ask students to examine critically and document observations about the beauty culture that surrounds them. In a week, students should pay special attention to what they see on television. In terms of physical attractiveness, who is depicted on television? Moreover, how do depictions vary by physical attractiveness? What roles do physically attractive individuals play? How are they depicted? Conversely, what roles and portrayals are associated with less physically attractive individuals? Would they see similar depictions in other media such as film, magazines, and the internet? In their write‐up, students should also discuss the social meanings and significance of these television depictions. For example, do they think these portrayals affect their views of beauty, their assumptions about others, and how they treat others?