Response #2 Men and Women: A common struggle to be perfect.

Men and Women: A common struggle to be perfect.

Culture has for years defined the way men and women should look, both by body type and by cloths. That being said, however it is our women that we are usually subjecting to unrealistic or shallow expectations. It is interesting to read about the way “fitness” is portrayed and what male models are going through to make it seem a way that it isn’t but, I still don’t think we can put this on the same level as the standard to which women are held to on a daily basis.

Sure it’s a little silly that men are putting themselves through probably agonizing days and weeks in order to portray a look of health and fitness when what they are really doing is being harmful to their bodies but don’t women do this too? Maybe women models aren’t the same in regards to fitness magazines but what about the beloved Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, pin-up calendars and posters? The women that are modeling for things like these are often times putting their bodies through just as much to look that same unattainable way. I’m a little ashamed to admit this but hey I’m married and when you’re married you do things for her that you might not normally do yourself. In watching “Americas Next Top Model” you’re all the time seeing girls talk about picking up smoking to help keep them skinny and being either anorexic or bulimic in order to again, help keep them skinny. Even aside from these physical extremities there are still the same lighting, posture, and Photoshop tricks that the article talks about.

This article goes on to talk about how men and women both have unrealistic expectations projected on them, to fit in to the mold that society has carved out and deemed mandatory. While this is absolutely correct I have to say that women are far more subjected to this than men are. This is the first time I have ever seen or heard someone publicly talk out about culture trying to shape men and have them fit into a certain criteria. Women on the other hand have been openly publicly objectified for years. You hear the term sex sell all the time and its true but which sex is selling, men or women? Women! TV adds, billboards, music videos, signs and packaging, it all is sold, it is almost always women who are dressed or nearly stripped to in such a way to provoke a certain way of thinking by both men and women.

Men think what they see everywhere is what a female is supposed to look like by what they ware and what kind of curves their bodies have. In turn women feel like no matter how they where born and what body type they have this is the way they are supposed to look. Every day I walk on campus I see guys just standing around and comparing one girl’s “ass” and “tits” to the next and I see girls who are trying to bee something they really aren’t. All this said, when it comes to men and women, but especially women I agree with Greta when she says, “Be who you are. That's actually an attainable goal. And it's a hell of a lot more fun.”

This response was based on Greta Christina’s article: Wealthy, Handsome, Strong, Packing Endless Hard-Ons: The Impossible Ideals Men Are Expected to Meet