Imagine women now, from all over the world, making these covert meetings. Picture them seated around the main hairdresser, blow-dryer in one hand, can of hairspray in the other, getting their nails manicured, sipping on Nescafe, all with pink notepads, plotting the steps of their conquest.
Back to reality now. There is no such thing going on. But it is interesting to note the reason why women spend so much time in salons, primping their hair, and cutting their cuticles. It’s all to do with the media and advancements in technology. Confused? Hold on a minute.
The headlines read as follows: How to make your man happy / Get celebrity hair / Shed those 20 pounds.
Can you believe that those are the topics making their way to the front pages of women’s magazines? These are also the very same publications that men fear to their very core because of their alleged ability to manipulate the female species.
Well men, worry no more. These publications are working in your favour – in every way possible. From the likes of Cosmopolitan to Harper’s Bazaar, these comprehensive reads are teaching us how to cater to the male species and focus on our outsides so as to appear more appealing.
Take Cosmopolitan for example, founded in 1886 by a man named Paul Schlicht. Ownership of this growing publication then continued to fall between the hands of men for the next eight decades. It became so popular, that today it has 58 international editions, making the language barrier an outdated excuse. But, putting aside its success, if you are relatively normal, or even if you’re a supermodel, you’ll probably finish reading it, with an inferiority complex.
Perfect in Photoshop heaven, are the women that flood the pages of these magazines. How do we compare? I only understood the power of these design programmes a few days ago when I witnessed the magic take place first-hand. A normal woman, pores, love handles and all, was cropped, slimmed down, blurred, lightened, and voila, a model was born. And we, the religious readers, sit there thinking there is something wrong with us (and the men continue to drool, thinking that some women are born flawless).
But magazines aside, take another medium, television for example. For an actor to appear on the big or small screen, it takes hours of preparation for just one take. Over and above the make-up and hair sessions, comes the phenomenon of airbrushing which is done in the final cut. The outcome? A woman without a glitch. And that is precisely why ladies spend so much time primping and fixing – to measure up to these unrealistic images of models and celebrities.
Long gone are the days where the wholesome women featured in 19th century art are the models of perfection. Indeed, the females painted in Henri Rousseau’s masterpieces are in the ‘fat and round’ sections of these magazines nowadays, instructed on how to shed off those extra pounds. Why? For two reasons. Firstly, to get their male counterparts attention, and secondly, to fit in.
Rousseau’s female is an image that women do not want to mirror in this day and age. The media has managed to warp our perceptions by creating a female stereotype that we should all follow. Just a little wake up call, there exists only one woman in the world with Barbie’s proportions – and she has had 56 cosmetic surgeries to date. Word has it, the 57th is scheduled for next month.
Unfortunately, we can’t photoshop ourselves in real life, so some trod down the nip and tuck path. Others turn to hair salons – not to plot world domination – but to schedule hair appointments and beauty treatments as we are told to. But the way we look is never enough – we always need to be better. Don’t you think that’s a tad bit tiring? Ladies, enough with the inferiority complexes derived from the bombardment of images of ‘perfect’ women – just love yourself. And men, stop eyeballing that image, trust me she’s not that great in real life.
