The Effect of Patriarchy on the Female Body Cause and Effect Essay by immortal
The Effect of Patriarchy on the Female Body
This paper discusses the way in which women internalize masculine expectations of beauty and the effect this has on the female body and psyche.
# 48965
| 3,040 words
| 16 sources
| APA
| 2003
| 
Published
on Feb 20, 2004
in
Women Studies
(Feminism)
, Women Studies
(Culture)
, Gender and Sexuality
(Sexual Politics)
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Description:
This paper discusses the effect of patriarchy on the female body based on Foucault's theories stating that the emergence of a new "counter" discipline against the body corresponds with the emergence of society's increased political liberty. The author points out that, although women have historically existed within a state of permanent visibility, the new age of bodily discipline introduces a more oppressive set of patriarchal values, which, upon internalization, intensified the effects of permanent visibility on women. The paper states that shame and self-hatred prevent a woman from finding self-confidence and becoming more than the ideal, and thus she is forever subjected to patriarchal definitions and masculine domination.
From the Paper:
"If the images of women presented through the mass media are indicative of ideology, then the current patriarchal ideal offeminine beauty is quite specific. To be beautiful, a woman's body must be thin. Models today weigh on average twenty-five percent less than the weight of the "average" woman. The ideal feminine body is also usually white. Women are more often than not taut, with "no wobbly bits", but cannot possess noticeable muscle bulk as this would counteract the feminine beauty ideal of vulnerability and weakness."
Cite this Cause and Effect Essay:
APA Format
The Effect of Patriarchy on the Female Body (2004, February 20)
Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/cause-and-effect-essay/the-effect-of-patriarchy-on-the-female-body-48965/
MLA Format
"The Effect of Patriarchy on the Female Body" 20 February 2004.
Web. 21 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/cause-and-effect-essay/the-effect-of-patriarchy-on-the-female-body-48965/>