The Culture of Mannequins: Selling an Image of Beauty

According the New York Magazine's article "Manorexic Mannequins," the newest trend in male physiques for mannequins is fundamentally smaller than it has even been. The newest model called the "Homme Nouveau" has a waist of 27 inches which is over 12 inches smaller than the average 39.7 inch waist size for American men. The addition of this male body type into the fabric of society now characterizes men as "falling prey to same image-centered social forces that have for so long oppressed women" (Blum 48). No one is safe from the pressures of selling a certain image intended for bodies.

Dimensions of Rootstein’s Male Mannequins Throughout History:
THE CLASSIC: 1967, 42” chest, 33” waist
THE MUSCLEMAN: 1983, 41” chest, 31” waist
THE SWIMMER: 1994, 38” chest, 28” waist
THE ANDROGYNE (a.k.a. “Homme Nouveau”): 2010, 35” chest, 27” waist

One of the most fascinating features of mannequins is the ability to sell an idyllic body type in plastic form. This new thin androgynous body type perpetuated by the Homme Nouveau mannequin illustrates what Kenneth Dutton explains as "the problem of interpretation resides in the very metaphoric power of the body itself, its capacity to symbolize and incorporate the often ambiguous and even contradictory social messages which modern Western societies send to themselves in an attempt to establish their own meaning and identity" (Dutton 337). The body (whether in 3D physical form or plastic mannequin form) is understood as a site of comparison for the body ideals of the society in which the body is a part of. Because the average waist size for men is much bigger than the mannequins, this new mannequin type is attempting to incorporate the androgynous look into the social fabric even though this image contradicts the larger size of the average American man. The mannequin holds value as a symbol for society's ideal body image. Virginia Blum calls this metaphoric power of the body as the "body landscape" because the word landscape places "more emphasis on the body's surface, on the experience of the body's topography as the (always transforming) location of where inner experiences of 'self' intersect with the outer body image" (Blum 42).

Because of the power of the body to become the intersection of self identity and social pressures, the body becomes the physical manifestation for appearance for both men and women. In this way, stores and window displays use mannequins to illustrate what the body should look like in terms of social norms of beauty. The mannequin is, therefore, manufactured to commodify beauty. Blum notes that "our bodies are held together with the residues of everything that they have been, should have been, were not, could be, are not" (Blum 43). The body serves as the site of comparison for everything that the body is and everything that the body isn't.

Mannequins are a literal plastic version of what image the creators want to perpetuate as what people in the 3D world should emulate. In the same way, the (ironically and aptly-named) plastic surgeon becomes another representation of the creator motif in that the surgeon adds or takes away whatever part of the body deemed not appropriate. In the trailer for the 1987 movie Mannequin, Andrew McCarthy plays Jonathan Switcher, an artist who creates the perfect mannequin and incidentally falls in love with his creation. The fragmented pieces of plastic are molded together in away that creates what is deemed perfection in society. During the documentary Make Me Young: Youth Knows No Pain, Sherry, who is one of Mitch McCabe's interview subjects, says, "It was a love affair with my surgeon. It was like seeing your maker." She even says he was not just a surgeon but an artist. She shares a similar love for her creator. The creation motif that transpires leads to the belief that "the material body seems to lose all its pathetic vulnerability in the face of a host of medical/technological advances meant to keep you perfect from the beginning to the end, indefinitely" (Blum 49). However, plastic surgery seems to become an addiction in that this seeming sense of perfection doesn't last so indefinitely. The need for the next fix of perfection is somehow always around the corner. Sherry began receiving procedure after procedure in order to "create" and maintain her identity as a commodified body type.

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One of the consequences of the search for perfection is the fragmentation of the body. As this Old Navy commercial below illustrates, mannequins become a representation of the same anxieties caused by fragmentation. In the commercial, one of the female mannequins admires the sexy legs of another mannequin. She replies by saying, "There's an extra pair in the back room" as if gaining sexy legs simply takes a replacement of the bad for the good. In a similar way, Blum recognizes that "the transformations of our mortal bodies bring us closer to those image bodies we identify with in two-dimensional space" (Blum 60). Dutton describes this as the consequences of "body-as-commodity" because we feel the need to physically transform our bodies to reflect the desire for perfection (Dutton 349). The mannequin is a plastic replica of the body used to sell an image for people to recreate, especially through the clothed body. "Buy these clothes and look like this sexy mannequin." Because of this ability to sell both clothes and a body image, mannequins are often the first thing you will see when you step into a store; they become a vehicle to sell.

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This commercial also conceptualizes John Berger's famous "men act and women appear." In this commercial, we see the women selling the Mid-Town Flash dresses, while the men mannequins gazing at the women. The young boy mannequin is holding the leash of the dog, implying the action of walking which illustrates a labor activity. Although the mannequins cannot by nature act, the gendered roles continue to be perpetuated through representations such as this one. Even when the dress of the female mannequin is taken off, she continues to stand for the body-as-commodity ideal. The product she is promoting is removed, yet the female mannequin's body still serves as a way to sell the idea of the Old Navy dress. The commercial ends with the naked mannequin remarking, "What? Haven't you ever seen plastic before?" Taken in context to plastic surgery, the ramifications of this statement present the idea that a plastic look can be worth gazing upon.

Technology and the future of cyberspace are beginning to challenge the conceptions of body image as we currently know it. The notion of the "cyberpunk" exhibits "descriptions of bodies plasticized by power, technology, and culture" (Dyens 72). Ollivier Dyens explores the potential move to becoming cyberpunks in which bodies become a cultural site of constant flexibility and malleability in which unity is actually found through fragmentation. This liberation comes with the acceptance of the body as always influx. Bordo seems to agree with this evaluation of bodies within the future in that we are "constantly encouraged to achieve [perfection of our bodies], with the help of science and technology and the products and services they make available to us," implying that the perfection is never quite done (Bordo 222).What technology represents now is the transformation of the body into a quasi-mannequin through the medical innovations of plastic surgery and other technological advances.

As Dyens says, "We are becoming other, plastic in our forms and existence" (Dyens 95). We can now go to a doctor's office with a picture of J Lo's butt or Angelina Jolie's lips in order to emulate, incidentally perpetuating the fragmentation and commodification of the body. Rather than sell clothes like mannequins do, people who emulate celebrities' body parts become walking advertisements for a plastic surgery lifestyle and represent the move towards becoming cyperpunks. Just because science and technology makes these services available to us, does it mean the services are valuable to establishing the narrative of bodies more than just a commodity? Are we destined to become mannequins ourselves?

Works Cited

Blum, Virginia. Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery. 35-66, 145-187.

Bordo, Susan. The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and Private. "Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body." 168-225.

Coleman, David. "Manorexic Mannequins." New York Magazine. May 2010 <http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/65753/>.

Dutton, Kenneth. The Perfectible Body: The Western Ideal of Male Physical Development. "The Body Observed." 321-255.

Dyens, Ollivier. Metal Flesh and the Evolution of Man: Technology Takes Over. "Cyberpunks: Body Terrorists." 72-78.

McCabe, Mitch. Make Me Young: Youth Knows No Pain. 86 minutes.

Mirror Images: Distortions of 2D and 3D Self by the Media

The introduction of the 2D-self versus the 3D-self plays an important role in the representation of how we view ourselves when we look into a mirror. In class last week, we discussed how we do not have a conceptual understanding of our bodies in the 3D. Therefore, we come to see ourselves wholly by the 2D representation, which incidentally distorts our own self views as well as separates our bodies into parts of a whole.

The cultural environment in which we are placed constantly affects the images we see when we look into a mirror. The media challenges the idea that seeing is believing. When we are surrounded by images of thinness, we perpetuate these into our own daily lives until we believe that we too must conform to these standards. In this way, Karen Dill illustrates that we must look beyond mediated interpretations of race and gender because "We are being given rather a prepackaged, mass produced vision and that vision can be very much influenced by media producers' desire for profit above other motives" (Dill 89). Naomi Wolf in The Beauty Myth explores this same sentiment. Both Dill and Wolf examine the role that the media has played in distorting what is seen in the mirror of societal representations of beauty and self worth. When we take a look into the mirror we are given the prepackaged and mass produced distorted image in return. The root of the issue lies in the lack of choice. In having the choice, people would have the ability to choose how to present themselves as a 3D-self rather than conform to the standards of beauty set forth by society and the mediated world that bombards us daily.

Wolf says, "Most women, in their guts, would probably rather be, given the choice, a sexual, courageous self than a beautiful generic Other" (Wolf 282). It is this generic Other that Susan Bordo deems the "genetic celebrity" in that "simply because of what she looks like, she achieves a glittering status, she's the incarnation of the Prize" (Bordo 286). This genetic celebrity is the mediated image of what beauty should be. Because of this, the mirror image that many women see has been altered with a high list of expectations. Women believe they must have the perfect hairstyle, clothing, makeup, and even skin complexion in order to achieve the genetic celebrity status. In the process, they become a generic Other because they all possess the same prepackaged and mass produced characteristics.

In Proactiv commercials, both celebrity spokespeople as well as ordinary users talk about their experiences of clearing their skin using Proactiv. At the end of this particular Proactiv commercial, Jessica Simpson says, "It's one call away just to better yourself - to better your skin." In this we can see how the skin becomes the representation of the whole self. By clearing your skin with a product such as Proactiv, you are also bettering your inner self. In this manner by fixing your skin you are altering both the 2D self in pictures as well as the 3D self in the way you react to other people. This is one of the dangers that Wolf ascribes to in that "the problem with cosmetics exists only when women feel invisible or inadequate without them" (Wolf 273). The Proactiv commercials illustrate the skin acting as a symbolic boundary between the self and the world. Benthien claims that "it is the skin itself, which stands metonymically for the whole human being" (Benthien 17). When the skin and the self are intrinsically connected, feelings of inadequacy develop if the image that people see in the mirror does not equate to the images seen in glossy magazines or movies. According to Wolf, "Advertising aimed at women works by lowering our self-esteem" as we can see from commercials such as Proactiv (Wolf 276).

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From these attitudes of needing perfection whether for our skin or other body parts, Susan Douglas exposes what Wolf suggests about advertising in that "women's magazines, movies, and TV shows have been especially effective in alienating women from their faces and bodies" (Douglas 268). This disconnect, therefore, presents itself with false images when we look into a mirror. The media plays an important role in determining how we react to our own bodies. Obsession with thinness, clear skin, designer clothing and all things on the high expectation list tend to affect how people react to those who do not meet these high demands.

In a recent blog post for Marie Claire, blogger Maura Kelly explained her views on seeing what she deems "obese" people in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly.

"So anyway, yes, I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I'd find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair."

- Maura Kelly, "Should 'Fatties' Get a Room? (Even on TV?)"

The blog post itself illustrates the narcissistic personality that characterizes the American media world in that Americans as insecure and self-loathing beings are constantly searching for approval from others to find self worth (Douglas 248). The blogger Maura Kelly, a former anorexic, wrote an apology for the blog post, but the damage had already been done. Kelly's language expresses her opinion that the weight of these characters came to represent them as people. In the same way that skin becomes the point of fixation in the Proactive commercial, this blog post also illustrates how the weight of the 3D self that is presented in the real world can come to define a person. Classifying people as "fat" or "thin" leads to a distortion of the mirror self because the weight comes to represent the person. Just the same way, Diane Israel in the documentary Beauty Mark comes to define herself in terms of her weight and her anorexia. At one point of the film, she says, "I couldn't see myself as a whole being." Her thinness became her form of control and power in what Wolf calls the "underlife" of "self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control" (Wolf 10). We become possessed by the parts of our whole bodies that we are most unhappy with, leading to this sense of self-hatred.

This underlife of self doubt and worthlessness allows for shows such as TLC's 10 Years Younger to gain popularity. People are literally put on display in a box, and people guess how old they are. This show illustrates the dangerous side of being defined by parts of the whole and the distortion of our 2D and 3D selves as a result. In this episode, Dawn had been defined by the front teeth she lost as a child. It is not until her teeth are fixed by an expensive procedure could Dawn feel like a whole person worthy of being deemed "the new Dawn." The notion of transformation leads to a slippery slope when it comes to looking beyond the beauty myth and become a whole person. It is only when Dawn's teeth are fixed that she feels like a whole person, can face society, and even look into the mirror as a new and improved Dawn.

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The mirror is a powerful tool - one that can boost self confidence or one that can destroy or distort self-value. The reflective surface of the mirror reflects onto our 2D and 3D-selves. We incidentally are led to see what society and the media deem good enough to see - the clear skin, a thin physique, straight teeth. The line between seeing what's real and what's imagined is beginning to blur even more.

When you look in the mirror what do you see?

Works Cited:

Benthien, Claudia. Skin: On the Cultural Border Between Self and the World. 1-36.

Bordo, Susan. The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private. 281-298.

Dill, Karen. How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through the Media Influence. 88-117, 132-140.

Douglas, Susan. Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. 245-268.

Kelly, Maura. "Shoulf Fatties Get Their Own Room? (Even on TV?)." Marie Claire. October 25, 2010. < http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/dating-blog/overweight-couples-on-television >.

Israel, Diane producer. Beauty Mark: Body Image & the Race for Perfection. 50 min.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. 1-19, 270-291.

Living in 'The Bubble:' How Categories of Ugliness and Beauty Serve as Definitions of Self

During our discussion of monsters and deformities, I instantly thought of the Phantom of the Opera, one of the most complex characters in Broadway history. From birth, the Phantom is extremely disfigured. Therefore, his physical deformity comes to define his position in society. He is deemed “ugly” and lives in the darkness beneath the Parish Opera House. The Phantom takes the young and beautiful chorus girl Christine Daae to be his protégé. Through the lessons, he comes to her only as a voice. She calls him the “Angel of Music.” His singing voice is indeed an instrument of beauty , yet his deformed face prevents him from taking part as a regular member of society.

In the same way that the Phantom's voice of a beautiful angel did not reflect his outer appearance, the intelligence of Socrates was not reflected in his outward appearance that was said to be ugly (Eco, History of Beauty 133). Therefore, these musical and cultural geniuses blur the line between the extreme categories of ugly and beauty - the beautiful monster persona.

Because of the Phantom's distorted facial features, he did not “elicit the automatic reaction of protection and care that more infantile faces do," similar to the study done on abused children (Etcoff 36). The Phantom was doomed from childhood to serve a life as outsider to the “bubble” of beautiful people because his deformity prevented the automatic reaction of protection and care as an infant. His moral character begins to reflect his deformed face as he does murder and terrorize the managers of the Opera House. This complex character begs the question: Did his physical deformity reflect the murderous soul within, or did the circumstances of his deformity lead him to a life of immorality because he was not accepted as a member of society?

This represents the dangerous side of physiognomy that associated facial features with moral character. According to this theory, “ugly people are bad by nature” (Eco, On Ugliness 261). In “Finding the Individual within the Group,” Elizabeth and Stuart Ewen also claim that criminals somehow shared a physical clue as to their future depravity. During the eighteenth century, the “order of living things was predicated on the idea that the character of each individual organism was defined by its relationship to a clearly demarcated physical standard” (Ewen & Ewen 223). With theories such as these taking precedence during this time in history, the Phantom based strictly on his deformity never had a chance to live as anything other than an ugly criminal.

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In this video for the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber continues the story of the Phantom ten years later. The Phantom, who comes to New York City from Paris, finds his place in society as the leader of Coney Island, a place for “freaks.” Because of his deformity, he is compartmentalized as a freak in society, and he finds the place where he can belong among others like him. In this scenario, the freaks of Coney Island once again conform to society’s standards that they cannot have a successful place in society beyond that of a circus freak role.

For the Phantom, his deformity becomes “the ‘body prison,’ the skin a barrier. This skin-wall prevents both knowledge of the other and emotional connection. Underneath the skin, in the place to which one cannot penetrate is the ‘heart’ or the ‘soul’ of the other” (Benthien 34). The dualism of body and soul can be seen through the Phantom because he hides behind a mask, which becomes a pseudo-replacement of his skin to hide the deformity on his face. At one point of the play Christine says, “Your face holds no horror for me now/ It’s in your soul where the true distortion lies.” Through this, we can see that the deformity led to a prison for the Phantom as his moral character took on an ugliness beyond the physical. He uses the mask to hide from the judgments of society as "other." The people denied him the chance to show the beautiful nature of his singing because his physical appearance pigeonholed him into the bubble of ugliness. Society blinded themselves to seeing any beauty in the Phantom.

As representation of the other extreme, we have the episode of 30 Rock (See transcript below) aptly named “The Bubble.” During this episode, Liz Lemon dates Dr. Drew Baird, played by Jon Hamm. Because Dr. Drew is so good looking, people obviously treat him differently. Jack Donaghy tells Liz that because Drew is a beautiful person he lives in a “bubble.” Once Liz shows Drew the status he receives as a result of his beauty, he decides he doesn’t want to be treated differently because of his beauty. However, once the status is removed, Drew cannot handle life outside the bubble, and he decides to return to the beautiful bubble as a status symbol of his attractiveness.

As Nancy Etcoff says, “attractive people merely felt entitled to better treatment” (Etcoff 47). Liz gives Drew the opportunity to burst out of the beautiful people bubble in order to live based on merit rather than beauty. However, at the end Drew decides to return to his bubble of status because he feels entitled to special favors. Drew can no longer feign ignorance of his status, yet he cannot envision living without the support of his beauty bubble.

In this scenario, society’s perception and value of beauty incidentally creates the bubble for beautiful people in the same way that it prevents the Phantoms of the world from ever entering the beautiful bubble. The perception and status given to attractive people serves as a gatekeeper to typecast people into two competing categories: beautiful vs. ugly. These compartmentalized categories leave very little room for movement.

At one point in the episode, Liz considers continuing to date Drew even despite his lack of reality. In a way, Liz serves as “the image of the woman whose desire is kindled through gazing,” which is “a risk that she takes” (Baker 29). In society, we are bombarded with images of beauty, and it is easy to get caught up in the irresistibility of accepting beauty as the norm. As Liz looks through the photos of her and Drew, she becomes temporarily blinded by his beauty, allowing her to forget the fact that Drew’s attractiveness does not go beyond his Prince Eric-esque good looks. Her internal battle is fueled by the question: Can beauty alone fulfill us? In the end, Liz decides to break up with Drew because her interest in him never looked past his attractiveness. Her gaze and desire were merely appreciative of his outward appearance.

In the end, we find that society’s perception of beauty becomes a major player in the way that we perceive our own self worth and value. Once Drew was deemed beautiful by society’s standards, he entered into the bubble of status and value - a place that provides him comfort and entitlement. On the other hand, the Phantom was labeled as an ugly monster due to his deformity, and he never had a chance to defy the odds against him, no matter how beautiful his voice was. The society-established bubbles incidentally lead to the compartmentalizing of value and status, both by our own as well as other’s perceptions.

30 Rock "The Bubble" Transcript

Liz Lemon: Hey

Jack Donaghy: You went to Plunder for lunch? How did you get a table?

Liz Lemon: I don’t know. It was packed, but they just gave Drew a table. It’s ridiculous how people treat him. The chefs sent over food, ladies sent drinks, Mayor Bloomberg asked him to dance.

Jack Donaghy: Well beautiful people are treated differently from moderately pleasant looking people.

Cerie Xerox: It’s true.

Jack Donaghy: They live in a bubble. A bubble of free drinks, kindness, and outdoor sex.

Liz Lemon: How did Drew turn out as well as he did going through life like that?

Jack Donaghy: The bubble isn’t always a bad thing. Look at me. I turned out okay, didn’t I?

______________________________________________________________________

Liz Lemon: Okay Drew, this is how most people live. Because of your whole, you know, Disney prince thing.

Drew Baird: Actually they used footage of me from my high school swim team to draw Prince Eric.

Liz Lemon: Right. Because of that, you live in a bubble where people do what you want and tell you what you want to hear.

Works Cited

Baker, Susan. "Naked Boys, Desiring Women: Male Beauty in Modern Art and Photography." Hunks, Hotties, and Pretty Boys. Steven Davis and Maglina Lubovitch eds.12-48.

Benthien, Claudia. "Boundary Metaphors: Skin in Language." Skin: On the Cultural Border Between Self and the World. 17-36

Eco, Umberto. History of Beauty. New York: Rizzoli, 2004.

Eco, Umberto. On Ugliness. New York: Rizzoli, 2007.

Etcoff, Nancy. "Beauty as Bait." Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty. 29-53.

Ewen, Elizabeth and Stuart Ewen. "Finding the Individual within the Group." Typecasting: On the Arts and Science of Human Inequality. 223-234.

"The Bubble." 30 Rock. NBC. 19 March 2009.