Contemporary Ideals

Since 1975, the ideal body image has transformed from one of personal acceptance to one of extreme control. The women's liberation movement in the 1970's "encouraged women to ...learn to accept [their bodies] as they were instead of trying to alter them to fit the current ideal of beauty."1 A transition in fashion also took place in the late 1970's when women began to combine men's clothing with their own wardrobes. Lingerie departments doubled in size, probably signifying a desire of women to express a more erotic side.2 It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the 1980's marked a change in body image. A fitness craze emerged, heightening physical awareness. "Beauty became synonymous with a youthful, slim (but not thin), fit and suntanned body."3 With the development of Lycra, an elastic fabric, fashion trends favored tighter-fitting clothing. Many women began having plastic surgery in the 1980's in order to keep up with Western ideals of youth and beauty. By 1986, 95 percent of women who did not have an eating disorder, overestimated their body size by 25 percent on the average.4 Today it is a "cult of thinness" that dominates body image: women who "seem obsessed with the path to perfection, which, though unattainable, holds out compelling promises."5 The media, and certainly Hollywood, constantly contributes to this false hope. Even actresses who seem to have perfect bodies are replaced with doubles who may have more ideal body parts. And, since models weigh 23 percent less than the average,6 it is no wonder that so many women are striving to achieve an impossible body image. Some people describe this change as going from "dieting and make-overs to starvation and surgery."7 Finally, the positive associations with the image of thinness perpetuate negative reactions to overweight women who are "stigmatized not just for their appearance, which is thought to be ungainly and unattractive, but also for their perceived lack of self-control."8

Demi Moore has been a major influence on body image throughout her acting career. Her metamorphoses, which range from a sexy stripper in Striptease to a struggling muscular Navy Seal in G.I. Jane, are notable and enviable by many. However, it is interesting to note that even though she actively defines the current ideal body, she too has insecurities and feels the pressures of achieving and maintaining the ideal body image. In a 1995 Rolling Stone interview, when asked what she would change about her looks she replied: "eyes too small, I don't have a good smile, I'm square, I have no waist, and I'm never thin enough and that's the truth." Similarly, when speaking of the filming of Now and Then, Rosie O'Donnell says, "When I'd look at the dailies I'd say, 'Oh, God, I'm so heavy.' Which is something I'd much rather talk to Ricki Lake about than Demi Moore. But she really connected to it in a way that pretty girls never do.... "9 In 1991, Moore created a stir when she posed nude while pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair. Even though she aided in changing Hollywood studios' attitude towards discouraging actresses from becoming pregnant, she has reinforced an unattainable body image for the public. Just four months after giving birth to Tallulah, she had regained her original physique. Most women do not have access to personal trainers and dietitians, nor the time to exercise excessively after having a baby. For Striptease, her daily routine consisted of a "long predawn run on the beach, as many as three hours of dance rehearsal, a session with her personal trainer in a special trailer outfitted with $15,000 worth of gym equipment, and 2 hours of yoga."10 Not to be overlooked is Moore's positive influences on the portrayal of women. Not only is she an exemplary actress who emanates a certain female strength, but offscreen she has emerged positively from two marriages, has a successful career, and is a dedicated mother.

Kathy Bates is one Hollywood actress who has to confront discrimination because she does not posses the ideal image perpetuated by her own industry. She has been described as "frumpy, dumpy and lumpy"11 and as she just turned 50, youth is not on her side. She admits that she has lost roles because she is not "slender and glamorous."12 Bates debuted on Broadway in Vanities at age 28. She has since gained success on Broadway and in film. Described as a "dream actress,"13 she won a Best Actress Oscar for Misery and has starred in many highly acclaimed movies like Fried Green Tomatoes, Delores Claiborne, Titanic and Primary Colors. However, she was not even considered for the parts in the film versions of her stage successes. In 'night Mother, Sissy Spacek was cast for her part and in Frankie and Johnny, it was Michelle Pfeiffer who won the role. Though these actresses were qualified for the parts, it is no secret that both women were viewed more positively on screen since they posses America's ideal body image. However, Bates is determined to change the portrayal of women in movies. Instead of the representation of women as either glamorous or powerful, she would like to see the film "coming from the woman's place, showing what she needs."14

If there is any Hollywood actress who can break the role of body image, it is Jodie Foster. Her career began at the age of three in a Coppertone commercial. By the age of eight she was making movies, and at twelve she made an indelible mark in the film Taxi Driver. With Best Actress Oscars for The Accused and Silence of the Lambs, she is described by friends as "empathetic, nurturing, funny-in short, the perfect role model."15 There is no doubt that she emanates the ideal of beauty, thinness, and control. In a fashion spread for Vanity Fair she "conforms to the 'waif-like' standard precedented by model Kate Moss. With one arm barely covering her naked breasts, her skin appears extremely pale and her eyes gloss over sleepily."16 On the other hand, she manages to secure an image of intellect. She has "construct[ed] a public/film image that suggests self-ownership, self-authorship, and, not least, heroic self-confidence."17 Though this should be a positive influence on women in America, Hollywood's refusal of Foster-as-intellect sends mixed messages to the public. After attending Yale, she gained some weight and found herself dieting to please cautious producers. Probably most confusing is that though she maintains the body ideal, she is not considered to have a Hollywood flair. For her role in The Accused it was rumored that she would not get the part because "She's not sexy. She's not glamourous."18 Despite all of the pressures of Hollywood, the fact that Foster is "resistant to the artifices of glamour and the siren song of artificial femininity"19 is reassuring to many women who would like to see the ideal body image change.

Notes

1. Marianne Thesander, The Feminine Ideal (London: Reaktion Books, 1997) 215.

2. Ibid, 206.

3. Ibid, 201.

4. Phillip N. Myers and Frank A. Biocca, "The Elastic Body Image," Journal of Communication 42 (1992): 114.

5. Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Am I Thin Enough? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) 9.

6. Health Information Page, University of Alberta, Internet, 1997, www.ualberta.ca/~jhancock/bodyim.html.

7. Dana Carpenter and Woody Winfree, "Redefining the Meaning of Beautiful," The Washington Post 8 December 1996: C3.

8. Marianne Thesander, The Feminine Ideal (London: Reaktion Books, 1997) 211.

9. Tad Friend, "Demi-Tough," Vogue October 1995: 280.

10. Gregory Cerio, "Eye of the Tiger," People Weekly 24 June 1996: 92.

11. Mary Farrell, "Wallowing In Misery, Kathy Bates Bludgeons Her Way to Stardom," People Weekly 24 December 1990: 82.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Brook Hersey, "Kathy Bates," Glamour Magazine February 1992: 110.

15. Karen S. Schneider, "Foster Mom," People Weekly 23 March 1998: 127.

16. Christina Lane, "The Liminal Iconography of Jodie Foster," Journal of Popular Film & Television 22 (1995): 150.

17. Ibid, 51.

18. Todd Gold, "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women," Harper's Bazaar September 1989: 158.

19. Christina Lane, "The Liminal Iconography of Jodie Foster," Journal of Popular Film & Television 22 (1995): 151.

References

Carpenter, Dana and Woody Winfree. "Redefining the Meaning of Beautiful." The Washington Post 8 December 1996: C3.

Cerio, Gregory. "Eye of the Tiger." People Weekly 24 June 1996: 88-96.

Farrell, Mary. "Wallowing In Misery, Kathy Bates Bludgeons Her Way to Stardom." People Weekly 24 December 1990: 81-82.

Friend, Tad. "Demi-Tough." Vogue October 1995: 280-285.

Gold, Todd. "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women." Harper's Bazaar September 1989: 158.

Health Information Page, University of Alberta, Internet, 1997, www.ualberta.ca/~jhancock/bodyim.html.

Hersey, Brook. "Kathy Bates." Glamour Magazine February 1992: 110+.

Hesse-Biber, Sharlene. Am I Thin Enough Yet? New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Lane, Christina. "The Liminal Iconography of Jodie Foster." Journal of Popular Film & Television 22 (1995): 149-153.

Miller, Samantha. "Ma-ma-ma-voom." People Weekly 26 May 1997: 84-92.

Myers, Philip N., Jr. and Frank A. Biocca. "The Elastic Body Image." Journal of Communication 42 (1992): 108-130.

Schneider, Karen S. "Foster Mom." People Weekly 23 March 1998: 122-128.

Thesander, Marianne. The Feminine Ideal. London: Reaktion Books, 1997.

Udovitch, Mim. "Demi Moore." Rolling Stone 9 February 1995: 38-41+.