Saturday, August 15, 2015

Drawing Challenge: Image



The word "image" leaves a lot of room for interpretation. But as I thought about it, something I saw on television a couple of days ago kept coming back to me. It was about a study which showed that the more makeup a woman was wearing, the more likely she was to be hired after a job interview. I found this astounding. Apparently, the more 'made up' she was, the more competent she was judged to be by the interviewers.


Image
collage on board, 7.25 x 6.5 inches


Is the perception of a woman's worth strictly judged by how she looks? Is our goal, or should it be, to look like "the goddess of Gucci"?  Even the word "Gucci" is an iconic image in itself. Are women objects to be painted, to paint themselves, or to be painted on? How many of us have to "put our face on" before we go out?

Understand, I'm not advocating for women to stop wearing makeup.  But as a child of the sixties, I somehow thought, or hoped, that we had come further than this with regard to our culture's image of women. Now, I wonder if things have changed so much after all. What do you think?




To see more interpretations of the theme "image", go to our hostess's blog, Tiny Woolf, and follow the links.


14 comments:

  1. Hello Sharmon!
    Nice to meet you through Nadine's DC.

    I am shocked at how women seem to have digressed (having grown up in the 70s) and do everything I can - and believe me it is HARD - to persuade my daughter that she doesn't need fake tan, full foundation, eye make-up, lipstick and a perfect hair-do! She is so much more beautiful with less. It takes some convincing. And I'm not surprised when I see how her friends and the celebrities she follows dress and present themselves to the world.
    This is a very interesting interpretation of the theme for me. Thank you!

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    1. Nice to meet you, too, Jo. With everything kids see in magazines and on TV, I'm not surprised that it's tough to convince your daughter that she's "more beautiful with less." But I'm glad mothers like you keep trying; if not, how will we ever change things?

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  2. First -- your collage is fabulous!
    And as a child of the sixties also - I am completely shocked that we are still fighting the same issues - for women and for racial issues. It almost seems worse than it was. It breaks my heart -- but it also worries me cause this generation doesn't seem to have any revolutionaries to try and change the world -- again.

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    1. Thanks so much, Judy. I couldn't agree with you more about fighting the same issues. And yes, I do believe it's worse than it was. Women are so much more than an image, and it's sad that we are still judged that way. Maybe the next generation or the one after that will wake up and start fighting it, as we must still keep doing in any way we can...

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  3. Funny, as I was reading your post my mind read the sentence as..."...put our face on before we go to bed" and I chuckled. I am single and have been for a bit but I remember when I wasn't I did on occasion have to put a face of some sort on. Freudian certainly. I'm just fascinated by my newest discovery (it is new to me, not newly out in the world) of Pam Carriker's face mapping. I stumbled across a video on youtube and I'm nailed to the spot. Her book of faces came out in February I think and it is a must-have for me. I like your collage a lot and geez as one ages (personally) I become more and more aware of visuals. Haven't worn makeup for about 20 years but I grab a mascara tube every once in a while. My most most favourite place for images in the sense of how one appears to the world is here: www.advancedstyle.blogspot.com and I think I was directed here by Mano a few years back. Think it was her. It was one of us drawing challenge folk anyway. I like how your post pulled me into a tunnel Sharmon. *smiles* Norma

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    1. Norma, I'm glad you were intrigued by my interpretation of the topic. I think we are so used to seeing these images of "perfect" women that we don't even think about it any more. I have seen the advanced style blog and enjoy it, because it is more about your own personal style, rather than just making yourself up to look like whatever the model of perfection is. And I plan to check out Pam Carriker's face mapping video. Thanks for your comments.

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  4. interesting topic. i am appalled by how the younger generation smooshes up their pristine faces and bodies into hard coloured shells covering their yet unexplored beings. i have no understanding for this, also from the fact i never wore make-up as a defence, nor as a enhancement of myself. i actually don't understand make-up too good. i love a dab of lipstick, but it changes my expression so dramatically that i sometimes wipe it off again. i'm saying alot at once, i should really explain all that i mean, but, what i want to say is that today's images of ourselves, through all of the commercial fairy tales we get to swallow, is deplorable. and youngsters seem to simply adore it all, at too young an age, without the full knowledge to what they unroll.
    your collage is consolidates your words, and it upsets me women should dress up like that, in order to get a job. it's a sexist pitfall, but sadly not new at all... n♥
    thank you for playing, sharmon!

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    1. I was a middle school teacher, and it was very hard for me to see young girls, only 12 or 13, trying to look like the models and actresses they saw in magazines, and putting themselves down if they didn't. you're so right - at too young an age, without the full knowledge to what they unroll. It does seem to have gotten even worse than it was when we were growing up, and I feel discouraged by that at times. That's why the study about the more made-up women getting the jobs was so disappointing. Thanks for your comment, and for hosting the challenge.

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  5. Akkkkkk really? Really!!! Yes, sadly it is true. I picked up a Cosmo magazine a few months back to see if anything had changed since my mom caught reading one in 1970 (I was 14). It's the same old same old since Cleopatra's time just the images are more revealing!
    Great collage, Sharmon.

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    1. Thank you, Carole. You're so right, not much has changed, except that women wear more makeup and less clothes. So sad.

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  6. really?? that is awfull!
    i always hope that people like me (or not ;^))
    for who i am and not for how i look like
    don't get me wrong i care for what i look like and wear
    but in the way i like
    i do not color my hair and only use an eyepencil now and than
    and think that a happy face is the best thing to wear
    but, i think being young nowadays can be difficult with all those images....

    you make me think....
    thanXX for that

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    1. Patrice, thanks so much for stopping by. This topic seems to have hit a nerve with a lot of people, just as it did with me. I was a little surprised by this study, because I thought that by now women would be judged more on their abilities than their looks. But when I look at the images of women that we see every day, I wonder why I was so surprised....

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  7. that is shocking
    but really what should i be shocked
    so much about our world, our city world is about superficial things
    i think the shock is that it is simply wrong and life out of balance
    a wonderful contemplation for our theme

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    1. Thanks, Tammie! Yes, it seems that womanhood is still all about image, in many ways. I would have thought things would have changed more by now.

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