I have a confession to make: These aren't my real eyebrows.
Well, they're my real eyebrows but believe it or not they don't naturally take this shape. I do some tweezing so that my eyebrows have the perfect feminine arc.
Eyebrow tweezing is just one of the many ways women alter their appearance so that they can get as close as possible to often unattainable standards of beauty. Lips painted bright red and eyes outlined in black are not commonly found in nature. And yet there are many women who cannot leave the house unless they alter their appearance in that way, because they're afraid that others would see them as they naturally are.
There is a passage in the book Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding, that makes me think about how all the rituals we women go through are absurd:
G? Legs to be waxed
underarms shaved eyebrows plucked feet pumiced
skin exfoliated and moisturized
spots cleansed
roots dyed. G? I wonder what I would be like if left to revert to nature ' with a full beard and handlebar moustache on each shin
Dennis Healey eyebrows
face a graveyard of dead skin cells
spots erupting
long curly fingernails. G? Is it any wonder girls have no confidence?
Most women fall into this trap. I often feel guilty when I notice how I'm conforming to female beauty standards ' I wear eyeliner, shave my armpits and have been known to wear heels. It's important for me to continually remind myself why I'm doing those things ' it's not only for me, it's for the culture that has told me how I should want to look.
Women often tell themselves that those decisions are individualistic and noble: They feel liberated when wearing a small bikini, confident when they're wearing makeup or empowered when they undergo breast augmentation.
A woman, of course, has every right to get implants and decide how they look; part of feminism is allowing women to make their own decisions. But we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that such a choice is purely individual. Bigger boobs and heavy makeup don't inherently infuse a woman with confidence and happiness. Those feelings usually come from the knowledge that others are enjoying her new appearance as well.
Recently, the Women's National Basketball Association unleashed a new marketing technique that has been defended in a similar way. According to a [url=http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/sky/cs-080502-wnba-chicago-sky-rookies,1,32377.story]story[/url] written by reporter Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, new players in the women's professional basketball league took part in makeup, fashion and eyebrow-shaping lessons in an effort to attract more fans and more attention.
It is obviously unfortunate that incredible female athletes, whether in basketball or soccer or other sports, don't get the same recognition as male athletes (unless they're as sexy as Anna Kournikova). I can't really blame the WNBA too much for taking such a superficial route; good marketing is appealing to the beliefs and needs of the people. What bothers me are the justifications they use for explaining their strategy.
WNBA President Donna Orender is quoted in the Tribune story as saying that it's just reality that there's more focus on a woman's physical appearance and men are straight out accepted for their athletic ability.
Yes, that certainly is the reality. But that's the reason they're choosing that kind of marketing, it's not the justification. It's a shame that they can't just be marketed as great athletes who happen to be women, because their looks should have nothing to do with how they play basketball.
Renee Brown, WNBA vice president of player personnel, said they're just celebrating their womanhood. But womanhood is about more than looks. And it's definitely about more than eyebrow tweezing.
Amanda Teuscher is a senior journalism and political science major. Send her an e-mail at at156604@ohiou.edu.
