“Grotesque.” What kind of images does that word conjure in your imagination?
Monsters? Deformities? For many in my theater history class — including the professor — the word was used in describing figurative paintings from a specific artist. Those paintings were not of hideous beasts, however — they were all images of women.
Those women were not deformed in any obvious way; they simply were not “beautiful.” Many of the figures had very thin arms, though one in particular had bone structure that was described as “manly,” with a smaller-than-average head. All of them had large, yet plausible, breasts — something the current American media tells us is very important yet was looked down upon by my classmates.
Every single person who spoke their piece during the discussion described those women as grotesque.
There were less severe observations, of course: “She looks comfortable with her flaws,” and, “The painter is trying to question our definition of beauty.” Those criticisms raised important questions about what our definition of beauty actually is, but the same theme returned.
“Grotesque.” The word makes my blood boil, my anger flare. What right have any of these people to call a woman grotesque because she is not their “ideal?” How is judging them as grotesque less misogynistic then artist who painted them as they are?
The discussion provides insight into the American culture’s view of women and a resurgence of sexist beliefs and policies that are suddenly almost acceptable once again. The discourse about how women are portrayed in popular media has shifted, but it has not changed. Rail-thin women, regardless of whether they are models or lawyers, are now automatically assumed to be anorexic. Women who are larger than those with the “appropriate” amount of curves, or those whose bodies simply aren’t curved in the right places, are often seen as burying their emotions in food.
Political discourse keeps finding itself wrapped up in women’s rights and how they should be taken away. The rights to an abortion, to contraception, to in vitro fertilization, to equal pay, to healthcare — all of those rights are suddenly on the bargaining table. There is also constant discussion about rape culture, something placed under the microscope when certain congressmen open their mouths.
As a woman, I cannot walk alone without the assumption that I may be verbally harassed and the knowledge that I could be raped.
Despite the constant discussion about those subjects, nothing seems to stick. My classmates, young people who are supposedly being educated, think it totally acceptable to call a woman, real or not, “grotesque” because she is not some ideal or some accepted version of what a “real woman” looks like.
That is not OK.
The United States today holds many possibilities for women now and in the near future — not all of them are encouraging. We, as a nation of educated individuals, can do better.
Alex Charavell is a junior studying theater.
