Karina Klyatis Professor Cacoilo Art And Women 6 December 2011

The Unraveling of Beauty

What is beauty? This is an age-old question that people have been trying to answer for centuries, but nobody has ever quite gotten the answer to. Some say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but others may agree that the definition of beauty is thrust upon us through the media. Whether we are addressing the renaissance period or the 21st century we now live in, women have been under a magnifying glass and have been under the scrutiny of the male gaze as thoroughly mentioned by R.J Berger. The male gaze, according to Berger is the objectifying way a man looks at a woman as if she is there solely to entertain his eyes and nothing else. In a way, the male gaze defines beauty. But furthermore, what has beauty turned into? From the pale, full figured women painted by Renoir, to the photographed figure of Marilyn Monroe, to the filming of Audrey Hepburn, all the way down to Kate Moss diminishing figure on the run-way, beauty has taken a puzzling journey to trickle us down to what is defined as beauty today. In the early 1800s, a woman must achieve the look of an indoor lifestyle, appearing very guarded, pale, and frail. A non-dominating look to a woman was what was deemed attractive and acceptable. This look played into the role of how a woman should be housebroken and subservient to her husband and nothing more. This indoor lifestyle was contemplated through the painting of Mary Cassatt called Woman in Black at the Opera. This painting revealed how the woman was dressed

not to attract attention and how there is a male spectator looking at her, implying that since she is out of the home base, she is now subject to being stared at, case in point, the male gaze. By the mid 1800s the look of the bell had emerged. Women began slowly steering away from the boring housewife look and more towards the look-at-me-Im-beautiful-look. The ideal woman was now curvy with large hips, where the corsets purpose became compromising. By the late 1800s the everpopular hourglass figure develops. The hourglass figure carries into the 1900s and then Marilyn Monroe is born. The fame of Marilyn Monroe was historical. Monroe defined beauty and embodied the ideal figure. It was after her that large breasts started being considered attractive. Monroe became one of the worlds biggest sex symbols of all time. It is said that Monroe personified Hollywood glamour with an unparalleled glow and energy that enamored the world. It was no longer about just another pretty face, but the energy and vibrancy a woman is able to give off in order to claim the title of a beauty. In Nancy Bakers book, The Beauty Trap she states that A truly beautiful woman makes the best of her physical assets, but more importantly, she also radiates a personal quality which is attractive. Monroe fits Bakers definition of beauty as she not only harbored the physical assets necessary to achieve beauty but she also displayed a type of charisma and illuminating presence that gave her a personal quality which made her that much more attractive. Some qualities of beauty remained the same in this sex symbol as she still harbored vulnerability and innocence, qualities that never hurt to have when appealing to a man. In addition, one of Marilyns qualities was that she was an adventurous and exciting person to

be around. She was once asked to go on a USO tour of Korea in February to entertain the troops, beginning on the 16th for four days. The fact that she was chosen and accepted to be the prime entertainment for these soldiers shows that Marilyn had an exciting presence, a key to being beautiful according to Arthur Marwick who states, The beautiful are those who are immediately exciting to almost all of the opposite sex(Marwick, pg 26.) All in all, Marilyn left her lasting impression on the public, with her bold attitude and self righteous acts, never caring to be the perfect housewife, but taking after her own goals and needs, having a career full of movies and countless list of men who played the perfect role for Mr. Right Now instead of Mr.Right. The film industry greatly influenced the attitude towards beauty. Louis Wood claims, For the first half of the century, all the major beauty icons were film actresses(Wood, Perception of Beauty.) One of the actresses happened to be the legendary Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn was said to have the embodiment of natural beauty, healthy living, beautiful on the inside and out, with a natural glow to her personality as well as her complexion(smh.articles.) Although the era of Audrey Hepburn overlapped with that of Marilyn Monroe, Hepburn stood out and exuded a different type of beauty; elegance. Fashion experts say her longevity as a style icon is because she found what suited her-clean lines, simple yet bold accessories, minimalistic palette-she stuck with it for life. It was in fact right on point. Audrey Hepburns minimalistic approach to beauty when it came to fashion is what made her so unique. She didnt wear the dramatic evening gowns and over the top make up and big hair, she stuck with a minimalistic approach, which the public caught

notice of in a little movie called Breakfast at Tiffanys. Audrey Hepburn starred in the classic Breakfast At Tiffanys where she plays the intriguing character of Holly Golightly, whose whimsical personality, self-confidence, white pearls, simple black attire, and boyish body gave her the essence of elegance and grace. Her one of a kind looks also fit into the category of androgyny, as she did not have the average babybearing hips, and instead had a boyish body, short cropped hair, and dressed in simple black and white colors as males would. Her poise and overall aura opened another door for what defines beauty. Audrey Hepburn starred mainly in films, therefore her mannerisms were captured and her one of a kind presence was accessible to the public. From her famous movie, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Hepburn became a fashion icon, launching the like of the little black dress, classic pearls, and oversized glasses, as the effortlessly glamorous look. Audrey Hepburn was able to influence the perception of beauty in the eyes of the public through fashion, film, and elegance. In the late 1980s, the average woman began shrinking in size in order to achieve the skinny look. Being curvy became unacceptable and everybody started being obsessed with being thin. The thin craze sparked eating disorders in women of all ages to achieve the skinny look. Much of the culprits of this budding trend were the models on the runway, to be precise, Kate Moss. Kate Moss is a model known as a controversial figure since she typified the waif models. Waif models were unusually thin and were considered the perfect types of models because clothes would hang off them just like on a coat hanger. Moss had an unusually low body weight, giving her a very slim figure, and projected check bones. Her emaciated

look surprisingly started to define what was considered beautiful. She started the heroine chic look and made an unhealthy life style look appealing. Many have contemplated that Kates look was that of art, as her photographs exuded a new edge that woman werent familiar with, the grunge look. Up until the Kate Moss era, women were used to looking put together, with perfect hair, neat clothes, with their big red lips, and hourglass curves, exuding an extremely feminine look. Some may compare Kates slim figure to that of Audrey Hepburns, but the type of overall beauty that Kate gave off was completely different. Kate didnt exude the type off effortlessly classic and easy going vibe, as women would normally try to portray, in order to be deemed beautiful. Kate made a lasting impression on the public through her runway shows and her photographs. Although throughout the end of her career, she lived an out of control life style, which started to take a toll on her looks, she was still able to take iconic photographs. In one of her photographs, she is lounging in a bathtub, wearing nothing but a white button down mens shirt, reading a book and smoking a cigarette. In that picture alone, Kate gives off a specific aura that implies her careless attitude towards life and how she lives for the day and doesnt take herself too seriously. Her badass attitude makes her seem uncompromisably cool and makes one question the purpose of glitz, glamour, and poise in the first place. Kates boyish look and grungy edge created a broader dynamic for what defines beauty. It was as if Hepburns elegance and Marilyns charisma were eradicated from the definition of beauty. Along with expanding the definition of beauty in women by seeing not just their looks but their personalities and achievements as well, society has also

expanded the meaning of beauty by letting down its guards about race. Case in point a modern supermodel, Tyra Banks. Banks is a beautiful black supermodel who was the first black woman to ever be on the cover of the magazine Sports Illustrated. She gained popularity in the late 90s. At the time, she was curvier than the average supermodel and since she was African American, she was a questionable candidate when it came to beauty in the supermodel world. Her charisma, charm, and ambition pushed her forward in her career and made her a renowned supermodel. Through Banks success, she was able to further expand the criteria for what defines beauty, showing that when one describes a beautiful woman, she doesnt necessarily have to be white. Whether the form of beauty has changed into a positive direction, is a question still remaining. Over time beauty became exemplified through women who had full-blown careers and charisma that stretched out of the home base and into the real world. This rapid development of a new life-style put us up against the big guys: Men. Now we not only harbor the essentials to beauty, but also claim the same success as they do. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Kate Moss, and Tyra Banks unleashed their beauty and accomplishments through their own skill. There are all types of beauties in Hollywood, which goes to shows that there really is no definition for beauty.

Works Cited 1) Gitlin, Martin. Audrey Hepburn: A biography. N.p., 2009. Web. 4 Dec 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=QjRHJTpcI80C&pg=PA 61&lpg=PA61&dq=how was audrey hepburn
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Lane, Megan. Audrey Hepburn: Why The Fuss. 04/07/2006, n.d. Web. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4884428.stm >. . "Entertainment Film." Audrey Hepburn:most beautiful woman. 06/01/2004, n.d. Web. <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/108585550052 1.html>. . "Biography:Marilyn Monroe." . 01/24/2008, n.d. Web. <ellensplace.net>. Wood, Louise. Perceptions of female Beauty in the 20th century. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://barneygrant.tripod.com>. . "Banter of Beauty." inspiration:Kate Moss. 29/08/2011, n.d. Web. <beautybanter.com>. Miller, Jennifer. Beauty:Female aesthetics. 07/02/2011, n.d. Web. <theaestheticelevator.com>.

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For beautiful eyes look for the good in others, for beautiful lips speak only words of kindness, and for poise, walk with knowldege that you are never alone.

-Audrey Hepburn

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and its better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. -Marilyn Monroe

Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. -Kate Moss

Black women dont have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies. Black men love big butts.

-Tyra Banks