Social media allows us to self-create a better version of ourselves, an ideal/ized life, much bigger and glossier than the “real” experience, but to achieve this level of perfection or seamlessness, it needs to be tailored into an almost a fantasy-like living, where there are no mistakes, no (self)doubts and no failures.
Ivanka in Melanija postajata bolj in bolj prepoznavni širšemu svetu, saj poosebljata žensko inačico ameriških sanj o uspehu – ena je ameriškega predsednika hči, druga njega žena. Obe sta polni privilegijev, ki omogočajo dobro življenje: belopolti, na vrhu socioekonomske hierarhije, heteroseksualni in dovolj religiozni. A za tradicionalno volilno telo je najpomembneje to, da zadovoljujeta estetske standarde popularne ženskosti, ker sta grajeni kot manekenki, brezhibno urejeni in ultra feminilni. Kljub tem skupnim imenovalcem pa predstavljata nasprotujoči si podobi sodobne ameriške ženskosti, ki delujeta kot da ne razumeta v celoti druga druge in ne drugi njiju.
Nowadays, high heels are gendered footwear; they are culturally associated with women or femininity. But this is not for whom high-heeled shoes were made for in the past.
Historically, high-heeled shoes were men’s footwear, worn by men in horseback-riding cultures, where heels helped them stay in the stirrup (e.g. Persian shoes in 9th century, vaquero boots in 16th century or cowboy boots in 19th century). High-heeled shoes were important for their functionality and practicality, two of the most traditional masculine traits when it comes to footwear.
In the postmodern Western society, sexism has become less obvious, which does not mean that it has disappeared, it merely changed its modus operandi. Instead of blatant sexism, as it was the practice in the past, it became subtle and covert. Due to the internalized sexist standards, subtle sexism often goes unnoticed, so it is perceived as “normal”, “unproblematic” and common. For example, condescending chivalry (i.e. courteous, protective men’s behaviour towards women carries an assumption of women as helpless subordinates) or subjective objectification (i.e. a type of sexism where women are perceived as “Smurfettes”) are subtle forms of sexism.
When it comes to bruises on a woman’s body, almost a unanimous assumption is quickly made and it usually involves domestic violence. Why does the conclusion of a woman being abused suddenly prevail, when an adult woman has a bruise on her body?
The western understanding of a woman’s body is – alongside with its reproductive power – also built around its aesthetic (decorative) and mobile (inactive) nature. It is expected for a girl to be pretty and a woman to be attractive, so to stay pretty/beautiful, a girl/woman should not engage in activities (sports mostly) that could ‘ruin’ her appearances. Bruises ruin skin to a degree of transforming skin colour from natural to ‘unnatural’ – blue, green, violet, yellowish. But most of all, they bluntly expose the fragility and mortality of the human body.
