Voices from women’s wardrobes: midlife and self-image

Current fashion research has not explored women’s perceptions of available clothing choices during the biological and physical transformations of midlife. Instabilities such as menopause, family breakups, or a loved one’s death augment women’s diminishing visual presence amid Western society’s beauty ideal. In response, clothing may become vital for self-expression, but also measurable in the terms of dress success, or a wardrobe impasse. A reflective Photovoice approach required participants (n=11) to take 7 full-body selfies over the course of a week, while wearing their favourite daywear outfits. The photographs prompted in-depth discussions during one-on-one interviews. Photovoice’s debut in fashion research reveals the common philosophies and strategies used by women in midlife to navigate a quick-response fashion system and establish a wardrobe that reflects their self-image. Women’s personal perspectives and selfevaluated dressing choices reveal whether their everyday wardrobe supports or compromises their desired self-image, promoting dress success or causing a wardrobe impasse.

Voices from women’s wardrobes: midlife and self-image

Current fashion research has not explored women’s perceptions of available clothing choices during the biological and physical transformations of midlife. Instabilities such as menopause, family breakups, or a loved one’s death augment women’s diminishing visual presence amid Western society’s beauty ideal. In response, clothing may become vital for self-expression, but also measurable in the terms of dress success, or a wardrobe impasse. A reflective Photovoice approach required participants (n=11) to take 7 full-body selfies over the course of a week, while wearing their favourite daywear outfits. The photographs prompted in-depth discussions during one-on-one interviews. Photovoice’s debut in fashion research reveals the common philosophies and strategies used by women in midlife to navigate a quick-response fashion system and establish a wardrobe that reflects their self-image. Women’s personal perspectives and selfevaluated dressing choices reveal whether their everyday wardrobe supports or compromises their desired self-image, promoting dress success or causing a wardrobe impasse.

Recovery from anorexia nervosa: the influence of women’s sociocultural milieux

Objective: Young women living in industrialised westernised societies have a higher prevalence of anorexia nervosa, partly due to a cultural emphasis on thinness as a beauty ideal. Sociocultural milieux might promote recovery from anorexia nervosa amongst young women. The current article is a commentary about the social influences on recovery from anorexia nervosa – based on social anthropology, narratives of people with lived experience, and clinical studies. Conclusion: Anorexia nervosa increases social withdrawal, and recovery leads to re-engagement with meaningful relationships. Recovery also empowers women as ‘cultural critics’ who challenge assumptions about the thinness beauty ideal and gender roles. The gradual process of full or partial recovery often occurs during emerging adulthood (aged 20–29). In this life stage, adolescent friendship groups are dissolving as women move from education to work, reducing the danger of weight-based teasing by peers, which is an environmental risk factor for disordered eating. Women recovering from anorexia nervosa may connect with those aspirations of peers and mentors that eschew a focus on weight and shape, but relate to the life-stage tasks of starting careers, beginning new friendships, selecting life partners and family formation – that is, a broader role in larger relationship networks.

The Modern-Day Feminine Beauty Ideal, Mental Health, and Jungian Archetypes

Introduction: It can be argued that beauty is not only an aesthetic value, but it is also a social capital which is supported by the global beauty industry. Advertising kindly offers all kinds of ways to acquire and maintain beauty and youth that require large investments. Recent studies demonstrate that physical attractiveness guided by modern sociocultural standards is associated with a higher level of psychological well-being, social ease, assertiveness, and confidence. What is behind this pursuit of ideal beauty and eternal youth: the life-long struggle for survival, selfless love for beauty, or something else that lurks in the depths of the human unconscious? Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyze the modern-day feminine beauty ideal through the lens of Jungian archetypes. Methodology: An extensive literary review of relevant articles for the period 2000-2020 was performed using PubMed and Google databases, with the following key words: “Feminine beauty ideal, body image, beauty and youth, mental health problems, C.G. Jung, archetypes of collective unconsciousness”. Along with it, the author used Jung’s theory of archetypes, integrative anthropological approach, and hermeneutical methodology. Results and Discussion: Advertising and the beauty industry have a huge impact on women and their self-image. Exposure to visual media depicting idealized faces and bodies causes a negative or distorted self-image. The new globalized and homogenized beauty ideal emphasizes youth and slimness. Over the past few decades, the emphasis on this ideal has been accompanied by an increase in the level of dissatisfaction with their bodies among both women and men. Though face and body image concerns are not a mental health condition in themselves, they have a negative impact on women’s mental health being associated with body dysmorphic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, depression, eating disorders, psychological distress, low self-esteem, self-harm, suicidal feelings. These trends are of real concern. The interiorization of the modern standards of female beauty as the image of a young girl impedes the psychological development of women and causes disintegration disabling the interconnection of all elements of the psyche and giving rise to deep contradictions. This unattainable ideal is embodied in the Jungian archetype of the Kore. Without maturity transformations, the image of the Kore, which is so attractive to the modern world, indicates an undeveloped part of the personality. Her inability to grow up and become mature has dangerous consequences. Women “restrain their forward movement” becoming an ideal object of manipulation. Thus, they easily internalize someone’s ideas about what the world should be and about their “right” place in it losing the ability to think critically and giving away power over their lives. Conclusion: Overcoming the psychological threshold of growing up, achieving deep experience and inner growth, a woman discovers another aspect of the Kore, ceases to be an object of manipulation and accepts reality as it is, while her beauty becomes multifaceted and reflects all aspects of her true personality

East & West: Searching out for the Beauty Ideal

This article describes the results of a comparative analysis of the ancient Greek sculpture Doryphoros in the western and eastern art canons, as well as the selected sculptures of the Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Maitreya from Gandharan, Indian, Nepalese, and Mongolian art. The authors also explore and integrate the aspects of the artistic notion of an ideal beauty, including aspects of oriental philosophy, aesthetics, human body’s proportion and compilation theory. This comparative analysis is based on G. Zanabazar’s sculpturing features and his skills through theoretical aspects. Studies have shown that Zanabazar’s Bodhisattva Maitreya is fully compatible with the classic western proportions and Buddhist strict canon. We show that both western and eastern artistic iconography have been developed to produce perfection in anthropomorphic expression. The classic correspondence was in religious art, as the western mentality seems to be the opposite and the imitation of both nature and the beauty of one’s sense of beauty. Keywords: human body proportion relevance with art, corporeality, Buddhist art, Zanabazar, Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Maitreya, golden ratio, artistic canon

Mad about Boobs

This chapter delves into Colombia’s so-called trash literature, particularly Gustavo Bolívar’s widely criticized bestseller novel Sin tetas no hay paraíso (2005), in order to explore the encounter between women and narco money. It examines how various narcos came to finance beauty pageants in Colombia, how they allured attractive women with promises of fame and wealth, and how they transformed the female beauty ideal, insisting on plastic surgery that exalted voluptuousness and excess. Of questionable literary value, Sin tetas nonetheless became a poignant social testimony on the destructive forces present in narco societies, where the least privileged pay the highest price. Its insight into corruption and ultimately the demise of working-class youth who sacrifice themselves in exchange for the short-lived intoxication of consumerism, immediately connected with Colombian (and worldwide) audiences, as confirmed by the popularity of the Sin tetas franchise (it appeared as a film and various telenovelas throughout the Hispanic world).

Plato`'s Ideas on Poetry

In his most important and most voluminous creation “The State” (Republic, Politeia), Plato included the most characteristically philosophical concepts which were an expression of his interests. Apart various fields of teaching, such metaphysics, theology, ethics, psychology, pedagogy, State system, which result from this creation, art and poetry could not go without being included as well (including the music). Otherwise, the Plato himself, in young age, except with mathematics he also dealt with poetry by believing that he is going to be more dedicated to it. But, it seems that acquaintance with the Socrates since he was 20 years old changed his mind and he was fully committed to the philosophy. His general philosophical reviews sublimating his philosophical ideas, which arise on the basis of the idea, as an alpha and omega of every human been in the world, took Plato away from poetry by making him more and more torrential in philosophy and more and more critical, even more cynical towards the poetry. Keywords:, Plato, Aesthetics, Poetry, Idea, The beauty, Ideal, Philosophy, Time, Creation, Culture, Imitation, Dialogue, Literature