Reflections of Expression: Body Image Defined in the 21st Century

I chose to look further into Lauren Greenfield’s Girl Culture. While sifting through Greenfield’s photo book, I couldn’t help but notice the repetition of reflections and mirrors, either with Greenfield capturing the image in the mirror or her capturing girls as they peer into a mirror. Mirrors give us the ability to look back upon ourselves and judge ourselves in comparison to others. I often wonder how our culture might change if we had no mechanism of viewing our own person. Would we treat each other and ourselves differently? I want to specifically dive further into the role of mirrors and reflections in perpetuating the importance of unrealistic body standards placed on women mainly by the media.

Greenfield explains that she believes the body has become the primary source of expression for girls in recent decades. In describing her own work, Greenfield urges viewers to not look at the images and people in them as extreme cases, but instead realize that we all have a piece of what Greenfield has captured inside of us. She notes that while many of the images are shiny and glossy and nearly unbelievable, when paired with the interviews (writing to the side of each piece) the viewer gets a deeper understanding of these girls’ lives and their way of processing their actions and the pressures of the society they’re living in. Greenfield recognizes that her work provides few answers or solutions as how to cope or manage the societal expectations placed on females, but hopes her photos will force people of all genders to go deeper than “face-value” and attempt to find more profound meaning and comprehension of the difficult spot girls are often forced into.

Cornell professor Joan Jacobs Brumberg speaks highly of the arresting collection of photographs Greenfield has acquired, particularly of those of young girls. She urges the viewer to notice how quickly girls use their inborn anthropological skills to pick up on the power of beauty and image in their society, causing them to place a great deal of focus on their bodies even before puberty and become particularly conscious of its changes during their teenage years. Additionally, Brumberg urges the viewer to notice Greenfield’s capture of such a wide array of body types, and the similar, yet differing degree of struggles they all face. Any reader, Brumberg states in her introduction for Girl Culture, would be hard pressed to go through the entire work and not have a moment of self-recognition.Social Media’s Toxic Mirror Mirrors in Body Culture 

Greenfield, growing up through the turn of the century as she is now 53, has a very unique experience and viewpoint in that she has seen the change in perspective towards females from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Early on, girls’ main purpose was being objects of the home, and were often viewed as “sugar and spice an everything nice”. Greenfield believes this view of prim and proper has taken a radical turn as the 20th century progressed. Although women made important gains in education, power, and expressive freedom, society also began to focus more on their physical presence as they ventured outside of the home. Greenfield looks back on her own youth and teenage years, remembering her own dieting, gravitation towards slim friends, and even drags attempting to choose what outfit to wear to Hebrew School as a preteen. She attempts to capture the most honest and thought invoking images of what those time periods are truly like for girls throughout the United States.

I feel that Greenfield, although she is a Jewish photographer, does not allow any particularly Jewish motivations shine in her work. Girl Culture as Greenfield sees it is universal, or at least national, and effects all girls similarly no matter their race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, etc… However, her Jewish background may bring her to celebratory events such as Bat Mitzvahs and bring about particularly Jewish moments from her childhood that influenced her own idea of “girl culture”. In this way, I see her background shining through her photography more in her motivation and possibly methods (where she chooses to photograph) but not in her theme and final project.

What is most special to me about Greenfield’s images in, and formatting of Girl Culture is how raw and unchanged the situations she captures are, even in her presence. The facial expressions, body language, and general actions of her subjects are incredibly genuine. It is almost as if Greenfield were not documenting them at all, or at least as if they had no idea of her purpose. Greenfield captures girls in their daily routines, in the areas and places most would not think to capture such as dressing rooms, waiting areas, and bathrooms. On the other hand, she also seeks out the most extreme of circumstances such as proms, spring break trips, weight-loss camps and eating disorder facilities. Greenfield forces the reader into the uncomfortable in multiple different aspects, which I truly appreciate and wish to embrace as I take my own photos.

 

 

Greenfield comments on her Girl Culture exhibit in the Topeka Library: Greenfield Interview

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel,

This is an excellent and thoughtful opening statement. I think that looking at mirrors, and the corresponding way photographs mirror society and ourselves, is an excellent project. You’ve also structured your opening paragraphs very clearly. I have just a few comments.

First, try to move the photographs into the text rather than leaving them at the bottom of the page. When you do that, please identify them as Greenfield does.

Second, keep in mind that Greenfield is a Jewish photographer and ask yourself how does that inflect or influence her photographic choices and what she seeks to do as a photographer. Many of the American feminists of second wave feminism were Jews and there has been another cluster of Jewish feminists who are Greenfield’s contemporaries. Greenfield is not setting out answers, as you note, but she is definitely a critical observer of American culture as it affects girls and women.

Third, please give your project a title.

One last item, you have “acquired made” and you need to choose which verb you wish to use.

I am looking forward to seeing how your final project develops. You are off to a most promising start.

DDM

Thesis & Background: Your thesis about the body of work and point of view you’ve chosen to explore, as well as background about the artists that lead you to your thesis.

Greenfield went into her photographic endeavors with the intent to act as a documentarian. She saw her work within Girl Culture as an anthropological perspective of how women relate to each other and their contemporaries utilizing their bodies as their main source of expression. Greenfield described that although she was not a passive observer, almost none of the photos were posed specifically by her. Sometimes she found herself in atmospheres where posing was already occurring, such as the fitness competitions or strip clubs, and other times the girls she was documenting posed out of their own decision. Greenfield acquired the trust of her subjects beforehand and during the photographic process so their actions were the result of genuine motivation and typical behavior rather than staging requests by Greenfield.

Similar to Greenfield, I planned to make use of reflections and mirrors within my own pictures, yet mine would be a bit more staged and with more individualized subject matter. Due to social distancing and shelter in place ordinances, I thought I would only be able to photograph my mother and my close friends. In order to keep numbers small I didn’t plan to have any group photographs. For my mother I wanted to make use of the multiple, varied sized mirrors in her bathroom, and for my close friend, I hoped to use the mirrors in a car and possibly on her closet door in separate shots. I hoped to capture them doing their hair, applying makeup, or simply assessing their stature in the mirror. I assumed my photos would need to be a bit more staged and planned as neither

my subjects nor our current circumstance have much cause to partake in any of the above actions. I planned on telling them the intention and theme of the project as I thought it would better help them understand my purpose and present themselves in any way they see fit. Since the photos were not going to be 100% natural or genuine I didn’t really expect to prove any theme or “find” anything from them. I believed the photographs would express more how both I and my subjects feel girl culture effects most women and forces them to portray themselves. What could also be interesting is looking at how my subjects may change their behavior once I describe the purpose of the project to them.

Rachel,

I think that you are being realistic here in your methodology. Your decision to use car mirrors is really interesting and somewhat different from what Greenfield did but still in the same spirit. I agree that it will be interesting to see how people respond when you explain the project as compared with how you start off taking photographs with mirrors.

You’ve chosen some great Greenfield photographs as potential models for thinking about the relations of girls/women to mirrors.

DDM

Methodology: What are the methods your artist uses in his/her photography? How did you attempt to see through his/her point of view by taking your own photos?

All Photos Taken: (only uploaded 20 of the 40 or so taken to save space)

Selected Photos:

Slideshow #1:

I am still struggling with this feature. I emailed Ms. Fomin for help, however, she never got back to me.

Slideshow #2:

 

While taking photographs of my own I discovered that Greenfield’s method is a lot more challenging than it looks. She has an incredible ability to spot and capture expressive, unique moments in real time. I found that unless I had my camera up nonstop, I would miss those key facial expressions and movements of my subject. Even more, she is able to find those moments often with multiple people in the frame, and I was struggling with just one. Additionally, I realized just how many photos she must sort through from each shoot. I had taken about 60 photos in just three distinct settings: looking into the smaller, circular mirror of the bathroom, looking into the larger, square mirror of the bathroom, and utilizing the car mirrors. From there, I deleted about 20 which were blurry or appeared to be duplicates and still had to sort through 40 photos. She must do this on the scale of hundreds for each shoot.Taking photos of my own has most definitely increased my respect for both her patience and artistic vision in selecting individual images to display.

I also noticed how integral, yet difficult it is to control your own facial expressions. I found that my own look of interest or conversely judgement or unhappiness would effect the way in which my mother posed herself. In order to achieve truly genuine photos, Greenfield must have stayed perfectly poised, allowing her face to reveal nothing while almost blending into the background of whatever setting she was in.

Furthermore, after trying my hand at photographing, two of Greenfield’s photos stood out to me as particularly impressive. The first is of the two teenagers in the department store dressing room and the second is of Venus Williams in her locker room. Both of these photos are clearly from such a close standpoint and picture these women in incredibly vulnerable positions. In the first, the girl trying on clothes, Sheena, is seen in a position in which she clearly is judging her stature as her expression of disgust suggests. Yet, she doesn’t show any discomfort in allowing Greenfield to capture her internal struggle and insecurity. Similarly, in the Venus photo, although she has just won a competition, she appears solemn and contemplative, prodding the skin on her arm. She shows no fear of opening up to or even acknowledgement of Greenfield’s presence, again demonstrating Greenfield’s uncanny ability to create a photographic environment and relationship to her subjects in which they feel entirely at ease.

After taking the photos, I began to notice the direction and intention of my mother’s eyes. I did not realize this while I was shooting, but she was looking back at my camera quite a bit. This most definitely had to do in part with the fact that none of my mother’s actions were fully voluntary and she continually looked to me for direction and affirmation that she was producing a scene I was pleased with. I appreciated the photos in which she is looking at herself much more as she appears more introspective. I’m sure this phenomenon occurred for Greenfield as well, but since she did not chose to display any of these photos, I opted not to either. I believe this tendency to look to the photographer can be diminished by what I mentioned earlier of remaining stoic and unphased while taking pictures.

I found quite a few challenges while attempting to emulate Greenfield’s style. I wanted to replicate her photos of women preparing or assessing themselves, however I also had to work within my mom’s schedule. In working from home, I would never truly capture her putting on a full face of makeup, doing her hair, or even driving anywhere for that matter. Therefore, my photos felt to me more directed and staged than I would have liked. Furthermore, my focus on reflections and mirrors created an additional level of specificity that limited my subject’s individuality and genuine expression. I truly struggled to achieve unique angles within the mirrors. I tried to create scenes in the bathroom in which the viewer could see the subject from two different perspectives in two different mirrors at once (utilizing the small, circular and large, wall mirror), and scenes in the car where both her body and a singular reflection, or only a reflection could be seen. This gave me a lot of grief because as soon as I found an angle that worked I realized it gave me very limited mobility so that my camera wouldn’t also be seen the shot.

From my initial methodology proposition, my approach most definitely changed. Originally I was planning to start by taking photos without explaining the project, but I quickly realized due to the current lack of any need for self-preparation for subsequent public presentation, I would not come about those opportunities naturally. Therefore, I read my methodology out to my mom, showed her the pictures I was using as inspiration, and allowed her to direct herself from that. I did my best not to give her explicit instructions. She made the decision to (pretend) to curl her eyelashes, put on mascara, and mess around with her hair while in the bathroom. Then, in the car she chose to apply chap stick.

My mother has never been one to care too much for her appearance. She likes to look professional and put together going to work, but other than that she remains very natural (especially with makeup and hair) and prefers to allow her words and actions create impressions for her, rather than her looks. I look up to that aspect of her personality greatly and as a result am very much the same way. It was odd to me to watch her look at herself in the mirror with a face reflecting self-doubt or antipathy as I almost never see that from her. This was liberating for me in a way because it reconfirmed that my mother doesn’t really fit into the “girl culture” of the Greenfield photos I selected. However, it was also disheartening because to her, appearing unsure of your appearance and compensating materialistically with things such as makeup is what the “girl culture” I was attempting to shoot embodied. Of course, I also see those aspects in the Greenfield photographs I selected, but those actions seemed more stereotypical, distant and almost theoretical until I watched someone I’m close with take them on. It made me reflect more on what Brumberg discussed in her introduction to the book, about how current girl culture is so very set on body self-image and body portrayal. It is regrettable that society has come to a point that everyone knows that fact, realizes it is outdated and harmful, yet continues to use it as a stereotype when thinking about women.

Rachel,

I think that you took wonderful photographs. I realize that this had to be somewhat contrived given the pandemic, but your solution produced excellent images. And you learned a lot! Yes, winnowing out of photographs is constant. We end up seeing just a very small fraction of the photos taken by photographers, which means that choices are being made not only before pressing the shutter but at every stage in the process.

Let me urge you to break up these long paragraphs into shorter ones. It will allow you to emphasize some of your key observations in this process. For example, you write insightfully about your own presence as a photographer and your assumption on how Greenfield must have made herself familiar enough so that her subjects eventually stopped noticing her. Also, the paragraph that speaks about your own liberating understanding of the rejection of “girl culture” in your mother’s choices deserves to be separate from what precedes it.

I like the photos you chose for your slide show but I would urge you to consider the next-to-last image in the group of 20 rather than the one you chose that has your mother’s full face in the car. Also, I confess I like the photo with just the two hands in the bathroom rather than the first one in your slide show. Once Elizabeth helps you with the show, consider substituting these at the next to beginning and next to the end to see if you like it.

DDM

Photos & Analysis: Presentation of your own photographs inspired by that point of view. Text articulating what taking your own pictures taught you about the photographer’s point of view and its relevance. What is liberating about the point of view you’ve chosen to explore? How does it challenge you to look at the world differently?

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”6″ gal_title=”Test Gallery”]

Overall, after taking photos of my own, I have an even greater respect for the work Greenfield does in both photographing and curating pieces and exhibits. I found it incredibly challenging even to simply photograph my mother without appearing judgmental or allowing my own personal opinions of girl culture to shape the photos. Greenfield’s images are entirely impartial, strictly documentary, and incredibly genuine. I have formed a larger appreciation for her skill. More on Lauren Greenfield Photography

In terms of my thesis, I still believe it to be correct. Mirrors provide us an undoubted ability to judge ourselves and means to compare our own image to the ones of men and women pictured in the mass media. Furthermore, mirrors have invaded our lives past our private bathrooms and bedrooms, proving society’s favorite pastime is far more self-centered and pessimistic than I could’ve hoped. Our free time and moments of waiting are merely opportunities for further self-reflection as Snapchat and Instagram have grown their platforms and mirrors often line elevator doors as you wait for it to arrive. Mirrors have become pervasive and their content, although true, has the ability to be blown out of proportion in terms of its significance and its size. BBC- How Social Media Affects Body Image

Although I took all of these photos in 2020, and Greenfield’s book is copyrighted to 2002, meaning the photos were most likely taken in the couple of years before that, I don’t see a significant change in “girl culture” from then to now. I believe the counter movement, imploring girls to be confident, smart, independent, accepting individuals has gained significant grip in the media and has become an normalized personality for girls, yet the opposite end of the spectrum hasn’t faded much. Any change in perception is because both sides are now equal, not because the media promoting perfect body standards has weakened. This fact tells me that we still have a far ways to travel in both the way we express ourselves in the media and accept ourselves in private and public. How the Body-Positivity Movement is Evolving

Rachel,

You offer a sober assessment of change and the lack of it in today’s girl culture. Your reflection on the power of mirrors (pun intended) speaks to your initial insights as well as the process of taking photographs. I think that the video you chose to include with the interview from Greenfield amplifies very nicely your concluding points since she indicates her own interest in sociology and anthropology at Harvard along with photography and how she has combined them in her life.

You’ve got a very strong final project. One last suggestion: look at Anjelica Lyman’s page for a rather different interpretation of Greenfield.

DDM

Conclusion: Did you come to understand your Jewish photographer differently after taking your own photos? What did you learn about your thesis?

Research Sources:

Greenfield, Lauren, and Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Girl Culture. Chronicle Books, 2017.

Greenfield Topeka Library Interview

BBC- How Social Media Affects Body Image

How the Body-Positivity Movement is Evolving

More on Lauren Greenfield Photography

Mirrors in Body Culture

Social Media’s Toxic Mirror

Photo Sources:

Greenfield, Lauren, and Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Girl Culture. Chronicle Books, 2017.

Shannon Tweed Photo

Anne Margaret Photo

High school seniors photo

Photo of Lauren Greenfield

Sources: List of all your sources with hyperlinks. Be sure to separate photo sources from written research sources.