Please join the Cultural Affairs program for this special presentation Tuesday, Nov. 9 at noon in the BTC Auditorium.
Anne R. Roschelle, associate professor of sociology at SUNY New Paltz, along with Omar Nagi, assistant professor of sociology at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, and Sunita Bose, assistant professor of sociology at SUNY New Paltz, will be the featured speakers. They will discuss a slide show of historical and contemporary images of Indian women in contrast to pictures from advertisements showing images of beauty that are socially constructed and perpetuated by the mass media.
As Western standards of beauty are exported throughout the world via music videos, television shows, advertisements and films from the United States and other countries, ideals of what constitutes beauty become increasingly homogeneous. As a result, one-dimensional representations of beauty – in which women are excessively thin, light-skinned and devoid of ethnicity – have become commonplace. Advertisements for cosmetic surgery, skin lightening products and diet aids are aimed at Indian women who can afford to physically transform themselves into -more beautiful- women.
By presenting a cornucopia of visual images, the panelists deconstruct hegemonic notions of beauty and provide a rich tapestry of Indian life.
Who-s The Fairest of Them All: The Social Construction of Beauty in India
Published: Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 by m.zemantauski