Blog Post #20

Girl Culture and the Thin Ideal: Rhetorical Analysis Response 

This photo, not from Greenfield's gallery, reflects the expectation of the modern thin ideal. 

Greenfield's gallery of photographic images reflect a transition from traditionally self accepting women to a modern trend of adolescent girls assuming negative body images, as well as inner dissatisfactions and anxieties. The photos depict normal, daily events of all women, ranging from celebrities to teenage girls, but serve to illuminate the sentience of all females into one underlying wishful attitude that encapsulates the individual desire to fit an expected thin, "barbie like" American ideal.  Analyzing different ethnic groups by utilizing powerful imagery and societal norms, Greenfield harnesses the ability to vision the "thin ideal" of women in numerous communities, ultimately shedding light to individual mindsets regarding body image, and perception of "perfection." Greenfield's photography then relates the mental struggle modern women are facing to the societal pressures present in modern America. Greenfield's imagery is powerful and raw, and follows a journey of womanhood and acceptance with every age.

I analyzed the "S" in SOAPSTONE in order to provide information about the artist (speaker in this case) of the Girl Culture project we are analyzing. I described Greenfield, the artist, in order to illuminate the importance of her role in encapsulating the underlying societal meanings of negative body images. Both O (occasion) and A (audience) were addressed in my paragraph through the identification of a shift from historical celebration of  women's (A) bodies to the modern expectation of thin women (O). The Purpose (P) of Greenfield's gallery is to spark passion amongst her audience to combat the growing expectation of the thin ideal, while simultaneously revealing the evidence of body-hate in everyday society today. The Subject (S) of Greenfield's gallery is represented in my paragraph numerous times: body image and Girl Culture. Finally, the tone of Greenfield's project is artistic yet solemn. Greenfield intends to provide aesthetic imagery in order to attract attention to the detrimental societal effects of negative body image, and the underlying actions that must take place in order to combat the issue.



Original Paragraph: Lauren Greenfield’s arresting collection of photographic images brings new energy and insight to the larger societal discussion of what has happened to American girls. Her savvy, on-the-spot camera is a function of her work as a photojournalist recording the world of American popular culture, but her work ranges here beyond celebrity icons such as Jennifer Lopez and Venus Williams to reveal both the inner and exterior lives of anonymous American girls. In combining the voices of girls with their portraits, Greenfield acts as reporter and cultural anthropologist as well as art photographer. She used such a mixed-media strategy before, in the award-winning Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood, but this journey takes her nationwide into different regional and ethnic communities. With an eye for both the ordinary and the idiosyncratic, she provides an animated, colorful canvas that visually narrates the ways in which girls, their bodies, and their psyches entwine with American popular culture. Be forewarned: There are no Girl Scouts here. Greenfield’s camera probes the process of becoming a woman in a decidedly less institutional way, visiting bedrooms, bathrooms, and waiting rooms, seeking out little girls, teenagers, and adult women in telling public and private moments.


**** I analyzed a paragraph of my choice because I was not in class. However, Kat sent me information about the project, so I assumed she was in my "group". I included her group's SOAPSTONE Analysis below.  
GROUP LINK TO SOAPSTONE ANALYSIS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FkNwbZ9Zqg58M1qF_B8w2-jdjjKM93dTqHzT-KdOZOo/edit