"Academic Writing"

Monday, April 09, 2012

Remember the essay that I mention before this?

Worked for months for it like crazyy. Approximate 2 months.

LOL. It's fun lah, but tiringggggg!

I think its quite. Dunno :P
My dad said it's good though.

Comments?

"Slave to fashion & beauty lead women prone to health disorder."

Have you ever felt like you are in a different dimension of the world? Like you are trapped in another space, trying so hard to get out but you just couldn’t. Hunger and thirsts for more of it. Well, for me, yes. Imagine stepping into a classy elegant building which sells tons of dresses and little gowns for young ladies. Like in the novels ‘Confessions of a shopaholic’ (2001) written by Sophie Kinsella, the situation is similar. Begging my eyes to stop eyeing at those mannequins cloth with shimmering gowns, down the streets of New York. I was in cloud nine, dreaming and praying that it would be mine one day. Twirling and swirling around with my teddy bear murmuring that it’s mine. Imagining myself owning a walking luxury wardrobe, full with varieties of clothing falling in different categories such; evening, gala, cocktail dresses or even beach wear. Shelves full with accessories and make ups. Footwear racks filled from rubber sandals to Marc Jacob’s leather boots. Fantasising and desiring to wear the latest fashion handbags, accessories, shoes and the list goes on and on. At the same time, calculating money and investing in clothes and outer appearances. Isn’t that what every woman is doing? Looking for perfect stylish lives and it fits your body.

Beauty has always been a part of everyone lives. In a little corner of every women hearts, there’s a space for beauty. When talking about beauty it’s tough not to relate it to fashion. The word: fashion. First thing that comes into peoples mind is none other than models, the runway, New York and expensive clothing. Is that all? Historically, humans who are relatively young, with smooth skin, well-proportioned bodies and regular features have been considered beautiful. (Wikipedia, Physical attractiveness) In places such as Paris and Milan – one of the most stylish and trendy fashions, many women dream of going, feeling good and fabulous. Nowadays, surprisingly media is the highest influential factor to women for them to evaluate what is or not beautiful that contribute to insecurities about their body image. Now the newest fad is to look ‘skinny’. (Wikipedia) Just by looking at of Victoria Secret – an international brand American retailer, the models which are selected to be part of People Magazine are the ‘100 Most Beautiful People in the World’. (2007) Nothing is impossible in these digital ages; to obtain the ideal weight by ‘hitting the gym’ has now become part and parcel of women’s daily lives. Women are obsessed with diets, weight loss and body shape. Statistics show that the majority of elite models are approximately 20% underweight. Even children aged 8, 81% said they were afraid of being fat. 81% of a10 year kid is afraid of being fat. 91 % of college students have struggled controlling their weight mainly through dieting. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorder [NAAN]) If these continuously keep going on, just to pursue fashion for our satisfaction, women are going to be slaved to fashion and our health is going to deteriorate.

Empress Elisabeth is a great figure who was once became a slave to her own beauty in the eighties. She was both the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. (Wikipedia) During that period, Elisabeth saw that her own image as the primary source of her self-esteem and motivation. Since young, she would update herself from the on-going trends. She would always go for a tighter hoop skirt that would give definition to her waist. That became her hallmark in her life, as she would not tolerate her clothes that go beyond 19.5 inches on the waist. In that case she would do all she could to maintain it. At all times her weight would be 50kg, or else she would put herself to almost complete fasting without any meat only juice of half-raw beefsteaks squeezed into a thin soup, or a diet of milk and eggs. Tight- lacing corsets would always be sticking at her waist for few weeks. She would go as far as refraining from having sexual intercourse with her husband, from having children that would gain her waist size. She believed that, "Children are the curse of a woman, for when they come, they drive away Beauty, which is the best gift of the gods". She developed an extremely rigorous exercise habits. Gymnasium equipment would move along with her depending on which castle she lives in. Even a mat and balance beams were in her bedchamber with an oversize mirrors, so that she could check and discipline every single movement of hers. In her 50’s, she took up sports such as fencing and even became a best-known female equestrian. Things got worse when she became more obsessive weighing herself up to three times a day. She regularly took steam baths to prevent herself from gaining weight. Prior to that, despite of all hours in the saddle, exposed to the sun and wind combined with her less sleeping time and even her habit of smoking, causing a major deterioration in her appearance. Her marriage life also affected as she would use her health excuse to escape from another pregnancy. Incline of that too, her relationships with her mother-in-law who expected her to be continuously pregnant, declining. Elisabeth’s suffered from binge eating disorder, as she can’t control her amount in eating.

Another passionate beauty queen can undergo any risk to enhance her look. Leng Yein, a former Miss Malaysia finalist would go under the knife to have that “perfect look”. She is a fashion lover and perfection too, called herself as ‘plastic beauty. Run her business in fashion, owns a boutique, fashion accessories shop, a nail & beauty salon and a tattoo parlour. Her first surgery was in 2003 when she was only 18 and till now she had undergone 10 plastic surgeries. To achieve that flawless look that she always wanted, she spent approximately RM 240,000 on herself, places like dimples, breast, eyes and lips. The same cases applied to Hang Mioku likewise, as she undergoes plastic because she’s not satisfied with her appearance as a singer. Several operations that were resulting her face to become enlarged and bloated. She would inject cooking oil into her face when she ran out of silicone supply that the doctor gave. As a result her face became so huge that it was now four times the size of her face before. Surgeon said that her obsession towards plastic surgery could be mental disturbance.

Weird eating disorder, such as self-starvation, binge-eating anorexia and bulimia nervosa are one of the most problematic eating patterns. Approximately 7 million girls and women struggle with eating disorder, seven times higher than men. As you grow older, the eating disorder will get higher and higher. By the age of 20, 86% was reported having that problem. (NAAN ) What can be done? Public concerns definitely have to take part. Modelling and fashion agencies need to control the eating behaviour of their models, by encouraging them to have a healthy body weights. A Fashion Week officials in Madrid, Spain banned models with a body mass index lower than eighteen. Proposal like these can be made in every model agencies to make sure that the models are taking the best balance diets. Parents definitely have to concern about their lifestyles, whether they are having a proper meal, the food content, their changes and concerns towards fashion and beauty. Government and schools can implement in text books or local media concerning these kind of stuff. A proper treatment might help the number of peoples that falls into this state. The result shows that at least around 60% of people recover. Most of them say that they feel stronger and more aware about life in general and themselves when they would be healthier without the disorder. In the Bazar Magazine, women can take easy steps, a little break from daily routine. Simple steps such, get enough sleep, avoid diet drinks or cut out sugary foods. (The final hurdle)

The word: Beauty. How real are they actually? Is it only true that, ‘Beauty is only a skin deep’? Or inner beauty, that includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance. Personally, I think fashion and beauty is more than that. It defines who a person is, their personality, their likes and dislikes and their culture. But it’s true too that people can live with their mask on. Wanting to be in a certain group to be accepted or just people who only see a gap to fill in. Wonder how’s your life behind that. But the truth is nobody will be able to put on that mask forever. Slowly, you grow to loathe that mask, despised the person that you always wanted to be. Hiding their loneliness, pain or jealousy. Rubin Koo a managing editor for Augustman (The star, 2012) said, “Style is about individuality and personality. It should reflect the person and has a certain details that are associate with you. Trying to emulate somebody else always results in your looking awkward. A consistence sense of style which is true to my personality”. Clothing, fashion is not just about what you wear, it’s about how you carry yourself. Sometimes if there are any days when you are less perfect, forgive yourself. Just tell yourself: “I won’t let myself be anything but the best I can be.”