I've been reading 'Living Dolls - The return of sexism' by Natasha Walter and re-reading 'Bodies' by Susie Orbach as i feel these are relevant to my practice right now and will hopefully help in my essay. I am focused at present on the chapter 'Princesses' in 'Living Dolls', its helped inform my latest video piece, which as i said in previous post is about beauty and age along with the way in which women are shaped within today's society.
Natasha Walter talks of how children are bombarded in today's society (this new generation) by a very strong divide in what is male and what is female, the rise of the Disney store has had a huge impact along with toy manufacturing in general. As an example, she speaks of Hamley's toy store " When my daughter was four, i remember taking my first trip to Hamleys toy store in London. There, the floors are absolutely divided; as you rise up the escalator you go into a pink and silver world of Barbies, tutu's and fairies.' (p:131). She goes into further depth but basically is talking about how advertising and mass marketing has divided the male and female from a young age in this generation, and this is so obviously true as i see it.
In Susie Orbach's book 'Bodies' i am re-reading the chapter on 'Bodies real and not so real' (starts p:77) which focuses on the beauty and fashion industries and their power to affect women today in society. How we are obsessed with perfection and chasing the fantasy that we see around us in film, air brushes models in magazines and celebrity lifestyle.
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