A moment in which I felt myself trapped in the capitalist mentalite was when I realized that my appearance was (and is) intimately tied to my (economic) success in life whether I like it or not. Far from just an end in itself, my appearance enables me to make or break job interviews, get free drinks or discounts from men who find me attractive when at a store or coffee shop, make friends and meet new people, and even find a mate. The things I do to conform to the female standard of beauty such as painting my nails, growing and taking care of my hair, wearing makeup, dressing in a feminine way and wearing jewelry could be considered to be “entirely transcendental and absolutely irrational” (18) actions in regards to myself as a person. My appearance, in a superficial way, does not necessary reflect the kind of person that I am, and the things I do to conform to standards of beauty do not make or break who I am inside. These actions constitute “an obligation which the individual is supposed to feel and does feel towards the content of his professional activity, no matter in what it consists, in particular no matter whether it appears on the surface as a utilization of his personal powers, or only of his material possessions (as capitol),” (Weber 19). My desire to conform to at least some female standards of beauty allows me to better capitalize off both material and monetary wealth that is rewarded to women who are considered attractive. To purposely appeal to men is economically beneficial because men often control more wealth than women; women still make about 75 cents to every male dollar for the same labor. Female beauty is a virtue in that it enables women to gain more economic means, and “the earning of money within the modern economic order is, so long as it is done legally, the result and the expression of virtue and proficiency in a calling,” (Weber 19). Women who are “proficient” in appealing to male interests are valued more and have more opportunities to earn wealth.
I really enjoyed your post, I think the ideas that you talk about are ones that almost all women can relate too. While women can make their own money and support themselves in their lives, there is still a large population who chose to be "trophy wives". These women are really trapped by their appearance, since they don't work their job is to keep up their looks for their husband who is bringing in the money.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Jordan -- and insofar as they think of it as their "job," or even their "calling," and measure (consciously or not) their greater sense of "success" and "meaning" in life in terms of how well they have done it, they have embodied the spirit of capitalism. This, I think, also relates to your post, Hillary: you, as someone who strives to challenge these gender-based practices, are struggling against the spirit of capitalism (which, as you say, you can usually do to only limited success). The day you are fully taken over by this spirit is the day your striving to maintain this standard of beauty stops being something you do solely because you know it will help you attain material success, and starts being something you do "because it just feels right," or "because otherwise I feel like I've failed," or something like that. (I hope, of course, that this day never comes.)
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to your post Hillary. I think that as being women throughout our lives there are just so many messages being thrown at us form the time that we are born that tell us what we need to do, look like, etc., to get to a place of success. As we get older we learn that this success can sometimes be achieved off of other people if they are pleased by or attracted to our outward image. If we make the choice to instead enter the economic world this certain spirit of capitalism is with us in the sense that more attractive women can be hired more than ones who are not and then if you have the job, you may not be paid as much as a male counterpart or taken as seriously if you are too attractive. Men may think that they can just control you or are more significant. I believe that this issue may become more and more complicated for us as the years go on.
ReplyDeleteDear Hillary,
ReplyDeleteI really respect what you have to say in your post. I completely agree that the westernized standard of beauty is one that many females (myself included) conform to. I love how you mentioned that this does not reflect the kind of people we are, nor does it does not make or break who we are either. This makes me feel very superficial at times because it is not as if putting on dark eye make-up every day is a reflection of my personality. It is rather a way of fitting into the mold of this rationalism that Weber argues for, and it is intriguing to acknowledge.
Great thoughts!