Swimsuit Cover At 81 Still Perpetuates Unrealistic Ideals

By Ellen Russell Beatty
Ponder This

Ellen Russell Beatty

Much has appeared in commentary about the recent Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue featuring a cover portrayal of Martha Stewart at the age of 81. Author Nancy Sales has posed an important question: “Should it be a triumph for women that Martha Steward is a swimsuit star?”

The answer should be a resounding no. We should welcome the notion that human beings can be sexual into their 80s, but this must not translate into images of women being sexualized in the media. The come-hither look on the cover is merely an advertisement for the leading sports magazine in the country. Many have questioned the focus on the appearance of women rather than on the talent, determination and strength of female athletes.

In the late 1970s Jean Kilbourne began a series of exploratory discussions about the power of the advertising industry. Her premise was both enlightening and shocking: that the advertising industry relentlessly enforces stereotypes of women within a regressive and often debased notion of femininity.

As far back as the early 1980s, a film created by Kilbourne, titled Killing Us Softly, asked us to question and think critically about the relationship between representation and power. How are the images of women in the media influencing societal attitudes and resultant behavior towards women? Kilbourne urged serious-minded people to think critically about popular culture with emphasis on superficial beauty, and rigid views of women and femininity.

My baccalaureate students majoring in nursing were shocked awake by Kilbourne’s work, especially the intellectual trivialization of women coupled with portrayal of sexual objectification. A generation ago, they traced the stereotypical, sexist attitudes still prevalent in society that continued to hold back the progress of our profession to the messaging prevalent in the advertising industry.

These rigid definitions of female behavior, now amplified in social media, remain a problem. Kilbourne may have pointed us in the direction of examination of poor body image resulting in low self-esteem, which remains an issue for young girls. Problems of eating disorders, gender violence and addiction persist and warrant our collective exploration and attention.

It is not positive to pose as a supermodel, looking sleek, stylish, glamorous and sexy – and dare I say downright silly. It is not progress.

Women and men can and should be considered sexual as they age. It is part of the human condition. But this should not be limited to the very few who can model swimsuits, the wealthy and famous among us. There persists a suffocating influence in the entertainment industry of an ideal definition of beauty and fashion.

A new text , titled Flawless, examines the rise of the beauty culture in South Korea. Author Elise Hu examines the rigid definition of beauty emerging in another culture, complete with specific metrics about weight, breast size and jawline contours. Plastic surgery is now reasonably priced, readily available and no longer subject to societal disapproval. This combination of factors, coupled with an emerging economy and modernization of a technological culture has fueled a renewed interest in an ideal standard of Asian beauty. In a society abundant with media images, advertising and cameras have created an atmosphere focusing on an ideal concept and perhaps westernized view of beauty. A trend of drastically modifying one’s body must not be viewed as a positive for young women.

We need to change the ways in which we communicate publicly about one another. Yes, let us support healthy aging, including human sexuality, across the lifespan. But let’s not do it through some glamorized sexuality for the very few.

The issues surrounding the images of women in society demands a serious discussion. It should be a call to recognize and object to advertising and social media influences that exploit or trivialize in any way. Restrictive images of women, even if intended to be positive, undermine women in the real world.

So where is the discussion of Martha Stewart in relation to messaging about and to women? The conversation has declined to the least common denominator of cheers and applause. Good for Martha. Doesn’t she look marvelous at her age?

Where are the women who know better?

Stewart should be recognized as an entrepreneur, executive, designer, creative artist and opinion leader who with intelligence, grace and hard work earned success in many fields. Her ability to pose as a swimsuit model at age 81 on the cover of a sports magazine is not the lens through which her life’s accomplishments should be viewed.

A counter message should be ringing in our ears for the good of all the young girls and women coming of age.

Dr. Ellen Russell Beatty is in her fourth term on the Milford Board of Aldermen. She served seven years as Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University, and also served as interim Academic Vice president, Dean of Health & Human Services and Director of Faculty Development. In addition to the broad perspective and a multitude of skills required of high-level administrators, her areas of special expertise lie in strategic planning, accreditation, assessment and planning and budgetary allocation.