Rhetorical Analysis of Girl Culture

         In society today, the mirror is a big part of a woman’s life. It is a way for women to look at themselves and their bodies and either appreciate it or hate on it. Usually when females look into a mirror, their reaction is not pleasant. This is due to the way contemporary society believes a female’s body should look: long legs, large breasts and a large but, and skinny all at the same time. During adolescence, young girls look at pictures from magazines or watch television shows that depict the “perfect body”. This causes them to judge themselves more harshly when they look into a mirror. Lauren Greenfield’s photo essay Girl Culture shows how mirrors are used my women in society today.

             Mirrors are a way to check ourselves and make sure everything looks good and right. In many of the images shot by Lauren Greenfield, some girls look happy with their bodies and are posing sexually, even young toddlers glancing in the mirror. Others are staring back at their own image in sheer disappointment and shame. The mirror allows girls to judge themselves harshly and easily compare themselves to other females today. The mirror causes people to look at just the physical parts of females, rather than learning to appreciate females minds and souls.

In one of the photos, there is a teenage girl in a dressing room with another one of her friends. Although the mirror is not visible, it is clear the young girl is looking at herself in it. Her hands are on her breasts pushing them up and her expression is very sad and unhappy. The young girl is not happy with herself or her body. While many think a shopping trip with another girl friend is fun, many times it is rather stressful and causes girls to self objectify themselves more. If an article of clothing doesn’t fit just right, it can completely tear down a young girls confidence because it may look better on another.

            In another photo, there is a female who appears to be an exotic dancer. She is holding a cigarette and wearing a costume that is bright pink and sparkly but emphasizes her breasts, butt, vaginal area, and legs. She is standing in front of a mirror simply observing herself in a sexualized pose. Although she is wearing something seductive, she doesn’t necessarily look happy. Instead, her expression appears relatively bland with a hint of sass.  It is very clear she is judging herself yet she continues to dress provocatively. It is clear that being an exotic dancer is her job and although she may not enjoy it, she continues to degrade herself. Lauren Greenfield does a great job of showing that mirrors are not a positive object in society today. Women are constantly checking and looking at themselves but they are usually doing it in a self-objectifying and negative way.

Reflection:
After comparing my paragraph about mirrors in society today to the essay discussing Lauren Greenfield's photo essay, I noticed a few things I needed to change. I discussed two of the pictures in detail however I originally didn't go into any further discussion about what these pictures mean. In the essay, the author described a picture and then explained what was happening in the picture and why. By comparing the two paragraphs, I learned how to take my rhetorical analysis a step further rather than just writing what the prompt was. Good writing takes ideas and analysis a step deeper.

    

SOAPSTone:

            In the three paragraphs above I used the form of SOAPSTone. I identified the speaker (S), that being Lauren Greenfield. Next, I explanted the occasion (O), which was the use of mirrors in society today. The audience (A) is clearly women in all society today that live in the United States. Because of our current culture, women in the U.S.  can understand how mirrors can be negative. The purpose (P) was to show how sad contemporary society is today and how detrimental the affects of the message the public is trying to portray are to young women. The subjects (S) of the paragraphs were the two girls in the photos, the young teenager shopping and the older woman who was an exotic dancer. Last, the tone (T) was disappointment and sad because women should look in the mirror and be happy with themselves and their bodies, rather compare them to unrealistic ones.

I commented on Arrick Benson's post and Cati Krutilla's post

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