Beauty Cult

I was happy to see J. Valenti explore the beauty issues that females deal with on a daily basis. In the chapter, “Beauty Cult,” she covers all the issues, from eating disorders to wearing shoes that destroy your feet, just to be accepted by someone else. Valenti says, “None of us want to be ugly; in fact, we all would really like to be beautiful-and it’s killing us. Literally.” I feel she is spot on with that comment. Being a non-traditional student and making the transition from the business environment to the college environment, I have to agree with her. In the business environment on a daily basis, I would see female co-workers shoved into tight shirts, which pushed their breasts up and out, just trying to catch the eye of a VP, hoping it would be their ticket up. I wondered how in the world that was comfortable. I know when I wear a tight shirt, I can barely breath or move and it’s definitely not comfortable. In my opinion, when women stop using their bodies as vessels for advancement and start earning their way up the business ladder, men will start looking at them in a different way.