Susan Sontag (1933 - ) An American critic, novelist and screenwriter. She was educated at the University of California, the University of Chicago, Harvard University and Oxford University. She established herself as one of the America's major social critics. In the text "Beauty" she defines beauty - concept about beauty and then she argues how the concept of beauty has oppressed (dominated) women.
Contents or IDEAS in the passage
Greek Overall excellence.... Physical +Moral Female + Male
Christianity Superficial enchantment Physical Female
Contemporary Female good looks only Physical Female
- Illustrating how women and men are viewed/treated differently to support the argument -the oppression of women.
- Pointing out how society's gender stereotypes have affected adversely the development of women (e.g. encouraging, narcissism, dependence, immaturity, passive acceptance....etc.
- Calling on women and the whole society to get out of the trap created by the 'myth of beauty' and the resulting oppression of women.
Summary of the Text
Ideas about beauty have changed throughout history. For the Greeks, beauty was a virtue - a kind of excellence but made no distinction between 'inner' beauty and 'outer' beauty. To them "excellence" included beauty, character, and ability. Socrates puzzled them because he was small, ugly man, yet he was a great philosopher and teacher. His outside appearance did not reflect the knowledge and wisdom that were inside him. He actually contradicted their concept of excellence. Socrates' disciples had observed the "inside" beauty in their teacher but outwardly he was ugly. A man who is beautiful could also be intelligent, talented and good.
In the west, Christianity introduced some different ideas about beauty. A person could have an attractive appearance, but lack virtue(goodness). So Christians made a distinction between inner goodness and outer beauty. Beauty was considered to have no value. It was not nearly as important as character. Christianity has limited excellence to moral virtue and for the last two centuries or more ,beauty has been attributed to woman only who are considered to be inferior to men. This attribution has further limited beauty because the word "beauty" now belongs only to women.
We say 'a beautiful women' but 'a handsome man' in English. In French and Italian the word 'beauty' is not reserved for women only. A man may also be called beautiful. When people hear the word 'beauty' they think of female appearance. In the English language the word 'beauty' is never used to describe a man. This reinforces the idea that beauty is not really valuable, only useful as a decoration. In spite of knowing that beauty is only valued as a decoration, modern woman still feel they should look beautiful and they worry too much about their outer appearance. The need to be beautiful becomes a burden for them. Susan Sontag objects to doing so because it is the only form of power that most woman are encouraged to seek. Moreover, this power is always conceived(regarded) in relation to men. It is not the power to do but to attract. And, consequently women's striving to attain it makes them feel inferior to what they actually are. That's why Sontag objects to woman's striving to attain beauty, a source of power.
Sontag wants to bring about a complete change in attitude in her female readers. She wants to emphasize inner beauty - i.e. vision and wisdom, which is long lasting and more fruitful. Woman should not limit their attention to be beautiful outwardly. If they feel that to be or to try to be beautiful is their only aim in life, it will certainly make them more inferior and dependant to male. Without being beautiful too women can act as competently as males.
Similarly, Sontag wants to bring about a change in attitude in her male readers too. Male should not judge females on the ground of their physical beauty but to pay attention to their inward beauty that is excellence, intellect and wisdom. Our society always teaches women to be fair and beautiful and most women think that their only aim and duty is to be beautiful. She is obliged to observe and evaluate every part of the body. That leads to anxiety and despair. This concept has not only degraded women's dignity but has also made them inferior and dependant. They should use their beauty as a source of power to do something but not to attract men. They should be excellent, competent, independent and preserve women's identity in the society. Women should not be flattered or praised by men on the basis of outer beauty. They should be professional and uplift their personality. This will help them to upgrade their social status in the male dominated societies.
Even society teaches them to judge each part of their bodies separately and if any part is found slightly imperfect, they are called imperfect. But for males, such imperfections are trivial things. Sontag says that males are responsible for making them inferior to males. Even if women succeeded in acquiring leading position in any field, the male society looks at them with suspicious eyes. They always discredit women's potentiality, their intelligence, and professionalism. The society has a prejudice against women. Beauty contests are held in different countries national and international levels. These competitions emphasize that outward beauty is more honored and publicized. Fashion shows have also added charm to physical beauty of the skin and artificial gestures.
A successful career woman is in dilemma. Even if she gets success by her intelligence, she will be doubted. If she takes care of her appearance and looks smart she will be criticized. If she doesn't look attractive, she will also be criticized and ignored. Whatever she does is considered wrong. Therefore, women should return to the idea of overall excellence(the original Greek idea). This would release them from the consequences caused by the "limited" idea of beauty in the modern era- beauty is devalued and so are women.
Women naturally try to be appropriate and beautiful to attract man. They have gone to very high levels of obsession with themselves that they lost track of their purpose of being beautiful and their position in this society. Sontag also argues that women at the same time have the idea in their minds that being beautiful will earn them a certain reputation and place in society, and that beauty brings power and success.