In my CMC100 class, I actually wrote something about Bentham's Panopticon and how it is related to our daily lives. I wanted to share it with y’all because we are all in a CMC course and I thought it would give a different perspective to Bentham’s Panopticon. I put some more recent information from Foucault’s piece Discipline and Punish, so that way it was more up to date on what we are reading. I hope you enjoy my different outlook on Bentham’s Panopticon.
Today in society, young girls and women around the globe, especially in America are being ridiculed for being over weight, when in reality they are not. Back in the 1980’s, female models were applauded and encouraged to have thicker legs and a stomach, but models in today’s age reinforce a different norm (Croteau and Hoynes, 2014). If one were to flip through 2015 November Instyle issue, he or she would notice many of the female models bodies look very similar in that they are all very skinny. The new obsession about being thin and tall goes through the minds of many women across America because of how women are portrayed in media. Kilbourne makes it clear that no human can avoid advertisements. Kilbourne says, “To not be influenced by advertising would be to live outside of culture. No human being lives outside of culture” (Kilbourne, 2006). Every second of the day women are reminded to look a certain way due to how ads persuade and influence them to change their bodies and overall image. Young girls and women face the ultimate penalty of unconsciously being reminded to “be on a diet” because we are being compared to female models whether we like it or not. Kilbourne explains how the “self-esteem of girls plummets as they reach adolescence partly because they cannot possibly escape the message that their bodies are objects, and imperfect objects at that” (Kilbourne, 2006).
For example, take a look at the female model above. What do you notice about her? The woman in the AGJeans ad appears to have a very thin face that shows her prominent bone structure. Also, her neck seems oddly long thus creating an illusion that she is thinner than she appears. According to livestrong.com, on October 27th the update count of the average female American weighs 166.2 pounds and stands at 5 feet 4 inches (Cloe, 2015). The woman shown above does not appropriately represent the average american woman. No wonder women feel the pressure to become something they are not. Since I am a woman myself, I believe that I have the right to say that many women, including myself, have a little voice in their head that is continuously telling us to be skinny, go on a diet, eat healthy and or workout. This concept of being thin or skinny has become so invasive to the average female american brain that one could almost compare it to Bentham’s Panopticon, where the inmates become their own guard due to the principles of power at play.
In this analogy, the guard will represent the norm for being thin and the prisoners will represent all american females. The reinforced beauty ideal of being thin is constantly on our minds whether we like it or not because it is frequently in the grasp of our hands (i.e. a magazine), on television, on buildings, on buses and practically everywhere. Look at the model above. Yes, she is quite beautiful with her natural makeup look; her tall, thin body and her well-conditioned hair, but does she represent women of America? The answer to that question is no she does not! The blonde model not only represents AGJeans but she is reinforcing the underlying message of being thin. Women get caught up in the power of media of which we are all bearers. As Foucault says, “the inmates [i.e. the reader of media] should be caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearers” (98). Media is so invasive because it is the enforcer of power, yet it is doing so silently. “Visibility is a trap” (97). We are unaware when media is being invasive on our brains. Media is visible yet its subliminal messages are unverifiable.
As Foucault discusses Bentham’s concept of the Panopticon, she says, “[the Panopticon’s major effect is] to induce in the inmate [the reader] state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power” (98).
As Foucault says, “ [We become] the principle of [our] own subjection” (Foucault, 1977. 3). The power at play is that media is visible to everyone yet unverifiable too. This not only creates issues within women, but false expectations with men and women. Bentham’s Panopticon principle may seem harsh but it is true. Whether women, and men, want to accept it or not, we are all blind to the fact that we all rely on and are shaped by media. The desire to be thin in society creates immense problems across many different media platforms of today’s world. As Foucault says, “A real subjection is born mechanically from a fictitious relation” (99).
Side note: I also want to acknowledge that men are also stereotyped and are misrepresented in media too. For this blog entry, I wanted to focus on women because I myself am women. Sadly, we live in a world where misrepresentation lies around every corner.
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