The Perception Process: review
Perception is the active process of receiving information from different stimuli from the environment. It can be split into four phases.
1. Selection. There are much more information in the world then we can ever process. Therefore, we need to select what information we want to focus on. Stimuli, influencing our selection process and attracting out attention, are: intense, repetitive, contrasting. Our motivation also determines what we select from environment (Hunter,18 June 2014).
2. Organization. After we select some objects or information form environment, we tend to organize this information in a logical way.
3. Interpretation. After organizing the information, we interpret it in a way that makes it meaningful, potentially useful for us.
These phases go mostly in someone's mind; it is an individual process.
4. Negotiation is a communication process between people where they try to work out some shared opinion or point of view. This is a social process.
1. Selection. There are much more information in the world then we can ever process. Therefore, we need to select what information we want to focus on. Stimuli, influencing our selection process and attracting out attention, are: intense, repetitive, contrasting. Our motivation also determines what we select from environment (Hunter,18 June 2014).
2. Organization. After we select some objects or information form environment, we tend to organize this information in a logical way.
3. Interpretation. After organizing the information, we interpret it in a way that makes it meaningful, potentially useful for us.
These phases go mostly in someone's mind; it is an individual process.
4. Negotiation is a communication process between people where they try to work out some shared opinion or point of view. This is a social process.
selection and organization
In recent years all
new medical technologies became highly available for a regular person, at a
regular surgeon’s office. “Cosmetic surgery has lost its stigma and become
something you get done in your lunch hour, like a leg wax or a haircut. It
comes with its own new euphemistic vocabulary: it’s not surgery, it’s a boost;
you aren’t being operated to, you are getting something done (Espejo 26). As we can see, even the language itself has been transformed; it sounds so deceitfully easy to do.
Technology also has created a culture that dramatically changed peoples’ and especially teenagers’ expectations and self-perception. Anthony Elliott, a professor of sociology at Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, ascertained why it became possible. “In the same way that corporations can restructure their operations from one country to another overnight […] people are more and more drawn into thinking that their identities and bodies are similarly plastic, flexible, liquid.” (Espejo 94). Teens absorbing these ideas from their earliest childhood are the most perceptive – and the most vulnerable ones, of all ages.
Unfortunately, mass media forcefully promote non-existing ideals of female’s beauty – and “photoshoped”, digitally transformed images unattainable by default are dished up as the only choice available. Bombarded by media, many teens have their perception of "ideal body" changed.
For example, in 2012 there were 8,204 breast augmentation surgeries in the age group of 13 – 19 (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2012). Many girls get this as a high school graduation gift; at the same time breast augmentation for minors is banned by FDA. For those younger than 18 it may be done only for the reconstructive purposes. Nonetheless, the number of minors under 18 who had their breast implants between years of 2002 to 2008 “nearly tripled from 3,872 to 11,326” (Espejo 61).
Majority, if not all the teens are focused on appearance; they watch and here these numerous examples of plastic surgery and start thinking about it. Selective perception makes them to notice only Cosmo's sort of beauty and breast augmentation's stories. It makes them think that surgery it totally fine.
Where does the idea come from that a girl of this age should alter her breast size? Exploring this is not an easy task as it has us deal with multiple sociological and psychological aspects of beauty, sexuality, and maturity.
On fig. 4a we see a young female. The only thing she sees in the mirror is how she may be judged by others. She is evaluating and organizing different aspects of her own appearance - hair, clothing, body posture etc.
Technology also has created a culture that dramatically changed peoples’ and especially teenagers’ expectations and self-perception. Anthony Elliott, a professor of sociology at Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, ascertained why it became possible. “In the same way that corporations can restructure their operations from one country to another overnight […] people are more and more drawn into thinking that their identities and bodies are similarly plastic, flexible, liquid.” (Espejo 94). Teens absorbing these ideas from their earliest childhood are the most perceptive – and the most vulnerable ones, of all ages.
Unfortunately, mass media forcefully promote non-existing ideals of female’s beauty – and “photoshoped”, digitally transformed images unattainable by default are dished up as the only choice available. Bombarded by media, many teens have their perception of "ideal body" changed.
For example, in 2012 there were 8,204 breast augmentation surgeries in the age group of 13 – 19 (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2012). Many girls get this as a high school graduation gift; at the same time breast augmentation for minors is banned by FDA. For those younger than 18 it may be done only for the reconstructive purposes. Nonetheless, the number of minors under 18 who had their breast implants between years of 2002 to 2008 “nearly tripled from 3,872 to 11,326” (Espejo 61).
Majority, if not all the teens are focused on appearance; they watch and here these numerous examples of plastic surgery and start thinking about it. Selective perception makes them to notice only Cosmo's sort of beauty and breast augmentation's stories. It makes them think that surgery it totally fine.
Where does the idea come from that a girl of this age should alter her breast size? Exploring this is not an easy task as it has us deal with multiple sociological and psychological aspects of beauty, sexuality, and maturity.
On fig. 4a we see a young female. The only thing she sees in the mirror is how she may be judged by others. She is evaluating and organizing different aspects of her own appearance - hair, clothing, body posture etc.
The perception process: interpretation
Focusing on appearance changes the whole perception of the beauty.
People who are obsessed with appearance, start organize themselves and others according to some " beauty standard". Those, who don't meet a curtain beauty criteria are somehow considered "not worthy". Adler & Proctor admit, "Sometimes we classify people according to their appearance" (85). By the way, surgeons run (well, they are supposed to) psychological tests to determine how mature someone's decision about having the surgery is and they explore teens’ motivations as well; the effectiveness of this testing done by surgeons who are biased by definition, is highly questionable. Surgeons also prone to classify people according to "can I find something I can operate and to fit s/he for my surgery or not." Probably it is not a great idea to let them decide if you really need surgery or not.
Anyway, here we are facing the problem of judgment – a big one. Everyone who thinks about cosmetic surgery as an option should think where his or her own desire ends and where powerful influence of culture, the cult of youth, patriarchy and the others begins.
Between 1992 and 2008, total number of cosmetic surgeries performed in the U.S. increased by 882%, with over $10 billion spent on these procedures in 2008 (2012 Plastic Surgery Statistics). This growth is due to the much higher number of females who chose surgery. When I was researching this on the Internet, I found that a popular opinion is that women seek surgical treatment four times more often than man. This is not correct – “91% of these procedures are performed routinely on women, whereas 9% are performed on men”(2009 report of the 2008 statistics). It should be thought about very seriously: if adult, financially independent, educated women are unable to resist this social pressure of what an “ideal” woman is, how can anyone expect that teens can do what an adult can’t? If we take into consideration the fact that teens are constantly under an enormous and often simple unbearable peer pressure of “lookism” we can imagine how difficult this resistance can be. Fig. 4a1 illustrated how males and females percept themselves - due to the different social expectations.
People who are obsessed with appearance, start organize themselves and others according to some " beauty standard". Those, who don't meet a curtain beauty criteria are somehow considered "not worthy". Adler & Proctor admit, "Sometimes we classify people according to their appearance" (85). By the way, surgeons run (well, they are supposed to) psychological tests to determine how mature someone's decision about having the surgery is and they explore teens’ motivations as well; the effectiveness of this testing done by surgeons who are biased by definition, is highly questionable. Surgeons also prone to classify people according to "can I find something I can operate and to fit s/he for my surgery or not." Probably it is not a great idea to let them decide if you really need surgery or not.
Anyway, here we are facing the problem of judgment – a big one. Everyone who thinks about cosmetic surgery as an option should think where his or her own desire ends and where powerful influence of culture, the cult of youth, patriarchy and the others begins.
Between 1992 and 2008, total number of cosmetic surgeries performed in the U.S. increased by 882%, with over $10 billion spent on these procedures in 2008 (2012 Plastic Surgery Statistics). This growth is due to the much higher number of females who chose surgery. When I was researching this on the Internet, I found that a popular opinion is that women seek surgical treatment four times more often than man. This is not correct – “91% of these procedures are performed routinely on women, whereas 9% are performed on men”(2009 report of the 2008 statistics). It should be thought about very seriously: if adult, financially independent, educated women are unable to resist this social pressure of what an “ideal” woman is, how can anyone expect that teens can do what an adult can’t? If we take into consideration the fact that teens are constantly under an enormous and often simple unbearable peer pressure of “lookism” we can imagine how difficult this resistance can be. Fig. 4a1 illustrated how males and females percept themselves - due to the different social expectations.
The Perception Process: Negotiations
"Anticipation shapes interpretations", (Adler & Proctor 91. )
Imagine a female want to apply to a new job after watching movies and reading the books (during her whole life) where the main female character reaches success in career or/and private life, and by the way, she is beautiful, of course. Sometimes this main female character is introduced as a regular-looking person, but later this character buys a new dress or changes a hair style and turns into a beauty queen, getting a job and the proposal from a company executive at one. A movie Pretty Woman is an example of such a soap drama and a certain message. These messages, multiplied thousands times, are very powerful.
So, the society is constantly sending messages to every woman - you HAVE TO have an ideal appearance. These women definitely would go for some sort of improvement - whatever they can get. Numbers prove it. Frankly, the vast majority of women of all ages are unable to identify themselves as the victims of sexual objectification; ironically, they happily sacrifice themselves to this voracious monster. As was quoted by Rachel Calogero, “Sexual objectification occurs whenever a woman is reduced to and/or treated as a body or collection of body parts available for sexual use” (Calogero 32-41). As a result, females “come to pay excessive attention on their physical features, ultimately adopting an external observational standpoint on their bodies.” In fear of being judged based on their look, they are constantly self-surveiling their bodies and choose surgery much more often than their male peer.
On Fig. 4a2 we see a female try to negotiate with the social expectations, but they are stronger than reality.
Lola Ferrari, a famous French dancer, sex star, pornographic actress, actress and singer, was 27 when she started the series of 22 surgeries. I decided to mention her as she is an outstanding and most bright example of this sexual objectification and direct sexual exploitation. Her life was not easy. She married Eric Vigne, a former drug dealer 15 years older then her who had just been released from prison. She then started to work as a model with her husband as a manager. She also worked as a prostitute and her husband was arrested and charged for being her pimp. Then he "encouraged" her to enlarge her breast. She did this 22 times, but this did not make her happy. Actually, she was very unhappy. She had been depressed and took a lot of prescribed medications. All of her surgeries were a desperate attempt to boost her self-esteem. In an interview that appeared in the Guardian in 2000, Lolo said of the reasons she had suffered, "All this stuff has been because I can't stand life. But it hasn't changed anything" and "I was frightened and I was ashamed; I wanted to change my face, my body, to transform myself. I wanted to die, really" (Jeffreys).
She won the European Large Breasts Championship", became a favorite of photographers, and gained the international popularity and a lot of followers, but deeply inside she knew that this is a freak's fame. She still felt abused and not worthy; she eagerly wanted to be an ideal woman - to became worthy and get some real love, she negotiated with the society about some point where she would be totally accepted for who she is, but she didn't know the right way to do so. She didn't realize it was her internal problem and drama and a surgeon's knife was not what she needed to feel better. She had a fixed mindset and was unable to get off this track. She died at age 37 from an overdose of antidepressants and tranquilizers, probably without realizing that she was killed by a social system. Society abused her as a female by sexual objectification and by imprinting the idea that appearance can be the key to success and happiness.