Young Beauty Kills

"You will never look better than you do right now," Shiver is told about the female race. The younger you are, the more beautiful you are. There is a point where you peek, and then after that, you fall. Women in general are judged harder than men are based on the standards that society and the media puts on them. Women attempt to stop reality from kicking in by buying anti-aging cream, cover up, make up, and dying their hair --- all of this to stay young and hip. On the contrary, men are able to get women regardless of their age if they have money and status. This reminds me of the difference between say, Hugh Hefner, the man in charge of Playboy Bunny, and Betty White. Hugh Hefner has young women all over him who are beautiful and sexy and more than willing to be with him even though he is old and wrinkly while Betty does not get any younger men. When men are "aged" they are mature, when women are "aged" they are old. Many women say their time is "running out" to find a man simply because of their age. It is not a common thing to hear a man say that. Though this is a stereotype, it can be seen in movies, the media, books, and in real life. Shiver takes this original statement, "you will never look better than you do right now," to heart because it was a smack in the face by reality. Is it fair that women have a heavier burden then men do? No. But that is the life we live in. This causes problems with self-esteem, makes girls become obsessive with their looks and appearance in others eyes, and worst of all, it makes people try to be something they aren't to fit in and find a mate (some getting surgeries and bottox to feel accepted). 


Some even go to extremes with eating disorders, explained by Bordo. Bordo describes this body modification as "thin-body-as-a-coat-hanger paradigm," meaning that the new way to change our bodies is to make it extremely thin. In my mind, a body modification is something that is not naturally occurring that you choose to do to yourself. An example of this would be as simple as getting an ear pierced to as complex as putting a magnet in your finger. Unfortunately  the body modifications brought up by Bordo of anorexia and eating disorders all can have huge damaging effects on the body of boys and girls of all ages.