Self-Love as Resistance: Neoliberal Beauty Myth, Body Activism, and Asian American Girlhood in Young Adult Novels

This paper aims to describe the beauty myth and the female resistance in the movie I Feel Pretty. This research uses gender study which focuses on beauty myth and the female resistance towards the beauty myth. The object material in this study is a chick lit movie, I Feel Pretty. The formal object of this research is gender study that focuses on beauty myth. Data analysis was performed through qualitative descriptive techniques by interpreting the data found in the movie I Feel Pretty and linked to beauty myth theories. Beauty myth has been promoted through the mass media, including the movie I Feel Pretty. However, there are also various forms of resistance performed by the female character to challenge the beauty myth and promote a more inclusive and diverse definition of beauty. This paper tries to highlight some resistances towards beauty myth in this movie, which are being confident, being passionate, and having a good personality. This research eventually finds out that having these traits is a form of resistance against the normalized unreasonable beauty standard.

While English teachers are working to incorporate various versions of the Common Core State Standards into their curriculum, they are often emphasizing canonical fiction over alternative literature that students may connect with at a higher engagement level. Young Adult (YA) literature may help teachers meet the needs of the whole student as well as local standards. The purposes of this study were (1) to explore how students engaged with reading and writing after reading YA literature, (2) to evaluate whether the YA students’ writing samples differed from the canonical group’s, (3) to determine if students see themselves as better writers after the experience, and (4) to examine the teacher’s perception of reading YA Literature. The research was conducted in a single teacher’s 9th grade classes at an urban high school in the Southwest with a primarily Hispanic population. Two groups worked with canonical literature, and two groups worked with YA literature. All students were given a modified version of the Daly Miller Writing Apprehension Survey before and after they read either a YA short story or a classic short story. They then constructed a writing sample using the same generic prompt for all groups. Several students and the teacher were interviewed after the process. Quantitative results showed that students who read the YA pieces increased their mean score on the modified Daly Miller Survey. Their writing samples had a greater mean score than the canonical group. The qualitative results also indicated greater engagement and understanding of the YA literature, while the teacher expressed enjoyment in teaching both pieces since they were both received well by the students. Finding that students improved in a quantifiable way after using YA literature indicates that there are pedagogical reasons to incorporate YA literature in the classroom, in addition to enhancing enjoyment.

Cultural constructions of beauty often serve as tools of social control to oppress women in ways that seem natural and unquestioned. Beauty myths encourage women to adhere to certain beauty standards to be accepted in society. This standard is created and maintained through hegemony, where the dominant ideology forms the perception that beauty is women's main identity so that they unconsciously accept and adapt to this standard. This research aims to analyze the beauty myths experienced by female characters in various aspects as well as the beauty myths that are used as a hegemonic tool to control individuals in the Uglies movie (2024). The research method used is a descriptive qualitative method to analyze the data. This research uses The Beauty Myth theory by Naomi Wolf which divides beauty myths into six main aspects. In addition, Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony is used to examine how beauty standards are applied in this movie. This research produced 13 data, consisting of consent: work 1, culture 3, religion 1, and sex 1, while coercion: culture 3, hungry 1 and violence 3. The research results show that the dominant aspect of the beauty myth felt by the female characters in the Uglies movie (2024) is the cultural aspect followed by other forms of oppression. Meanwhile, this research also found that the hegemony that appears in this movie is carried out more through mechanisms of coercion than consent. Keywords: Beauty Myth, Feminism, Gender, Hegemony .

ABSTRACTIn this article, I use narrative portraiture as a methodology to inquire into the ways that two Asian American (AsAm) girls used their time in an after‐school writing collaborative for girls of Color to explore and express their identities and political commitments through multiple literacies. Building on theoretical foundations of AsianCrit, women of Color, and AsAm feminisms, and sociocultural understandings of literacies, I argue against the flattening of AsAm girlhood, rooted in the harmful intersection of sexism and stereotypes such as the model minority and forever foreigner tropes. Three learnings emerged from this study: (1) AsAm girls’ relational literacies are used to explore and express AsAm girlhood, (2) AsAm girls use multimodal literacies to inquire into and story their identities in ways that resist dominant definitions of AsAm girlhood, and (3) AsAm girls are holders of emerging political identities that can be supported through supportive literacy curriculum. The work of the girls featured in this article has important implications for the ways the field understands AsAm girlhood and AsAm girl literacies. I put forth a necessary call for more AsAm feminist scholars to work alongside AsAm girls to create richer understandings of their needs and desires and how we might support them through literacy pedagogies.

Guest Editors' Introduction

Mental health care among marginalized populations in the United States

A large research literature points to the importance of parenting practices as strong predictors of adolescent psychosocial adjustment. The research literature on parenting styles has been central to this body of work, and a number of scholars have documented ethnic group differences in the effects of parenting styles on adolescents. This work has drawn attention to diversity in the cultural meanings of parenting across ethnic and cultural groups and subgroups. Such work challenges the universal theories of socialization by highlighting cultural differences in understandings of parenting, in parenting behaviors, and in the effects of those behaviors. This chapter serves as the introduction to a volume that brings together several studies that investigate the meanings of parenting practices and parenting styles in Asian American families from diverse angles. We focus on Asian American parent–adolescent relationships because prior research suggests distinctive cultural processes in the family socialization of Asian Americans; in addition, Asian Americans are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. Through the use of multiple data sources and diverse methodological approaches we examine (1) the equivalence of survey measures of parenting for Asian and European American adolescents, (2) cultural differences in parental beliefs and their relation to parenting practices among European American and Asian American parents of adolescents, (3) a conceptualization of parental support that includes the dimension of sacrifice, empirically tested with two Asian American ethnic subgroups, and (4) the understandings of parental support and autonomy-granting expressed by Asian American adolescent boys and girls. The first chapter provides an overview of current thinking about parent–adolescent relationships and parenting in adolescence with a focus on parental support or warmth and parental control. The role of ethnicity and culture in shaping parenting practices and behaviors is discussed, including the cultural meanings of parenting in Asian American families, the distinctive roles of mothers and fathers, and the differences between Chinese and Filipino American cultural histories and family relationships. The chapter closes with a detailed outline of the book.

Previous studies have demonstrated that an individual's race and ethnicity are important determinants of their areal bone mineral density (aBMD), assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. However, there are few data assessing the impact of race on bone microarchitecture and strength estimates, particularly in older adolescent girls and young adults. We hypothesized that bone microarchitecture and strength estimates would be superior in Blacks compared to White and Asian American adolescent girls and young adults of similar age based on reports of higher aBMD in Blacks. We assessed BMD using dual-energy X-ray absoptiometry (DXA), bone microarchitecture at the distal radius and distal tibia using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT) and estimated measures of bone strength using micro-finite element analysis (FEA) in 35 White, 15 Asian American, and 10 Black girls 14-21years. After controlling for height, most DXA measures of aBMD and aBMD Z scores were higher in Black girls compared with Whites and Asian Americans. HRpQCT and FEA showed that at the distal radius, Blacks had greater cortical perimeter, cortical area, trabecular thickness, trabecular BMD, estimated failure load, and stiffness than the other two groups. For the distal tibia, trabecular number and BMD were higher in Blacks than Asian Americans. Particularly at the distal radius, adolescent and young adult White and Asian American girls have less favorable bone microarchitecture and lower bone strength than Blacks, possibly explaining the lower risk of fracture seen in Blacks. Level II.

Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and smoking among early adolescent girls in the United States

Reviewed by: White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King Jenna Gerdsen WHITE PEARL. By Anchuli Felicia King. Directed by Desdemona Chiang. Studio Theatre, Milton Theatre, Washington, D.C. December 13, 2019. In the final moments of White Pearl, a smartphone and fried chicken flew across Studio Theatre’s stage. Desdemona Chiang’s staging of Felicia Anchuli King’s play literally left Washington audiences with the gross impact of globalization. The production explored the violent and unchecked reach of globalization through the perspective of diasporic Asian women. Chiang and King demonstrated Asian women’s influence on the global economy, provided a nuanced dramatization of diasporic Asian women, and highlighted Asian American theatre’s ongoing global turn. The play follows six Asian and Asian American female employees of Clearday, a Singaporean cosmetic company, as they furiously address a leaked skin whitening cream advertisement that uses blackface in a poor attempt at humor. This public relations nightmare becomes intertwined with their own interpersonal conflicts and cultural values. An online debate ensues about the ad’s level of offensiveness, which creates chaos among the women and illuminates the internalized misogyny, intra-racism, and anti-blackness found across Asian communities. King’s satirical commentary on global capitalism and the beauty industry (which she based on a racist 2016 ad for a skin whitening cream from a Thai cosmetic company) fills an important gap in Asian American theatre and is a much-needed contribution to Western theatre. Although King is not Asian American, her collaboration with an Asian American director invites critical discussions of Asian American theatre and its global trajectory. In 1993, Asian American director Roberta Uno stated that Asian American theatre has changed from a fine, nearly invisible thread to a sturdy one, stretching across the Pacific and acting as a dynamic cultural continuum. Asian American theatre scholars such as Josephine Lee and Daphne Lei have challenged the geocultural boundaries of the genre. Lee has analyzed Asian playwrights of Hawaii, many of whom do not identify as Asian American, while Lei has examined the work of Chinese American playwright David Henry Hwang in a transnational context. Scholars have questioned the productivity of exclusively using cultural and national boundaries to define Asian American theatre because it relegates it to an ethnic or minority theatre within American multiculturalism. The occasion of Studio Theatre’s White Pearl allows for a reevaluation of Asian American theatre’s development within the context of globalization, where there is more opportunity for actors and flexibility around representing Asian-identifying people. White Pearl extends the cultural continuum first established by Asian playwrights of Hawaii and the US mainland. Not only does King undercut assumptions of Asian homogeneity, but she also shows Asian and Asian American women as intermediaries of a Black/White paradigm. The collaboration between the Chinese American Chiang and Thai Australian King deepened this continuum by magnifying how Asian women exist in a troubling, liminal state between perpetrator and victim of racism and sexism. Click for larger view View full resolution Jody Doo (Sunny Lee), Diana Huey (Built Suttikul), Shanta Parasuraman (Priya Singh), and Resa Mishina (Ruki Minami) (l-r) in White Pearl. (Photo: Teresa Wood.) In this production, “Clearday” was projected onto a gray wall upstage and framed by a plexiglass double door. The projection signified the company’s pledge to “make skin clear and bright,” and the wall emphasized the women’s racial in-betweenness, positioning them in a moral gray area. This door acted as an insightful signpost, informing the audience that this pledge was present with every step they take. The set displayed the performers’ reflections and shadows, embedding them in the [End Page 347] building like phantoms. The office became their haunt, and a haunting reminder that Asian women have unconsciously become subject to ideology and are complicit in upholding whiteness as the ideal standard of beauty. Under Chiang’s direction, White Pearl highlighted the problematic inbetweeness of Asian women. Previously, Asian American plays like Julio Cho’s BFE and Diana Son’s R.A.W. have critiqued the racism underlying Western standards of beauty and cast Asian women as victims, but King shows Asian women as perpetrators and complex figures in a warped industry. Indian...

Barbie Movie has become a popular culture icon in the United States and worldwide. Barbie's live-action movie portrays Margot Robbie as a Barbie stereotype who is beloved, beautiful, and ideal. However, behind the glamour of Barbie's beautiful and perfect world, there is a deep-seated construct of American beauty standards, especially for girls and women's unrealistic expectations. This research examines the theoretical framework proposed by Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth theory to explore how the Barbie film promotes and reinforces existing beauty standards in America. This study tried to analyze the Barbie film, identifying how Barbie's character constructs ideal beauty attributes so that the movie plays a role in influencing society's perspective on beauty standards, creating feelings of inferiority through the characters. This study provides a deeper understanding of how mass media and popular culture can influence perceptions of beauty by using qualitative methods to describe the data and Post-National American Studies as an approach to delve how movie is produced as a representation of American society. In addition, this study found that Barbie movie represents the beauty myth, such as physical perfection, eating disorders, and agelessness. At the same time, the narrative of the movie reflects a social critique of empowerment and stereotypes significantly for woman. Moreover, this film emphasizes that being a woman must meet various criteria, especially the typical white American woman as the world's standard of beauty.

Au Etats-Unis, les immigres Philippins resistent a differentes formes de discrimination a travers l'affirmation de certaines specificites culturelles. Par exemple, la chastete des femmes avant le mariage est presentee comme une resistance au modele de la societe dominante blanche americaine, mais ceci se fait au prix de l'autonomie des femmes et renforce le pouvoir patriarcal dans ces communautes

Beauty myths often limit women, shaping the standards and expectations attached to their bodies and lives. This research analyzes how the fantasy The School for Good and Evil movie, inspired by fairy tales, features female characters who defy traditional beauty stereotypes. This is done through physical diversity, rejection of excessive focus on appearance, and emphasis on internal qualities. This research was used a descriptive qualitative method, this research analyzes the representation of beauty myths in the movie based on Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth theory. This research also identifies how female characters defy stereotypes related to beauty myths. The analysis found 20 data: 10 data represent five aspects of Wolf's beauty myth (beauty myth in work, beauty myth in culture, beauty myth in religion, beauty myth in sex, and beauty myth in violence), while the other 10 data show resistance to these aspects through female characters. In conclusion, the female characters in The School for Good and Evil reject external appearance expectations and find strength in their uniqueness. This not only breaks beauty stereotypes in fantasy narratives, but also implicitly opposes unrealistic beauty standards in contemporary society. Appreciation of beauty diversity empowers women to defy narrow stereotypes, recognize that beauty emanates from internal qualities and individual uniqueness, build self- confidence, and resist the pressure of unrealistic standards.

Honoring Asian diversity by collecting Asian subpopulation data in health research.

Asian American graphic narratives typically produce meaning through arrangements of images, words, and sequences, though some forgo words completely and others offer an imagined “before” and “after” within the confines of a single panel. Created by or featuring Asian Americans or Asians in a US or Canadian context, they have appeared in a broad spectrum of formats, including the familiar mainstream genre comics, such as superhero serials from DC or Marvel Comics; comic strips; self-published minicomics; and critically acclaimed, award-winning graphic novels. Some of these works have explicitly explored Asian American issues, such as anti-Asian racism, representations of history, questions of identity, and transnationalism; others may feature Asian or Asian American characters or settings without necessarily addressing established or familiar Asian American issues. Indeed, many works made by Asian American creators have little or no obvious or explicit Asian American content at all, and some non-Asian American creators have produced works with Asian American representations, including racist stereotypes and caricatures. The earliest representations of Asians in comics form in the United States were racist representations in the popular press, generally in single-panel caricatures that participated in anti-immigration discourses. However, some Asian immigrants in the early to mid-20th century also used graphic narratives to show and critique the treatment of Asians in the United States. In the realm of mainstream genre comics, Asian Americans have participated in the industry in a variety of different ways. As employees for hire, they created many well-known series and characters, generally not drawing, writing, or editing content that is recognizably Asian American. Since the 2010s, though, Asian American creators have reimagined Asian or Asian American versions of legacy characters like Superman and the Hulk and created new heroes like Ms. Marvel. In the wake of an explosion of general and scholarly interest in graphic novels in the 1990s, many independent Asian American cartoonists have become significant presences in the contemporary graphic narrative world.