Social Theory in a Capitalist World

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show premiered Tuesday night on CBS. The theme as I saw it was “excess”. I cannot imagine how much these wings cost. The entire production went on for two hours and was dramatically over-the-top but as I started to really pay attention-mesmerizing. The women were captivating not just because they were “sexy and in lingerie” but because they were walking glittery runways dressed as soccer balls, or angels, or peacocks. I felt drawn in to the blissfully happy tone and wanted to not only be there but on stage. After a while though I started to think about how much of this happiness and beauty were real and how much were fake. How much money was put into this production and each model to make them look the way they do. The sociological perspective would compare beauty to a cult and body to an icon. Beauty is an over-valued concept in American society and it has caused many of these models to eating disorders in order to keep their image. What is under their perfect smiles and angel wings?

“Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)”—>this song is meant to show the empowerment of women. Beyonce (or her lyricist) wants to show “all the single ladies” that they don’t need a man!

Link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

Another song by Ciara, titled “Like a Boy”, implies that girls can’t get away with the foolish things that guys do.

Link to the lyrics:

http://www.metrolyrics.com/like-a-boy-lyrics-ciara.html

This novel, by Kate Chopin, portrays the entrapment a woman can feel by marriage and family. The character of Edna Pontellier reminds me of the protagonist in” The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman. Both are very early and landmark works of feminism.

http://books.google.com/books?id=awYRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+awakening+kate+chopin&source=bl&ots=LLoa9lE33E&sig=t1KyCdkGW4kqVjF3bq9dRXyopJs&hl=en&ei=0oHtTJOyMIKr8AbGzumhAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

Welcome to my blog for my social theory class! Here, we will discuss all aspects of social theory. The works of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel will be referenced and analyzed. Come on in and theorize!

Link to class page:

http://theory.umwblogs.org/