Self esteem in women

The main aim of this dissertation is to discuss the way women negotiate the cultural meaning of hair loss, alopecia, as a result of undergoing chemotherapy, and to understand, accordingly, how cancer's cultural effects regarding women can be deeply different from those of men. Very few studies have been done about the cultural impact and resonance of alopecia. It is often regarded as "secondary" to other effects of chemotherapy. Because, in many cultures, head hair for women expresses or manifests attractiveness and power, to be bald is to be deprived of the ability to fit into society, whether in the public or private sphere. The study examines the representation of such women in the media, audience/subject responses to these representations, and interrogates women's identities and representations in terms of Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. Women who have experienced chemotherapy-induced alopec ia were interviewed in this regard. Other contributive feminist, cultural and/or media studies works, such as those by Suzanna Walters, Susan Bordo, Naomi Wolf, Donna Haraway, Stuart Hall, Kimberle Crenshaw, and Judith Butler, help facilitate the analysis. From these perspectives, a historical analysis takes into consideration the symbolic dimension of hair, especially women's head hair, within Western cultural history, particularly in France and a multicultural America. In addition, a textual analysis looks at women, cancer, and hair loss as represented in popular culture characters and personalities. The study insists on the necessity for women to resist to the culture industries and deconstruct the male gaze, as well as the female gaze, which can both contribute to, and perpetuate women's objectification.

Between 1939 and 1940 the United States Government conducted a study
of the measurements of women’s bodies to establish a standardized system of
garment and pattern sizes. The central theme of my research is to analyze the
female figure in the context of a technology-driven global contemporary society.
My thesis exhibition includes a body of work that echoes the pressures that
Western Society employs by standardizing women’s appearances. The focus of
the work is to confront the viewer with a visual examination, which illustrates the
preconceived notion that Western Society portrays the female body as a
commodity and exports those views to different cultures and societies. This calls
to question: “who makes those standards endorsed by society and why women
follow them?”.
From the standardized measurements conducted by the United States
Government, I generated a 2-D computer model of an outline of the generic
female figure. Based on the 2-D representation, I constructed a series of ten
27”x36” inkjet prints and a 3-Dimensional prototype of the figurative form. The
project consist on the manufacture of 14,698 molds base on the 3-
Dimensional prototype -- 10% reduction of the size of the average female.