Equal Writes

by Malavika Balachandran

Spring semester classes were posted less than a week ago, but they’re already creating a huge stir, and not just on campus. AAS 314/ COM 396, Model Memoirs: The Life Stories of International Fashion Models, taught by Prof. Wendy Belcher, has already upset one Jezebel blogger. In her article, she criticizes this “fluffiest-sounding [course]” offered by a “ridiculously expensive Ivy League university.” She goes on to satirize the academic quality of potential readings for the class, and reduces the course to “a class on books written by models.”

But part of the reason that I (and many others) chose to go to Princeton is that it is a thriving academic environment, in which academic study is not limited to differential equations, the philosophy of Aristotle, or the structure of proteins. While all subjects can be viewed critically through an academic lens, many people (including this writer for Jezebel) look down upon the academic study of sexuality, gender, popular culture, and other “unserious” matters. But these topics play important roles in the understanding of sociology, politics, psychology, and a variety of “traditional” subjects. In turn, this understanding shapes political and economic choices which make significant impacts on our daily lives.

Unlike the author of the Jezebel post, I doubt that this class is about vapid lives of models concerned only with their body image and designer labels. Although I have not taken the class (and we can’t judge how successful it will be in carrying out its aims), I am fairly certain that it would increase students’ understanding of the female body image in different cultures and draw attention to the intersections of these different cultures. Is this not a topic worthy of academic study? Further, I contest any claims that this class is unfeminist or anti-woman. In fact, this class is an important topic within the field of women and gender studies because of the role that body image plays in the lives of women.

Moreover, the Jezebel article perpetuates stereotypes of the fashion industry by stressing the dichotomy of beauty and intelligence. This condescending attitude contributes to the conception of feminism as a dirty word. “Smart women” are not superior to “thin pretty women”, nor are the two mutually exclusive. A crucial part of feminism involves respecting all women and moving past stereotypes, which are damaging to women, no matter who holds them (even if they are self-proclaimed feminists). Feminists are no superior to other women, and those that think so are not really feminist in the truest sense. The experiences and accounts of models are no less significant than the experiences of other women. Each of these experiences add to the collective understanding of gender, and all are worthy of academic study.

Photo courtesy of Chromak’s Flickr Photostream.