"Material Girl" and Body Worlds

Body Worlds:
Gunther von Hagens discovered the effect of reactive polymers (basically a type of plastics) on dead bodies. With this technology he is able to preserve them, seemingly indefinitely.
These exhibits now tour Europe as well as North America. Hagen says "The Human Body is the last remaining nature in a man made environment."

Material Girl:
This reading covered a large spectrum of things, ranging from plastic surgery to philosophy. The beginning talks about this new-ish idea of constantly striving to "look better" and "be more attractive." The ways in which this is accomplished varies. For some it is perming their hair, others breast augmentation, and still other use colored contacts. The reading presents the historic stereotype of being "brainwashed to think blond hair and blue eyes are the most beautiful of all." This idea of a superior and inferior idea of body beauty can be seen all across the spectrum.
The second part of the reading focuses on discourse that has been presented between different feminists, philosophers, and just some opinionated others. The ultimate argument made is that of power. Who has the power? How is the power distributed? Does the power even exist? One argument is that individuals have more power over themselves than the media and are able to make their own decisions when it comes to being told how to be. Another is that power is "not held by anyone does not mean that it is equally held by all. This section goes on to talk about they ways in which people challenge the dominant ideals and norms, or at least represent the beauty in difference of certain attributes. They do not however say that everything is beautiful, just certain aspects of, stated in the article, different races.
The last part is about Madonna and her status as a postmodern feminist and heroine. She claims to find ambiguity in her actions because she has the control. She uses the display of her body to be desired while still being in control. The author argues however that this apparent control starts to fail when a viewer looks at the way Madonna has in recent years objectified her body, and in ways played into a stereotype of being thin and fit to be, for lack of a better word, better.

Terms:
hegemony:leadership or predominant influence exercised by one over others
jouissance: to rejoice
postmodern: uses complex forms, fantasy, and allusions to historic styles or idea
pedagogy:the function or art of teaching/being a teacher
anachronistic: something/one that is not in the correct historical time
transgressive:pass over, often times a law, norm, moral code, or comand

Questions:
Did DuraSoft use African American Women in its adds?
What does a comment like "daughters who have no manners" as a negative thing say about our society?
What does "looking better" involve?
What is your opinion of Madonna? Do you agree with the author or Madonna herself, or do you see it completely different?
Is there really "power" as defined in the article? Who holds it?
What classifies the one doctor as not the kind to "just pull and tuck and forget about you"?

Comments:
There were a lot of things that this reading made me think of. One of them is the bathroom door/keyhole argument. Also this idea of surpassing "God the Watchmaker" by sucking fat from our hips and putting it in our hands. I find this culture of thin in certain places and rounded in others, such as your calves, interesting.