Is it possible that the things that give us power also keep us restrained? Does the use of feminine beauty to get ahead also create a world where beauty is commodified and turned against those who don't have high amounts of the desired good?
I'm employing the societal models of the ballerina and the princess to talk about the slightly outmoded, but still very present "feminine ideal."
As a society, we can say that we are post-postmodern, that beauty is no longer currency and that playing by the rules only gets you so far, but that is only half the story and a naive one at that. What if playing by the rules gets you exactly the attention you were looking for. What if playing by the rules of femininity is rewarding?
Characters like the ballerina and the princess play by the rules to get their stories to turn out perfectly. But while they are getting what they want, are they not also captives of their "good girl" disguise? This duality of captivity and reward based on beauty and good girl actions is what I'm am working to visually represent.
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