HER House



RUNNING HEAD: HER HOUSE

HER House

Jana McCarthy

Dr. Mari Luna De La Rosa

CSA 571

January 20, 2009

Abstract

The following is a proposal for HER House, a female special interest learning community. The acronym HER stands for Having Extravagant Relationships, to highlight the importance of living in community with fellow women and valuing one another for their character rather than their physical beauty. The literature review examines research on the concept of beauty in our society and the way it impacts female perspectives and self-worth, in addition to the need for a shift in focus from physical beauty to inner beauty. The program design states the purpose of HER House, specific learning outcomes, relevant theories, and strategies for implementation of this special interest learning community.

Introduction

It’s an uphill struggle. It’s a constant search. It’s an unattainable ambition. It’s a coveted feature. Beauty. Singers make melodies about beauty. Celebrities set the standard for beauty. Models embody beauty. Women crave this ever-present beauty.

In a society where individualism is so valued, it seems contradictory that an independent woman would strive to conform to the appearances, trends, and actions of other women in America. Women look to the trends of female celebrities to determine their attire, hair style, and accessories. Women are in fierce competition with one another to look better, thinner, younger, and prettier than the next woman.

Women are forced to confront many societal pressures because of ideal beauty standards. These pressures not only deal with physical appearances, but also deal with internal views, such as self-esteem, insecurities, and body-image.

In order to refute the ‘beauty myth,’ women must stop comparing themselves to other beautiful women. Women must transform their way of thinking concerning self-worth. Women must accept their own beauty as unique and unlike any other woman’s beauty. Above all, women must value their inner beauty over their external beauty.

Literature Review

The Concept of Beauty

What makes a woman beautiful? Is it her body? Is it her soul? Is it her confidence? The cliché that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” may hold some truth, but it simply means that beauty can be anything that brings one pleasure. Some women are beautiful according to society’s standards – long legs, straight teeth, flawless skin, and a voluptuous figure. Other women may possess none of the above features, but that does not make her ugly.

The concept of beauty has been twisted and changed over time. In 1561, Baldassare Castiglione wrote that “beauty is a sacred thing… only rarely does an evil soul dwell in a beautiful body, and so outward beauty is a true sign of inner goodness… it can be said that in some manner the good and the beautiful are identical, especially in the human body. And the proximate cause of physical beauty is, in my opinion, the beauty of the soul.” (Etcoff, 1999, p. 41)

Centuries ago, the outward beauty of a woman was a testament to the goodness of her soul. Her beauty came from within. Her beauty was not materialistic. Her beauty was not circumstantial, based only on the application of her make-up or her weight on a scale. A beautiful woman was a good woman. The concept of a beautiful soul has vanished beneath the surface of materialism and conformity in America. A woman now bases her beauty on the images she watches on television and the photographs she sees in magazines. While these images and photographs of famous and flawless women depict beauty according to American standards, they do not reveal the goodness of a woman’s soul. ‘Soul beauty,’ otherwise known as inward beauty, is no longer commendable in a society that places unrealistic expectations on women to be anything but ugly.

In the late nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, the value of inner beauty was greater than that of physical beauty. In her work, “The Body Project,” Joan Jacobs Brumberg (1997) exposes the change from the Victorian era’s concern for character to the modern-day American focus for the outer shell – specifically, a woman’s desire to be model-thin and sexy. The gradual development and increase of eating disorders in the past thirty years “suggests that in some cases the body becomes an obsession… the body is still a girl’s nemesis.” (Jacobs Brumberg, 1997, p. xxv) Females of all ages are in pursuit of the perfect body – a hard body, an acne-free face, firm thighs, a slender figure, and abs of steel.

The shift from a focus on internal beauty to external beauty occurred during the first two decades of the twentieth century. During the Victoria era, the most essential aspects of beauty were found in a young woman’s spirituality and morals. “This focus on the visual rather than the spiritual self put enormous importance on the face, and stimulated even respectable women and girls to experiment with their appearance in ways that had once been considered disgraceful.” (Jacobs Brumberg, 1997, p. 70) Now, it is more important to have a pretty face than to have a pure heart. Young women spend more time beautifying their body than improving their character.

Susan J. Douglas (1995) explores many examples within the mass media that have influenced women’s behaviors throughout the past five decades in her work, “Where the Girls Are.” From television sitcoms, pop music, and Miss America pageants, women look to the media for standards as to how women should look and perform. In order for women to win society’s approval, “we must be both sexy and wholesome, delicate but able to cope, demure yet [bold].” (Douglas, 1995, p. 158) These double standards are nearly impossible to live up to, but that does not stop women from trying their hardest to achieve this beauty.

The media have been highly effective in teaching women that they are worthless, despite campaigns that say, “Because you’re worth it.” Women’s magazines, TV shows, and movies communicate that “a face with lines or a thigh with dimples means you are worthless.” (Douglas, 1995, p. 268)

Lisa Bevere (2002) notes in her book, “Look Beyond What You See,” that women are forced to “compare [themselves] to a standard of perfection – one that always finds us wanting. It is the standard we find in the checkout line in the grocery store as we glance at the women on the covers of the fashion or fitness magazines… By this standard, youth and folly are exalted while age and wisdom are despised.” (p. 5)

In a study performed at York University in Toronto, Canada, and at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, 100 college-aged women were surveyed about facial attractiveness and weight preoccupation. Davis, Claridge, & Fox (2001) reasoned that attractive young women are more likely to place high value on their physical beauty and are also more likely to be preoccupied with gaining weight than their less attractive counterparts. This can be attributed to a few different factors. As one example, female children are typically admired for ‘being cute’ more than male children are admired. Because females learn from a young age that they will be praised if they look cute or act cute, the mentality is embedded in their brains that society values a beautiful woman. “As a consequence, some may learn to invest a greater degree of their self-worth in appearance-related issues and be more likely to compete for praise in the beauty arena than to enhance their self-worth in other non-appearance-related endeavors.” (Davis et al., 2001, p. 156) If a woman is displeased with an area of her physical appearance, then she is more likely to be concerned with weight gain and less concerned with her overall disposition and character.

Borland and Akram (2007) define body image as a “multifaceted construct that consists of perceptual, affective and cognitive components.” (p. 312) Women are more inclined to view their bodies by compartmentalizing or isolating certain unfavorable body parts, whereas men have a more holistic view of their bodies and are more concerned with physical ability than they are with appearance. The discontent women have toward their bodies encourages them to lose weight and “manipulate their body shape.” (Borland et al., 2007, p. 315)

In her book, “The Beauty Myth,” Naomi Wolf (2002) says that “the beauty myth tells a story: The quality called “beauty” objectively and universally exists. Women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it.” (p. 12) The ‘beauty myth’ would not survive if women were content with their own beauty. Society has drilled into women’s minds that the “ideal was someone tall, thin, white, and blond, a face without pores, asymmetry, or flaws, someone wholly “perfect,” and someone whom [women] felt, in one way or another, they were not.” (Wolf, 2002, p. 1) This idea that other women are prettier, happier, and sexier because of specific characteristics and physical qualities is what continues to feed this myth and give it life.

Maybe we will adorn ourselves with real delight, with the sense that we are gilding the lily. Maybe the less pain women inflict on our bodies, the more beautiful our bodies will look to us. Perhaps we will forget to elicit admiration from strangers, and find we don’t miss it; perhaps we will await our older faces with anticipation, and be unable to see our bodies as a mass of imperfections, since there is nothing of us that is not precious (Wolf, 2002, p. 291).

In order to refute the ‘beauty myth,’ women must stop comparing themselves to other beautiful women. Women must accept their own beauty as unique and unlike any other woman’s beauty. Women must value their inner beauty over their external beauty.

Program Design

Purpose:

The HER House is designed to be a place where women unite to empower one another through Having Extravagant Relationships with God and fellow women. This special interest living-learning community will provide females with the opportunity to develop a strong support network with peers and female faculty and staff members. Females will fine tune their leadership skills as mentors, disciples, and sisters in Christ, working together to give new meaning to the word ‘beauty.’

Learning Outcomes:

As a resident of HER House:

• Women will grow spiritually, both individually and corporately, due to a heavy emphasis on scripture and worship

• Women will overcome personal insecurities of lack of self-worth, negative mindsets, and poor body-image

• Women will embrace and appreciate their own inner beauty as well as their physical beauty

• Women will be trained on how to be a woman of virtue and excellence through mentoring relationships.

• Women will participate in topical small groups according to similar areas of interest

• Women will participate in one HER group per semester. These topical small groups will meet once a week, according to similar areas of interest and availability

Requirements for Residents

Females can apply to live in this community at the conclusion of their freshman year and can begin living in the house at the start of their sophomore year. This is to encourage freshmen to experience dorm life prior to being a resident of HER House. Women are permitted to live in this community for a maximum of two consecutive years and each resident must reapply at the end of the school year to continue living in the house. After being interviewed by the house’s Resident Director and her staff, the women will decide and select which female candidates will benefit most from this community. It is not required for a young woman to have previously struggled with an eating disorder to be eligible for residency. However, some of the interview questions will specifically target body image and exterior influences on a female’s perception of beauty. Upon moving into the house, women will agree to refrain from looking at women’s health and fitness magazines, as well as fashion magazines. This is to their benefit in order to break society’s never-ending sequence of the beauty myth and to dispel misconceptions about what the media deems as realistic and attainable physical attractiveness.

Theory

According to Sharon Parks’ Model of Faith Development, young adults thrive when immersed in various forms of community. The “mentoring community” is a prime example of an environment in which young people feel a sense of belonging. “Young adults feel recognized as who they really are, and as who they are becoming.” (Slavin Miller, 2008) The support of a mentor offers a network of hope and transparency to the individual being mentored. If a young adult is comfortable self-disclosing to an individual in authority, they will move forward in the process of faith development. “It offers both challenge and support and thus offer good company for both the emerging strength and the distinctive vulnerability of the young adult.” (Slavin Miller, 2008)

Parks’ Model of Faith Development will be a vital part of the HER House. Not only are females required to participate in two topical small groups per academic year, but also each first-year female will live with a second-year female to encourage a one-on-one mentoring relationship.

Astin’s Theory of Involvement explores the importance of student ownership in the process of personal development. The more effort a student puts forth in an object or program, the more the student will benefit from that object or program. Astin suggests that “involvement has both quantitative and qualitative features.” (Evans, Forney, Guido-DiBrito, 1998, p. 26) Students may or may not choose to invest a great amount of time into a particular program, which would be considered quantitative. Qualitative involvement would be considered the level of seriousness with which a student approaches a program. “[Astin] argued that for student learning and growth to take place, students need to actively engage in their environment.” (Evans et al., p. 27)

It is expected that residents of HER House will take ownership of their development because of the application and interview process required of each female. Some females will become more involved because that is their desire, but all residents will be dynamically engaged in personal growth.

Laura Choate (2005) established a model of body image resilience for college women. Choate identified two methods of “body image evaluation” which negatively contribute to decreased body satisfaction: “women’s comparison’s of themselves with the cultural ideal and their comparisons of themselves with other women.” (p. 322) When young women are presented with images of female celebrities or supermodels, they have a tendency to uphold the media’s ideal as the standard for beauty and thinness. These unrealistic standards place pressure on women which, in turn, create “greater difficulties with body dissatisfaction.” (Choate, 2005, p. 322) The women of HER House will be committed to increasing their concept of self by valuing internal beauty over physical beauty.

Biblical Basis for HER House (Curriculum Sample)

The two books discussed below are an example of the resources that will be distributed to HER residents for personal and spiritual growth. These authors provide biblical support, specifically targeted toward a woman’s worth. The HER House intends to focus on holistic wellness, without perpetuating the idea that women ought to resemble the figures and faces of celebrities, beauty queens, and supermodels. Not only will HER residents value the woman staring back at them in the mirror, but also they will learn to appreciate the beauty within their souls.

Judy Halliday (2002) approaches female beauty among Christian women from an inward perspective in her book “Thin Within.” This day-by-day guide pushes women to take proper care of their bodies through a healthy diet, but most of all through a healthy thought process. “As [women] take God at His Word, we can rest in the fact that he treasures us. If we fail to do so, we live our lives “trying to measure up” assuming that God’s approval depends on our performance.” (Halliday, 2002, p. 48)

It is a woman’s tendency to compare herself to other women, and this either boosts or damages her self-confidence. Each woman is a unique creation, which is why it is meaningless for women to measure their own height, weight, and body type against other women. When King David offered praise to God in Psalm 139, he boasted: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

According to Halliday, it is healthy for a woman to stand in front of a mirror and, rather than criticize what she sees, she should be grateful for the image staring back at her. In order to value the woman in the mirror, she must once again “consider… that [she is] God’s unique creation. [She] may not look quite the way [she wants] to, but [she is] an amazing masterpiece nonetheless.” (Halliday, 2002, p. 51)

Children of God, daughters of Christ, and princesses in the kingdom are what women have been called. These identities confirm a woman’s worth in the kingdom of God. Throughout Priscilla Shirer’s (1999) book, “A Jewel in His Crown,” Shirer explores ways in which women can improve their self-image and recognize their value in Christ.

“When a woman recognizes all that she is worth, a new awakening occurs. She is free to experience the joy of the Lord and to reach the full potential of all that He has in store for her.” (Shirer, 1999, p. 39)

Shirer suggests that when women criticize their own appearances, they are insulting God’s own likeness and his precious creation. In Genesis 1:26-27, it reads: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” As creations formed in the likeness of God, it seems as if it would be simple to appreciate the face and the body we have been given. The complaining and criticizing of ourselves begins in the instant we forget that God created each one of his children to bear his image on this earth.

Eve was the only creation that was actually fashioned by the hands of God. All other creation was formed when God spoke the words into existence. Eve, on the other hand, came from one of Adam’s ribs, and because woman was God’s final creation, it reveals the value God placed upon women. According to Shirer, “God gave very special attention to the creation of woman… God shaped, molded, and formed woman after His image… God sees every woman in His Kingdom as a valuable, precious jewel” (Shirer, 1999, p. 46).

Location & Housing Layout

In order to remain involved with on-campus activities, it is necessary that HER House is located within walking distance from campus. Ideally, it would be considered on-campus housing so as not to isolate HER residents from other residents. Essentially, the house is similar to a dormitory, but with the added benefit of a full-size kitchen and a large dining room for residents to gather together for meals. The house will have thirty suite-style bedrooms with connecting bathrooms. In one suite, there will be four females, two in each bedroom. One female will be a second-year HER resident, while the other female will be a first-year HER resident. The roommate assignments are ordered like this to encourage mentoring (big sister/little sister) relationships between the first-year and second-year residents.

Regulations

To keep in accordance with university standards, HER House will implement the same visitation hours for visits from the opposite sex. However, there will be certain nights when males will not be permitted to enter the house – specifically when HER groups are in session (every Wednesday night) or when a HER Night Out is hosted (one Friday night every other two months).

Resident Director and Resident Advisors

The Resident Director of HER House must be a single female woman that has had a minimum of two years experience as an RD in a female dorm. The RD will supervise a small staff of three Resident Advisors. One RA will be assigned per twenty residents. It is required that the RAs will have lived in HER House for one year in order to be eligible as an RA candidate. HER Resident Advisors will be held to the same leadership standards as the other RAs in the residence halls, however they will be expected to promote the learning outcomes and the ideals as defined in the HER House mission statement.

HER Groups

There will be a variety of topical small groups available to HER residents. Ideally, each group will have a maximum of five females, including one second-year group leader. The subjects will range from in-depth Bible studies to healthy relationships to book clubs to faith to loving yourself. It is expected that all residents will participate in one group per semester. Through these small group interactions, women will develop stronger bonds and be accountable to one another. In order to measure the effectiveness of these small groups, students will be surveyed at the conclusion of each semester.

HER Nights Out

To bring together all women of HER House in a fun and inviting atmosphere, each RA and her residents will host one HER Night Out. The final event of the year will be hosted by the Resident Director and the RAs. There are no strict limitations for these events, but all women of the house must be included in an uplifting and creative setting. Some event ideas include, but are not limited to: Dessert Night, Chicks & Flicks, Mock-tail Party (cocktail-style attire and alcohol-free beverages), seminars, etc.

Women’s Resource Center

HER residents will agree to volunteer in the Women’s Resource Center for a minimum of ten hours per month. The center can refer female students in need to speak with HER residents for encouragement and counsel, and the center can also recommend students that they think will benefit from living in the house. The staffs of the Women’s Resource Center and HER House will collaborate on planning campus events for females.

References

Bevere, L. (2002). Look beyond what you see. Florida: Charisma House.

Borland, H., & Akram, S. (2007). “Age is no barrier to wanting to look good: Women on

body image, age and advertising.” Qualitative Market Research: An International

Journal. Vol. 10, pp. 310-333.

Choate, L.H. (2005). “Toward a theoretical model of women’s body image resilience.”

Journal of Counseling and Development. Vol. 83, pp. 320-333.

Davis, C., Shuster, B., Dionne, M., & Claridge, G. (2001). “Do you see what I see?

Facial attractiveness and weight preoccupation in college women.” Journal of Social

and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 20, pp. 147-160.

Douglas, S.J. (1995). Where the girls are: Growing up female with the mass media.

New York: Three Rivers Press.

Etcoff, N. (1999). Survival of the prettiest. New York: Anchor Books.

Evans, N., Forney, D.S., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student development in college.

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Halliday, J. (2002). Thin within. Nashville: W Publishing Group.

Jacobs Brumberg, J. (1997). The body project: An intimate history of American girls.

New York: Random House.

Slavin Miller, S. (2008). Lecture notes from Process of Adult Development, Azusa

Pacific University, Fall I.

Shirer, P. (1999). A jewel in his crown. Chicago: Moody Publishers.

Wolf, N. (2002). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women.

New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

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