Photographer Sheila Pree Bright has brought awareness to the standards women are supposed to meet when it comes to beauty, starting with Barbie dolls. Bright has managed to piece together what society wants to make you believe is beautiful along with the faces of real, actual beauty, hit the jump to view modern day barbie!
Bright created her ‘Plastic Bodies’ series in 2003 but has packed up her pieces and has gone on the road with her traveling art show since. The ‘Plastic Bodies’ series highlights the imperfections that we all possess, allowing for all especially children to see that beauty is all around us, rather than this fictitious, perfect image pushed upon us. Bright discussed the series with HP, stating:
American concepts of the “perfect female body” are clearly exemplified through commercialism, portraying “image as everything” and introducing trends that many spend hundreds of dollars to imitate. It is more common than ever that women are enlarging breasts with silicone, making short hair longer with synthetic hair weaves, covering natural nails with acrylic fill-ins, or perhaps replacing natural eyes with contacts.
Even on magazine covers, graphic artists are airbrushing and manipulating photographs in software programs, making the image of a small waist and clear skin flawless. As a result, the female body becomes a replica of a doll, and the essence of natural beauty in popular American culture is replaced by fantasy.
**check out photos of the ‘Plastic Bodies’ series in the gallery above!**
