Earlier this week in class we discussed Barbie and how Barbie has made a huge impact on the American culture. Basically, Barbie has set the beauty standard unrealistically high and as a result women are under an extreme amount of pressure trying to attain and keep the look of Barbie. Since the development of Barbie she has lead a life that a lot of women envy-that's right, women not children although the children that play with Barbie ultimately grow up.
Unfortunately, Lil Kim is a victim of this Barbie theory. She has changed her appearance by having multiply plastic surgery procedures in order to look more like Caucasian or "Barbie" like. She has had skin lightening, cheek and breast augmentation, rhinoplasty(nose job), and a brow and fore head lift all in the name of beauty. Barbie has crossed the culture line, at one time Black women embraced their natural beauty and was proud of it what happened? I believe that Lil Kim is a product of the White standard of beauty trend that African American women are now taking a part in. In my opinion Lil Kim is a prime example of how powerful it is, and to what measures people or "women" rather are willing to go to be accepted by mainstream. I don't but maybe her change in physical appearance is an attempt to bring a more positive image to her character Lil Kim. Maybe it is a desperate attempt to keep herself in the public eye? Whatever it is it is clear that celebrities are not exempt from the culture standards of society if anything they are the ones that exacerbate it.
(Check out the interview Lil Kim did with BET, I tried to put a link to it on the side bar but I was not successful at doing so but the second highlighted Lil Kim will link you to the article. It was pretty interesting when the reporter asked her about plastic surgery she immediatley hung up!)
