Enforcers of their own oppression?

Susan Douglas’ chapter “Lean and Mean” examines the relationship between the unforgiving standards of femininity that women are subjected to, the promotion of cosmetic surgery and procedures to attain this untenable image, and the impact these standards impose on women’s personal relationships and self-esteem.  Women are told through various forms of media, television, and advertisement that they must conform to the “size-zero, slim-fit, big-breasted” conception of beauty, and are encouraged to pursue such an ideal image through their consumption of cosmetic products, unhealthy dieting, and surgery.  However, obtaining such an image is often unattainable for many women and unsustainable for all. There exists a wide gap between the image and reality of such a construction of beauty, and an impossibility of bridging the two. 

The frustration that arises from failing to meet the unrealistic expectations of beauty mandated by our society is a source of true anger and has produced significant adverse effects on women’s health and self-esteem. Douglass describes this frustration as an “illegible rage”, a redirection of anger and frustration towards themselves and against one another, and this redirection is reinforced through the emergence and abundance of the “mean girl” image. These societal pressures compel girls to police themselves according to patriarchal standards of beauty and punish those who fail to live up to such expectations. I found this to be particularly interesting because of its resonance with Douglass’ notion that girls have learned to be “enforcers of their own oppression”; their participation in this patriarchal culture by adhering to this idealistic standard of beauty perpetuates their own oppression in society. If it is indeed true that women are enforcers of their own oppression, as Douglass states, I’m curious as to what actions she believes constitutes for women’s liberation, since them being “enforcers” implies that the responsibility is in their own hands.