Preview

Venus of Willendorf

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
677 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Venus of Willendorf
Venus of Willendorf The Paleolithic era was the time of Homo-sapiens ascendancy. They were hunter-gatherers who survived off of killing animals for food and gathering things such as berries, nuts, and roots. They became more advanced than their ancestors by making tools like the hand axe, chisel, the arrow and spearhead, and the grinder. With some of these tools they would carve small sculpture, the most famous of which is the Venus of Willendorf, a figure representing the ideal woman. In today’s society the representation of beauty has altered significantly since this figure was sculpted. The statue is made of limestone, it is four to five inches long, and it was found in modern Austria, dating from about 22,000 to 21,000 BCE. The female figure has exaggerated breasts which would mean she could provide plenty of food for her child as well as a very large belly meaning she could provide heat and warmth for herself, her child and her significant other which back then could have made the difference between survival and death. She has very wide hips which support a connection to childbearing and delineated genitals which suggests that she is very fertile. In the Paleolithic era female figurines vastly outnumbered the male representation which may have been because women played a crucial role in the Paleolithic culture because they have spiritual and religious influence. In today’s society we have a distorted view of beauty. We see thin as good and women have actually convinced themselves that the skinnier the better. In our world today, a Barbie is a figure of beauty and perfection. Women are willing to go through surgery in order to look like Barbie. There is something completely wrong with that, and leads my thoughts to “How did it get to this?”. The women on the front pages of the magazines today would be seen as outcasts or not wanted if viewed by the Paleolithic culture. Plus, if they had to live back then they surely would not survive through the


Cited: Sayre, Henry M. The Humanities. Upper Saddle River. Pearson Education, Inc. 2012. Print

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    After reading "Barbie Doll," I cannot help but agree with the argument in which the author is trying to make. To be a woman in today's day and age means always being told how you should dress and act based on society's standards. There is so much controversy concerning how women should appear, and this is due in part to the media's depiction of how a woman should look. The ideal woman used to have curves, but now women are expected to have a super tiny waist but still have larger breast and a large but; these are standards with which woman have had a nearly impossible time to meet. Between new diet and workout plans, it is easy for a woman to get mixed up with an unhealthy lifestyle of starving herself and exercising too much which leads to…

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Venus of Willendorf

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Found near the town of Willendorf in Austria by an archaeologist named Joseph Szombathy, the approximately 4½ inch tall statue of a female figure most commonly known as the Venus of Willendorf or Woman of Willendorf is one of the earliest representations of the human figure ever created.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For many researches, and scientists, Paleolithic society was thought to have been an age of grit, savagery, and masculinity where women are practically wiped out of the history books only to be remembered by crude statutes carved out between 27,000 and 20,000 years ago called Venuses. Such little focus on the women of the Paleolithic era led scientists to misinterpret these Venus statutes as objects of sexual fetishes due to their exaggerated body features, as Angier points out, “Researchers have suggested that the figurines were fertility fetishes, or prehistoric erotica, or gynecology primers.” Angier and several other scientists believe that minor details such as intricate headdresses, string skirts, and belts were overlooked during the observation of the statues.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the decades of time, society has been continuously determining the perception of what it is to be "beautiful." The American standard of beauty is often reflected upon advertisements that convey an unrealistic expectation for most everyday women. Whereas, teenagers have grown to interpret advertisements as a model for how they should appear physically. Marilyn Monroe was perceived as the epitome of beauty in the 1950s. The well-known sex symbol was recognized because of her curvaceous build. But for instance, Twiggy, a popular model in the midst of the 1960s, later set a misconstrued standard to what was beautiful. With the rising of her stardom, the glamorization of being thin was beginning to take a turn on a more positive note. That is until the famous 90s heroin chic model, Kate Moss, hit the scene taking the modeling industry by storm in an unhealthy manner with her campaign "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." As time continues to inevitably move forward in American culture, as will the image and conception of what beauty truly is in the eyes of our society.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the dieting tricks that promise to shave off weight within weeks, to the constant gossiping of the fashion trends of a femme fatale, the message is clear: the appearances of women matter. Especially prevalent for the past few decades, the pressure for young women to meet a certain physical standard has been growing ever since. Through the influence of the media and the scrutiny of others, women face the stress of carefully choosing each change they add to their appearance, going so far as to permanently change their genetic features in order to conform to what society has defined as beautiful, and such an issue calls for change.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Body Image Oratory

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It is said that Barbie promotes a healthy and non-sexist image for young girls, with careers possibilities such as astronaut or even a UNICEF ambassador (Barbie). Creator of the Barbie doll, Ruth Handler, once said, “My whole philosophy on Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”(Barbie) But if women have so many choices why are so many of them choosing to starving themselves in an effort to be flawless? Even if women are not emulating Barbie, the pressure to be perfect still looms over society today.…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “It is not, of course, the desire to be beautiful that is wrong but the obligation to be---or to try. What is accepted by most women as a flattering idealization of their sex is a way of making women feel inferior to what they actually are---or normally grow to be. For the ideal of beauty is administered as a form of self-oppression. Women are taught to see their bodies in parts, and to evaluate each part separately.” In recent years, face lifting became more and more popular around the world. Women always want to pursue perfect beauty, so there were some women changed their bodies’ parts as very similar to some super…

    • 595 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Venus Of Willendorf Essay

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Through the study of the ancient world, art historians have examined an ample amount of women statuettes. One of the most eminent of these sculptures is known as the Venus of Willendorf, which depicts a tiny figurine of a woman in 25,000 BC. From its discovery, its popularity escalated not only for its rarity, but also for the evidence to achieve a better understanding of our ancestors’ creativity and culture. However, despite its amiability, the Venus of Willendorf still brings about an abundance amount of controversial issues of femininity and sexuality; her name itself has stimulated debates as to why archeologists have named her such a way that it was only thought in Greek or Roman implications. Today, due to her great age, history, and conspicuous female form, the Venus of Willendorf is recognized as an icon of…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Venus Figurines Statues

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Venus figurines are small statues of woman and they have been referred to as the “mother of goddess”. This indicates an immense possibility that women were worshipped or at the least highly admired. Some would say that these statues represent actual women. On the contrary, there are rarely any paintings found dating back to this time of humans, besides human hands. Would an entire sculpture…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Much surviving prehistoric art is small portable sculptures, with a small group of female Venus figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf (24,000–22,000 BC) found across central Europe; the 30 cm tall Lion man of the Hohlenstein Stadel of about 30,000 BCE has hardly any pieces that can be related to it. The Swimming Reindeer of about 11,000 BCE is one of the finest of a number of Magdalenian carvings in bone or antler of animals in the art of the Upper Paleolithic, though they are outnumbered by engraved pieces, which are sometimes classified as sculpture. With the beginning of the Mesolithic in Europe figurative sculpture greatly reduced, and remained a less common element in art than relief decoration of practical objects until the Roman period, despite some works such as the Gundestrup cauldron from the European Iron Age and the Bronze Age Trundholm sun chariot.…

    • 6146 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a parent, giving your little girl the Barbie doll that she has always wanted for her fifth birthday seems like a harmless gesture at the time, but what most parents don’t realize is that Barbie often effects the way a young girl perceives her body. What many parents don’t think about is that when these young girls are playing with their brand new Barbie doll, their brain is registering everything about that doll. How popular and perfect she is, so naturally these girls are beginning to want to be just like Barbie, which starts many of them on their way to eating disorders. (Wanless 2001) Barbie is not all about her weight though. She is also known for her perfect looks, which include her hair, makeup, clothes, and everything else that goes along with it. These looks lead girls to spending hours caking on makeup in the mirror, destroying their hair with dye, straighteners and curling irons, and begging their parents for the most popular and expensive clothes to try and achieve the ultimate “Barbie” doll look. (Wanless 2001)Young girls who grow up playing with Barbie dolls are likely to suffer from emotional distress, poor self-image, and lack of self-confidence.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People come in all shapes and sizes, whether that is weight related or height related, however, Barbie only comes in one size. With the body measurements of Barbie being 36-18-33, referring to bust, waist and hips, many children begin to think that this is in fact, the correct body image. The question is, why would we want to supply a young generation with a doll whom they are likely to idolize, but can never reach her appearance? Authors Dittmar, Halliwell and Ive’s research (2006) found that girls who were exposed to Barbie’s at a young age, were found to have lower self-esteem along with a desire to have a thinner body (p. 284). This research supports my position that the Barbie dolls promotes children to believe that these small measurements are necessary to have a good body image. It is important to teach children that there is not one specific body type that is the correct and that everyone will have different proportions, but that’s what makes us unique and…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Barbie Effect

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Barbie was a sensation almost from the moment she hit the shelves, promoting and quickly spreading the idea of materialism and superficiality among young girls. Barbie has lots of clothes, cars, the dream house and even her own credit cards. She is extremely thin and good-looking, fashionable, she has perfect blonde hair. We all know “blondes have more fun”. Barbie clearly promotes materialism and portrays this lifestyle as being fulfilling, which gives children a false sense of what life is, and an empty goal for them to pursue. Body image distortion is created, as the majority of women cannot achieve Barbie’s proportions. . Look instead at Ken, Barbie’s long time boyfriend. When researchers at the University of South Australia scaled up Mr. Barbie to life-size proportions, they concluded that the chances of a man having his body shape are one in 50. That is a lot more achievable than the one in one hundred thousand chance a girl has of achieving Barbie’s dimensions-this defiantly gives weight to the argument that the media puts unrealistic expectations and pressures on women. (Wintermann) Magazines have morphed stars onto smaller bodies, models that walk the runway are anorexic, and pictures are airbrushed making…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What is the perfect person? Someone who is tall, thin, muscular with blonde hair and blue eyes? That is what we were brought into this world to believe. In 2006, girls ranging from the age of five and a half to seven and a half had lower body esteem and dissatisfaction after being exposed to the Barbie doll (Croll 155). “In 2012, more than 236,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on patients between 13 and 19” (Zuckerman 1). Is this the kind of world we want to live in? Body Image is an issue that begins around the age of five. This is when children are exposed to Barbie and Ken dolls which they idolize. The media has created an illusion of the perfect person and people go to…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Barbie Cultural Icon

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Part of the problem stems from the fact that she is all out of proportion. If she were a real woman, she would be seven feet tall, have a 40” bust, a 22” waist, 36” hips and five foot long legs, and she would be anorexic. Accepted as the U.S. version of beauty, Barbie reminds all the short, brown-haired, brown-eyed girls with tubbier figures that they are not beautiful. Hence, generations of young girls have struggled to be more Barbie-like. The result, critics say, is anorexia, bulimia, and a devastated self image. In some ways, this argument does not seem farfetched. Observe all of the Hollywood starlets and models with size 2 figures and flowing blonde manes. Few were born that way. Instead, they have dieted, dyed their hair, worn colored contacts, used liposuction and surgical implants to achieve a Barbie-like figure.…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays