Waltraud Posch
The Body Project
How the Beauty Cult is Shaping Our Lives
People today not only shape their lives, but their physiques as well. The body has become a self-optimization project. It's a question of self-realization framed between adaptation and individuality, normalization and extravagance, consumerism and authenticity. But such self-determination also entails being held responsible for one's outward appearance. As a result, it creates pressure. Beauty functions as a means to position oneself socially, and to create and solidify one's own identity.