Many efforts have been extended to raise the self-esteem of men and women who have become victims to the unattainable beauty standards established by the fashion and film industry. The Dove Self-Esteem Project was created to help young women acquire confidence amid these influences. Classrooms often discuss the social pressures contrived from television, magazines, and advertising that are dependent on editing technologies. In a society bombarded by confidence diminishing forces, it is difficult to imagine that we may actually view ourselves in a better light than others view us in. The Scientific American does an excellent job of summarizing “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Enhancement in Self-Recognition,” a research study, and contrasting the findings to the Dove Real Life Sketches video in order to demonstrate the effects of self-enhancement. The Dove Real Life Sketches video showcases how women tend to attribute negative qualities, while acquaintances tend to emphasize beautifying qualities, to their appearance. On the other hand, the study “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Enhancement in Self-Recognition” demonstrates our tendency to perceive our physical appearance more positively than the general public perceives our physical appearance. In the study completed by Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago and Erin Whitchurch of the University of Virginia, participants were asked to identify their own image in an array of images that had been altered to produce physically enhanced and physically reduced versions of the original image. When asked which picture was the original, unchanged version of themselves, participants continually chose one of the images that had been altered to appear more attractive. When asked to identify a stranger’s image amid a sequence of physically altered images, the participant selected the unaltered version. The article in the Scientific American continues on to describe the various instances in which people are inclined to present themselves as more likely to “engage in a desirable behaviour” as a consequence of the psychological phenomenon of self-enhancement.
This article was intriguing to me because many disability memoirs describe how the public address their disabilities, and how the actions of the non-disabled in response to the disabled confirm the discriminatory propensity of society. For example, in Ryan Knighton’s Cockeyed, Knighton describes how certain “Stumps” and “Jiggers” do not know how to behave when crossing paths with a blind man. Jason DaSilva portrays in one of his video blogs, “When I Walk Journal,” how “The Motivators” and “The Movers” rely on their conventional preconceptions of disability to determine the best way of assisting DaSilva climb stairs. “The Motivators” view his disability as something that can and should be overcome, and “The Movers” view his disability as something that needs to be controlled, ultimately breeding pity for the disabled DaSilva (Couser, 33-34). Stella Young’s blog, “We’re Not Here for Your Inspiration” describes “inspiration porn”— images, accompanied by a motivational caption, displaying people with disabilities completing regular activities— as a method of cultivating appreciation and gratitude in the hearts of the able-bodied. Young describes the objectification of the disabled further as she explains how people commend her for “simply existing.” She is disgusted by the attitude of a public that does not comprehend that her life is not an obstacle, but a reality that needs to be worked with.
The truth is, that these individuals who are interacting with the authors of these memoirs are, like me, oblivious to their ignorance. The way the non-disabled behave around the disabled is conditioned by a society that does not stop to listen to the handicapped, but regards them as an exotic species. As a reader of life narratives, you are prepared to examine the writer beneath a spotlight, but you are not prepared for the writer to turn the spotlight on you. It is an uncomfortable experience realizing that you are guilty of the same erroneous behaviour as those around you. It is disconcerting to think that self-enhancement has allowed me to interpret my actions as being better than those around me. In actuality, my actions exhibit various forms of bias towards disabled people.
Connecting disability life narratives to the psychological implications of self-enhancement helps me understand aspects of autobiographical work, by permitting me to answer the following question:
How does self-enhancement influence the reader of life narratives?
There will always be accusations of self-enhancement directed at the narrator of autobiographical work. Attempting to present ourselves as admirably as possible is understandable; it is a human trait and necessary in an evolutionary perspective (Scientific American). We see it with Anne Frank’s diary and the corrections she made to the original text when the prospect of publication was dangled before her. But the way the reader consumes a text is influenced by his or her own self-enhancement. Reading is always a learning opportunity, and allowing a closed mindset to limit what we learn damages our ability to develop and grow into well-rounded individuals. As a reader, we must avoid thinking that we are immune to, or unaffected by, the power society wields in regards to our individuality, or lack thereof. We are chiseled and sculpted to conform to societal standards, thus deflecting us from achieving any actual esteem. The belief that we are better than the world actually deems us to be is great in some ways, as long as we are aware that we have a lot to learn from those around us.
Altogether, it is critical that a reader balance their self-enhancement with openness in order to read autobiography with a non-judgmental eye and a mind that is willing to understand perspective and acquire a complete experience of the text. Life narratives are not all about the narrator, but about the interactions of the narrator with a society that we are very much a part of, and this must be acknowledged.
Citations
Atasoy, Ozgun. “You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think.” Scientific American, May 21 2013, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/you-are-less-beautiful-than-you-think. Accessed 16, October 2016.
Couser, G. Thomas. “Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Disability Memoir.” Signifying Bodies: Disability in Contemporary Life Writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan UP, 2009. 33-34.
DaSilva, Jason. “When I Walk Journal.” Youtube, April 2, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M5SCmFFuKc&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 16, October 2016.
Dove US. “Dove Real Beauty Sketches.” Youtube, April 14, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE. Accessed 16, October 2016.
Epley, and Erin Whitchurch. “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Enhancement in Self-Recognition.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2008. 1159-1169.
Knighton, Ryan. Cockeyed. Toronto: Penguin, 2006.
Young, Stella. “We Are Not Here for Your Inspiration.” Ramp Up, July 2, 2012, http://www.abc.net.au/rampup/articles/2012/07/02/3537035.htm. Accessed 16, October 2016.