A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

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I have a different view as to what you said about images of normality... because I
look at those images often and think they‟re images of perfection... so I suppose...
normality... I don‟t see it like that because I don‟t think they are normal people...
there are some nice good-looking women that are size 10... ideal looks... everything
in the right place and all of that... but I don‟t see those images as being normal... I
see them as being... the perfection that a lot of people try to strive for... but I don‟t
consider them as normal... (l.643ff.)
Hazel‟s challenge set me upon a new line of thinking. Audrey Yue discusses the techniques
of intoxicating distraction practiced by department stores, the construction of consumer
identity through exchanges of looks, the use of glass and mirrors reflecting and multiplying
displays while at the same time making the shopper more self-aware of her presence in the
space, seduced by the sight of her own literal reflection and constituted as a self-conscious
subject of consumption (Yue, 2003:128). The surrounding images of models – glamorous,
successful, sexy, enjoying themselves – awaken a sense of inadequacy in the typical
Northampton shopper which will only be temporarily assuaged by buying into this line, this
brand, this fashion, this dream.
Hazel reflected on the display mannequins in Marks and Spencer‟s windows:
It‟s about perfection and it‟s unrealistic... if you‟re 5 foot 10 inches tall, with all your
curves in the right places come in here and you can look great... that dress might
look great on that mannequin, but it wouldn‟t in my size... (l.3:52ff.)
Inside the shop, Hazel muses sadly as she contemplates the section where they display the
shoes she would actually want to buy:
I‟d still love to wear dainty glamorous shoes like that, but if you want to look good
in the M and S brand, you‟ve got to be a certain size... they don‟t cater for people
like me... (l.3:217ff.)
It is at this point that Hazel tells me about the short time she spent as a wheelchair-user
during her teens.
I had
an operation
in my teens