The painting displayed, Shadow of a Ballerina, depicts a realistic photo of a 1950s American ballerina alongside her unrealistic shadow, who is painted to represent the beauty standard of the time, but exaggerated to its fullest extent. The shadow is also painted in a more impressionistic, abstract style, accentuating her detachment from how real women look. Meanwhile, the real ballerina is composed of an actual photo of a ballerina at the time, exemplifying how different she is compared to her idealized shadow. However, the ballerina’s shadow has significantly more roses at her feet when contrasted to the real ballerina, demonstrating how her overdone features, such as the hourglass shape and femininity, were highly valued among society. This helps me answer my question by clearly illustrating how women were valued in another decade of American history. It also proposes the question, are society’s values too unrealistic for the average person to achieve? When will people, especially women, be thin enough, white enough, or pretty enough for society?