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The negative impact of beauty standards
Media and its influence on body image
Negative effects media has on female body image
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Everyone knows the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but very few people actually understand what it means. The quote is referring to how you shouldn’t be judging a person by their exterior, but by the content of their character. The truth is that many people don’t see what is on the inside, and they don’t realize that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
“Outer beauty is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.” You rarely ever see an unattractive movie star or social light, everyone in Hollywood is beautiful and if they’re not, they get bashed for not fitting society’s view of ‘good-looking’. Even cartoon characters are beautiful, although
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If they don’t it will seem as if it won’t appeal to the targeted audiences. The fact that this is true is just unacceptable. How can we just stand by and watch young people’s confidence be destroyed by the society? Outer beauty isn’t as important as we think it is. The truth is that there is no physical representation of ‘pretty’. Everyone has their own view and opinion on what pretty is, that it got lost in translation. The true meaning of it is gone. It’s supposed to mean, “to be attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful or handsome.” But everyone defines beauty on how you look. Your exterior. The one thing that is difficult to change. The one thing that should not be judged under any circumstances. Did you know 47% of women referred to their body weight as “too high”? 80% of women say that images of women on television and in movies, fashion magazines, and advertising make them feel insecure and almost 100% of magazine photos have been photoshopped in some way. This is because society’s impossible beauty standards are getting too high. 42% percent of girls through third grades want to be thinner. 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
Female beauty ideals are an overwhelming force in teen media. Approximately 37% of articles in leading magazines for teen girls emphasize a focus on physical appearance. This is none to surprising considering two of the top contenders in this media genre are Seventeen and Teen Vogue. CosmoGIRL and Elle Girl were among the ranks of popular teen magazines, but in recent years have become exclusively online publications. Add in a dash of publications Tiger Beat and Bop, and it becomes glaringly obvious that girls are charged with the prime directive of looking good to get the guy. The story becomes more disturbing when the actual audience, which includes girls at least as young as eleven years old, is considered. In a stage when girls are trying for the first time to establish their identities, top selling publications are telling them that their exteriors should be their primary concern of focus. Of course, this trend doesn’t stop with magazines. A study conducted in 1996 found a direct correlation between the “amount of time an adolescent watches soaps, movies and music videos” a...
In “The Beguiling Truth about Beauty” by Carlin Flora, she describes how other people influence the way we perceive ourselves by attractiveness. In the world we live, usually the most attractive get special treatment so people see less of themselves. People are always comparing to others on daily basis because that’s the way our brain is program. Most of the time looks are not the way other would see us but by the way we talk or express which changes our appearance. Overall the way people actually feel about themselves is the true meaning of beauty no matter what others think.
Times have changed throughout the generations and the portrayal of women in the media has definitely changed over the years. Unfortunately, there is still a stereotypical appearance and social role in the media that women need to achieve in order to be socially desired. Even though it has improved, there is such a stigma towards being too fat, too skinny, too tall, or too short and the list of imperfections go on and on. Aside from body image, social roles are a big issue in the media today. When you look at any advertisement in the media, you can notice the appearance, gender, and race of the model. The media’s idea of the “perfect” body is having the unflawed and women are typically skewed for this by society.
Everywhere one looks today, one will notice that our culture places a very high value on women being thin. Many will argue that today’s fashion models have “filled out” compared to the times past; however the evidence of this is really hard to see. Our society admires men for what they accomplish and what they achieve. Women are usually evaluated by and accepted for how they look, regardless of what they do. A woman can be incredibly successful and still find that her beauty or lack of it will have more to do with her acceptance than what she is able to accomplish. “From the time they are tiny children, most females are taught that beauty is the supreme objective in life” (Claude-Pierre, p18). The peer pressure for girls in school to be skinny is often far greater than for boys to make a team. When it is spring, young girls begin thinking “How am I going to look in my bathing suit? I better take off a few more pounds.”
The old saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” has always been the ideal of what society believes beauty to be; versatile and able to be interpreted as anyone likes because it is something that is unique to every person’s own taste. This sentiment, as true as it may seem, is just an illusion. Oxford Dictionaries may define beauty as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”, which seems vague enough to be interpreted any way someone wishes, yet society has been instructing standards onto what is deemed “beautiful” for centuries. It is these mass opinions that then culminate in the “real” definition of beauty, which, though they can be ephemeral, is really seen
We cannot be beautiful in everyone’s eyes and we do not have to be beautiful. We can be ugly and still achieve our personal goals. Beauty is not important. What is important is one’s inner self. Nancy Baker, the author of The Beauty Trap, says, “A truly beautiful woman makes the best of her physical assets but, more importantly, she also radiates a personal quality which is attractive."(56)
The definition of beauty is varying among different people in the world. Even though almost everyone knows the term beauty, many people are struggling in defining it and persuading others to agree with their opinions. Beauty is defined by a combination of qualities existent in a person or thing that fulfills the aesthetic feels or brings about profound gratification. Many people define beauty as a term to describe a person’s physical appearance; they often think that beauty comes from magazines, video girls, or even models. Although the term beauty can define a person’s physical appearance, true beauty lies in the way one acts and thinks rather than the way one look.
There is a saying “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” What one individual considers beautiful may not be beautiful to another. Many people in this world have their own definition of what beauty is. Beauty can come from inside or the outside. To me, beauty is not only something that pleases the eyes. Beauty is a quality that pleases or delights the senses or mind. Unfortunately, society makes it nearly impossible to see our own beauty. Most girls are inclined to take a quick look into a compact mirror or run a few fingers through their hair, sizing themselves up with the nearest advertisement featuring a flawless bottle blonde. Some may go a bit further, running an endless list of insecurities
Beauty means something different to different kinds of people and cultures. The meaning of beauty is influenced by our environmental surrounding, society, media, peers, culture and experiences. When people think about beauty they think about the physical visual appearance. Actually is “beauty in the eyes of the beholder” (Hungerford, 1878), but perhaps it is more accurate to say that beauty is also in the geography, as cultural ideals of beauty vary drastically by region.
Internal and external beauty are both very important in our society. To be beautiful internally means to have a kind heart and be understanding. To be beautiful externally means to be beautiful on the outside such as having a nice figure and an attractive smile. Internal beauty is important because beyond looks, it is your personality that is noticed. External beauty is important because it is your attractive figure that brings notice to someone’s great personality or external beauty. To me, internal and external beauty are represented and influenced by family members, friends, and society as a whole.
Show business promotes commercials, print advertisements, films and shows where unbelievably perfect women are seen as the ‘ideal beauty’ The ‘ideal beauty’ controls the behavior of young girls and manipulates their perception of beauty. The term ‘ideal beauty’ is defined to be a conception of something that is perfect, especially that which one seeks to attain. Many young girls everyday are exposed to fashion and beauty advertisements that feature models who are portrayed as ‘perfect’. Due to this Technological Age, girls are exposed to many advertisements that encourage them to be like the featured models- tall, skinny, and foreign. There is also a survey conducted by Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University which states that, “The average teenage girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about ten minutes of parental interaction a day.” Moreover, media also promotes and advertises cosmetics, apparel, diet pills and exercise gears in the name of beauty and fitness, convincing girls to buy and ultimately patronize their products. Becoming very addicted with using such products can eventually lead to overdoes and becoming vainer. It may seem obvious to most of us that people prefer to look at beautiful faces. While beauty itself may be only skin deep, studies show our perception of beauty may be hard-wired in our brains (Stossel,
There are so many different opinions on what beauty is. The idea of beauty is purely opinionated. Beauty is your own idea, skinny or thick, long hair or short hair, light skin or dark skin. How people define beauty is unique in many different ways everyone has a different opinion. No ones idea of beauty is the same. In society today it has become more materialistic based if you wear the latest designer or you have the newest pair of sneakers out and the true meaning of being beautiful has escaped our souls. Beauty is not just what we see on the outside it is so much deeper then what we see its what we also have to offer on the inside.Your intelligence is beauty your mind, body, and soul. Beauty is not a single image, but the active embodiment
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” This saying first appeared in the 3rd century BC in Greek. It didn't appear in its current form in print until the 19th century, but in the meantime there were various written forms that expressed much the same thought. This famous saying implies that everyone has their own definition and recognition of beauty. What is seen as a marvel to one person might be the complete opposite to another, just like a dress that I found very beautiful but my Mum found it not at all nice which explains the saying “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasurer” (Aighearach).Beauty… some people believe that beauty is all physical, having great looks, having all the guys and girls fawning all over you because you are the hottest bloke or chick in the school or wherever you are. Some people believe that beauty is the clothes you wear, the make-up you put on. I say those things are just physical beauty. Inner beauty is of the heart, it’s the person you are, you actions and reactions to other people, your way of life. Inner beauty is the beauty of the heart, being selfless, reliable, loving and caring and always willing to help even if you don’t know the person. Real beauty is about always being willing to assist anyone even if there is nothing in it for you except the pure pleasure of seeing satisfaction, content on the other person’s face, that person has inner beauty. It represents goodwill and kindness.
There are people who believe that inner beauty is more important. Sadly, societies nowadays have narrowed down the appreciation of beauty to only visual sense, but we forget that the inside of a person can also determine their true beauty. We tend to judge others’ quickly and harshly merely based on their appearance. For example, a guy with black skin, thick beard, and big muscles is considered violent and fiery. Another guy is seen as cute and trustworthy because he has white skin and a baby face. Those judgments are not often true because we do not get to know their real inner side. A beautiful looking person with an ugly heart is truly ugly. Time will soon age his or her outer look. They cannot reserve their youth forever even if they ask for the knife helps. That person’s ugly personality chase away the people around him or her. As a result, he or she will end up being ugly from inside out. In contrast, a not good looking person with a beautiful heart is beautiful. Inner beauty is considered as personality and morality. They express their inner self by caring and loving other people. Their inner beauty attract and create long lasting bonds with others. Inner beauty is always young, so it covers a person’s aged looking. Despite of being old, a person with beautiful personality will always feel beautiful and happy because there are people who are willing to love and care for