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Pressure to Be Perfect Is there anything so ubiquitous and yet extraordinary as a woman’s body? We see hundreds of diverse feminine bodies, and perhaps thousands of unique faces each day, through various platforms. Yet never in the history of beauty and idolisation, have women been so judged, criticised and pressured about their physical appearance as they are now. You might imagine that the pressure on women to appear as desirable as possible is an obstacle that our society has outgrown after multiple waves of feminism. You'd be wrong. If it's at all possible, it seems like this pressure is only ever escalating. The fact is, as much as people may assert their status as independent free-thinkers, most of them remain bound to the invisible rules that blur their perception of true beauty. Feminists are concerned about objectification. Psychologists are worried about unattainable beauty benchmarks. Terrified mothers confident that the industry will somehow convince their daughters to be over sexualised at a young age. What I’m trying to say is that the pressure to conform to beauty standards does not only effect individual women, but everyone around them. If a women is older, she’s encouraged to look younger than her years through …show more content…
Famous women who deviate from a narrow definition of beauty are frequently humiliated when they fail to conform to those strict standards. For instance the vicious tabloid campaign against Kim Kardashian when she gained weight due to pregnancy, which is a completely natural thing that happens to many women all around the world. Yet she was continuously shamed for it as if she was somehow in control. Sometimes the subtle shaming of women who fall short of being considered attractive is constantly implied by our so loved celebrities themselves, through judging their own beauty, and associating negative words with their appearance, which is idolised by
Like a blueprint or instruction manual, the objective of a rhetorical analysis is to dissect a written argument, identify its many parts, and explain how all of them come together to achieve a desired effect. Susan Bordo, a professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, wrote “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, published in 2003 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her essay examines how the media plays a pervasive role in how women view their bodies to the point where we live in an empire of images and there are no protective borders. In “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, Bordo not only effectively incorporates numerous facts and statistics from her own research and the research of others; she also appeals to emotional realities of anxiety and inadequacy felt by women all over the world in regards to their body image. Ultimately, her intent is to critique the influence of the media on self-confidence and body image, and to remind her audience of the overt as well as subconscious messages they are receiving on a daily basis.
Mostly females, feel this pressure to have a “perfect” image, a minor amount of females blames it on society, other, put the blame on themselves. For example, a campaign exists today against the classic Barbie doll. A majority of women, feel they are in competition with this plastic doll. A large number of people, notice this doll as “unrealistic”, stating that the doll’s waist is viewed as an “unrealistic” view of women. Another example, would be the view on models. Another chunk of women, notice models as “unrealistic” for women, stating that a majority of females cannot execute the “model look”. Nearly all models are skyscraper high, muscular and extremely thin. Women, spot this as a “ridiculous”. A minor amount of women has those features. Women also detect this “impressive” for women and desire to see themselves as “impressive”. This puts pressure on females to be viewed as “perfect”, while “perfect” cannot be achieved. As much as these problems can affect people, it can improve people. Even though, women notice these as “unrealistic” expectations, these are “unrealistic” expectations. Today, women are compared to the unthinkable and judged to their breaking
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.
Our society is entirely based on looks and how “the perfect women should be”. To be pretty you are expected to have the perfect body with the perfect face and hair. You could never cut your hair short because you would be considered a dyke. If you’re makeup isn’t perfect you are considered ugly and if you don’t have the “hourglass figure” you are considered fat and overweight. “Despite higher global self-esteem, women do not feel good about their appearance. This disconnect can be attributed, at least in part, to concerns about body image.” (@PsychToday, paragraph 4) Our society and social media is so caught up on how every woman should look that our own judgment has been clouded and we always believe we need to look and act that way. “The truth is that women’s insecurity about their appearance is driven by competition with other women.”(@PsychToday, paragraph 16) All we do nowadays is compare ourselves to others and that’s not how it should be. You are considered to be a “whore” such as Eve if you sleep around, so women are afraid to do it. You are considered to be “weak” if you stay at home and can’t support yourself, such as Lori. Our world is so caught up in people thinking that they need to be a certain way in order to impress themselves and others. Why do women shave their legs? Why do woman dye their hair? Why do woman get spray tans? Everything we do has to do with our appearance in order to impress
.... "The Beauty Industry Promotes Unrealistic Beauty Standards." Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2007. Rpt. in The Culture of Beauty. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
Women are told that in order to get anywhere in life they must constantly worry about their outer appearance. In Jennifer Weiner’s article, “When Can Women Stop Trying to Look Perfect?” she delves deeply into how today’s society women’s worth is based on how they look. Weiner believes that women who do not meet the standards of beauty do not have as many opportunities.
Beauty is a cruel mistress. Every day, Americans are bombarded by images of flawless women with perfect hair and smooth skin, tiny waists and generous busts. They are presented to us draped in designer clothing, looking sultry or perky or anywhere in between. And although the picture itself is alluring, the reality behind the visage is much more sinister. They are representations of beauty ideals, sirens that silently screech “this is what a woman is supposed to look like!” Through means of media distribution and physical alteration, technology has created unrealistic beauty ideals, resulting in distorted female body images.
The concept of beauty and racism in modern western society is held to the highest of standards for all of it’s members; including celebrities. The perfect woman is described by Odette (2013), as solely for men’s pleasure and domination. If we look on the cover of any popular magazine, the women are usually: light skinned, slender, and tall. Men on the other hand must be tall and powerfully built. Our culture is valued on the basis of how men and women are perceived by their image, making it impossible for the average man or women to achieve the high beauty standard expected in society. Celebrities play an influential role in the way people view themselves, making the need to look like our favourite celebrities all the more desired. A person's
Beauty standards are a problem that affect society and individuals. The theme of beauty standards is seen all around. As described through characters such as the monster in Frankenstein, Caliban from the Tempest, and human beings around the world today, we are pressured to such high standards that are impossible to
In her novel “Beauty Myth”, Naomi Wolf argues that the beauty and fashion industry are to blame for using false images to portray what beautiful woman is. She believes the magazines are to blame for women hating their bodies. Wolf states, “When they discuss [their bodies], women lean forward, their voices lower. They tell their terrible secret. It’s my breast, they say. My hips. It’s my thighs. I hate my stomach.” (Wolf, 451) She is focusing on how w...
within. The sayings “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and “beauty is only
Exact Beauty: Exploring Women's Body Projects and Problems in the 21st Century. Mandell, Nancy (5th ed.). Feminist Issues: Race, Class, and Sexuality (131-160). Toronto: Pearson Canada, Inc. Schulenberg, Jennifer, L. (2006).
People say that women can ascend to leadership, launch their own successful businesses, and sit at any table equally with men, yet those same people turn around on the media and focus heavily on a whole host of negative or limiting aspects of women, including an intense emphasis on their looks. Today, in the year 2016, women are still judged upon their physical blessings. Whether a woman is skinny or a little thick could determine if they are suitable to withstand the “standards” the media has presented to people. Some women today are even afraid that people will judge them because of what they look like, some are even so afraid that they seldom leave their home. Kylie Jenner could be taken as an example.
I would like to begin with the fact that women have always been known to dedicate their time to beauty. Those who are devoted to their appearance most often believe that beauty brings power, popularity, and success. Women believe this, because they grow up reading magazines that picture beautiful women in successful environments; not to mention they are popular models and world famous individuals. Beautiful women are no longer just a priority for most advertising, but we have become a walking target for the working class employers. It is documented that better-looking attorneys earn more than others after five years of practice, which was an effect that grew with experience (Biddle, 172). We cannot overlook the fact that it is always the most popular and most beautiful girl who becomes homecoming-queen or prom-queen. While these are possible positive effects of the "beauty myth," the negative results of female devotion to beauty undercut this value. These effects are that it costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of time, and in the long run, it costs a lot of pain.
...ounds, having good hair, and covering themselves in makeup are what beauty should be perceived as. Every time someone flips through a magazine, sees a picture of a model and wish to look like them, they are contributing to an idea they are supposedly disgusted by. People might think that they have never done anything to support this, but everyone has. Everybody feels the pressure from society, because it is pressure from us. They only way to stop this is by not supporting “things” that advance this idea and by not feeding into it, so in the end it will eventually die.