Society's Perception of Beauty

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Beauty is defined as a characteristic present in something or someone that gives pleasure to the mind. It is subjective to each person, but everyone is being influenced every moment by the things he or she sees, hears, and feels. While people appreciate beauty, things or individuals that are not pleasant to us can be treated harshly. Everyone is afflicted in some way to be perfect, but women are usually under the most pressure. Men are expected to be the breadwinners of the family; they are thought to be intelligent, strong, and brave and women are just supposed “to become someone’s wife” (Cisneros) and look pretty. Over the ages and even now, women are looked at as objects rather than humans who are just as strong as men. Today, women feel the impact of commercial beauty and fashion industries that shape and rely on “the cult-like worship of what physical attributes the public sees as beautiful” (Dawson). The perception of beauty, distorted in contemporary society through widespread forms of media, causes some individuals to take extreme measures to achieve an unrealistic self-image. However, people lose their identity by focusing too much an outer appearance, rather than allowing inner beauty to shine through. Media plays a significant role in influencing public perception of beauty. Who children and teenagers see on television is who they look up to; what they hear is what they say; and what they see is what they want. Ironically, “reality” TV shows do not portray life realistically. Most reality TV shows like Jersey Shore and The Bachelor are overly exaggerated in order to keep the audience entertained. The host of The Bachelor, Chris Harrison admits, “I’ll be the first person to tell you we edit the show. We try to throw peo... ... middle of paper ... ...eption about their body type while the men had more accurate ones (Carey). Beauty should be portrayed by ordinary, healthy people instead of unhealthy, unattainable body images. This will cause unhealthy people to strive to become healthier and allows normal people to feel good and confident in their appearance. Positive body image, “a clear, true perception of your shape” (NEDA) will be enforced overall. People will feel more confident about their bodies and they would not want to be someone they are not. Women would be less pressured to fit into a norm or achieve an ideal body image and we would all be able to focus on things that are more important in life. Society should value inner beauty, personality, more than outer appearance. Character should be what determines beauty or attractiveness. People with kind hearts and a good spirit are the truly beautiful.

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