The Cause and Effects of Beauty and the Ideal Women

2294 Words5 Pages

Throughout history there have been many claims about what is beautiful and what is not on the face and body. America’s idea of beauty in the past changed many times from the fragileness of the Steel-engraving lady to the voluptuousness of the Greek slave. The ideal beauty in America is not so different from the ideal beauty of cultures around the world and follows many of the traditions practiced throughout history. The widespread of advertisement and technology is something that’s said to be the contributing problem to the ideal women phenomenon, but I believe history and trend plays the bigger role. Throughout history many researchers came up with ideas on what makes a person beautiful and what cause them to be unattractive. Plato, a famous philosopher, argued that the face that held the golden proportions was what made a person beautiful. “The width of the ideal face would be two –thirds its length and the nose no longer than the distance between the eyes” (Espejo 24). These are only a few things that make up the golden proportions. Researchers claim that averageness is what makes a person good looking (Espejo 24). However, according to Lisa DeBruine an experimental psychologist, “When it come to some key features, such as big eyes and small chins in women, being distinctly nonaverage can be better” (qtd. in Espejo 24). Big eyes and small chins are feminine traits. How masculine or how feminine a face is could determine how attractive the person is. Some researchers decided that beauty is not really about what’s on your face but beauty can be determined by the small things you do. According to Edward Morrison, how good a person looks determines how attractive a person is. Doing things like blinking, nodding and tilting the h... ... middle of paper ... ...f, 1983. Print. Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the Body. London: University of California Press, 1959. Print. Brown, Ina. Understanding Other Cultures. New Jersey: prentice-Hall, 1963. Print. Espejo, Roman, ed. The Culture of Beauty: Opposing Viewpoints. Detroit: Christine Nasso, 2010. Print. Mao, John. “Foot Binding: Beauty and Culture”. Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 1.2. (2008): n. pag. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Dec 2011. Verrill, Alpheus. Strange Customs, Manners, and Beliefs: A Remarkable Account of Curious Beliefs and Odd Superstitions, Strange Ways of Living, and Amazing Customs and Manners of Many Peoples and Tribes around the Earth. New York: Books for Libraries, 1946. Print. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are used Against Women. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1991. Print

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Beating Anorexia And Ganing Feminism By Marli Grossman

    274 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article “Beating Anorexia and Ganing Feminism,” Marni Grossman shares her experiance of how she overcame her struggle with anorexia through understanding the feminist movement. Marni objectafies the ways in which society’s expectations and ideas of what it means to have “beauty” is having and negitaive impact. I had a very similar experiance to Marni, in fact the first time I hated my apperance was in the seventh grade. I have olive skin and bold brows, features which i was often complamented on, yet hated. Shawn and Lee argue that “there is no fixed idea of beauty”, suggesting how social ideals from society differs depending on the culture (183). I remember A male student was bullying all the females in the class by Inscribing Gender

    Read More

  • What Meets The Eye By Daniel Akst Summary

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay “What Meets the Eye”, Daniel Akst explains scientific facts about the beauty of men and women matters to people. He argues that attractive individuals receive attention, great social status, marries, and gets paid more on a job. One can disagree with Akst’s argument because anyone with the skills and knowledge, despite the appearance, can gain a decent relationship and can get paid well. Akst looks at beauty as if it can lead individuals to an amazing and successful life, but he is wrong. Nancy Mairs’ and Alice Walker’s views on beauty are explained internally and through self-confidence. Both women’s and Akst’s arguments on beauty share some similarities and differences in many ways, and an

    Read More

  • What Meets The Eye David Akst Analysis

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    on a scale from 1 to 3, the importance men gave to good looks rose from 1.50 to 2.11. But for women, the importance of good looks in men rose from 0.94 to 1.67. In other words, women in 1989 considered a man look’s more important than men considered women’s looks 50 years earlier

    Read More

  • Two Or Three Things I Know For Sure

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    know beauty in any form”(86). We are so conditioned to see female beauty as what men

    Read More

  • Stereotypes in the Film The Matrix

    2401 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth. How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. New York: William Morrow, 1991.

    Read More

  • Beauty: The Media Profits by Making Girls Hate Themselves

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Beauty, Biology, and Society

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is beauty? How do human beings decide who is attractive and who is not? Society is full of messages telling us what is beautiful, but what are those definitions based on? Do we consciously decide whom we are attracted to, or is biology somehow involved? The issue of beauty and how we define it has been studied for centuries. Scholars from all fields of study have searched for the "formula" for beauty. Darwin in his book The Descent of Man wrote, "It is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body. It is however, possible that certain tastes in the course of time become inherited, though I have no evidence in favor of this belief." (1) Science has tried to look at beauty beyond the conscious level. It has tried to determine what roles biology plays in human attraction. Scientists have discovered that symmetry and scent play a role in defining human attraction. (3) But while this can begin to explain beauty on the most basic of levels, what accounts for variations in the standard of beauty? The idea of beauty varies within different societies and communities. Do these cultural preferences have a biological basis? What is the relationship between biology and society in relation to the idea of beauty? How do they relate to each other, and how do they differ? In particular what role does science play in the preference that many societies, (in particular South Asian, East Asian, and North American Cultures), have for fairer skin?

    Read More

  • Inner Beauty In Elie Wiesel's Night

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart” (Kahlil). People focus more on the outward appearance instead of the inward appearance. One’s inward appearance is comprised of their character, values, morals, and the true nature of their heart. On the other hand, the outward appearance is composed of one’s dress and grooming. The inward and outward appearance determines whether or not a person is ugly or beautiful. The choices that we make also define whether or not one is ugly or beautiful; choices made in the past can sometimes be repeated in the future.

    Read More

  • Media's Influence on Women's Body Image Evolution

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women have been facing crisis of body image since the dawn of man, for competition in breeding purposes, however women came under great scrutiny because of this. Often through history, they have been at the same level of livestock, treated poorly. Creating a rise in the early 1900’s to create the movement about pushing for the equality of women in the United States; it was after then when media first started adopting an ideal image of women in American culture, when marketing research found the use of images of ideal women in their campaigns made for higher sales.

    Read More

  • Origins of The Beauty Myth

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth," discusses the impact of our male-dominated society upon women. Wolf argues that women's most significant problems associated with societal pressures are a "fairly recent invention," dating back to the 1970s (6). She explains that women have "breached the power structure" by acquiring rights equal to men in areas such as, education, professional careers, and voting. As a result, Wolf suggests that the "beauty myth" is the "last one remaining of the old feminine ideologies that still has the power to control those women" (3). Considering that the beauty myth is women's last battle, the struggle is increasingly more difficult. Wolf claims that women are currently experiencing "a violent backlash against feminism," noting the recent rise in eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and objectification of women's bodies (3,2). While Wolf accurately defines the beauty myth, she incorrectly states that eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, and pornography are recent issues, resulting from an intentional "backlash" against women's rights.

    Read More

  • Reasons Why Women Develop a Negative Body Image

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wolf, Naomi, Ed. The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. Random House, 1991.Web. 28 March. 2014.

    Read More

  • Physical Beauty In Mr. Ryder's The Wife Of His Youth

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is a famous saying that states, “ we should not judge a book by its cover”, but oftentimes the first thing noticed on a person is their looks. One’s “physical beauty” strongly influences people’s first impressions of them. As a whole, we tend to assume that pretty people are more likeable and better people than those who are unattractive. Around the world, we believe that what is beautiful is good. There is a general consensus within a culture about what is considered physically appealing and beautiful. “Physical beauty” is associated with being more sociable, intelligent, and even socially skilled. Society shares this common notion of who has and who does not have “physical beauty”. Thus, “physical beauty”, as seen

    Read More

  • Values of Miss America Pageant

    2474 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York:

    Read More

  • Defining Beauty: The Concept Of Beauty

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Appearance matters because some facial qualities are useful in guiding adaptive behavior that even a trace of those qualities can create an impression. Specifically, the qualities revealed by facial cues that characterize emotion and identity, which are overgeneralized to people whose facial appearance resembles the unfit. Although people tend to admonish the statement ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, they also repeatedly defy that warning in their day to day routines, responding to people on the basis of their physical

    Read More

  • Beauty And Inner Beauty

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first and most popular interpretation of the word “beauty” is seen as outer appearance. On that perception, “beauty” and “attractiveness” have a significant difference even though they are word cousins. A beautiful looking person may be attractive, but an attractive person does not need to be beautiful. One person may look at someone beautiful with “deep satisfaction in the mind” because that person admire how beautiful the other is. Someone, who is not striking beautiful looking, may attract other people just by how they express their personalities. The others who are attracted to that particular individual because they feel connected, happy, and comfortable around that person. While attractiveness may result in long lasting relationships, physical beauty only brings short term pleasant feeling in the mind. Yet, beauty as outer look conquers many societies around the world. For instance, American culture tends to value the way a person look. That value is transmitted from one generation to the next by families, peers, and media in the process of enculturation. Young children come to adapt ways of thinking and feeling about physical beauty from their families first. The show

    Read More

More about The Cause and Effects of Beauty and the Ideal Women

Open Document