essay examples

essays on beauty standards

Beauty Standards and Their Impact Essay

Introduction.

We will write a custom Essay on Beauty Standards and Their Impact specifically for you for only $11.00 $9.35/page

807 certified writers online

Beauty generally refers to the mixture of aesthetic qualities such as form, shape and color that pleases the eyesight. Beauty is divided into two broad branches, that is, human beauty and beauty in things around us. Human beauty can also be classified into physical beauty and beauty of the soul. Beauty in things around us entails architecture and physical features.

Society at large has always put emphasis that beauty being admired and looked after trait. A good example in a society is a Marketing and Advertisement Industry that sells all everything by showcasing its beauty. Some countries however hold beauty more highly than others. Such countries include The U.S is the leading. The physical beauty of a person opens ways for the person to get their soulmates without struggle. It is usually the first impression that makes the attraction to a mate much easier. It smoothens the bumps that life gives during the search for a soulmate. However, you should take into account that its importance fades away quickly with time. As you go through life, you realize that what you thought was beauty fades away. During this period, people tend to embark on the other kind of beauty which is the beauty of the soul. The beauty of the soul entails traits such as personality, sense of humor, intelligence and other factors that entail a person’s character. The beauty of the things around us such as the works of architecture such as unique buildings, bridges and others and physical features such as mountains and water bodies are very important as they bring happiness and joy to our eyesight. They are used as sources of recreational facilities for both children and adults. Children go to places rich in physical features to break class monotony. Adults go to beautiful places while depressed or just while they need some refreshment. They are also used as sources of learning facilities for persons of all ages. Children go to learn new things in their environment and that is the same with adults. All people need beauty but it depends on which type of beauty is in question. To explain this, children only find beauty in things such as toys and also in places they go. Adults on the other hand see the world clearly and thus they need beauty in everything they do and places they go. Some people however need beauty more than others. Women for example tend to be more obsessed with beauty in almost everything. They always look for perfection in their body and also in everything they do on a daily basis. This has consequently made them turn to cosmetics in order to look more beautiful. Some are now even doing surgery to modify their faces and other parts of their bodies. People always need beauty in their lives. This is always largely contributed by things around them. Take, for example, a beautiful compound with a wonderful house and a beautiful garden in the backyard that will always bring happiness and improve the lives of people living there. As the say goes, beauty is in the beholder’s eyes. The perception of people on beauty is influenced by cultural heritage. For instance, American culture perceives youthfulness as beauty and European perceives flawless skin as an ideal beauty. In Africa, however, a filled-out large figure is referred to as beauty. In today’s society, beauty is people are beginning to relate beauty to be prosperous and happy. Many cultures have fueled the obsession with women being pretty and that in turn led to the introduction of cosmetics among different cultures. Almost all the cultures in the world value beauty so highly that many quantitative measures of beauty are constructed socially. There are some types of beauty that the media have long forgotten and no longer classify as types of beauty. These include architecture and music. The media nowadays classify architecture as more of a science than art while the music on the other hand is long forgotten when they talk about those categories. Through the help of the media, our concepts about beauty can be globalized more so through social media networks as almost all the young people in this new generation are using social media networks and the information can travel faster. There are many controversies about beauty in nature compared to that in human form. It is important that we consider all as having beauty but the one has more beauty than the other. Human being has a beauty that fades away with time while nature has a permanent beauty that never fades away. For example, take a look at the sky, the moon, the river and so on, their beauty last forever. Men are interested in the beauty of other things than that of their own while women always tend to be self-centered when it comes to beauty. Concerning your appearance is normal and understandable. In today’s society, everywhere you go be it at work, school, or interview, your personal appearance will always influence people’s impression of you. Looking at the other side of the coin, the standards that society has put on women have enabled some women to thrive and become successful. Let’s take America for example, a country that produces many models and enables women to develop their careers in terms of beauty. It has led to many other opportunities such as selling cosmetics and fashion design.

The physical beauty of human beings fades away with time. The beauty of nature and of the soul is permanent. Society has set some unrealistic standards for women in terms of beauty which are vague and should be overlooked.

Skivko, M. (2020). Deconstruction in Fashion as a Path Toward New Beauty Standards: The Maison Margiela Case. ZoneModa Journal , 10 (1), 39-49. McCray, S. (2018). Redefining Society’s Beauty Standards. Capaldi, C. A., Passmore, H. A., Ishii, R., Chistopolskaya, K. A., Vowinckel, J., Nikolaev, E. L., & Semikin, G. I. (2017). Engaging with natural beauty may be related to well-being because it connects people to nature: Evidence from three cultures. Ecopsychology, 9(4), 199-211.

Need a custom Essay sample written from scratch by professional specifically for you?

  • Chicago (N-B)
  • Chicago (A-D)

IvyPanda. (2022, July 13). Beauty Standards and Their Impact. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/

IvyPanda. (2022, July 13). Beauty Standards and Their Impact. Retrieved from https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/

"Beauty Standards and Their Impact." IvyPanda , 13 July 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

1. IvyPanda . "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Beauty Standards and Their Impact'. 13 July.

  • The Love That Never Fades in Borzage’s Film “A Farewell to Arms”
  • Cosmetic Testing on Animals
  • Music Art: "La Cathédrale Engloutie" by Claude Debussy
  • Is “Parasite” a Political Film?
  • Sonnet 116 Analysis
  • Everyman presentation of ideas about religion and hypocrisy
  • Should Screen Time Be Limited for Children?
  • Concepts of Optimism and Hope
  • Dexter Green in F. S. Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams"
  • Significance and Role of Yugen in Waka and Renga Poetry
  • Professional Values and Ethics Paper
  • Ethical Dilemma: Benefiting from High-Conflicting Personality
  • MacIntyre’s After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory
  • Solving Global Issues May Not Be as Easy as It Seems
  • Moral Responsibility: Ethics and Human Relationships
  • Paper Writer Free >
  • Essays Examples >
  • Essay Topics >

Beauty Standards Argumentative Essay Example

Type of paper: Argumentative Essay

Topic: Beauty , Skin , Europe , Women , Education , Workplace , Beauty Standards , Family

Words: 1100

Published: 2021/02/06

Popular culture has always revealed a lot about gender, sexuality, and class through a variety of perspectives. The notion of beauty itself is a social construction that becomes normative despite the fact that it is often used a tool for social control. Members of society at-large strive with conform to prevailing ideals in order to be validated as attractive. Beauty standards have historically and continue to reflect Eurocentric paradigms that prize light skin over dark skin, which is evident in media representations of ideal beauty. Because blackness has put certain individuals at an historical disadvantage, it is clear that beauty ideals continue to reflect a society that values whiteness. Eurocentric paradigms can have damaging and debilitating effects on the life trajectories of black men and women due to internalized self-disregard and self-hatred. Ultimately, dominant notions of beauty in the United States are racially defined and thus disproportionately impact black females in comparison with black men. Recently, CNN host Soledad O’Brien presented a two-day presentation about the lived experience of blacks in the United States (“Black in America”) in which she addressed topics such as socio-economic status, education, male-female relationships, parenting, HIV/AIDS stigmatization and reality, and the socio-economic diversity in the black community. During one interview with professor and author, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, and his brother, Everett, O’Brien questioned what accounted for the conspicuous socio-economic differences between the two brothers. Dr. Dyson was an accomplished Princeton graduate while the other remains convicted murderer who is currently serving a lifetime in prison. To answer this question Dr. Dyson pointed to his brother’s dark-colored skin, and then subsequently to his own light skin to suggest that darker skinned individuals living in America are not given the same “opportunities” or leniency as lighter- skinned blacks are. Dr. Dyson articulated an argument based on the historical relationship between skin color and socio-economic successes enjoyed by lighter-skinned blacks, and how those advantages had enabled him to achieve a Princeton education while his darker- skinned brother became ensconced in a world of crime (Robinson-Moore 67). Black women have historically been quite vulnerable to European beauty standards that emphasize particular hair types and skin colors that exclude African-American women. Because of the frequency of European beauty standards in the media as well as in peer and family relations, black women often internalize these standards, which directly impact their academic achievement, self-perception, self-regard, employment, sexual behavior, and mental health. Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted an experiment during the 1940s in order to assess how skin color affects the self-perception and self-regard amongst non-white children. This study became known as the “Doll Test” and became famous when it was cited in the significant court case decision entitled Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This test revealed how dark-skinned children were negatively impacted by European beauty paradigms. European beauty standards correlate the concept of beauty with distinctly European features in order to judge a person’s beauty from a point of view held by society at-large. These European standards prize whiteness or lighter skin tones, light-colored eyes, straight hair, and thin lips and nose as the ideal model of beauty against which all people are judged. Skin color and hair, according to Robinson-Moore, communicate racial beauty hierarchies. She asserts that hair textures and skin colors are “prominent signs of African ancestry [which] affect[s] attractiveness and therefore socialization” (Robinson-Moore 68). The education system in the United States reinforces certain messages about skin color that are taught and learned within the family unit and often encourage young African-American girls to internalize Eurocentric beauty standards that value lighter and whiter skin. Thus the intersectionality of race, identity, and back female beauty has remained an important site for scholarly research because of the power dynamics and relations that continue to influence certain behaviors in certain social groups. Income differentials and employment status further reinforce the argument that Eurocentric standards of beauty impute value onto skin color. Black women who have darker skin tones and textured hair that go against established beauty standards are more likely to remain unemployed than those who conform with them. Robinson-Moore cites a study conducted by Aschenbrenner in 1975 that concluded that poorer black women in Chicago often had dark-colored skin. Perceived attractiveness indeed correlated with employment status as “attractive” people in conjunction with European standards receive more employment and education opportunities than those who do not visibly conform (Robinson-Moore 68). Black women who have darker skin thus are more likely to lack employment and a higher education than those who have lighter skin. Most devastatingly, however, is the fact that racialized beauty standards impact the spousal status of black women. Racial hierarchies directly relate to how black men select their mates. A study conducted by Hughes and Hertal in 1990 concluded that light-skinned black women retained a higher status than those with darker skin. Black men prefer lighter-skinned women not only because of the socioeconomic advantages and acceptance attached to such mate selection but also because of a subconscious desire to have light-skinned kids (Robinson-Moore 69). Thus, statistic reinforce the reality that dark-skinned black women are less likely to get married. Black females thus must negotiate beauty ideals despite the fact that negative valuations have been imputed onto darker-skinned African Americans in the United States. While family and the educational system perpetuate Eurocentric standards of beauty, the media also plays an important role in perpetuating such specific standards. Gordon conducted a study that examined how black children reacted to media portrayals in relation to the amount of media consumption they participated in on a quotidian basis. Gordon concluded that black girls identified with black television and black music, and that skin tone and hair texture figured largely in the descriptions of the media images the participants were exposed to. Media portrayals of black women as sexual objects and/or objects of desire contribute to the centrality of appearances in the lives of adolescent black girls. Black girls thus are more susceptible to negative messages discussed by the media with regards to their attractiveness and physical appearance than girls who have lighter skin. As a result, dark-skinned black girls often engage in risky behaviors over a long period of time (Robinson-Moore 70). Taken together, European beauty paradigms negatively impact the lives of darker-skinned females and often suffer from poor mental health during their adult lives. The root of African-American struggles stems from their darkened skin color within a society that prizes Eurocentric beauty ideals. Eurocentric beauty paradigms impact the identities of black females in a largely negative manner. The cultural identities of black women are adapted and subsequently communicated because dominant standards of beauty. Black men and women internalize European beauty ideals especially black women. Black women who have lighter skin tones and long straight hair have testified that they felt more socially accepted and validated, as they feel more confident and report more individual successes and higher self-esteem. Individuals with darker skin and shorter hair tended to experience more alienation, lower self-esteem and limited socioeconomic opportunities. In order to combat European beauty standards, studies have shown that nonwhite families need to fortify cultural identities from an Afrocentric perspective rather a Eurocentric one that has proven crippling vis-à-vis beauty standards. Families also need to confront negative sentiments and messages about beauty to their children in a way that boosts their self-esteem and self-regard. Black women who have darker skin are seemingly set up for failure beginning in their childhood as a result of living in a society steeped in Eurocentric values that grants light-skinned black females far more employment and educational opportunities than their dark-skinned counterparts.

Works Cited

Robinson-Moore, Cynthia L. “Beauty Standards Reflect Eurocentric Paradigms—So What? Skin Color, Identity and Black Female Beauty.”

Share with friends using:

We use cookies to improve your experience with our site. Please accept before continuing or read our cookie policy here .

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE!

Apply a discount code

Get 11% Off

No thanks, I don't want to save money

burger-menu

essays on beauty standards

Essay On Beauty Standards

Analysis of where the girls are, by susan douglas.

Due to media advertisements, women have felt the pressure to look good more than ever. In the book Where the Girls are, the author Susan Douglas expresses what women sometimes feel when they are exposed to media advertisements. "Special K ads make most of us hide our thighs in shame. On the one hand, on the other hand, that’s not just me, that’s what it means to be a woman in America" (Douglas 1995). Women struggle every day with these societal pressures that the media has created and sadly it is only getting worst. The media tends to promote thinness, flawless skin, hair and labels it as "ideal."

Jamaica Kincaid Woman

Women are programmed to believe that they have to look a certain way to be accepted in today’s society. Even from birth, they do things in certain cultures to change a baby’s physical form. Such as squeezing the nose to make it smaller or stretching the neck or legs to make it longer. We as women are taught to look a certain way or do thongs to look beautiful. Images in the media, history, our upbringing, and culture has a lot to do with it. Starting from a young age, things, such as Disney princess and even the unrealistic shape of Barbie was showing us that, that is what we are supposed to aim to look like. In the end we lose our self-respect, dignity and even jeopardize our health to maintain today’s society beauty standards. We as women stop at no cost to be accepted and branded as beautiful.

The Purity Myth Analysis

In a society that is heavily influenced by mass media, women are repeatedly compartmentalized into unrealistic, and often degrading standards of appearance and sexuality. Doris Bazzini’s research on magazines and Caroline Heldman’s blog explores themes related to a woman’s appearance, while Jessica Valenti elaborates on the concept of virginity in her essay titled, “The Purity Myth”. Despite the diversity in scope when it comes to womanhood, there is a numerous set of expectations that a female must fit in order to be “ideal”. However, this checklist is so specific and debasing that it renders the criteria useless. The three main pre-requisites in being the ideal woman include physical attractiveness, sexual accessibility, and purity. The pressure

Black Women In The 1950's

This advertisement was most likely published around the 1950’s. Women was supposed to fulfill certain roles during the 1950’s. The perfect wife was supposed to stay home and have dinner ready and on the table for when her husband arrives home from work. The advertisement says a lot about how some men may view their wives and many women who always had need for a man. Women would more than likely be shown doing the “nonworking roles of the home” then a man would. If the portrayal could be different such as the man being the cook or the parent who stays home and takes care of the kid’s things would be very different. Women would be seen as the more dominant role in the relationship. Men would have to have dinner on the table before their wife

Media Effect On Body Image Essay

The media portrays the average person as flawless, thin, tall, and beautiful. They advertise products that can help a person achieve what they call “perfection.” They slap photos all over the place, on billboards, magazines, and ads, showing us what a “real” person looks like. The media brainwashes us into believing that we need to meet their standards in order to achieve ultimate beauty and should we stray from the path they pave, we will not be considered beautiful. Our society places too much emphasis on our appearances, forcing many to undergo drastic changes to become “beautiful.” Many people begin to develop issues concerning their body and image. Teenagers, especially, feel the need to conform to society's view of the perfect body. They feel the need to have flawless skin, to be thin, to be tall, and to be perfect. They don't understand

Susan Bordo Never Just Pictures Summary

As guest editor of Star Telegram newspaper, I did what was asked of me and reviewed the article written by Susan Bordo “Never Just Pictures”. Bordo focuses on body image and our perception of beauty and how we are “supposed” to look according to the media. “Never Just Pictures” should be published because Susan Bordo has factual evidence to back up her reasoning to her claim about body disorders, the role that different types of media have on society, and how it is creating a false image of what true beauty really is.

Barbie Dystopianis Duhamel Analysis

In this essay, I will explore the themes of various poems from “Kinky”, by Denise Duhamel. The poems “The Limited Edition Platinum Barbie” and “One Afternoon When Barbie Wanted to Join the Military”, reflect upon the oppressive beauty standards and gender expectations in our culture and hyperbolize them to a dystopian point. Duhamel uses Barbie as a metaphor throughout these poems, and addresses our culture’s misogyny, while making Barbie a first person character and giving her a voice.

Social Media Affecting Women's Body Image

According to a survey done by Jesse Fox, Ph.D., 80% of women feel bad about themselves just by looking in the mirror (Dreisbach). This has happened because of social media being changed to make girls feel like they need to have a certain body shape. Models and celebrities in magazines and media show unrealistic beauty and it contributes to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and much more (Seventeen magazine). Media has put lots of stress on women throughout history with changing body shapes. A survey done by Dove found results that 9 out of 10 women want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance. Social media even makes girls compare themselves to their peers, instead of just to celebrities. In turn, it makes girls feel

Persuasive Essay On The Barbie Doll

Your decisions to comply with society’s view of “beauty” are no longer subconscious, but rather are more conscious-driven decisions. Barbie’s slender figure remains idolized; however, it has evolved from a plastic doll to a self-starving model that is photo-shopped on the pages of glossy magazines. You spend hours in front of a mirror adjusting and perfecting your robotic look while demanding your parents to spend an endless amount of money on cosmetics and harmful skin products to acquire a temporary version of beauty. Consider companies such as Maybelline, which have throughout the ages created problematic and infantilizing campaigns and products for women. More specifically consider the “Baby Lips” product as well as the company slogan, “maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline,” that reiterates the male notions of beauty to which women are subjected. Society’s perception of male beauty isn’t tied as inherently to age as it is for women, in that cosmetic companies continually market products to consumers through the male gaze. Women are constantly defined by their appearance, which is problematic in and of itself, but this problem is exacerbated by society’s rampant ageism which tells women they must maintain youthful, feminine looks as they

Beauty In The Media's Unrealistic Standards For Beauty

There has been an increasing number of women that are dissatisfied with themselves due to constant external pressure to look perfect. YWCA’s “Beauty at Any Cost” discusses this in their article saying that, “The pressure to achieve unrealistic physical beauty is an undercurrent in the lives of virtually all women in the United States, and its steady drumbeat is wreaking havoc on women in ways that far exceed the bounds of their physical selves” (YWCA). Being surrounded by society’s definitions of beauty has definitely taken a toll on American women’s confidence. This toll becomes evident from statistics such as, “7 in 10 girls believe that they are not good enough or don’t measure up

Pressure On Women In Society

Whether it’s magazine covers, instagram, twitter, on television or just on the world wide web in general, everywhere we look we see stunning models. Models that are incredibly thin and can look good in anything. Our society is obsessed with how perfect they look, yet at the end of the day women everywhere looks in the mirror and doesn’t see the body of the girl she sees on social media. Even though women come in all shapes and sizes in nature, the expectation to have a skinny, perfect body just seems to be the expectation for our society nowadays. Society puts too much pressure on females to have the perfect body. The emphasis for a girls ideal body to be perfect, thin, but curvy at the same time affects women emotionally and causes them feelings of, body dissatisfaction, can cause eating disorders, and major psychological issues.

Psychological Effect: Self Confidence And Self-Esteem: A Psychological Analysis

According to Britton (2012), last 2008, YWCA USA developed a report Beauty at Any Cost wherein they discuss the consequences of beauty obsession of every woman in America. It shows that beauty obsession results from a decrease in the level of self-esteem. It also gives a problem to the Americans because it’s also putting a dent in their pockets. It states that because of those cosmetics many people have decreased the level of self-esteem because of those cosmetics. It also says that it is also a problem for every American because just to be beautiful they will buy every cosmetic they can

Portrayal Of Women In Advertising Essay

Many advertisements try to sell us values and make us feel sad, happy or fearful. Women then fall prey to these advertisements and become obsessed with what the ideal female beauty is. Women mostly look up to thin, tall, blonde white women with blue eyes and go to great extents to achieve this look. Men also play a part, as they judge women in real life based on what they are shown in advertisements, the warped

Umberto Eco's Essay: The History Of Beauty

It is clear that there is a loss of individuality when it comes to beauty. This is evident to see through social media and dating apps that are based on appearance, which is turning individuals highly superficial in relation to what is physically beautiful. Famous figures and social media influencers, for example the Kardashians, portray idealistic beauty standards. By these influencers selling products as well as themselves and their brand, consumers believe the gimmick that if they buy a product indorsed by their favourite celebrity, they will be one step closer to achieving what Eco describes as ‘the good and the beautiful’. However, this proves to have negative effects on self confidence, signalling that one has to conform to how a heavily social media influenced society perceives

More about Essay On Beauty Standards

Related topics.

The Essay Writing Experts UK Essay Experts

Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay. Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers.

View full disclaimer

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com.

Development and Changes to Beauty Standards

Reference this

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!

Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Related Services

Student working on a laptop

Essay Writing Service

Student reading book

Student reading and using laptop to study

DMCA / Removal Request

If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please:

Our academic writing and marking services can help you!

Related Lectures

Study for free with our range of university lectures!

Academic Knowledge Logo

Freelance Writing Jobs

Looking for a flexible role? Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher?

Study Resources

Free resources to assist you with your university studies!

Search Support Articles

*You can also browse our support articles here >

Change Region / Country

Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors.

United Kingdom

United States

United Arab Emirates

Saudi Arabia

ESSAY SAUCE

ESSAY SAUCE

FOR STUDENTS : ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD ESSAY

Essay: The effects of beauty standards in women

Essay details and download:.

Text preview of this essay:

This page of the essay has 1,259 words. Download the full version above.

The purpose of this paper is to show the effects of beauty standards in women. Women experience daily harassment from the people surrounding them because they don’t fit the feminine beauty standards. It is an issue that should be addressed because with harassment, women start looking for ways to fit into those beauty standards and some of the procedures are harming their minds and body. Beauty standards gradually change overtime and these past years are a lot more toned down from before, but it seems that more people are harassing women because they fit and do not fit into these so-called feminine beauty standards.

Introduction

Beauty standards differ from each country. The West having the typical round eyes, small face, thin bodies (Hankart, 2019); and East Asia having fair skin, big eyes, and a slim face and body (Kong, 2016). Beauty standards from the West have changed dramatically. From skinny bodies to flawless skin, it was then a “trend” to become a bit more on the plump side. You will be called malnourished whenever you are leaning towards the skinny side, but will then be called fat if you are on the chubbier side (Kamit, 2020).

Although there are more beauty standards existing in society, these two are the most influential. More women desire to have these physical traits and it makes them insecure whenever they think that they do not fit into the stereotyped beauty standards. Opinion from other people in society definitely matters to a person. It may not be important, but it will be sure that you will be affected with one’s opinion on you may it be negative or positive.

With the harsh opinions coming from society affecting a woman’s mental health , it might take a toll on their physical health (Greenfield, 2018). Other’s who are called will undergo unhealthy diet plans, depression, and eating disorders. Those who are then called skinny eat too much to the point of vomiting. The one’s who criticized by their facial features opt to undergo plastic surgery to achieve their desired features.

Simple standards can cause those actions and the people around them are responsible for it. Women never desired to be picked on because of the fact that they do not fit into society’s standards.

Discussions

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. A common proverb that almost everybody knows of. But why do we still seek for a stereotypic beauty standard?

Beauty standards started back in Ancient Greek and continued to happen so. It was passed on every era and became what is it now. Diana Vreeland, a special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York said that, “Faces go in and out of fashion,” hence the ever-changing beauty standards our society goes by. (Romm, 1987)

Although it does sound like these standards only cause negative effects, there are some underlying good outcomes from this toxic silent rule in the industry. Marketing, business, and many more hire women with faces and bodies that fit into these standards creating more audience for them and their products, although this is usually seen in men’s magazine (Arvidsson, 2009). One example is the Victoria Secrets franchise. As much as possible, they would use the stereotypical face and bodies to fit into their designs for clothes and lingerie. This creates a big impact for the models, the brand itself, and for society. But underneath all of that bling, the women who model for Victoria’s Secret undergoes through hellish body training and unhealthy diets (Boan & Opelka, 2019). With the standard “model body-type” Victoria Secret displays in the market, there are women who cannot buy this famous set of lingerie/clothes because they do not fit into those standards. This limits a woman’s potential to become “beautiful”. When this happens, women tend to succumb to eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia (Petre, 2019); others go through unhealthy lifestyles and push themselves with way too much exercise.

Another positive outcome from beauty standards is the wide variety of makeup. Since beauty standards has changed drastically overtime, many makeup companies expand their products. But again, this comes with a hefty price. The women they choose as models for their products has the typical smooth fair beautiful skin, high nose, big eyes. This directly influences woman consumers. Sometimes they’ think that this type of makeup or look won’t fit them because it will only fit those models and will likely choose to do plastic surgery. Plastic surgery is not wrong. You can pick whatever you wanted to do with your face, but the problem is that some plastic surgeries do go wrong. This causes complications like hematoma, infection, blood loss, nerve damage, etc. (Schaefer, 2019). Plastic surgery does not only take a toll on your physical looks, but it also affects you psychologically. Patients who find themselves dissatisfied with their surgery becomes depressed and anxious. This leads to social isolation, family problems, or even self-destructive behaviors (Dittmann, 2005).

If you are a woman that fit into those beauty standards, you are also most likely a target of harassment. This issue is not unheard of, but it is not addressed properly because society would think that they’re only giving the person a compliment. Women experience daily harassment may it be when they go outside, at their workplace, when they post pictures of them in the internet, whenever, wherever it may be (Chatterjee, 2018).

Women, whatever their size and facial features may be, experience harassment and bullying from society. These causes women to change physically and psychologically. Most outcomes have negative effects, but there are still very few positive outcomes. This problem will only be solved if society would stop having ill thoughts about women and if society would think healthier. We can achieve this by educating ourselves, standing up for women, and recognizing to the problem (Vargas-Cohn, 2015). Women can be so much more if we do not limit them to what our eyes see.

Arvidsson, S. (2009). A Gender Based Adjectival Study of Women’s and. Högskolan I Gävle.

Boan, D., & Opelka, B. (2019, May 11). The impossible standards you need to meet to become a Victoria’s Secret Angel . Retrieved from Insider: https://www.insider.com/impossible standards-for-victorias-secret-angel-2017-11

Bradley University. (n.d.). The Body Project. Retrieved from Bradley University: https://www.bradley.edu/sites/bodyproject/

Chatterjee, R. (2018, February 21). A New Survey Finds 81 Percent Of Women Have Experienced Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from National Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/21/587671849/a-new-survey-finds eighty-percent-of-women-have-experienced-sexual-harassment

Dittmann, M. (2005, September). Plastic surgery: Beauty or beast? Retrieved from American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/monitor/sep05/surgery

Greenfield, S. (2018). When Beauty is the Beast: The Effects of Beauty Propaganda on Female Consumers. Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects.

Hankart, T. (2019, November 11). VOGUE: Still Spreading Western Beauty Ideals? Retrieved January 2021, from Diggit Magazine: https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/vogue-western beauty-ideals

Kamit, I. (Director). (2020). The Unrealistic Toxic Beauty Standard Is Deadly [Motion Picture].

Kong, D. (2016, September 21). Unmasking East Asia’s Beauty Ideals. Retrieved from Business Of Fashion: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/china/unmasking-east-asias-beauty ideals

Petre, A. (2019, October 30). 6 Common Types of Eating Disorders (and Their Symptoms). Retrieved from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders

Romm, S. (1987, January 27). BEAUTY THROUGH HISTORY. Retrieved from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1987/01/27/beauty-through history/

Schaefer, A. (2019, April 26). 10 of the Most Common Plastic Surgery Complications. Retrieved from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/most-common-plastic-surgery complications

Vargas-Cohn, B. (2015, September 25). 5 Ways to Stop Bullying and Move into Action. Retrieved from Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/stop-bullying-create-upstanders-becki-cohn vargas

...(download the rest of the essay above)

About this essay:

If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows:

Essay Sauce, The effects of beauty standards in women . Available from:<https://www.essaysauce.com/sociology-essays/the-effects-of-beauty-standards-in-women/> [Accessed 04-03-23].

These Sociology essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies.

* This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date.

Essay Categories:

Privacy Overview

Essay Sample on The Negative Impact of Societal Beauty Standards

In today’s time, societal beauty standards are present in everyday life, all around the world. Beauty standards are the ideal concepts of what one’s appearance should be, which affects majority of society. These standards have been observed throughout majority of time. However, in recent years, these concepts have become increasingly unrealistic. Societal beauty standards are often extended through the world by the media, these standards have become unattainable throughout the years, which often result in a spike of both physical and mental illnesses in people of all ages, gender, and race.

To begin, beauty standards often portray that a man or woman needs to look a certain way to be attractive. In the article “The Effect of Beauty Standards on Adolescents,” Sneha Kandalgaonkar says, “Women are expected to have a flat stomach, curves, thigh gaps, smaller noses, and fit a certain body type. Men are expected to be muscular, have abs, and have a very low body fat percentage” (Kandalgaonkar). In society, every person is different. Whether it be a different race or body type, each person is unique. However, beauty standards often tell people that they must look a certain way to become attractive. Here, Kandalgaonkar tells of how society wants women to be skinny and to have smaller facial features, while men are expected to be muscular and fit. This shows that societal beauty standards are negative because they only fit a small range of people. Beauty standards do not include people’s differences, and what makes them all unique. This can result in people who do not fit into society’s standards feeling as if they are unattractive, since they do not conform to society’s image of the ideal person.

Secondly, societal beauty standards can cause one to obtain a negative body image. According to Lauren Muhlhiem in “The Connection Between Body Image and Eating Disorders,” “Studies show that approximately 50 percent of preadolescent girls and 30 percent of preadolescent boys dislike their body, and that 60 percent of adult women and 40 percent of adult men have a negative body image” (Muhlhiem). A negative body image is often associated with majority of people, no matter the gender or age. Beauty standards will portray an ideal image, and if one does not appear this way, they will often be dissatisfied with their appearance.  Mulheim tells of how in preadolescent girls, around half have a negative body image, while thirty percent of preadolescent boys have a negative body image. These are children who range from the age of nine to thirteen. This reveals that societal beauty standards do not just affect teens and adults. These unattainable standards also affect children whose lives have barely begun. Children should be concerned with what they are going to play next, instead of worrying about their appearance. Unattainable beauty standards cause people to focus on their exterior appearance instead of focusing on what matters. This shows how the toxicity of beauty standards affects people of all gender and age. 

In addition, body dissatisfaction can have a detrimental effect on a person’s life. In “What are the Negative Effects of Beauty Standards,” Ben Davis says, “Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviors and eating disorders” (Davis). Body dissatisfaction is the negative attitude towards one’s appearance, in comparison to their actual physical appearance. Beauty standards can often cause people to develop body dissatisfaction, which can spiral into other serious issues. For example, Davis tells of how a person with body dissatisfaction often has both mental and physical issues. This further proves how societal beauty standards are negative because it shows how they can cause one’s life to negatively spiral. Beauty standards can cause eating disorders, which can become life-threatening, as well as mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia, which can lower the quality of someone’s life. Unattainable beauty standards can often result in one’s life being miserable, which can result in more serious complications such as suicidal thoughts.

The media also influences the impact societal beauty standards on a person. According to Mavis Henriques and Debasis Patnaik, “The images on social media sites are idealized and unreal, due to digital alteration thereby setting high expectations from individuals in society. Imperfections are removed by airbrushing and using other digitized apps to whiten teeth, slim waists and reduce sizes in order to be accepted as beauty ideals” (Henriques and Debasis). Social media is something that is prominent in modern day life. Whether it be a phone, computer, tv, or iPad, most people have access to a source of internet. On the internet, there is often pictures or ads depicting the ideal person. However, majority of the time these pictures portray a false image. Mavis Henriques and Debasis Patnaik tell of how these pictures are often photoshopped to fit the beauty ideals. The increase in technological advancements substantially contributes to the unattainable aspects of beauty standards. Pictures are often altered so that a person appears thinner and flawless and fits into the ideal beauty standards. These false images can cause one to gain a negative body image, since their bodies do not appear like the altered images online. Furthermore, people will often alter their own images, to try and conform into society’s ideal image. This is important because people are changing the way their bodies look because society influences them to, instead of embracing their authentic selves.  

Furthermore, celebrities and influencers are also known to further influence society’s unattainable beauty standards. In “How Society’s Standards of Beauty Affect Men and Women” Sara Mohammed explains, “…many women base their careers off of dieting and exercising to raise money by posting pictures of themselves and marketing the latest fat loss products and skinny teas, which are promoted on social media platforms that include multiple teas, extracts, and herbs that are supposed to help people lose weight” (Mohammed). In today’s time, celebrities and influencers are held on a pedestal, and are known to have great influence on others. These people are known to do brand deals with companies on social media to make money. They will make posts in support of things such as teas and pills, which are supposed to make people lose weight.  However, most of the time these supplements do not work. People will buy them because the people they look up to in the media are in support of them but will experience no results. These teas and supplements can also cost a substantial amount of money. Companies will advertise these weight loss tricks to help people, but in reality, it is all a money scam. However, people will continue to purchase these weight loss supplements because they feel as if they need to look like the people who advertise them. This can make one spend a substantial amount of money on weight loss supplements, of which will give them no results. 

On the other hand, beauty standards are resulting in body-positive ideals, that focus on better living and self-love. Although there are toxic beauty standards in the media, in recent years there has been an increase in body positive beauty standards. These standards include people celebrating their stretch marks, cellulite, and the things that makes their bodies unique. According to Rachel Cohen, Amy Slater, and Jasmine Fardouly, “…research shows that viewing body positive Instagram content may actually improve women’s body image, at least in the short term” (Cohen, Slater, Fardouly). This shows that the increasing amount of body positivity standards are influencing women to love themselves. However, while there is an increasing amount of body positive beauty standards, the negatives continue to outweigh the positives. In the article “Beauty Standards: The Positive Effects of the Standards of Beauty” it says, “While the ideals are supposed to promote health awareness, fitness motivation, and self-love, it unfortunately results in many unfavorable consequences…beauty standards are unrealistic and unhealthy to pursue and misinforms the public on what true beauty is. While not all beauty image ideals promote negative feelings and dissatisfaction, many believe that the negative effects far outweigh any positive effects” (“Beauty Standards: The Positive Effects of the Standards of Beauty”). While there has been an uptick in positive beauty standards, there is still a large amount of negative beauty standards prominent in society. However, with the increasement in positive standards, there is hope that in future years, people will be able to be comfortable with their true selves. 

In conclusion, beauty standards often portray that one needs to look a certain type to be considered attractive. These standards can cause one to gain a negative body image, which can lead to a poorer quality of life. The media is also responsible for influencing the negative standards. Furthermore, celebrities and influencers are also known to promote beauty standards and false solutions. Societal beauty standards are spread throughout the world by social media and can often many illnesses in people of all ages, gender, and race. In order to fix this, society needs to learn that there is more to a person than their external appearance. While there is an uptick in awareness of positive beauty standards, society needs to come together to put an end to the toxicity of the unattainable beauty standards that are present in life today.

Related Samples

Didn't find the perfect sample?

essays on beauty standards

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Hamburger menu

Preview

Beauty Standards

essays on beauty standards

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Firms of endearment analysis.

Unilever owns the Dove brand that was praised for uniquely marketing their skincare products. Dove created the “Real Beauty” marketing campaign that promised to “help real women reveal their own real beauty” and the Dove Self-Esteem Fund that promotes a “change in young girls’ attitudes about themselves” (Sheth, et. al, 2014, 95). This is a dramatic step away from similar companies in the market that advertised only one standard of beauty. While Dove can be commended for addressing this social issue, the “Real Beauty” campaign should not be mistaken for Unilever’s desire to inspire women. Unilever also owns Axe, a skincare line marketed towards males that routinely depicts women in the media’s traditional sense of beauty (Stampler, 2013). The “Real Beauty” campaign is not a reflection of Unilever’s need to encourage a healing message in their marketing, rather the “Real Beauty” campaign is a way for Dove to differentiate themselves in the market to sell more product. The campaign is not a company view, but a branding…

International Concepts of Beauty Final Draft

beauty industry, even if it means a lifetime of devotion to beauty regimen. Beauty seems to…

The Role Of Racism In Advertising

Young dark skinned women found it to be racist due to the ‘before and after’ words. The advert shows a timeline starting from the left with an African American, Latina women in the middle and white woman at the end to the far right. This suggests that getting more visibly beautiful skin means having lighter and whiter skin. Furthermore, not only is it the colour of skin which is found to be an issue but also the models size. The model underneath the word ‘after’ is white, skinny and blonde. The ideology message sent to the audience is that women need to have a particular look, in order to be beautiful. Dove may have not designed the ad in this manner on purpose, but the general public do.…

Unrealistic Beauty Standards

think they have to look that way to be beautiful. Society has the concept of beauty all wrong. Rosen, Christine, a senior editor at the New Atlantis magazine: “Beauty is what we are granted, through no effort of our own, at birth. “. Therefore beauty shouldn’t be about looks but that’s what society has made it up to be about. Today “What’s natural is declared a flaw when it's airbrushed out of photos, where a woman's waistline is tweaked before her picture is approved for print” (Spenceley). Today’s standards have made it to be where fake is the new norm and real is rare and unacceptable.…

Dove Campaign

I am really glad to finally see a beauty brand advertise all kinds of women and to actually see them start a campaign that emphasizes the idea that beauty really does come in all shapes, sizes and age groups. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is an excellent way to restructure the footprints media has left on our superficial society. So far we have been brought up with the ideology that one has to look a certain way in order to really be beautiful, but very few people actually realize that no one is nearly perfect or that there is no perfect. Personally, I think that people thinking you’re beautiful is a minimal contribution to self-esteem because if you don’t feel beautiful, then others’ opinions won’t matter. I think that the Dove campaign will achieve their goal of making all sorts of women and young girls feel good about themselves and who they are. Their campaign has such a strong message that many women have trouble coming to terms with. With this promotion of real beauty, Dove may actually be able to change women’s perceptions of their bodies and may actually start to get them to appreciate themselves for who they are not what they are. The first step to being beautiful is to believe in yourself and being confident that you are beautiful, and the rest will come naturally. This first step is also the hardest to overcome by many women because it is hard to quickly alter a message that has been etched in your mind for so long.…

Body Image Standards

Perhaps no time in history have body image standards had such an enormous impact on society. With today's mass media people can be subjected to thousands of images and messages daily, portraying the "ideal" body image. The people most often portrayed and effected by these messages are young women. Females can feel constant pressure to live up to these ideals which are most often unattainable. This pressure can cause detrimental physical and mental states. To fully understand this problem we must first ask ourselves, "Why?" Why has the female body been pushed to the forefront of society and media? It is undeniable that it is merely a marketing ploy. The beauty sector is a multibillion dollar a year industry. Companies such as Revlon, Cover Girl, Maybelline, L'Oreal insist that girls must look a certain way if they want to be anything. These corporations are only concerned with the bottom line. They take no responsibility for the negative image that they portray, in fact, that is what they thrive on. The worse self-image a woman has, the more beauty products she will buy to try and "improve" her looks. And there is no better way to make her think she is ugly than to subject her to thousands of unrealistic, airbrushed pictures of models to compare herself to. This way of thinking is further drilled into the female mind through women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue and so on. Never do you find an article entitled "Big is Beautiful". More often you will find "How to lose 20 lb.. so your man will love you!" sprawled across the cover of the latest issue. Occasionally magazines will run a heart touching article about an ex-models fight with bulimia. They will often forget to mention, however, that the same model was portrayed as the pinnacle of health and beauty on the cover of last years April issue. The beauty industry and magazines are not the sole cause of the problem though, there is plenty of blame to go around. And so we look to…

Objectifying Women

Dye, L. A Critique of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Canadian Journal of Media Studies , 5 (1).…

The Beauty Myth

The Beauty Myth, published by Doubleday in New York City, hit the shelves in 1992. Naomi Wolf wrote this 348-page book. Wolf attended Yale University and New College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. Her essays have been printed in many well-known magazines and newspapers, including Esquire and the New York Times. The Beauty Myth was Wolf's first book. She has also written two other books, Fire With Fire and Promiscuities. Wolf is a recognized feminist. She has done a lot of writing and has spoken to many audiences about issues involving feminism. In The Beauty Myth, Wolf's basic thesis states that there is a connection between female liberation and female beauty. She writes: The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us….During the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing medical specialty….Recent research consistently shows that inside the majority of the…attractive, successful working women, there is a …dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control. (Wolf 10) Wolf's research shows that there is an attack against feminism that uses images of female beauty to keep women "in their place". Women today are more powerful than ever before, yet they are more self-conscience as well. The media has created a standard of beauty that is impossible to attain and women are developing obsessive behaviors trying to measure up to that standard. We are constantly surrounded by images of the "perfect" woman. She is tall, thin and beautiful. She rarely looks older than 25, has a flawless body, and her hair and clothes are always perfect. She is not human. She is often shown in pieces – a stomach, a pair of legs, a beautifully made up eye or mouth. Our culture judges women, and women judge…

Ad Analysis Jennifer Aniston

This month, Women’s Health magazine presented an ad for the popular Aveeno lotion and body wash. Aveeno’s primary goal is to persuade its audience that Aveeno is the healthy choice and will cause you to have more beautiful skin. To sway the reader to buy the product, the ad pictures Jennifer Aniston, who seems to have tremendously smooth and stunningly polished skin. Jenifer Aniston is flawlessly sitting on a white couch, with a beige background. At the top of ad, there is an Aveeno logo and right below it says “Naturally Beautiful Results”. At the bottom of the ad, a bottle of Aveeno body wash and lotion is pictured right beside the words “Healthy skin equals beautiful skin”. Women’s Health magazine is designed to provide health and beauty…

Influence Of America's Standards Of Beauty: Misconceptions

Beauty is a misconception. America's standards of beauty are based on physical appearance (hair, shape, complexion, height, and etc). Standards of beauty promoted in the media are deceiving because in magazines, photos are edited to change the physical body structure, complexions, and facial features of models and celebrities. Editors say that photos are edited to inspire people to stay fit, to draw attention to the magazine, and to make the people more appealing to the human eye.…

The Beauty Myth Research Paper

In the early 1990’s, it was reported that eleven million women in the United States suffer from various eating disorders. At the same time, at least ninety percent of people struggling with eating disorders are female (Stephens). Many researchers tried to figure out why so many women today were suffering from these terrible conditions that destroy people from the inside out. After thorough amounts of research were done, it was concluded that today’s society generates intense amounts of pressure on women to fit an “ideal image” of the models they see in various ways. Thanks to false advertising, false images of women, and the changing “desires” of society, the Beauty Myth gives women an image of themselves that is physically impossible to achieve.…

Humans seem to be obsessed with beauty, at least in our western culture. Thousands of advertisements are created and put into publication everyday and then distributed to communities all over the world. As we flip through our magazines and newspapers, turn on the TV, or glance at the billboards high above us, we can't help being influenced by what we see. Advertisements can be successful at selling their product to their audience by manipulating the consumers' fears. Advertising surrounds us and creates a world that we only wish existed. They focus on sending out a message that informs women what they need to do in order to become accepted by society. We will never see an ad that is labeled the perfect woman or man because if society gives us evidence that such as person or image is real, it can be easily manipulated and their role as the decision maker of beauty is now questioned.…

Modern times have revealed a more tolerant attitude expressed by society towards those who in the past have been seen as lower class. This included people of other races, of mental disability, those in poverty, diseased, the elderly, children, and women. However, underneath this false sense of tolerance and the “standard belief” that women and men are created equal is the beauty myth. The Beauty Myth is everywhere in media and the social order. Women’s rights and equality is controlled through false standards of beauty by society. “It is a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against women’s advancement: the beauty myth”.…

Beauty Standards In America

Beauty standards in America have been changing with time. What was seen as beauty years ago has now changed. All through history, to be underweight was normally frowned upon. It was a indication of poverty and absence of resources. In fact, obesity was viewed as “prestigious and admired” (Bissell 4). To be overweight was seen as an accomplishment, as a way to judge success. Each time and generation has its standards. We now live in a period where fixating on our bodies and our looks have become a daily activity. The rates of obesity are rising, but it is no longer a sign of success. Instead, we are living in a world that idealizes the sickly thin and shames the overweight. The media is responsible for creating standards about beauty and body image. Women are suffering from negative self-perception, which leads to an increase in dissatisfaction with oneself and can cause many negative effects such as…

White Women In Advertising Essay

Dove created their Campaign for Real Beauty ®, Real Beauty Sketches, and Ad Makeover spots to increase awareness of the messages other advertisements send to women in today’s culture (Rothenberg). However, even though these women are more ‘realistic’, they are still pretty women who wear makeup and nice clothes like models and actresses do. It’s a great idea, but it’s not enough. Advertisements need to start portraying women more realistically, as people with thoughts and feelings, not as mere objects for entertainment and enjoyment that can be controlled and taken advantage…

Related Topics

preview

Standard Of Beauty Essay

It is no secret that women often change their bodies in.

It is no secret that women often change their bodies in order to meet the societal expectations that are portrayed in the media. The patriarchy and the male gaze dictate the ideal female which is depicted on television, in movies, and in magazines. Woman most often alter their weight in order to match the small slim physique of models. Weight is one of the main aspects of the female body that the patriarchy controls. Woman are taught by society that their natural body is not beautiful and that they must conform to the societal standard of a thin, size 0 woman in order to accommodate the male gaze. The patriarchy dictates this of a woman in order to maintain male dominance in society. However, these expectations have a negative effect on

Body Image In Society Essay

The image of a woman’s body has always been the center of attention to society all over the world. Globally, anyone who thinks of a woman’s ideal body, immediately thinks of a thin body with no cellulite and no imperfections, a small waist and soft skin, between other descriptions that are considered “hot” and “good looking”. Females often feel pressured to attain society’s highest expectations because it is easier to fail them, rather than meet them. The music and other industries, like advertisements constantly portrays an ideal and beautiful body for women, in most cases thin. When women see these images and then look at their own bodies, which are most of the time different from what is portrayed as ideal in society’s eyes, they begin

The Media 's Effect On Women 's Body Image

We live in a body-obsessed culture. Women feel pressured to have the perfect bodies, and we believe so many lies about what a perfect body is from the media. Women are today influenced by images that we see in the media, and sometimes the influence is so great that we risk our lives trying to portray what we see. Across the board throughout different civilizations, there have been so many distortions of what the perfect body looks like placed in our minds by the media. Many people between ages 19 - 50 become obsessed with looking like the images they see delineated by the media. Women and teenagers what to look like their favorite celebrity, so they do plastic surgeries to portray what they

Body Image Essay

societal pressure, and are developing insecurities traditionally associated with women. Much of the body dissatisfaction that we see today can be attributed to the enormous disparity between our current cultural beauty ideals and our actual bodies.

The Princess Bride Research Paper

Now a day appearances are everything. People are always striving to look good wherever they go. Many people take a look at them in the mirror and want to change the way they look. This is all caused by the judgement of our society today. This does not only occur in the 21st century it has been happening since the beginning of humankind. This affects men and women equally, because often time’s men judge women and women judge men, but people can get judged by their own gender as well. Every year millions of people do plastic surgery to make themselves more beautiful and appealing. This is done by men and

Thin Ideal Media Research Paper

Women of all ages, especially numerous college-age women embrace unlikely ideals of what their body size and shape essentially should be. These ideas can be in cooperation physically and emotionally corrupt; without them even apprehending the damage they causes themselves. Most women typically want to look their finest try to excel in their goals, jobs, and more just by being beautiful. There are billions of products and even procedures, such as plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, and surgeries to place on permanent makeup, which is available and advertised in the daily media. And all of these advertisements claim that they can help women accomplish these goals of their desired “ideal of beauty”. This is a problem that we can bluntly see within today’s culture. What our society reflects as their view of beauty, has the tendency to change, erratically. And this means that our pursuit of beauty tends to be lifelong and we will be subjected to the fancies of trendsetters, media, and fashion industries on a daily

Unrealistic Standards

Society's standard of beauty is unrealistic and simply a fantasy. People think that beauty is the models they see on magazines or on TV. I remember watching a video that demonstrated the process of the editing of the models to make them appear perfect. I attached a link for a video of dove evolution. It can be very discouraging to compare ourselves to those unrealistic standards. People develop eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia in efforts to try to be skinnier. Women feel the needs to cover themselves with makeup and have plastic surgery to try to become what our society thinks is beautiful.

Stereotypes In The Fashion Industry

Women try to erase any unwanted features from themselves that appear as unacceptable in men’s modern society today. For example ; moles, body hair, acne and blemishes, body fat, and any other visible ‘flaws’ we contain. As far the fashion industry goes we have chosen to think that as long as what we are wearing can be considered ‘sexy’ and ‘feminine’ that it is acceptable despite if it makes us uncomfortable. We choose to wear tight clothing and shoes that constrain our movement. Our beauty desires that we constantly try to feed consumes our lives, health, well-being and finances. The dedication and alterations women have made to eating less, living, moving, and speaking differently is to satisfy the stereotypes and sexual desires that live

Beauty Standards And Its Effects On Women Essay

It 's not a mystery that society 's ideals of beauty have a drastic and frightening effect on women. Popular culture frequently tells society, what is supposed to recognize and accept as beauty, and even though beauty is a concept that differs on all cultures and modifies over time, society continues to set great importance on what beautiful means and the significance of achieving it; consequently, most women aspire to achieve beauty, occasionally without measuring the consequences on their emotional or physical being. Unrealistic beauty standards are causing tremendous damage to society, a growing crisis where popular culture conveys the message that external beauty is the most significant characteristic women can have. The approval of prototypes where women are presented as a beautiful object or the winner of a beauty contest by evaluating mostly their physical attractiveness creates a faulty society, causing numerous negative effects; however, some of the most apparent consequences young and adult women encounter by beauty standards, can manifest as body dissatisfaction, eating disorders that put women’s life in danger, professional disadvantage, and economic difficulty.

The Expectations : Physical And Behavioral

In our culture today, there is a heavy influence on how women should look. This picture shows a young girl who is having makeup put on by her mother; which is an obvious expression of the aesthetic expectations on women. Physical appearance is a big part of the expectation of women in our society today. Photo shopped models with airbrushed skin send the message that women should look flawless at all times with no blemishes. Makeup can be a way to pursue that image, but the images we are saturated with as a society are never truly obtainable. Females are sexualized in movies, ads, magazines, etc. and society forms the idea that these images are the ideal. They are expected to be thin, and delicate while still maintaining curves as well. Our culture is overrun with images and ideas that women should look a certain way, and often value women at how they rate on that scale. In this picture the young girl bears a striking resemblance to a Barbie doll; she is literally becoming

The Beauty Standard Essay

Together, we can lower the numbers of people dying from eating disorders and cosmetic surgeries by resisting the beauty ideal. We can choose “to not participate in the beauty rituals, to not support the industries that produce both images and products, and to create other definitions of beauty” (WVFV, pg. 232). The most crucial and easiest solution is to create other definitions of beauty. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide what is beautiful. What if someone decided that the only thing that could contribute to one’s beauty is who someone is on the inside? Wouldn’t our world be a completely different place? Instead of

An Extended Definition of Beauty Essay

The subjective element of beauty involves judgment, not opinion. Many people feel beauty is only something seen by the eyes. St. Thomas Aquinas views beauty in both the supernatural and natural orders. Aquinas lists the attributes of beauty to be found in nature. These are; unity, proportion, and clarity. We will see how these attributes of beauty are seen through the eye and felt by the heart.

The Definition of Beauty Essay

The definition of beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty has negative and positive influences on mostly people. Beauty is described by the inside and outside of us. Due to beauty, our self-esteem has been hurt dramatically, especially towards girls. Beauty is not always about our outside looks but it’s about our inside personality also.

Beauty Essay

The word beauty is defined as, “A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight” (en.oxforddictionaries.com). In this day and age, people, women especially, are being pressured more and more to keep up with this “image” that society says women should look like. The idea of a perfect woman today is comprised of clear skin, perfectly shaped eyebrows, straight white teeth, and a small waist with an oversized butt and breasts. There are plenty of women who may have all of the qualities just mentioned, but there are also many women who don’t have any of them. What people don’t realize is there is no right or wrong way to look. As new generations arise, ideas

Beauty And Beauty Essay

Media has an influence on beauty standards throughout the world. Not to mention, it affects women and men everywhere. TV and ads like magazines are major ways of spreading ideas of being physically fit, having natural straight long hair, and more. But there are some campaigns that are encouraging natural beauty, body peace, and high self-esteem. Society has fueled the media and holds responsibility for letting the media create a lack of confidence and desire to change in women; although, the media today is hard at work to create a solution. Our self-image as a woman is attacked all the time from every viewpoint. The fashion and media industries tell us over and over again about

Related Topics

essays on beauty standards

Proessay.com

Standards of Beauty Essay

In terms of increasing globalization which transports the beauty ideals to different parts of the world the beauty standards coming from fashion and media invalidate women’s natural beauty and frequently disrespect the diversity inherent in women of all shapes, ages and colors (Falkenhagen, 2002). It is natural that the media is the largest contributor to the standards of beauty people develop. Definite media illiteracy and so called blind observance of popular culture and its consumption results in appearance altering at the expense of health and makes contemporary society witness an alarming rate of anorexia and bulimia, plastic surgery promotion. For instance, over three-quarters of the female characters in TV comedies and shows are underweight, heavers acresses receive negative comments from male characters, eighty percent of which are followed with audience laughter. It is in turn bound up with psychological problems of those who consider themselves overweight and suffer from eating disorders for the benefit of beauty standards encouraged in mass media. TV shows create idealized illusions and push a thin beautiful person, selling their products by featuring bone-thin models.

What is known about beauty standards is that they vary a great deal across time and culture. If one compares women body shape and size in the Victorian era with the women ideal body shape of the present day, today’s models obviously look emaciated. Larger body size and skin paleness used to indicate status, while nowadays it is the other way round and tanness is a sign of leisure time. However, beauty has always been quite relative, the sense of human beauty is submerged beneath layers of emotional, rational and social development and the perception of beauty may become different as tastes change.

According to the numerous studies conducted, modern society tends to make negative assumptions about large people and even children experience the negative influence of media, TV shows in particular, on their body appreciation. Due to television shows which provide viewers with lofty ideals of beauty standards, children are misled believing that an ideal body type exists. They are hardly drawn attention to the fact that beauty is more about an outward expression of inner harmony than some idealized physical features which are next to unattainable.

Women’s natural search for a mate makes them keep abreast of what is popular in male environment and the very nature of competition requires them to try to correspond to the media images promoted in the TV shows. The weight standards of the Western pattern are getting increasingly harder to attain, Western cultural images of popular culture changed the way young Oriental girls feel their bodies. The Chinese researchers claim that urban residents of the country who were under the impact of Western TV shows and advertisements weighed less and strove to be thinner. Nigerian media and music also praised slim girls and encouraged more women to diet and exercise.

The Western ideal woman examples tear at women’s self-esteem not only in Africa and Asia and leads to difficulty in having personal boundaries, believing in their own decision-making ability, emotional distance, etc (Falkenhagen, 2002). Beauty becomes a synonym of youth and starvation, the number of real life women who strive for a similar underweight body is epidemic. About seventy-five percent of adolescent girls are dissatisfied with their weight and image. While ninety percent of all cosmetic surgery is performed on women and popular culture bringing forward television shows examines, promotes and benefits plastic surgery. Each girl feels the pressure to improve appearance and the more women watch the more likely they feel anxiety about their bodies. Such TV shows as The Swan play off the well-known children’s tales about Cinderella and popularize appearance changing as well as making it an essential part of mass culture.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

IMAGES

  1. Modern Standards Of Beauty And Attractiveness Essay

    essays on beauty standards

  2. College Essay: Short essay on beauty

    essays on beauty standards

  3. Media And Body Image Research Paper

    essays on beauty standards

  4. Beauty Standards Statistics

    essays on beauty standards

  5. Beauty Definition Essay

    essays on beauty standards

  6. 28+ Cosmetology Essay Examples most complete

    essays on beauty standards

VIDEO

  1. The Life Of Charlotte Brontë (FULL Audiobook)

  2. Beauty Standards That Make People Insecure part 1 #shorts

  3. Ben Kama

  4. What is Beauty?

  5. Improve your ESSAYS📝🇬🇧

  6. Beyond Clarity

COMMENTS

  1. Beauty Standards and Their Impact - 941 Words | Essay Example

    Beauty generally refers to the mixture of aesthetic qualities such as form, shape and color that pleases the eyesight. Beauty is divided into two broad branches, that is, human beauty and beauty in things around us. Human beauty can also be classified into physical beauty and beauty of the soul.

  2. Free Argumentative Essay About Beauty Standards | WePapers

    Beauty standards have historically and continue to reflect Eurocentric paradigms that prize light skin over dark skin, which is evident in media representations of ideal beauty. Because blackness has put certain individuals at an historical disadvantage, it is clear that beauty ideals continue to reflect a society that values whiteness.

  3. Essay On Beauty Standards - 1210 Words - Internet Public Library

    Essay On Beauty Standards 1210 Words5 Pages Is it wrong for commercial and/ or mass media to promote a specific beauty standard? Did you know that the average woman will have spent around $15,000 dollars on beauty products in their lifetime? That’s around $700,000 pesos.

  4. Development and Changes to Beauty Standards - UKEssays.com

    Development and Changes to Beauty Standards. Paper Type: Free Essay. Subject: Cultural Studies. Wordcount: 3872 words. Published: 8th Feb 2020. Reference this. Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp. Our world has developed and constantly alters standards for what is considered “beautiful.”.

  5. Essay: The effects of beauty standards in women - ESSAY SAUCE

    Beauty standards differ from each country. The West having the typical round eyes, small face, thin bodies (Hankart, 2019); and East Asia having fair skin, big eyes, and a slim face and body (Kong, 2016). Beauty standards from the West have changed dramatically.

  6. Essay Sample on The Negative Impact of Societal Beauty Standards

    In the article “The Effect of Beauty Standards on Adolescents,” Sneha Kandalgaonkar says, “Women are expected to have a flat stomach, curves, thigh gaps, smaller noses, and fit a certain body type. Men are expected to be muscular, have abs, and have a very low body fat percentage” (Kandalgaonkar). In society, every person is different.

  7. Free Essay: Beauty Standards - 1433 Words | Studymode

    Good Essays Unrealistic Beauty Standards think they have to look that way to be beautiful. Society has the concept of beauty all wrong. Rosen, Christine, a senior editor at the New Atlantis magazine: “Beauty is what we are granted, through no effort of our own, at birth. “.

  8. Standard Of Beauty Essay - 926 Words | Bartleby

    Beauty standards are often defined in terms of hairstyles, skin color, and body size. The measures involved in having to live up to these standards are often risky in nature. For decades, what is seen as beautiful is centered around a women’s weight and size. Today, that standard is often defined as being thin.

  9. Standards of Beauty Essay Example For FREE 📝 - New York Essays

    Standards of Beauty. Beauty is defined as the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), according to dictionary.com. Beauty has multiple interpretations in various cultures, especially in Western society, whose ...

  10. Standards of Beauty Essay - Proessay.com

    In terms of increasing globalization which transports the beauty ideals to different parts of the world the beauty standards coming from fashion and media invalidate women’s natural beauty and frequently disrespect the diversity inherent in women of all shapes, ages and colors (Falkenhagen, 2002).