Play Beauty Essay

837 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How media shape public perceptions

Beauty:
Is Society Pushing it too Far?
Jane Martin’s ten-minute play “Beauty” is about two women named Carla and Bethany who are great friends. Bethany was on the beach and found a lamp with a genie in it that allowed her to make three wishes. She wished for $25,000 to get a new car, to heal her uncle that was in intensive care after a car accident, and to be beautiful (541-542). In the play, Bethany and Carla discuss being beautiful; Bethany says she wants to be beautiful like Carla, and Carla says it is not that great because guys are always coming onto her and that she would rather be more like Bethany (542). After Bethany makes the wish both girls fall onto the floor from the explosion and when they got back up they had exchanged places (543). One of the important points made in the play “Beauty” is that every woman secretly desires to be beautiful. The problem with the desire to be beautiful is to what extreme will people go to achieve society’s idea of beauty?
With this in mind, today’s society has a high impact on body image, a higher impact than most people notice. “Female dissatisfaction with appearance - poor body image - begins at a very early age. Human infants begin to recognize themselves in mirrors at about two years old. Female humans begin to dislike what they see only a few years later” (Mirror, mirror). At such a young age in life females begin to feel unhappy with they way they look and it only gets worse as they get older. “In one American survey 81% of ten year old girls had already dieted at least once” (Mirror, mirror). Ten year old girls should not feel like they have to worry about appearance at such a young stage in their life and definitely shouldn’t be worrying about dieting. “Having a concern about ...

... middle of paper ...

... secretly. This play definitely coincides with today’s society because people are consistently unhappy with the way they look and most wish they looked like someone else. The media, magazines, and television have influenced society’s idea of beauty to the point where some people develop eating disorders. The impact society has on people’s concern for appearance has become an unhealthy obsession. Given these points, people need to be aware of the negative way society has impacted appearance and need to learn how to love themselves just the way they are rather than fall into society’s negative trap.

Works Cited
Martin, Jane. “Beauty.” LIT. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 541-543. Print.
"Mirror, mirror: A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image." Mirror, mirror. Social Issues Research Centre, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    In a world where many are led to believe that they fall short of what society depicts as “perfect”, it is still true that everyone is beautiful in their own way. There are even more demands on girls now a days than there has ever been before. Some may think they need to fit in, so they become someone they are not or they begin to act like a totally different person. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, illustrates society’s high and unrealistic expectations on the physical appearance of women, while failing to see that a woman’s self-esteem is at risk of being diminished.

    Read More

  • Perfection In Hawthorne's The Birth Mark

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Societal constructs of bodily perfection have a massive influence on both genders and on all ages. If you look at any magazine, you will see women constantly being compared to each other, whether it is in the “who wore it better” section or in the “do’s and don’ts” part of the magazine, comparing body images and overall appearances. All parts of the media that encompasses our daily lives are especially dangerous for young and impressionable teens because they see people being torn down for trying to express themselves, and are thus taught to not only don’t look like “don’ts”, but also look like the “do’s”. This is dangerous in that women in the magazine set very high standards that teens want to emulate, no matter the cost to themselves or their health. Celebrities have the benefit of media to make them appear perfect: Photoshop and makeup artists conceal the imperfections that are often too apparent to the naked eye. Viewing celebrities as exhibiting the ideal look or as idols will, in most cases, only damage the confidence of both young teens, and adults, and warp the reality of what true “beauty” really is. It makes teens never feel truly content with themselves because they will be aiming for an ideal that is physically impossible to attain and one that doesn’t exist in the real

    Read More

  • Marge Piercy’s Barbie Doll

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” she gives an in depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys.

    Read More

  • An Unhealthy Obsession: Unattainable Modern Standards of Beauty

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    People are always complaining about how they aren’t as pretty as models on billboards, or how they aren’t as thin as that other girl. Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s benefitting absolutely nobody and it just makes us feel bad about ourselves. The answer is because society has engraved in our minds that we need to be someone we’re not in order to look beautiful. Throughout time, society has shaped our attitudes about appearances, making it perfectly normal and even encouraged, to be five feet ten inches and 95 pounds. People have felt trapped by this ideal. Society has made these beauty standards unattainable, therefore making it self defeating. This is evident in A Doll’s House, where the main character, Nora, feels trapped by Torvald and society’s standard of beauty. The ideal appearance that is prevalent in society is also apparent in the novel, The Samurai’s Garden, where Sachi is embarrassed of the condition of her skin due to leprosy and the stigmas associated with the disease. The burden of having to live up to society’s standard of beauty can affect one psychologically and emotionally, as portrayed in A Doll’s House and The Samurai’s Garden.

    Read More

  • Formation of Imagined Communities

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sarwer, D. B., Grossbart, T. A., & Didie, E. R. (2003). Beauty and society. Seminars in

    Read More

  • Missrepresentation: The Image Of Women

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    We need to put a stop to all this. There are young girls already who are starving themselves, causing self-harm, depressed, humiliated. At that age, they should be focused on having fun with friends, and school. Not on this “perfect figure.” Personally being skinny my entire life is not a very positive thing. Friends will come up to me and ask me if I have an eating disorder, or how much time do I spend doing exercise, and the most common is “I want to be skinny like you.” This saddens me because they are not embracing their imperfections. That is what is making you unique, to stand out. Women and young girls need to stand up and start speaking up. Looks do not matter, what matters is how you feel about yourself, and how you want to feel.

    Read More

  • Describe The Relationship Between Connie And Her Mother

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    First, Connie and her mother focused on outward beauty rather than inward beauty, which can never be tarnished. Connie’s mother was jealous of her daughter’s beauty, because she knew she could no longer attain the beauty that she once possessed. She often scolded her daughter for admiring her own beauty in order to make herself feel more secure inside. Connie did not try in the least bit to make her mother’s struggle any easier, but instead gawked at her own beauty directly in front of her mother, and often compared her own beauty to others.

    Read More

  • The Media's Influence on Body Image Disorders

    1487 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is the perfect body type? Throughout our adolescence ages into the adult hood stage many of young women struggle to answer this question. Our idea of what the perfect body type is ever changing however it is always influenced by the Medias perception of what the perfect body image should look like. We all idolize these images we see on television and in magazines and some of us would do anything to look just like them. This image forces us to have self esteem issues.These advertisements are damaging both our mental and physical state of being Many young girls who take extreme measures to live up to the Medias perception of the perfect body type are more likely to develop one of the many body image disorders. The average age a girl starts to diet is eight ("Media and Eating Disorders" 1). When a girl becomes obsessed with dieting and looking better, they can easily become anorexic or bulimic. 79% of teenage girls who vomit are dedicated readers of woman's magazines ("Media and Eating Disorders" 2). The Medias standard of perfection puts stress and pressure on young girls to become skinner. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, and depression are a result of the Medias influence on their self image. The media have negatively influenced the self image of young girls by forcing their unrealistic perception of what women should look like onto them .

    Read More

  • The Media Influence on Body Image

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.

    Read More

  • Social Media And Self Esteem

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    People are more aware of how social media affects women on their physical features and how negative it can be. You will see on different advertisements, movies, and television shows of women being portrayed like a model, a beautiful, tan, toned, and tall girl with flawless skin complexion. This puts a lot of severe pressure on girls to become this image because most pre-teen and teenage girls do not meet these "expectations" since their body type may be from genetics or going through puberty, having baby fat, acne, or stretch marks, which is normal as it is natural for anyone. Girls compare themselves to these models and gain motivation to look exactly like the other girls that are being displayed. From this motivation the actions the girls will do can involve exercising, a healthy method to improve the body with muscle toning and having other health benefits, or eating healthy. But, a lot of girls choose to harm their bodies with three negative effects and put them under stress. These negative effects from girls trying to become skinnier include eating disorders, depression, and engaging in other negative activities, which was mentioned by the Do Something blog, (n.d.), and that 75% of girls with low self-esteem reported that the other listed negative activities were cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered

    Read More

  • Media's Influence on Body Image

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.

    Read More

  • Media Distortion of Body Image

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many believe all the beautified ads, that pressure teens into looking “perfect”, are factors behind eating disorders that could lead to kidney, stomach, and heart problems (Nemsechy np). An estimated Twenty-four million suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. The urge to lose weight causes teens to start smoking. Teens with a low self esteem may take risks with drinking alcohol or having sex (“The Issues” np). There are other factors that can spark weight concern in girls. Yes some factors aren’t necessarily bad. A concerned parent who knows what is truly harmful for their kid and ...

    Read More

  • Effects of Media on Women’s Body Image

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    The overwhelming idea of thinness is probably the most predominant and pressuring standard. Tiggeman, Marika writes, “This is not surprising when current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible for many to achieve.” (1) In another study it is noted that unhealthy attitudes are the norm in term of female body image, “Widespread body dissatisfaction among women and girls, particularly with body shape and weight has been well documented in many studies, so much so that weight has been aptly described as ‘a normative discontent’”. (79) Particularly in adolescent and prepubescent girls are the effects of poor self-image jarring, as the increased level of dis...

    Read More

  • Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e ability to achieve anything in life. Hopefully, readers would learn from this novel that beauty is not the most important aspect in life. Society today emphasizes the beauty of one's outer facade. The external appearance of a person is the first thing that is noticed. People should look for a person's inner beauty and love the person for the beauty inside. Beauty, a powerful aspect of life, can draw attention but at the same time it can hide things that one does not want disclosed. Beauty can be used in a variety of ways to affect one's status in culture, politics, and society. Beauty most certainly should not be used to excuse punishment for bad deeds. Beauty is associated with goodness, but that it is not always the case. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.

    Read More

  • The Pressures of Teenage Life

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Teenagers constantly worry about their body image. Magazines, newspapers, and television don’t exactly help to boost their confidence. The portrayal of stick thin woman and body building men forces teens to believe they need to achieve that “perfect” body and look. The biggest issue of these images being broadcasted to teens is the effects that the images have on them. Teenagers who obsess over their body image can experience stress due to trying to impress others, develop an eating disorder, and neglect, and even jeopardize, important aspects of their lives when they focus too much on their body image.

    Read More

More about Play Beauty Essay

Open Document