The Price of Beauty It is not a secret that there is an excessive amount of emphasis placed on an individual to be beautiful in America. On a daily basis, women are bombarded with dozens of beauty advertisements dictating how one should look. These endorsements are made to have seemingly innocent intentions, but when deeply examined, the messages that may be internalized can cause scary results. The truth of the matter is that these advertisements condone damaging ideals of beauty that concludes in the destruction of body satisfaction. It is because of this, the standards set by beauty industries are harmful to women. Beauty standards are harmful is because it promotes a representation of women’s weight that is unattainable for most. Due …show more content…
Being white is considered the top standard for beauty, and this idea perpetuates the oppression and harm to ethnic women. One reason for this is because colored women in general are severely underrepresented in any beauty advertisements, whether they be on television or in magazines. Furthermore, with the advertisements that do include women of color, it is a small chance they are being shown for ideals of beauty. This ultimately leads to negative thoughts, such that being black or multiracial is undesirable. In fact, there are studies that show black girls are more susceptible to advertisements and their portrayal of white beauty (Kite). Regardless, some may argue that there has been an inclination on the popularity of ethnic beauty advocates and celebrities within the last few years, however a closer look reveals that that little progress really has been made. This is because these women of color, are regularly sporting a “white washed” aesthetic. This idea implements white ideals by applying straight hair, and lightening of the skin and eyes. This technique is apparent when looking at popular women such as Tyra Banks, Rihanna, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, and so on. The problem with this is because it is an inadequate representation of what ethnic women should look like. Therefore, by “whitewashing” the few colored women available as role-models, insecurity is created for women with natural features (Kite). Not only is this supporting white privilege in America, but harshly redefining what beauty means to other cultures. Furthermore, these ideas are spreading. For instance, the beauty brand L’Oreal has a growth rate of 26% in China (Orbach). Unfortunately, these percentages are so high not “ by marketing their lipsticks and hair products to Chinese women per se but by marketing the western body as the body to have to Chinese women” (Orbach). By expanding what western
Beauty is a cruel mistress. Every day, Americans are bombarded by images of flawless women with perfect hair and smooth skin, tiny waists and generous busts. They are presented to us draped in designer clothing, looking sultry or perky or anywhere in between. And although the picture itself is alluring, the reality behind the visage is much more sinister. They are representations of beauty ideals, sirens that silently screech “this is what a woman is supposed to look like!” Through means of media distribution and physical alteration, technology has created unrealistic beauty ideals, resulting in distorted female body images.
Beauty is often described as being in the eye of the beholder. However in modern western culture, the old adage really should be beauty is in the eye of the white makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer, photo shop editor, and advertiser. Beauty and body ideals are packaged and sold to the average American so that we can achieve vocational, financial, social, and recreational successes. Mass media and advertising has affected the way that women perceive and treat their own bodies as well as their self-concept. Women are constantly bombarded with unrealistic images and hold themselves to the impossible beauty standards. First, we will explore the role of media in the lives of women and then the biggest body image issue from a diversity stand point, media whitewashing.
Today society has never been more aware of the impact the media has on what is considered to be an attractive person. Those who are most vulnerable by what they observe as the American standard of attractiveness and beauty are young females. Their quest to imitate such artificial images of beauty has challenged their health and their lives and has become the concern of many. As a result, advertisements used in the media are featuring more realistic looking people.
The pursuit and glorification of the “white standard of beauty” (Patton, 2006, p. 24) by African American women in film, highlights the insecurity and stigmatization they face due to their colour. This desire to look like models on billboards and magazines, has drove them to peruse the shelves of beauty products, undergo plastic surgery and skin bleaching in order to have lighter skin. The mismatch between the comparisons of their black physiques against white ideal body shapes, has resu...
The ideal female beauty in American culture is predominately white (Bankhead & Johnson, 2014). Throughout U.S history, women’s mainstream beauty ideal has been historically based on white standards such as having blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, a thin ideal body, straight hair, and thin lips (West, 1995; Yamamiya, Cash, Melynk, Posavac, & Posavac, 2005; Leslie, 1995). Therefore, the features of African American women tend to be viewed as undesirable and unattractive compared to the European standards of beauty (Awad, Norwood, Taylor, Martinez, McClain, Jones, Holman, & Hilliard, 2014). According to Ashe (1995), “African beauty, body and hair have been racialized, with slim/”keen” European features being the accepted standard of beauty since enslaved Africans was forcefully brought to the Americas.” The physical characteristics of Black women such as having broad noses, brown skin, full lips, large buttocks and course hair has been looked down upon throughout United States history (Byrd & Tharps, 2001). In effect, the standard of beauty of European features that were forced on slaves are internalized and currently seen in the standard of beauty of African Americans (A.A) (Chapman, 2007). These standards include African Americans perceiving light-skinned as being more favorable than dark-skinned (Maddox & Gray, 2002; Perdue, Young, Balam,
Throughout time the evolution of American advertising has drastically changed. What hasn’t changed is the way that women are being presented. From the roaring twenties to modern time magazine ads have always advocated the main focus to be a woman’s beauty. As time goes by the advertisement industry focuses more on things like big breasts, tiny waists, long legs, and of course beauty. For instance, Chanel, a perfume line, constantly misrepresents their models in there ads by making the main focus to be their bodies.
In a brilliant update of the Killing Us Softly series, Jean Kilbourne explains the dangers of advertisements and how they objectify women. Advertisements intelligently portray women in a sexual and distorted way in order to attract the consumers’ attention. Media sets a standard on how young women view themselves and puts them at risk for developing an eating disorder. Kilbourne’s research has led her to educate those who have fallen victim to achieving the “ideal beauty” that has evolved in today’s society.
.... "The Beauty Industry Promotes Unrealistic Beauty Standards." Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2007. Rpt. in The Culture of Beauty. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
It looks like looks are here to stay” (Akst 331). Akst’s degenerate remarks about beauty revolves around self-centered and arrogant values. He mentioned so many scientific statements about how humans should focus on maintaining an attractive appearance for society, and not for themselves. If Mairs and Walker read Akst’s essay, they would both disagree with his opinion about beauty. Both women would convey a message of accepting and embracing one’s beauty, despite the society’s view. Akst limits differences in a degrading way by mentioning “overweight” individuals are worthless and they send a negative message to society. The reader and the women can disagree with Akst’s statement because size, appearance, height, ethnicity, gender, and other abnormalities does not send a negative message, it is the comments made by a bias hypocrite who sees beauty as the aspiration to an individual’s
In the modern era of the beauty industry, there is undoubtedly a much higher amount of representation of Black women--both in respect to representation through Black beauty companies as well increasing inclusivity of within advertising as a whole. Although there is a higher level of representation of Black women within the beauty industry, the beauty industry—and the advertisements within it—ultimately lie under the control of White men. Once many Black beauty companies reaches a place of success and tokenism within the Black community, the company is often sold to a larger company run by a White male billionaire. As a result, there is a shift towards exclusivity to only a select few in advertisements and who is in control.
...r young, impressionable mind will have been exposed to more than 77,000 advertisements, according to an international study. Last week, it confirmed the link between the images of female perfection that dominate the media and increasing cases of low self-esteem among young women..” (Shields,2007). The propaganda techniques such as liking, sex appeal, and celebrity endorsements are used in advertisements constantly. Commercials on television, billboards, magazines, and various other advertisement types are everywhere you look in America, and sadly it has become very important for women of all ages to try to be perfect. We come into contact with these messages every day, and the beauty industry is getting bigger and bigger. Propaganda has molded our worldly perception of beauty and will only continue to hurt us and gain from our lack of self-esteem if we allow it to.
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...
Jean Kilbourne started collecting ads in the 1960s, influenced, in part, by her involvement with the women’s movement, her interest in media, and her background in modeling. She began her film Killing Us Softly by showing vintage magazine articles and advertisement that she claimed are responsible for creating “an epidemic of eating disorders”. In 1991, Naomi wolf’s bestseller the beauty myth claimed the obsession with beauty was the result of a cultural conspiracy seeking to undo psychologically and covertly all the good things that feminism did for women. She argues that ideology of beauty is the "last, best belief system that keeps male dominance intact" and that women's magazines have played a pivotal role in the selling of the beauty myth. If, as Jean Kilbourne suggests, the media and advertising teach us to detest ourselves and damage our bodies, then what Wolf calls "the beauty myth" is a threat to everybody. In 1999, Dr. Nancy Etcoff published Survival of The Prettiest, rejecting Naomi Wolf’s claims that beauty is a backlash against feminism and using historical and scientific research to argue that beauty objectively and universally exists. She states “Beauty is one of the ways life perpetuates itself, and love of beauty is deeply rooted in biology”. So, is Naomi Wolf justified in her concerns? Is beauty truly an invention of Madison Avenue or is it an instinctual universal urge that played a major role in human evolution? Did the magazine advertisements in the sixties shape or reflect the obsession with beauty? To answer these questions, one must virtually travel back in time and carefully examine the magazine articles and advertisements of that era and analyze whether what they are promoting are novel ideas or do they ...
The media has increasingly portrayed unrealistic views of women in the media. Whether it be on billboards or in commercials, it is almost always the same image; a beautiful woman with an amazing body and no visible flaws. In 2004, Dove challenged those advertisements and came up with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. It is a world-wide marketing campaign with the goal of banishing the conventional standard of beauty, and defining what ‘real beauty’ is. Despite having good intentions, I believe Dove’s real purpose is to simply broaden the definition of real beauty while making a profit.
Show business promotes commercials, print advertisements, films and shows where unbelievably perfect women are seen as the ‘ideal beauty’ The ‘ideal beauty’ controls the behavior of young girls and manipulates their perception of beauty. The term ‘ideal beauty’ is defined to be a conception of something that is perfect, especially that which one seeks to attain. Many young girls everyday are exposed to fashion and beauty advertisements that feature models who are portrayed as ‘perfect’. Due to this Technological Age, girls are exposed to many advertisements that encourage them to be like the featured models- tall, skinny, and foreign. There is also a survey conducted by Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University which states that, “The average teenage girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about ten minutes of parental interaction a day.” Moreover, media also promotes and advertises cosmetics, apparel, diet pills and exercise gears in the name of beauty and fitness, convincing girls to buy and ultimately patronize their products. Becoming very addicted with using such products can eventually lead to overdoes and becoming vainer. It may seem obvious to most of us that people prefer to look at beautiful faces. While beauty itself may be only skin deep, studies show our perception of beauty may be hard-wired in our brains (Stossel,