The Standard Of Beauty In Dustin Kidd's Pop Culture Freaks

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Growing up as a girl in America, I was constantly self-conscious and concerned with the way I looked. I remember even at the young age of 8 wanting to wear shirts two or three times my size in order to hide my curves and body shape. I felt safe all wrapped up in my protective shell of large clothing. I also only wore shorts that went right about my knees because I hated my “thicker” thighs. Every girl I came into contact with or any girl I passed as I walked down a hallway during school, I was immediately comparing her looks to mine and assessing her beauty. Every time I looked in a mirror I would only point out things I wanted to change and my eyes would immediately fixate on my blemishes. I sought after boy’s attention and constantly wanted …show more content…

Society is immersed in popular culture; music, television, art, film, books, fandoms, and fads surround us. Due to its constant presence in women’s lives, women are shown the ideal standard of beauty through multiple outlets of popular culture. This constant bombardment goes into their subconscious and sticks with them in their everyday lives. These standards of beauty pop up in every situation and cause women to compare themselves to other women. One example of popular culture that affects young girls as they are growing up and sticks with them into younger adulthood is the impressionability of Disney’s princesses. As Lamb and Brown put it, “Disney girls are women with Barbie doll bodies” (Hobbs & Rice, 336). Disney places these unrealistic standards of girlhood onto growing girls and show them how girls “should” act and look in order to be considered pretty, get a husband, and live a happy life. Through their research they found that “Disney girls are incomplete without a man, are innocent, have lovely voices, and can’t resist a mirror” (336-337). What Disney also does is deem what characteristics are “ugly,” “evil,” and “abnormal.” These “unattractive” Disney characters are found to be vengeful and cruel, while “female power is itself evil” (337). Disney teaches young girls that if you are “unattractive” or powerful, you will meet your demise, whereas if you are “pretty” or submissive, you will be awarded a handsome man. This type of imaging in popular culture perpetuates the unrealistic beauty standard for women and encourages them to pursue disorder eating in order to fit into society and feel attractive for

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