The Expectations : Physical And Behavioral

Even though media vaunts an iridescent image of what every girl should look like, the simple fact is just, it is impossible. It is because the pictures in the media are not true—they all have gone through lots of Photoshop. Only 5 percent of women have the body type seen in almost all advertisements. Besides, most of fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women. However, women still continue to do whatever they can in order to fit into that idea of ‘perfection’. Eating disorders have harassed who want to feel like they are ‘beautiful’, for years. Women are willing to do anything even though it can cause harm to their own self due to low self-esteem. Do you want your sister, friends or girl friends always feel depressed and doing harm to themselves, as they feel dissatisfied about their

Americans have grown to try and look their best no matter what and this all stems from the way people view body image. Today someone could have anything they want done to change their appearance. “We are a culture of beauty junkies, addicts continually looking for our next fix to keep us looking young and pretty” (Masterson). Masterson believes that people are addicted to beauty and it is almost like a drug. This is not far from the truth. People go overboard to look as good as they possibly can with things like plastic surgery, botox, and even simple things like makeup. With the obsession with beauty as bad as it is today one seems to never be satisfied with how they look. “But that uplifting message--I'm OK the way I am--is overshadowed by the dark view readers are left with of a society obsessed with looks that isn't showing signs of stopping” (Masteron). The idea of someone being ok with their appearance gets quickly changed when they look around and see the world and the obsession it has. This is a huge reason body image is so bad in America now, because as soon as someone feels comfortable with their looks the standard changes. America’s obsession with looks is one of the biggest factors in the negative change towards body

I see and hear how perfect we girls have to be. From others who have no clue how much it takes to be the “picture perfect beauty queens” they want to see. I turn the television on and see advertisements of makeup products and how flawless the products will make you appear. Here and there we have to hear “buy this, buy that it’ll make you pretty.” Like are we not already? We are pressured to look a certain way. Not only by cosmetic companies but also by people around us. Being natural is something society does not agree with. “Crooked Smile” by J Cole is a great example of what a woman goes through every day.

Female expectations are less strict compared to male expectations, however many women still believe that they need to harbour the interests and desires of men. In addition, young women are often taught to be nurturing, attend to other people's needs, avoid conflict, and be concerned about their physical appearance all the time. Like male expectations, these characteristics are not necessarily bad. It is the harshness of these expectations that females must behave in this way all the time that makes them difficult.

Beauty standards are always changing. Different looks and and styles are always evolving. With that, many women and girls often look up to those images, and most of those images are unrealistic or hard to achieve without cosmetic surgery. It’s not good to have all of those images because most young

Ever since we were born, the way people behaved and interacted with us made us the person we are today. Through this socialization, we also learn how the society’s rules and norms that we live in. An example is when children introduced to certain roles that are linked to their biological sex, teaching how a child how a man and woman should behave. When a child is born, parents would typically dress their child according to their sex. If it is a boy, he is dressed in blue, and if it is a girl, she is dressed in pink. In our society, these roles given to us are mainly based on gender norms and standards. It is known that masculine roles have traditionally been associated with physical strength and dominance, while feminine roles have been associated with gentleness, empathy, and nurturing. Whereas boys are told that "real men don 't cry" and are pressured to not express their vulnerable emotions, girls are taught that it is okay to show and discuss their feelings with others.

In most societies and cultures that existed, the differentiation between gender roles and expectations have always been present. Most of the time, these expectations are linked to the “perceived” differences in terms of “sex” – which refers to the biological differences – as well as their perceived physiological effects on a human’s body. Even in our culture, where the concept of gender equality have been present and taught to children ever since they were young, these differences are present and are practiced by parents in child rearing. More specifically, these differences are present in the belief that girls should act more feminine and demure, by engaging in play which is closely related to performing household tasks (e.g. dress-ups, play dates, cooking games, etc.), while boys should play with more “manly” stuff which emphasizes themes of fighting and decision making (e.g. action figures, video games, guns, etc.). Aside from these, it is also notable how the society acts based on these expected gender differences and how it “balances” and/or “correct” any kind of diversion from its prescribed roles. A good example of this corrective process could be seen when a girl who acts manly or a guy who acts a little feminine, gets shunned or teased, thus making them act accordingly (Frost, Wortham, & Reifel, 2001). This phenomenon aims to coerce someone into following their prescribed gender roles and are done by the society as well as its members both consciously and

Under society’s customs for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a surging subject for young women. Advertisements and pictures of lean female models are all over. Girls are measured and perplexed by their physical appearances with attire intended to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, the society, marketing campaigns and advertisements add to a strain of excellence.

“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.” Gwyneth Paltrow touches on what life is all about, accepting your flaws, but not being afraid to rock that lipstick. I had just got done doing my daily routine of grooming and put down the mascara tube. With one more glance in the mirror to appreciate the look I had created. I headed to class. When I sat down in my seat and begin settling in, a fellow classmate leans in to passively mention how boys usually like the more natural look and how she could never waste that much time on getting ready. While my confidence about the choice to apply a smoky eye decreases fast, I look away to see the girl next to me with the same exact look. I start to realize my not so original makeup is more common than I thought. Now, most people may be fine with looking for others for approval about the way we wear clothes or apply make up, or lack there of, more Americans should experience how makeup can make you feel when you look in the mirror and not what others say. Additionally, make up is a creative way to express your-self and find it to be better in an enhanced face than a naked one.

Some girls prefer to go bare face, some keep it natural by putting only lipstick and blush, some like to put a full makeup face, and some like to change their features permanently by choosing to get plastic surgeries. As we could see, there are many different methods for improving one’s looks. However, most people, such as elders or the opposite sex, misunderstand the idea of makeup and tend to judge the girls who wear it. Writing on behalf of the girls who like to use makeup, I believe that applying makeup in moderate amount and choosing the suitable colors for the individual’s skin tone doesn’t only hide certain flaw that a girl feels insecure about but also enhances her beauty. For example, a girl suffers from acne and dermatological problems leads her to feel really insecure about showing it off in public and embracing it. She has long eyelashes with very definite high cheekbones that make her look exotic. Any make-up artist would recommend using the right shade of foundation to hide her acne and evens out her skin. To enhance her features, she could also use some volumizing mascara to pop up her long lashes and make them more visible by making the hairs thicker from the creamy black/brown mascara. Also, she could contour and high light her bone structure, for instance, her high cheekbones by highlighting them she’s showing us that she’s proud of the way she’s created and

It is clear that society has a great effect on women and how they look at themselves and what they see is being beautiful. [Women] continue to be identified more with their sexuality and judged more by appearance and according to narrower ideals of beauty. As a result, those without the proper looks or attitude tend to lose out (<a href="http://www.contemporaryartproject.com/cap/Othercontent/Portraityoung.htm">http://www.contemporaryartproject.com/cap/Othercontent/Portraityoung.htm</a>). That statement clearly defines the age that we are living in. Society and the media (television, movies, magazines, etc.) portray women as unattractive and unfashionable unless they buy the latest footwear, clothing, fashion, jewelry, make up, hair products, and generally look a certain way. Unfortunately, many women believe that all of these products will help make them beautiful, desirable and attractive. This has had a negative affect on women because they will spend hundreds of dollars on these beauty products, diets, diet pills etc. in hopes to look like what is presented to them on television by supermodels, actresses, and celebrities. Some women may even go as far as to develop

Magazines highlight beautiful women, with perfect skin, big, bold eyes, and perfect bodies. Their lasting effect has left impressions on millions of young girls to mirror the façade of perfection. Freshman year, I would sneak into my mother’s bathroom to attempt to resemble these women despite her disapproval. But with wearing make-up, impurities soon began to develop (along with the effects of puberty). As I grow older and witness how women everywhere continue to have severe skin problems, I ponder is the make-up the problem?

In today's society the picture of beauty is taking over everybody brain, its brain washing everyone. New models, style look and haircuts are up there every day making everyone go insane to try them out. Some people would look nice in them and the others will look bad which going to cause a disaster. Some teenagers these days are always trying to seek out the beauty inside them and the disaster is if it didn’t work, it would make the person paranoid. Even the little kids have some special toys called Barbie or baby doll. Children can dress up the doll and wear it makeup and change the way the doll looks. Also, the dolls come with body measurements like 20, 30, and 38. Because of all the new inventions and advertisement on the streets all

All types of media has been impacting the way women view themselves. The media is to this portraying an impossible body size and look that it is not that probably that most women can look that way. In The beauty industry has a huge impact on the women in this society. These beauty industries have left nothing but insecure women that feel “negative emotions stems from unhappiness among body and appearance”. The beauty industry is a big part of the media. The beauty industry is making products to appeal to women to help make the media's image of the ideal women come to life on the women of our society. This makes women that aren't the same size or look the same as the standard that society puts for lf-confidence in many women.” (“The Beauty Industry's Influence on Women in Society."). This means that women now want to go out of their way to try to change their bodies because of this unrealistic image of beauty that the media has drilled into society. At a young age, as young as 5 years old, girls start to experience “dissatisfaction with their bodies” because beauty standards are placed everywhere from social media, magazines, and other sources that communicate that of their body is not what society has portrayed as beautiful and from there they start to believe that they “have a negative body image”. They try to do something as simple as tucking in their stomach so that they can imitate the body that has been idolized for many years, and that needs to stop. This article explains an interview that was made to get younger girls to express what they felt about the “unrealistic beauty standards” that were placed on the media, and that continue to be placed on the media, and also get them to understand to appreciate their “flaws”, their body, because at such a young age that shouldn't be something that affects them entirely (Young Girls Explain Why Beauty Standards Are So Impossible). Young girls when the notice they don’t fit into society's beauty standards from the start of the age 6 and this really affects their mentality and later can affect their health. The community and the views around about women really affect our young girls. Young girls from age 6 start sucking in their stomach in order to not look fat

Makeup, cosmetics, beauty products, these are seen everywhere in daily life. Cosmetics are used to improve facial features and aesthetic appeal. Cosmetics predate written history. In the name of beauty, extreme lengths have been taken, in order to fulfill societal expectations. How does the cultural focus on physical appearance affect women today? Cosmetics like facial foundation, mascara and eye shadow, and eyeliner, in addition to all the other products, are used to improve facial appearance. These things have become a regular pastime for some women. Even in ancient Egypt, they used Kohl as eyeliner. This is no new phenomenon. It is however, becoming a fine art, new methods of contouring can vastly change the shape of the face. It is astounding, and I wonder what would motivate a woman to change herself so dramatically? The way women perceive their natural face can be distorted through makeup, causing a change in self-image and a feeling of inadequacy when they are without makeup. Makeup has a substantial effect on self-esteem and confidence because a woman can lose sight of her inherent beauty and become fixated on personal appearance in order to fulfill societal expectations.