The Social Standard Of Beauty

Within society, advertisements for beauty companies are persistent and unceasing. These ads often attempt to sell their products by highlighting common physical aspects, and claiming that they have the ability to enhance them. In their work “Skin pedagogies and abject bodies,” Jane Kenway & Elizabeth Bullen discuss and examine how various iterations of the beauty industry market themselves to consumers, and how these methods affect consumers in several different societal ways. However, while Kenway and Bullen acknowledge that separate factors, such as race and gender, can have a tremendous effect on how beauty products are sold, they do not emphasize the combined effect of those two categories specifically. Throughout the essay, Kenway and

Women always have doubts whether or not their bodies are good enough. Advertising companies found exploiting these doubts whether man or woman are very profitable. In an Aveeno Active Naturals ad featuring Jennifer Anniston; focus, lighting, and framing draw attention to her flawless skin feeding off women’s insecurity that their bodies are not good enough; nevertheless women could have as flawless skin as Jennifer’s if they use this specific product.

My “moment” is the infamous Dove Ad that recently went viral for its insensitive and racialized use of promotion. This Ad displays a black woman transforming into a white woman after using the Dove soap. The Dove brand has also been criticized for labelling their products for “normal to dark skin”. This use of language conveys the idea that there is a more socially accepted skin tone whereas darker skin is less accepted as it is something outside of the “normal” skin. From a sociological perspective, this ad is more than just a creative way to demonstrate that soap will make someone clean by taking “the dirt”off them. It exemplifies society’s rigid standards of beauty due to the social pressures of conforming to the dominant standards of western beauty. Through the use of my sociological imagination, this essay will analyze how this ad is an example of how race and beauty are socially constructed as well how these larger social forces such as advertising companies impact individual’s behaviours, perceptions and lifestyles.

Throughout our nation’s history it has been quite evident that race has been an issue. Especially here in America, the idea that a white person is more superior than the masses of “colored” people is true, and eurocentric beauty standards are placed among everyone. Since the beginning, America was built off of white minds and done by hands around the world. Since racism has been carried out to our current day society, we still deal with numerous issues that prevents people from getting along. The idea of another being different is something that a westerner cannot comprehend. It has been common for westerners to avoid understanding others and instead try their hardest to get others to conform to their own lifestyle. The use of

As women watch these ads , they gain a sense of ambition to want to be as beautiful as the lady promoting the product. In the truth about beauty, an article written by Virginia postrel, it reveals an average woman in a photo, the woman goes through countless layers of make-up and hair transformations, after this another photo is taking. Then, technology programs that manipulate the picture until the woman was absolutely stunning were used on the photo. This is an example of how cosmetic companies give women a false sense of hope through advertisements, They are using beautiful women to promote a product and tell how great it works for them when in reality the women have yet to use the products.The media tends to capitalize on the insecurities of the people. A quote from Susan Bordo's "the empire of image in our world of bodies " demonstrate how the media use beautiful women with perfection in the areas that most women are uncomfortable with to highlight those insecurities " im 56 . The magazines tell me that at this age i can still be beautiful. -they mean cher, goldie , faye,candace. ( The Media takes these women who are generally in the same age group as Susan and exploits her insecurities turns around tries to capitalize on them by using these beautiful women as

The media have constructed attractiveness for a long time many sociocultural standards of beauty and. Especially women’s body images have been a primary concern because the value of women has been measured how they look like. How women have similar body traits with the modern female body images has been a significant and essential issue, historically. The sociocultural standards of beauty which have been created by the greed of the media have dire impacts on young females. The current beauty level of the female body image in the media is thinness. In fact, the preferred female body images have been changed through the media. Throughout history, sometimes skinny women’s body images were loved, and sometimes over weighted women’s body images were preferred. Whenever the media have dictated the ideal female

Society is full of ideas pertaining to the definition of beauty and has been controversial for centuries. Beauty is visually pleasing and can satisfy the other senses as well, but it cannot be fully defined through only the senses. It blossoms from the soul; it is an epitome of serene emotion. Beauty is imperative to the mentality our society maintains as if the world would transform to be completely dark without it. The word “Beauty” originates from the Anglo-French term beute meaning “physical attractiveness” and “goodness and courtesy” (dictionary.com, n.p.) Beauty is charming, mesmerizing, graceful, and captivating. Brutality is invaluable because beauty brings peace to the mind.

It is often said that another prevailing criticism of advertising is that it distorts perceptions of healthy body image. In many advertisements such as magazines or TV, there is an unrealistic standard of beauty weight and beauty that is regularly seeing as normal. So, when a young woman sees these kind of advertisement and she realizes that her image does not match up to the projected image the best way that she finds is to buy the product. The ability of the media to shape self-image can be damaging and harmful that can lead to depression, low self- esteem or dissatisfaction. (authors name, year)

Beauty standards are portrayed everywhere: on magazines, social media, ads, commercials, and even flaunted among peers. While the ideals are supposed to promote health awareness, fitness motivation, and self love, it unfortunately results in many unfavorable consequences. Women are constantly “penalized for not being beautiful and at the same time are stigmatized, even pathologized, for not feeling beautiful, for having low self-esteem, for engaging in behaviors like dieting and excessive exercising, or for having eating disorders” (Johnston and Taylor 954). 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 outweighs any positive effects.

“Beauty is subjective yet American society creates an objective facade of what beauty is and how it looks and that is one does not fit in to it than they are not “attractive,” superficially over substance, Americans simply are uncomfortable being themselves” (Williams). The beauty standards for women are shaped by society’s ideas of beauty. When women try to fit these beauty standards to be accepted into society, men think they have the right to objectify women and their bodies. Of course, it’s never the man’s fault when he gets caught doing just that. Beauty standards for women are getting to a point where they are almost unrealistic, and often leads to someone objectifying a women’s body, which of course, society says it’s not the man’s fault.

With the media being a very popular way of communication and self expression in today’s culture, it influences the way of younger generations to be more involved in today’s technology, and to allow them to influence the world by the press of a button. But one of the topics that is very controversial is that in today’s society is the high expectations of what they think a girl has to look like, from girls not having stretch marks or scars, to magazines and photographers using photoshop to convince readers that the model looks like that. With all of these being factors that there is pressure is high for many girls around the world, this has to resolved.

Beauty standards have been a major issue for many years now and women have been willing to change their bodies over and over to please themselves and others. 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. Women often resort to drastic means to attain that ideal image. However, achieving these standards can be expensive, can lower self-esteem and can be a threat to a woman’s health and life.

Many young women in today’s society struggle with confidence and their body image. This is a huge problem in society and many people have spoken out against the influence of media on women’s body image. However, it continues to be a major problem and more can always be done to raise awareness about societies unrealistic expectations for women’s beauty. Dove’s Choose Beautiful campaign was started to promote the self-esteem of women and encourage them to see their beauty, however there are some criticisms, including the company using this campaign to increase their sales. Dove is selling a product with the expectation that confident, beautiful women will purchase it, however people still have the ability to resist the ad industry.

What makes someone beautiful? This striking question has always had a complex answer rather than simple. Society makes their interpretation of beauty with many standards that qualify for the “most beautiful people” in the world. America's picture of the perfect lady is extremely thin however full figured. America’s picture of the perfect gentleman is also thin, yet very fit. It’s always one thing or the other, never one choice. The public has their own particular rendition of what beauty looks like, yet american beauty happens to have a stance amongst the most startling standards. These standards of beauty that women see each day impact their confidence and self-esteem negatively only to push them to discover ways to fit into these unrealistic beauty criterias. Beauty standards in America are ever-changing, but society has yet to absolutely accept the average, everyday woman.

Beauty standards have been socially constructed in diverse and various shapes in every society or culture in the world, and cause people to think they are not beautiful if they do not fit the common standard of beauty that has been set by the society. Most people are pressured into the standard by the social milieu. The people who are different from the socially pursued standard of beauty do not think the standard itself is absurd, but they rather tend to be insecure about their appearance. Once people see the beauty through individual’s perspective, not through the socially constructed standard, they would realize how much they have unconsciously forced each other to be fit in the beauty standard. This is something that I have also experienced. I was not a person who fit in the standard of beauty, and that made me shy and timid. However, once I saw myself through a different perspective of beauty, I could see it as a social problem that unconsciously forces one particular standard of beauty.