Beauty Standards In America

The most popular body types were thin, boyish type bodies (Mazur 287). Their legs were thin; they had round calves and narrow ankles, with long, flat torsos. The looks became popular when photographs began to make their way to fashion magazines, allowing women to realize that they can use fashion as a way to express themselves. The short “bob” hairstyle also was in style in this decade.

As of recently, the media has been flooded with positive interpretations of beauty standards all over the world. According to various sources, beauty ideals, in women especially, are socially constructed in order to judge a person’s value based on physical attractiveness; therefore, it is highly encouraged that people pay attention to their looks and take care of themselves, in order for others to create a positive first impression of one’s character. It is no secret that beauty standards vary from one culture to the next and it is difficult to establish a universal principle of what is considered beautiful. Many countries’ ideals contrast one another and, as a result, allow for stereotypes to emerge. This is the case between American

Beauty standards, then, determine what is adequate and what is not, which facial features are perfect and which will never meet the requirements. They decide what is sexy, which body woman should seek to have, and supported by the media, they are installed as a mechanism of social control that

Since the beginning of civilization there have been beauty standards, but as time has gone on, they have continually evolved and changed into what they currently are now. What was once beautiful two hundred years ago may only be average or desired by some, whereas in the past that may have been the most popular look or body type. However for decade’s women put beauty to the side and focused on the evolution of their rights and equality, but now since they have attained many of the same rights as their male counterparts the importance of gender equality seems to be changing. Currently many women are resorting back to issues of beauty and looks because of the societal norms that have come to be popular and important to the masses.

1. Is beauty a cultural construction? What are some Physical characteristics admired in one culture but not the other? Can you think of another physical trait that Americans esteem that other cultures do not?

Beauty standards evolve as people do and are based on the need to procreate. Human beings have been adorning themselves with products to look for appealing for thousands of years. The serious problem we haven't addressed are the subversive messages our corporate owners inculcate us with through media. The hijacking of beauty standards is corporate means to an end. Putting a good looking plus sized woman on the cover of a popular magazine doesn't solve the relative that we are inculcated with falsity.We aren't tackling the root

In movies, one always sees the thin women living great lives and looking happy. In contrast, there are the not so thin women who seem to struggle and be unhappy. This has shaped the moral of women today. Women are beginning to feel ashamed and discouraged of their bodies if they do not look like the next Victoria Secret model. According to society, thinness is associated with being happy. So if one wants to be happy and accepted by society, they must be no larger than a size four, and that might be pushing it, this is the world we are beginning to live in. The pressure is not just on women, but men too. For men, their ideal body is a little different compared to women. To be viewed as having a perfect body for a male, they need to be extremely muscular with ripped abs and defined muscles. “… a man takes off his shirt and you see a low percentage of body fat, rippling biceps, and 6-pack abs. That’s the

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. However there is a well known, well discussed, universal definition of perfection for all women. One that is consistent throughout different areas of the world and different allotments of the human culture. This standard of the ideal woman is based off of not only physical but intellectual standards predominantly in advertising.

It’s difficult to envision a world where idealized female imagery is not plastered everywhere, but our present circumstance is a relatively new occurrence. Before the mass media existed, our ideas of beauty were restricted to our own communities. Until the introduction of photography in 1839, people were not exposed to real-life images of faces and bodies. Most people did not even own mirrors. Today, however, we are more obsessed with our appearance than ever before. But the concern about appearance is quite normal and understandable given society’s standards. According to Jane Kilborne, “Every period of history has had its own standards of what is and is not beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive concept of the

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 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.

Women in some cultures may hold well-established opinions about what constitutes as the ideal male body. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-chest ratio (WCR), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are considerable features in the rating of male attractiveness for women. The waist-to-hip ratio is an index of the lower body shape. The mass body index is the overall body weight. The waist-to-chest ratio is an index of the upper body shape. The WCR is the main determinant and accounts for the greatest amount of variance in attractiveness ratings. Research results from a sociocultural perspective have determined that lower body shape may be relatively insignificant when both men and women judge male bodies for attractiveness; women are more concerned with the

It 's not a mystery that society 's ideals of beauty have a drastic and frightening effect on women. Popular culture frequently tells society, what is supposed to recognize and accept as beauty, and even though beauty is a concept that differs on all cultures and modifies over time, society continues to set great importance on what beautiful means and the significance of achieving it; consequently, most women aspire to achieve beauty, occasionally without measuring the consequences on their emotional or physical being. Unrealistic beauty standards are causing tremendous damage to society, a growing crisis where popular culture conveys the message that external beauty is the most significant characteristic women can have. The approval of prototypes where women are presented as a beautiful object or the winner of a beauty contest by evaluating mostly their physical attractiveness creates a faulty society, causing numerous negative effects; however, some of the most apparent consequences young and adult women encounter by beauty standards, can manifest as body dissatisfaction, eating disorders that put women’s life in danger, professional disadvantage, and economic difficulty.

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.

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.