Beauty Standards In Art

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius. Beauty has had a specific image or ideal for the past 100 years from the help of pop culture and advertisements that women are constantly viewing daily. We can go through the different ideas of beauty through idolized women in the past who were often considered to be the ideal beautiful. With the help of makeup and the aid of different styled clothing, women were able to fit in to form into the ideal beauty.

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.

Beauty has always been defined outer appearance. Men and women of all ages and races spend time, money, and energy to bring out their outer beauty in order to gain acceptance and impress others. It is evident that one must look good in order to be accepted by society. This can be shown through how much people value makeup, Snapchat filters, and fashion trends The next time you find yourself watching T.V., pay attention to the commercials and count the amount related to makeup, such as nails, eyebrows, and facial skin.

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

The women in the 17th century were incorrectly accustomed to the necessity of becoming a picture perfect person; which is a bad habit that only a handful of people are able to fathom. Perfect is an expectation that you can’t achieve in life until you realize to accept yourself for who you are. The conjecture of beauty and our bodies is set at a level that is insurmountable. To fathom this we can look at today’s society, if we aren’t what society wants we aren’t accepted. Society’s idealistic view on beauty is something we should not tolerate because we should accept people for who they are within themselves. In the dramatic monologues “Barbie Doll,” “Cinderella,” and “Applicant,” they are expected to either be something they aren’t, or desiring someone who isn’t even real.

There have been many attempts to validate our current beauty standards. For example, critics have argued that while there has been research showing the negative effects, “there are also studies that found no effect or even positive effects of these media portrayals on young women” (Arendt, et al 2). Also, while many people accuse beauty of being arbitrary, it is simply not the case. As F. Nahai states in his article "Evolutionary Beauty", “The quest to define standards of beauty is not new. One of the earliest to seek insight into the elusive qualities of beauty was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. He believed that beauty was intertwined with static

“A woman's greatest asset is her beauty”; which has been changed throughout time. The painting, The Ugly Duchess was portrayed to be beauty during the time, but as time past, opinions of it’s beauty has changed. Beauty can be simply defined as a quality someone or an object presents that gives pleasure or satisfaction towards the mind.This for example, would be physical appearances or intellectual values. Celebrities are known for their physical appearances or intellectual values, but Emma Watson displays both gracefully.Whether someone or an object is beautiful or ugly, the standards for those terms are constantly changing as society changes.

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.

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.

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.

Debate over the definition of art has developed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. People have spent millions of dollars and given years of their lives to the craft called art. However, there has not been an agreement on what the definition of art is because it tends to be a very vague concept incorporating many cultures and ideas. It has proven itself to be an effective tool in the human expression over the years preserving deep and personal feelings along with history. Art can be defined as the creation of beauty through expression with skillful use of creativity, design, and manipulation of the viewers’ emotions.

The beauty standards society has towards women is oppressive as they are forced to look a certain way in order to please other people as stated by Craig (2006). Even though the beauty standards are oppressive, women still change their appearance with the help of beauty work as they take pleasure in looking beautiful even if they are pressured into it

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.