Beauty of America

To be frank, I also once had a view that only people who are skinny can be considered as beautiful. However, there is one incidence that changes my perception on the idea of what is the meaning of beauty and ‘perfect’ body. When I was in high school, I had a best friend named Alice—she was chubby and curvy. She was so obsessed with the America’s next top model shows. One day she expressed her desire to lose weight to me and I supported her. She also said that her boyfriend asked her to lose some weight to be more beautiful. She said that she really wants to look like the models and also to fulfill her boyfriend’s wish. After three months, she was hospitalized and I was so shocked with that news. She was hospitalized because there was something wrong with her intestines caused by her unhealthy diet. When I went to visit her, she looked very different—she looked sunken and sick. Begin on that day; I realized that it is really impossible to be like the models that we see everyday in the media and I also afraid on how good media is in order to distort society’s idea of beauty.

Beauty. What is it? Where does it come from? What should we do with it? These, among others, are questions widely debated in today’s society. As Charles Darwin once said, “It is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body” (source G). Using this and many other points from varying sources I will answer these long disputed questions. So what is beauty? People most often think of beauty as a very specific standard you have to reach or you don’t fit in. You know those rules: long hair (preferably blonde), long legs (tan, of course), very slender, and a great fashion sense. In fact, 57% of women agree that “the attributes of female beauty have become very narrowly

When I think of America, I imagine of a masterpiece. When America was first discovered by Christopher Columbus, it was a blank canvas with native American details on the rim. These details represent how the Native Americans have affected America. Since then, every triumph, failure, rise, and fall that America has had, another part was added. And though this painting was once a blank canvas, it is now a wonderful painting with landmarks from near and wide, full of every color, and includes everything important to modern America.

What I think of America. When I think of America, I think of greatness and an independent free people. But I will admit when I was little I thought that people would get along a little bit more, because all I see on the news are tragic deaths or natural disasters tearing down houses. I think of America to be a more organized and peaceful county that didn’t owe money to foreign countries. When I was little I didn’t know that so many people would get into fights or politics, until I got older and understood why. I think of America as a free spirited country that allows different races and different religion. I think of America as a huge target for people who want to be free. I love how people wish to come to America not having to worry

What does being beautiful really mean? It is the possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, or think about. It goes way beyond the looks but what is within. The media seems to have a different view on beauty. The concept to tell someone what they are or what they should be, is what the media exhibits to society with ideal females known as “models.” In Curtis Sittenfeld, “Your Life as a Girl,” she describes the life as a female and the way they are being viewed. Although all females are beautiful, they feel like they need to appear a certain way to be categorized as such. Living in a world where others opinions are more powerful than one’s own, makes it harder for women to actually consider themselves as being beautiful.

My opinion is that everyone has a different perspectives and expectations about beauty; those vary across different cultures and times. In addition, I believe that women should not worry about being accepted in society and being considered beautiful by other people; instead, beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself and be confident because every women is beautiful in a unique way. Every women should feel comfortable and proud in their own bodies because beauty is reflected in their soul; your outer beauty only captures the eyes, but your inner beauty captures the heart. Just as Marilyn Monroe said, “Imperfection is beauty.” Also, my point of view regarding this topic is that beauty is judged by standards which grow directly out of social conditions, beauty standards in any given society will therefore reflect the principles and values of the society. We should not try to change our identity just to fit in society’s beauty expectations.

Throughout the years, the definition of beauty constantly changes. In our society today many children are told to be true to themselves, to be unique, to be who they are, etc.; But on the other hand social media and the celebrities on there are a constant reminder that there is a certain type of beautiful. The juxtaposition between being yourself and being what is “beautiful” has consistent grey areas and blurred lines making it almost impossible to keep up with what’s “beautiful”. The media, whether intentional or not, portrays this certain body image that you have to be in order to qualify as beautiful.

Much has changed from the beginning of America to the 21st century. Most people in early American times were white, spoke English, Christian, and had straight marriages. Now, America consists of different ethnicities, sexualities, and religions. Some people believe that the U.S. is a “melting pot”, while others believe that individuality and diversity are becoming more prevalent in society. In recent years, diversity is much more appreciated than it was in the past.

What is beauty to you? Is it having perfect teeth, amazing hair, and the hourglass figure; or is beauty what makes the person they are today. Everyone has a different opinion on beauty. Raina Kelley makes an argument over beauty in an article called “Beauty Is Defined, and Not By You.” Although she makes a somewhat valid argument, I find that there is much more to this topic. Yes, body image is becoming more of an issue in today’s world, especially within young girls and women. In a study that was done by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1999 found that twenty percent of nine year olds and over forty percent of fort-teen year olds reported wanting to lose weight. In addition

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.

In the “Just Say Yes” article, I was appalled to see the statistics of how many children are being shaped by these unobtainable ideas of what beauty is. I always knew that people were being negatively affected by these false images, but I never really considered the generations that are being raised with this idea of beauty constantly swirling in the heads. It’s hard to even think that nine and ten year old girls know to be self-conscious about their bodies and want to diet. The comparison between the average U.S. woman’s dimensions and the models sets the authors point in stone and really drew me back for a moment. You never see models in real life and compare yourself based on height. The pictures only highlight their “beauty”, so that is what girls compare themselves to. This article makes me hope that young girls and women would realize that models are really the abnormal ones that should be criticized for sticking out from the normally beautiful crowd.

This photo was taken at the Pardubice and Chrudim hockey game. In this photo you can see the action going on, on the ice and the excitement of the fans watching their teams. There is a lot of excitement in the stadium as hockey is a loved sport here in Prague. In America, I am not a big hockey fan, but I will watch any Philadelphia sports team (even baseball), so I was excited to see a sport so important to my host country and to dive more into the culture. There isn’t as much of an obvious sports culture in Prague as there is in other cities I’ve lived in and it was a great experience to feel that excitement again, which is why this photo is so important to my time in Prague.

Looks don’t matter, beauty is only skin-deep. We hear these every day, and yet we live in a society that seems to contradict this very idea. If looks don’t matter, why does the media use airbrushing to hide any flaws a person has? If looks don’t matter, why are so many young women harming themselves because they’re unhappy with the way they look? If looks don’t matter, why does every magazine have an extensive diet plan? It’s because our society promotes a certain body image as being beautiful, and it’s a far cry from the

A few days ago I was sitting at my desk waiting for one of my classes to start. I was casually scrolling through Facebook when an article caught my eye. I stopped and clicked the picture to read more. I read about the release of the newest line of Barbie. Barbie will forever be changed from the classic tall, thin, and blond girl she was to a unique doll with a variety of body shapes and sizes. When I read this article I was filled with mixed feelings. How could they change Barbie? To me the whole point of her is that she is the unobtainable plastic, stereotype of the “perfect” body. I have heard controversy in the past about whether or not she sets an unrealistic body standard for little girls. I did not believe that Barbie could have any effect on anyone’s views of what “beauty” is, until I considered the issue more closely. Then I began to form numerous of questions. Where do these ideals about beauty come from? How is beauty portrayed? What type of effects do these standards have on people? In 2016 members of American society are constantly overwhelmed with images of “beauty.” We see gorgeous size two models with perfect hair and perfect features, in magazines, on billboards, in television commercials and in our favorite television programs. How does media effect self-body image?

Women have let the idea of looking beautiful take over their self-confidence and life. Healthy Place, an online magazine teaching women about living a healthy life, says that, “today's fashion models weigh twenty-three percent less than the average female, and a young woman between the ages of 18-34 has a seven percent chance of being as slim as a catwalk model and a one percent chance of being as thin as a supermodel.” So why do women push themselves to be excessively thin when these models are anomalies? They do it because the media tells them that this look is the only look that can attract men. Even if a woman is “beautiful” according to the media’s standards, she will always find something about her body that she hates, whether it is her hair or her belly button, no women is completely satisfied. Our society is very accepting of different religions and lifestyles, so why can we not accept different types of beauty as well?