Horace Miner Religion

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

The American society tends to feel very high and superior to other cultures in the world. The Unites States is the home to multiple revolutionary technological, medical, and numerous advances. The country is in a developed state that other countries tend to look at in order to know how to grow and advance. However, when looked at from the outside, things that are done everyday, “rituals”, can seem strange. Horace Miner wrote the essay “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” in order to highlight actions people do everyday in a way that opens the eyes of the reader. Although the rituals seem strange out of place, Miner had a specific purpose to give a new perspective and to leave a lasting effect of thought and change on the reader.

As of recent plastic surgery has become extremely popular, so popular to the point that it has gotten out of control. Although it has been around for many years, the high standards of beauty in today’s society has recently led both women and men to resolve their so-called imperfections with plastic surgery, making plastic surgery the new norm. Sadly, in this day and age all you see when turning on the TV, flipping through a magazine, or simply going on social media, is models creating an ideal image of what a human should look like. This causes people to thinking that if you don’t look like that, then you are unattractive. Also, plastic surgery creates a big problem because it puts pressure on people with imperfection and insecurities. Despite plastic surgery changing who you are and what you are supposed to look like, many people don’t care because they have don’t want to look like themselves, they want to create a perfect version of themselves through surgical procedures so that society can accept them. Changing what they look like by defining what beautiful is to them not knowing that society has subliminally led them there. To grasp and understand why so many undergo cosmetic surgery is due to the ideals of society in dealing with physiological and body dysmorphic disorders to try combat them with teaching people from a young age to learn to love themselves for who they are and not their appearances.

The Aztecs had human beings for sacrificial rituals. Aztec society was based on agriculture, and influenced by religion that encircled life of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs were polytheistic and worshipped gods that represented natural forces. These sacrifices were vital to their agricultural economy. All of the sacrifices were at a giant stone pyramids topped by temples where sacrifices were provided the gods. Human sacrifice played an important role to the indigenous tribes in the central Mexico. However, the Aztecs brought human sacrifice to excessive deaths that had never been practiced before. The Mexica Indians and other indigenous tribes believed it was necessary to constantly gratify the gods through human sacrifice. They performed this ritual spilling the blood of human beings onto the ground. The priests believed it was a way paying tribute to the gods for the weather, and good crops. If the blood flowed, then the sun would rise each morning. This would allow the crops would grow, and the gods would provide perfect weather for 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.

It is estimated that 1-2% of our population is affected by this disorder (Body Dysmorphic Disorder). Robert Pattinson, Michael Jackson, and Marilyn Monroe are just a few of many celebs who demonstrated symptoms of this disorder. Wildenstein traded in her Swiss features for a more feline look in order to please her ex-husband. Instead of focusing on what could mold her into a better individual, she decided to undergo multiple surgeries only to achieve a divorce thereafter. Getting a nose job, a lip injection, or botox has now become a norm in our society; celebrities purchase these procedures as if they were fetching for new shoes at the mall. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), Americans spend $12 billion on cosmetic procedures annually. This disorder equally affects men and women, and its victims tend to stay unsatisfied with their looks even after the procedure is done. They nitpick each and every “flaw” they conceive and attempt to change it or hide it as best as they can. Society’s growing obsession with outward appearance should be viewed as a dangerous

The article entitled “Digital Plastic Surgery,” by Sara Snyder explores the fashion industry’s obsession with making women perfect with computer imaging technology. The practice has become so common and so technologically advanced that people reading or seeing the magazines cannot usually see that the body of the model on the cover does not belong with the head or that the legs’ size have been significantly reduced, as in the case of a photo of Kate Winslet in the British GQ magazine. Snyder includes various perspectives by people in the retouching business, as well as fashion editors, models, and actresses. She also briefly summarizes how the practice has grown from smaller changes to the skin tone to adjusting the sizes, muscle tone, and shape of people’s bodies and faces. Nobody quoted in the article has a positive take on the practice, because it makes the ideal of beauty unrealistic for everybody, even the celebrities who are considered beautiful already.

In all cultures of recorded history, there are standards of beauty that many strive or have strived to attain. But what happens when being beautiful means more to a member of society than the habitual application of makeup or the desire for a person to be thin? What does it mean to an individual when exercising one’s desire to become beautiful involves the permanent mutilation a functioning part of the body or going ‘under the knife’ to alter ones genitalia? The pressure for a person to meet standards of beauty are everywhere one looks. From the dazzling models seen on billboards on the way to the supermarket, to to extensive advertising to buy a product to transform one’s body, the pressure for someone to alter their body is everywhere. By giving a brief history of body modification, giving examples of the way that individuals modify their bodies today, and explaining the unending role that the media plays on pressuring individuals to changing their physical appearance, one is able to better understand that the complex desire to meet the standards of beauty in a society are a part of everyday life.

There are many beauty standards but weight and body size is slowly becoming the main focus. These standards give a false sense of hope of having the “perfect body.” Instead of letting beauty standards be socially accepted, people should be aware of the harm they cause. Celebrities are role models to various people around the world and they are criticized for their appearance. Many of these celebrities go out and get plastic surgery, Botox injections, and Silicone implants. People that a lot of money and higher status are more likely to be able to live up to these standards. Some women are willing to sacrifice comfort and tolerate the pain to achieve them.

People are more and more drawn into thinking that their identities and bodies are similarly plastic, flexible, liquid. Karen Donley-Hayes, who is contributor to Cosmetic Surgery Times, Dermatology Times, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, contends: "An extreme makeover culture is emerging. As procedures and techniques improve and become more affordable, cosmetic surgery has turned from luxury to a prerequisite in a society that emphasizes appearance over merit. Additionally, global economic and technological forces, promote disposability and constant upgrading; people pursue surgical enhancement to reinvent themselves and remain competitive" (Donley-Hayes, 2011).

The definition of beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty has negative and positive influences on mostly people. Beauty is described by the inside and outside of us. Due to beauty, our self-esteem has been hurt dramatically, especially towards girls. Beauty is not always about our outside looks but it’s about our inside personality also.

What does beauty mean to you? For some beauty may lie in the various blossoms in the trees, whereas for others it may simply be the leaves lying scattered over the grass, dying out from green to brown before decomposing into the soil. When something is referred to as “beautiful” is may be ugly, sad or even weird because there is no particular definition of beauty. Beauty is an indefinable concept that provides a perceptual experience of satisfaction or pleasure for many people. When people are asked to define beauty many refer to the phrase “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” but what is more important; it is to be your own beholder. We as individuals, our communities, our cultures and even different societies have different perceptions and definitions of what is beautiful. In fact, many of us develop a certain perception on what beautiful is simply from what we tend to see around us. Through the exposure to media, the influence from cultural differences and even simply the idea of beauty and age, all contribute to the fact that beauty has no right definition.

The book describes how beauty can be consolidating, Sacred, disturbing, profane. It may even be exhilarating, inspiring, appealing or chilling. It may affect us in an unlimited number of ways. Roger Scruton defines four major types of beauties : "human beauty, as an object of desire; natural beauty, as an object of contemplation; everyday beauty, as an object of practical reasons; and artistic beauty, as a form of meaning and an object of taste" His approach is Philosophical rather than Psychological, Historical or Evolutionary. Beauty is a Philosophical study of Art and is beautifully described by Roger Scruton in this book.

What does beauty mean to you? Often times people surgically change their appearance to feel better about themselves. A Majority of the time people are unsatisfied with their bodies, so they alter their looks. These individuals look up to celebrities who have paid thousands of dollars to look a particular way. Cosmetic surgeons are being bombarded by star struck clients demanding specific features of celebrities. Some of the victims believe that getting surgery to look like a celebrity will put them on track to becoming famous. Becoming famous is often vital to this kind of crowd, so they will do whatever it will take to draw further attention to themselves.

Beauty, who doesn 't want it? People have always wanted to look beautiful in other people eyes. Since the first day human being appeared on Earth, we’ve always wanted to change and improve our self-images; therefore, in early twentieth century, when the medication has reached high level in changing people 's flaws by surgery, more and more people find plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery as the beauty tools. Today the number of people who seeking for plastic surgery has increased dramatically, despite the fact that besides all beauty benefits it bring back there are also negative impacts that people should also considered before deciding to do it.