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Many People Desire the Perfect Self-Image that is Impossible Essay

Decent Essays

Perfection is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “being entirely without flaws; something that cannot be improved.” In today’s society many people, particularly young women desire to be perfect in their outward appearance. They want the perfect hair, the perfect skin, the perfect body, which so many think would be the perfect life. However, perfection of this kind is very difficult to achieve, yet so many people still want this perfect self-image. This desire for perfection has caused self-hatred within many and this pandemic of perfection is rapidly spreading amongst individuals. The song “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé Knowles clearly shows how perfection is truly a disease of a nation. People are faced with the pressure to be perfect in …show more content…

In the second verse of the song, Beyoncé states “Blonder hair, flat chests, TV says bigger is better. South beach, sugar free, vogue says thinner is better.” Many celebrities are seen on the cover of Vogue (one of the many magazines that upholds this standard) with beautiful features, size 0 bodies and hair that most people would envy.

Many people have difficulty accepting their flaws. They battle with their own self-conflict because they believe that they are not perfect. In the third verse, Beyonce sings “Ain’t got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away. The pain is inside and nobody frees you from your body; it’s the soul that needs surgery.” No matter how hard we try to fix our outward appearance to fit society’s standards of perfection, we can never attain it because it doesn’t exist. The problem comes from deep within therefore no plastic surgery can bring true happiness. She goes on to sing “plastic smiles and denial can only take you so far, and you break when the fake facade leaves you in the dark. You left a shattered mirror in the shards of a beautiful girl.” Yes, you can try alter your appearance to cover up the underlying issues but that is only a temporary solution. Searching your soul is the best way to deal with such issues. After soul searching and realizing that looks aren’t important (shattered mirror) the beautiful girl was left in the shards that was

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