Social Media Impact On Beauty

“You will never look like the girl in the magazine. The girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the magazine” Jessimae Peluso. Throughout American history, women have continued to strive for an ideal of beauty. Although the definition of beauty has varied between generations, the pressure and desire to fit the mold of what society deems “beautiful” remains consistent among women from all eras. Unfortunately, this abnormal example seen in magazines, on runways, and in social media platforms is impossible for the majority of the female population to physically reach. Women are always pursuing the perfect look, turning to plastic surgeries transform them into celebrity ideals. People who desire perfect appearance ignore the nature of beauty itself, naturality is a kind of beauty. In recent years, women in America turned to look at models to find the ideal beauty standard and if they don’t meet them they turn to face lifts and plastic surgery to perfect their appearance.

Some people occasionally feel that their own appearance is unacceptable to society because of what others are expecting based on published media. Those include, social media, published articles, and even movies and TV shows. The media’s portrayal of beauty has had a generational effect on american society with young people falling victim to unrealistic standards. Failing to participate in these ideals can lead to non acceptance, ostracization, and even bullying due to the unfounded judgements of those who do participate in the beauty standards perpetuated by the media. As a matter of fact, research on the impact of those ideals have been done. Many of the studies have been made based on the outlook of people

“We are constantly surrounded by all sorts of media and we construct our identities in part through media images we see.” Social media plays a huge role in constructing our idea of the perfect body. But it hasn’t always been the same idea. Over the years, the perfect body image has changes. The ideal body image has changed so much over time because media never stays the same, fashion trends are always changing, there’s such a diversity of bodies in this world to choose from, and different cultures consider different bodies beautiful.

Teens often feel flawed if their bodies do not match up to those of models and actors. Media’s portrayal of women is a mirror image of what society wants teenagers to look like. Advertisements often stress sexuality and the importance of being physically attractive in an attempt to sell products, however people are concerned that this is pressure on women to focus on their appearance.Photoshop and airbrush are currently at their extreme such programs have existed for removing minor imperfection such as stray hairs, the advancement in technology has made it possible to manipulate an image creating unrealistic perfection. Celebrities are airbrushed to perfection on their album or movie covers but it is not actually them. Aside from enlarging eyes,trimming thighs, and airbrushing away wrinkles, more dramatic measures are now taken Images were not inclined to the manipulation with Photoshop and airbrushing which create images as it is seen today. Magazines did not start airbrush and Photoshop their models until the 1980s. In the fifties, models like Marilyn Monroe would grace the weekly covers but they would have been seen as overweight by today’s

Mass media falsely claims to be an advocate for self-acceptance and the idea that every woman is naturally beautiful, while it simultaneously uses Photoshop to erase all trace of that natural beauty—imagine how much they would Photoshop women if they did not extol real, non-enhanced, beauty! The women in these digitally improved photos look, quite frankly, as real as Barbie and her friends, and few women actually believe that the women in the pictures look that flawless in person. However, these pictures have the power to make any woman, including those in the pictures, feel inadequate because she is not as “attractive” as a Photoshopped image, the power to make a woman detest herself

Recently, model, singer, and actress Zendaya did a photo shoot and upon the pictures being released she made an Instagram post revealing how the photo was retouched with lighting and camera filters to manipulate the image. She made a statement stating, “These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love.” With that, Zendaya took it upon herself to release the real picture. In response, the magazine took a swift step to pull the magazine and have the images restored to their original, natural state. If models and celebrities are not really as thin and flawless as the images we see of them, how can anyone possibly fulfill the beauty ideal that they represent? In her book The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf criticizes the media for the flawless and unrealistic illusions created by makeup artists and photographers, arguing that such unobtainable perfection invites young women to compare their unimproved reality to physical ideals that do not really exist (CITATION). According to one study, 69% of girls claimed that magazine models influence their concept of the perfect body shape (CITATION 3). The pervasive acceptance of this unrealistic body type creates an impractical standard that is damaging to the body images of

We each perceive ourselves very differently. Not everyone sees themselves in a positive light. Everyone has something they would like to change about themselves. May it be their nose, eyes, mouth, hair, etc. The one that is chosen mostly is their body. Our body is very important in our eyes. We see it as a treasure that should be taken care of and kept in shape. No one however can say they are truly happy with themselves until they feel like they are able to keep a good body image of themselves. Social media however, has caused female’s body image to be distorted with the help of magazines, commercials, and celebrities.

As children we are taught to love ourselves and that we are all beautiful. But with growth of social media and the influence it has on today’s image displayed, it has lead the children of today to believe that beauty consist of how much makeup you apply to your face, how little clothing it wore and what size body image is excepted. Images of female bodies are everywhere, with women and girls selling everything from food to clothing. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if you can just lose those last twenty pounds, you will have the perfect body. Traditionally, most of the concerns about media and body image have revolved around women but more and

Jennifer Strickland, a motivational speaker who speaks about media’s influence on self-image, explains that “Studies prove that media can have a negative impact on self image. TV, movies, magazines, and the internet all bombard teens with images and pressures about what their bodies should look like. The problem is, their version isn’t realistic... Nevertheless, millions of teens believe the lies and resort to unhealthy measures to try to fit themselves into that impossible mold.” Media tries to persuade people, especially teens, that beauty is only skin deep and that the only standard a person cannot accomplish is their standard, secular perfection. While the pretty face covered images stake their claim on people’s insecurity, the inability to have a relaxed conversation with peoplehas reached an all time high. Honor Whiteman, a writer for Medical News Today and a student in a variety of different science aspects, explains how during many experiments, research

Altered Images in the Entertainment industry are famously used across the globe for advertisements in magazines, internet, and advertisement boards. Everywhere you see these hot babes with perfect skin, beautiful hair, and just the perfect image while you see these manly guys with 5 abs. However in reality they are altered images that have portrayed women and men in the wrong light and are very disgusting, crude, and disgraceful. Not only that but real people have started to think that this is what pretty looks like and they start to strive for it. Women have become depressed over the fact that they don’t look like that or that they can’t succeed.

Social media has created and encouraged sociocultural standards of feminine beauty by portraying women in what social media calls the “ideal body type.” The concepts of an ideal body type are unrealistic and unattainable. Most models and actresses that are portrayed in magazines, and on television look to be below a healthy weight. Social media creates a mindset that says, a person can never be “too thin.” This just makes it difficult for any women to feel satisfied with their body. Most of the public who buy magazines and see a fashion show on T.V, are not aware of what the mass media is actually doing. They don’t realize the major negative effects of constantly seeing photoshopped actresses and size 0 models, and labeling these type of women beautiful, while shaming other women who don't fit the mass media’s qualification for “beauty”. The public is not paying enough attention to this problem, which is why it is Be-YOU-tiful’s goal to bring awareness to the public on why having an ideal body type is bad and hurting females

Fashion magazines, general women?s magazine and advertisements for beauty products use Photoshop regularly and emphatically to make woman look thin, blemish free, and generally aligned with the familiar American standard of female beauty. By featuring digitally altered woman on their covers and within throughout their pages, these media outlets are promoting this unattainable standard of beauty to woman all over the country on mass. By using Photoshop to erase any fat that might exist on a woman?s arms or thighs and any wrinkle under a woman?s eyes, they create a landscape in which woman rarely see images of other woman who look like them or anyone they know in the media. This use of digital manipulation creates a lack of real images of real women associated with beauty. According the video lecture What Is Culture, a major role of popular culture is to ?give you identity what it needs when it needs it? and the fashion media is failing is failing to do this for American women (J., 2009).

Under society’s customs for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a surging subject for young women. Advertisements and pictures of lean female models are all over. Girls are measured and perplexed by their physical appearances with attire intended to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, the society, marketing campaigns and advertisements add to a strain of excellence.

Have you ever looked at a picture of someone and thought to yourself, wow I wish I looked like that? From Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it’s easy for companies to get their advertisements out there. Many women around the world today are experiencing or have experienced body dissatisfaction. Women are constantly viewing social media websites that heavily have the appearance of beautiful, skinny models. Social media is causing many harmful effects among women and young girls. Stated in an article titled “Does Social Media Impact on Body Image?” by Philippa Roxby, “Social media has a huge effect on young people's body confidence, she explains, because it cannot be ignored.” Even women who some would see as perfect can find themselves wishing they had toned abs, thick long hair, big breasts, tanned skin, and everything else that goes along with the “perfect body” ideal that society wants women to be.

The immediate rubric that comes to mind when evaluating the definition of “beauty” is as follows: tall, slim, captivating, and graceful. The world of fashion and publicity has undeniably been enriched by these seemingly expected traits, but to what avail? Tyra Banks, host and judge of the popular reality TV show Americas Next Top Model, is regarded as one of the most beautiful -and successful- women of all time. Her claim to fame began at the age of 15, as her picturesque disposition spread across the covers of GQ, Sports Illustrated, and Victoria’s Secret. She became an expert and “model” to the amateurs of the fashion world. Inevitably, women across the globe began to feign for an appearance mirroring what everyone admires: the epitome of beauty. However, when we take a step back, there is no ignoring the pressure of these heightened expectations. By examining the unfolding events within Tyra Banks’ twenty-two season television show Americas Next Top Model, we can reveal the detrimental impact imposed upon our definition of “beauty” by society’s unrealistic standards, and recognize how media significantly contributes to this cause.