Societal Standards Of Female Beauty

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

Media enforces the social-cultural standards, which women are required to follow in order to look and behave in a manner that society considers acceptable. Newspapers, commercials, posters, magazines, fliers, reality shows, and cartoons only name a few of our everyday interaction with the media (Scholar, C.2011). However, these standards presented by media send a false perception of women, thus portraying women in a negative and disrespectful manner. Society views woman as mentally, morally, and physically inferior to men, and media is only highlighting this idea (Scholar, C.2011). In fact, media represents women in a stereotypical form of beauty, they display women as sexual objects, and create the illusion that women are ignorant.

The topic that I strongly believe is a significant issue in society today is the feminine beauty standards that are established by society. Who is to blame for today’s insane beauty standards? I believe society has shaped us by making us think that we should look or act a certain way in order to fit in society.

Females have been constantly shamed for generations if one does not act, dress or look a certain way. The media has been a major influence on women from a young age on how one is perceived in society. The media has created an impossible goal for women to achieve. The media will take multiple different parts of women that are seen as perfect and Photoshop them and put them on billboards (Kilbourne, 2010). This makes young girls lead a life where one will inevitably fail to what she has always been shown as the ideal women. This causes eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem in women, which leads to mass amounts of unnecessary cosmetic reconstruction surgeries (Kilbourne, 2010). This is just one negative issue with the way societal norms degrades women. Women are constantly portrayed as objects and to be viewed as lesser than a male. The way men are shown of needing a masculine side and cannot show femininity

Elline Lipkin, a Research Scholar at the center for the Study of Women at the University of California, Los Angeles, describes in her article ‘From girls’ Bodies, Girls’ Selves: Body Image, Identity, and Sexuality, the effects of media body image have on females. Many females may not be aware of the effects that the media has on women. In fact, according to Lipkin women are taught a lesson about what a female should look like just by the advertisement. Advertising what the ideal female body should look like may seem like a good idea, but really it effects woman more in the negative side then on the positive. In fact, most of the ideal female body is false, in which it could become harmful emotionally and physically. To improve the confidents in female very own body, false advertisement can stop in which negative effects will also stop, and changing the way women see their body in a different view.

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.

This article, written by Melanic R. Salome , is about the women’s misrepresentation of in media . Salome considers media as an important tool that affects American women in a negative way. Media has become of paramount interest in our lives, despite the fact that its negative influences on us are increasing at a rapid pace. Media promotes unrealistic and unattainable images that result in depression and dissatisfaction among people. Therefore, media reflects the image of society and the way people think about themselves. Moreover, The writer strives to show the portrayal of women as depicted by media, stating that historically women are more likely to suffer from marginalization and stereotyping than men do . She claims that women are mostly represented as sexual objects and marriage oriented. She highlights that it is unfortunate that this marginalization of women is still continuing, but it is being exploited through a different way by media. Women beauty is used in advertisement on purpose to sell products while men are usually represented as elegant leaders and decision makers. Media, according to Salome, tries hardly to convince American society believing in inaccessible and nonsensical goals. The author believes that women should be accepted as they are without being incorporated into the picture of what the ideal women are. Furthermore, she claims that the American society is a society that cares just about appearance as an important part of the human existence.

Beauty standards are portrayed everywhere: on magazines, social media, ads, commercials, and even flaunted among peers. While the ideals are supposed to promote health awareness, fitness motivation, and self love, it unfortunately results in many unfavorable consequences. Women are constantly “penalized for not being beautiful and at the same time are stigmatized, even pathologized, for not feeling beautiful, for having low self-esteem, for engaging in behaviors like dieting and excessive exercising, or for having eating disorders” (Johnston and Taylor 954). Beauty standards are unrealistic and unhealthy to pursue, and misinforms the public on what true beauty is. While not all beauty image ideals promote negative feelings and dissatisfaction, many believe that the negative effects far outweighs any positive effects.

What does the media tell us about women? It tells us what is “most important” and that’s how we look. They surround us with images of ideal female beauty. We have been learning from such an early age, that we must spend our time to strive to be like the women in these images and to feel ashamed and guilty if we cant live up to these incredibly unrealistic expectations. But failure is inevitable, when the women we are being shown are photo shopped and airbrushed to seem thinner, with faces so flawless that there is not a wrinkle or a line to be seen. This idea of beauty that society is showing us is so edited that it can’t be achieved. Not even the women in these images we are being shown look like this. The media is beginning to dictate our lives, influencing our thoughts, opinions, and actions. Through this use of magazines, advertisements, and social media, we are being shown by society what we need to look like in order to be beautiful. Society challenges women to be strong and independent, by showing us that in order to be seen as the ideal female we have to look like a woman that has been altered with on a computer for hours until she doesn’t even look like

Media influence causes 69 percent of girls, in one study, to state that magazine models impact their idea of the perfect body shape. This drastic affect on a young person 's life creates a reality that women need to alter the way they look to be ‘perfect.’ Media also portrays women as helpless beings, needing a man by their side to complete easy tasks in which they can do on their own. There is also the aspect of strong women being sexy, and not the intelligent, intellectual women that they are. Throughout many girls lives, growing up, there are self esteem issues that will resonate with them for years to come. Commercials and advertisements feed on the implication that females believe they will never be flawless or beautiful, so they will do anything to get there. These impacts from media have catastrophic results. This is critical today because there are more eating disorders, health issues, and suicides than ever before. Women should be represented as strong, fearless individuals as opposed to the stereotypical ‘damsel in distress’ media pins them as today. Media limits girls and women from discovering possibilities they could have as leaders through objectificatoin and sexualazation.

The female body image is highly influenced by the mass media and the media’s portrayal of women, ‘70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines’ (University of Massachusetts & Stanford University, 2006), the portrayal of women in the media has an unrealistic approach and brings out body dissatisfactions and this results in eating problems and disorders.

Time and time again, women are told who they should be, what they should wear, and how they should look. Every few decades the what an ideal women is may change but what does not change is what women go through to obtain that beauty standard. For the most part this paper was to expose the way media has caused dissatisfaction within the female body, how the dissatisfaction in the female boy can result to an unhealthy dieting creating an eating disorder phenomenon.

Every day we are exposed to some type of media. Whether you know it or not, the media that you view each day affects you in some way. This is especially true for women and girls. The media puts a huge emphasis on how women are supposed to look to be considered beautiful, liked, and successful. All around the world women and girls look in the mirror and think that they are not thin or pretty enough to be accepted by the world. Would you want your sister, niece, best friend, or even your mother to think of themselves in that way? The media puts way too much emphasis on looks, and it needs to stop.

Women are constantly subject to societal ideals and standards which has an influence over them. How does society's standard of beauty affect women? How does beauty ideals make women want to change themselves?

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the prettiest of them all. Since the beginning of time, the ideals of beauty have changed quite a bit. Society comes up with how one should look, making everyone feel like the way they look is not good enough. Society says look like this, look like that, and then every once in awhile society says look like you. Be yourself, they say. The minute anyone tries to be themselves, they are told it is wrong. No matter what someone does, it is wrong. Society has made body image a number one factor in everyday life. People are constantly comparing themselves to others, and changing themselves to “fit in.” Society is something no one can avoid, people face it every day and everywhere they go. Society makes it hard for people to accept themselves for who they are.