Beauty’s evil beast: What does ‘beauty’ mean today?
We suffer from a centuries old epidemic without giving it a single thought. Side effects have changed over the years, for what once caused 18th century women to constrain themselves in corsets later inspired the 1960s “Twiggy” look and the 1990s “heroin chic.” Despite the body’s ever-changing paradigm of perfection, the ideological makeup of the body image plague has remained the same: dissatisfaction in our own skin that has spanned the generations.
Plucking hair, eating too little or too much and investing in costly plastic surgery have all been accepted in one form or another as ways to perfect our appearance. Today women can even purchase the technologically advanced Brava Bra that, according to its Web site, applies a “gentle amount of tension to breasts” that builds new tissue
and increases bust size. Just wear it for 10 to 14 consecutive weeks.
So at what point does a little primping turn into an unhealthy obsession? And how do we feel about society’s pressure to look perfect?
According to research conducted by Lydia Boyd of Duke University Libraries, “today the American cosmetics and beauty aid industry totals over $20 billion in sales and is dominated by hair and skin care products that are heavily advertised in print and on television.”
It’s no wonder we’re touched by the concept of body image in our day to day lives. Body image hits us from every direction.
Sarah Kikkert, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said she notices not only the media’s emphasis on today’s stick thin, body flaunting beauties, but also their flawless skin, hair and lips. The image ideal air-brushed onto advertisements and digitally modified in photographs screams beauty without blemishes.
Brenda Litza, a senior in the College of Education, said she believes the media doesn’t point out an individual’s true beauty but instead calls attentions to a person’s flaws. Eyes don’t have to wander any further than the magazine racks at grocery store check-out lines to find entertainment magazines covered in photographs of celebrities who are now considered “fat.”
Litza said “Toddlers and Tiaras,” a reality show on TLC that follows child beauty pageant participants and their parents, serves as a prime example of the lengths an individual will go to attain illusory physical attractiveness.
The TLC Web site profiled the reality show as a look into the stage world pageants.“On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes,” the Web site read. “ ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles and lots of cash.”
But the images we see portrayed in mainstream television shows or movies rarely reflect reality.
“Some people don’t even question it (the media’s portrayal of beauty),” said Ophira Edut, healthy body image advocate and author of “Body Outlaws.” “It’s fascinating what a brush stroke can do.”
She said we forget about the manipulation that goes into advertising, movies and photographs. Sharing the office with a Photoshop expert has opened her eyes to image retouching wonders.
We see the flawless faces of makeup models, but we also see advertisements of buff men lifting weights at Bowflex machines. Do men suffer the same effects of body image lows by viewing these ads as some women do flipping through fashion magazines?
Emily Kitchin, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she feels women suffer more than men from body image issues.
“Men can look how they want, and women are expected to be perfect all the time,” Kitchin said.
Kikkert said she believesan unhealthy body concept affects men, but the masculine side of the problem is largely ignored.
“We pretend like it’s not an issue,” she said. “And maybe it’s not as much.”
James Schaeffer, a first-year student in the Dental School, said he has never felt much pressure to fit the perfect physical appearance bill. He felt more pressure to participate in sport activities than to project a certain physique. As a result, he believes body image is an issue that affects women most directly.
“On TV, you always see the hot girl with the couch potato guy,” he said.
According to the Social Issues Research Centre Web site, all research to date on body image shows that women criticize how they see themselves in the mirror more than men do.
“Up to eight out of 10 women will be dissatisfied with their reflection, and more than half may see a distorted image,” the Web site said.
Men tend to be either pleased or indifferent with their reflection and generally have a more positive body image than women, the research concluded.
While television, advertisements and magazines call attention to beauty’s physical form, Schaeffer said beauty goes to depths much deeper than a mirror’s reflection. In terms of relationships, physical appearance may spark a casual friendship or a first date, but a long-term relationship must have a deeper foundation, he said.
“What a person does defines beauty,” Schaeffer said.
Physically attractive doesn’t mean anything coming from a mean-spirited individual, he said. Beauty is how someone carries herself.
Kikkert said, “Confidence is always sexy.”
In the end, Kikkert wants the person she dates to respect who she is and not how she appears, she said. When dating, she looks for initial attraction to someone, but physical appearance doesn’t make or break the deal. Sincerity wins out over the external show. So what’s a girl (or a guy) to do to feel an inner sense of body image peace in a fast-paced society that stresses need for a flawless bod?
“Mind has a lot to do with it,” Kikkert said.
Kikkert tries to care about her appearance in a healthy sense, she said. She exercises because she feels better when she feels she is taking care of herself. She likes to wear makeup to class and make an effort not to sport sweatpants.
“When you care about your appearance, you are caring for yourself,” Kikkert said. “You want to be presentable.”
Schaeffer said we have to create our own idea of beauty and not allow outside concepts to influence us.
“If you’re healthy, be happy,” he said. “Create your own ideal. Don’t base it on others.”
Edut said we can foster healthy self concepts by educating ourselves and not taking what we see at face value. We know better, but the pressure is still there, she said. It’s traumatic to the human mind to be ostracized, rejected and not look the way you’re supposed to.
“Fill yourself with images that make you feel good,” Edut said. “Aspire to be fit and healthy. Don’t just buy into it. Have the guts and the courage to be different.”
The gorgeous and glamorous of the world don’t embody the only type of beauty, she said. We need to reconsider what beautiful means. One way to change beauty’s definition and gain a healthier self image is by revealing and embracing its diversity. It comes in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds.
“Beauty is more of an inside-out idea,” Litza said.
Maybe finding our inner beauty is the cure for which we’ve been searching for centuries. We’ve looked far and wide for a miracle cosmetic to give us flawless appearances, but we just may find our constant battle with self image masks beauty in its purest form: the simplicity of our true selves, makeup free and hair undone.
Tags: "heroin chic", beauty, body image, health, plastic surgery, Twiggy
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