Beauty, Schönheit, beauté, belezza and so on. It is not only so that all countries have a different word for beauty, almost all of them have a different beauty ideal as well. For us people in the Netherlands living in a multicultural society, it is already quite clear by simply looking around that there is huge difference in beauty ideals due to, for example, different backgrounds, different native country, religion, etcetera. A beauty ideal is, as we see it nowadays, the appearance of a (fe)male in a particular society/ part of the world. Mostly women strive to achieve and maintain a beauty ideal. Nowadays physical attractiveness is often more important than intelligence or achievements. In this research paper, the focus will be put on women …show more content…
Furthermore, we will study the definition of a body image and what the causes are for developing a negative body image. In this part also the influence of the media will be taken into account. However, before these things can be discussed it has to be clear if there are certain aspects or characteristics that belong to every beauty ideal around the world and how we learn what is pretty and what is not. Afterwards the beauty ideals of Brazil, Thailand and the western world will be compared. We particularly chose three places from different continents and chose the western world as one subject. The reason why we combined all western countries was because within the western world the beauty ideals are very similar, but there are some small differences present. In our opinion it was more interesting to combine all those countries. To support all the information given in the research papers we used as many scientific experiments and articles as possible. Is there a universal beauty …show more content…
In this study subjects from thirteen different countries were asked to rank an assortment of pictures from ugliest to prettiest. All those subjects had in common that the pictures with people who were most symmetrical were considered to be the prettiest, thus it can be said that the rate of symmetry is a good way of rating beauty. This phenomenon is not only common among humans but also among several types of animals. There are animals (the female swallows) who also prefer symmetry. Some scientist believe that having more symmetry coincides with having a stronger immune system, which will give the offspring better genes and thus is more likely to survive. So this means that it is in our instinct to look for symmetry, while we want to have offspring that is healthy and strong. This is also why we look for friends who have the same amount of attractiveness and have a lot of similarities with ourselves. So we do not only look for symmetry in someone’s face, but also that we look for symmetry among each other. We want to have a lot of similarities with the other person, so that we can relate to each
Beauty can be defined in different ways: Beauty describes how anything in perspective like a face, an object, an action is adorable or pleasant. Beauty also refers to the person’s character, personality, or intellect. This topic of beauty affects all because in today’s culture, society judges appearances independently and seems to completely ignore what is portrayed inside of the person. In the essay, “A Woman’s Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?” Susan Sontag explains that for women, beauty is an occupation that they have to keep to maintain their financial situation.
Some people don’t realize that and try to live up to the unrealistic standards that we have created in our heads of what is really pretty. In that same article it describes beauty standards as features that are considered “pretty” in today's society. “They determine what is “beautiful”, from body shape, to facial proportions, to height and weight.” (Povey) This shows that the issue of beauty standards is a problem we face today because we can’t change the way we look.
I have grown to believe that beauty can not be limited to one definition, but it’s a concept which manifests all over the world, inspiring me to share my perspective every day, Along with this, it has led me to continue exploring more themes and concepts to incorporate in my
“Beauty is not just a white girl. It's so many different flavors and shades.” A quote most famously used by Queen Latifah. Julia Alaverze the author of ‘I want to be Miss.America’ faced the struggle of loving and appreciating her beauty when she moved to the United States with her family.
In the essay What Meets the Eye, Daniel Akst argues that look or beauty does matter in the daily life, that is, people’s life can be largely influenced or even controlled by look. Through reading Akst’s essay, I completely understand how people have different perspectives of others, as many people pay attention to and worry about how they look in the daily life. And people tend to judge others by their beauty or looks to a large extent. Akst’s ideas quite conform to and reinforce Paglia’s points that pursuing and maximizing one’s attractiveness and beauty is a justifiable aim in any society, and that good surgery discovers reveals personality. Both of them hold the idea that beauty plays an important role in people’s life and it is significant to enhance one’s beauty and attractiveness.
Most of women around the globe not only in United States define beauty due to physical appearance such as women’s hair. Everyone has their own insecurities. Therefore, I chose this research due to a friend of mine who always compliment my hair. Since I am Asian, they tend to categorize my hair with super soft and silk texture. I have a long hair and radiant hair.
The media portrays these unrealistic standards to men and women of how women should look, which suggests that their natural face is not good enough. Unrealistic standards for beauty created by the media is detrimental to girls’ self-esteem because it makes women feel constant external pressure to achieve the “ideal look”, which indicates that their natural appearance is inadequate. There has been an increasing number of women that are dissatisfied with themselves due to constant external pressure to look perfect. YWCA’s “Beauty at Any Cost” discusses this in their article saying that, “The pressure to achieve unrealistic physical beauty is an undercurrent in the lives of virtually all women in the United States, and its steady drumbeat is wreaking havoc on women in ways that far exceed the bounds of their physical selves” (YWCA).
According to Britton (2012), last 2008, YWCA USA developed a report Beauty at Any Cost wherein they discuss the consequences of beauty obsession of every woman in America. It shows that beauty obsession results from a decrease in the level of self-esteem. It also gives a problem to the Americans because it’s also putting a dent in their pockets. It states that because of those cosmetics many people have decreased the level of self-esteem because of those cosmetics.
These factors can be religious functions, economy, advertisements, etcetera. The beauty ideal as we know it nowadays, of course, differs from the ones ages ago or at least as far as we know. So not only culture changes the beauty ideal but also the time we live in. In this chapter the change over time in the beauty ideal will be studies and discussed.
One of the categories in being the ideal woman is being conventionally beautiful because, according to the media, a significant portion of a woman’s self-worth rests in appearance. This can be seen through women’s magazines in particular, which promote altering one’s appearance leads to the significant improvement of one’s “love life and relationships, and ultimately, life in general” (Bazzini 199). Therefore, the media presents a direct relationship with beauty and success: the more attractive a woman is, the better her life will be. Thus, a woman must the take initiative to look beautiful in order to be successful. Through the repetitive exposure of the same type of image in the media, what society considers beautiful often resembles a definitive checklist.
Body image has become such a big issue among society especially females mostly. According to Mariana Gozalo, states “Using Will’s sociological imagination, I thought about how there are girls who wish to look skinny because it is what is being idolized on TV and magazines and online ads. “Social media make us believe that there is a “ideal body” shape. In my opinion, there is no such a thing as the ideal body shape, because everyone is beautiful in their own individual way.
Doubtless one of the most physical feature is having a symmetrical facial structure. It shows that the biological parents have good set of genes. The said feature is also acceptable, approachable and honest, so people with good looks tend to have more friends and maintain their jobs (Knapton). Height greatly affects the impression of a women most of them prefer men taller than them.
The same sex I notice hair, shoes, clothes, nails, and the way they carry their self. Physical beauty is described as someone’s elegance, figure, features, and complexion. I know when I look at my appearance and wonder how I look with small waist or flat stomach. Beauty is an aspect but a characteristic that a person has which can be defined as anything that appeals how they see you. Let it be your personality, your looks or even your habits, beauty can have various forms.
Nowadays people are drawn to the use of cosmetic surgery, makeup, pills, supplements, and other products to enhance their physical appearance. In general, people spend a lot of money to cover their insecurities by changing their appearance to become “beautiful”. Beauty can be defined differently amongst people since their idea of pleasing is different as well. As described in the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, beauty is the quality of being physically attractive and/or the qualities of a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind. In other words, beauty is what is appealing.
However, an individual’s cultural standards have an influence on their perceptions of beauty. For example, an