Unrealistic Expectations Of The Beauty Industry

Beauty Pageants deprive children of their confidence and childhoods because they lower girls self esteem. In today 's society, many magazines, movies, and runways pressure women to look a certain way, and to act a certain way. Young girls, even girls as young as one years old, can be affected by today’s obsession with fitness and perfection. These girls can take drastic measures to change what they look like, even going as far as starving themselves (Freymark 29). Beauty pageants are notorious for highlighting outward looks,and to many girls who believe that they are not beautiful enough, being judged on one 's appearance can cause a devastating blow to a girl’s confidence.

The majority of modern society’s advertising conveys an oppressive message to American women. In advertisement campaigns, women are typically only considered and marketed as beautiful if they fit a very specific mold that society has created. Women who don’t fit this mold of being feminine, thin, and pretty are shamed and encouraged to change. However, it isn’t just the “ugly” women who are shamed in the media. There is a consistent message that runs throughout advertisements that suggests that women are lesser than men, and that they exist solely for the benefit of men.

It is at the discretion of advertisers to undertake more moral responsibility in relation to the portrayal of females in advertisements. Consumers are often unable to view the product or service being advertised as the focal point centres around a semi naked female protagonist. It has been proven that sexual advertising grab’s consumer attention and marketers will push the boundaries to sell a brand. The investigation discovered that young, educated women accept the objectification of women, where previously this demographic was the most critical of such practices. Objectifying women has become socially acceptable and most consumers will not find these adverts surprising, alarming or dangerous (Zimmerman and Dahlberg

In the case of the Victoria ‘s Secret models, this would clearly only apply to a small number of women. Almost all forms of advertisements nowadays bombard women with what is supposedly the “ideal body”. The fact that their bodies seem ideal is solely due to a vision society has created and for most females, this stereotype is unattainable. Most models in advertisements look unrealistic and this is due to the fact that they are far below a healthy body weight. This gives an implicit message that to be beautiful one must be unhealthy and it makes it difficult for any woman to feel content with their physical appearance.

However, men’s oppression of women in modern times rises from defensive resistance not in the interests of protecting women, but of preserving men’s privilege haven (Kimmel, 2010). One mechanism of maintaining masculine privilege in modern times is through soft influence tactics, such as rewards and praise rather than harsh influence tactics, like open acts of hostility (Kimmel, 2010). For example, stereotypes and norms of traditional and heterosexual paternalism are

Higher respect and esteem is usually given to women perceived as being thin, regardless of other factors. There is a paradox concerning the ideal form of a woman being so slim in contrast to our Baumann 2 society of excess and overindulgence. Outdated standards of thinness and beauty are still applied, even in an environment that is no longer conducive. The author reaffirms that many factors go into the development of an eating disorder -- most of which have to do with one’s external environment. Pop culture is constantly promoting slim models smiling and laughing in advertisements to the point where it alters our idea of what it takes to truly be happy.

In contrast to past gender stereotypes, they argue that girls should be strong, independent, and intelligent. Orenstein takes a second wave feminism approach, meaning females are just as capable as males. She references how she commonly writes about feminism and warning parents of a “preoccupation of body and beauty” in order to pull for a change in society (327). The beauty standards give women an impossible set of goals deterring their confidence. In addition to unrealistic standards, Orenstein is alarmed by the growing popularity of princesses because she views them as “retrograde role models” (329).

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, makes me feel some type of way in an uncertain sense. I feel like our society tries to make it seem as if a woman has to be perfect on the outside. Its so much pressure put on women, from weight loss commercials even to what guys post on insta-gram with a caption of “Hot” or heart eyes. Its almost as if society is saying of well if you don’t look like this then you don’t look good. That isn’t the case at all, the bigger problem is the fact that women are starting to be so insecure and so uptight within their selves they cant even see there true beauty at finest.

their purpose in doing so is to get a beautiful and ideal body. Indirectly they endanger their health and it takes a lot of money to get the beauty they want. They are willing to do anything to get it. It is true that media greatly affect women 's perception of the body image and therefore negatively effect to women.

Gender stereotypes are unrealistic, so why is it still pressured upon people to comply with them? The stereotype that women are expected to have a hourglass figure illustrates the illogical idea that women are only good for their bodies and not for the skills that they have developed. This stereotype still exists because companies chose to model slimmer women for their company’s products because they believe that their clothes look better on them than larger women. This concept has led to millions of women concerned about their looks than their health; often leading to disorders and even death. Although the public is advertising the stereotype that women should have an hourglass figure, women are born in different shapes and sizes, making it

The media negatively influences female perception of the body image in America. Advertisements, magazines, billboards and commercials portray women to be thin and flawless. The media’s perception of the perfect body image causes women to have a low self-esteem that can influence eating disorders, such as, bulimia and anorexia. Media influences cause women to look at image rather than personality, and creates a negative opinion about heavy people. Advertisements such as magazines and billboards spend thousands of dollars to persuade women to be uncomfortable in their own skin.

This advertisement was most likely published around the 1950’s. Women was supposed to fulfill certain roles during the 1950’s. The perfect wife was supposed to stay home and have dinner ready and on the table for when her husband arrives home from work. The advertisement says a lot about how some men may view their wives and many women who always had need for a man. Women would more than likely be shown doing the “nonworking roles of the home” then a man would.

However, the 1920s, the time of the Flapper, promoted this very slim, almost boyish body, and the clothes were very straight so that it didn’t show any curves. Both of these photos, as well as other times in history with pictures of the ideal woman’s body can be seen at here. During the 1920s, early manufacturers and retailers, created, marketed and sold products to a target market, the thin woman. Mass consumption, entered dressmaking through these national women's magazines, and these clothes that were being mass produced to promote new ways of shopping (Fernandez, 2).