Society mutates our perceptions of beauty and what we see as desirable.
The world is dominated by media and technology that is easily accessible to consumers. At the touch of a button on a handheld device, you can be informed off all the happenings in the world. Media influences every aspect of our life and has the ability to mold our thoughts and actions.
Celebrities are one such tool to shape our likes and dislikes. They are placed on a pedestal and then scrutinized in every angle. They show the common folk what is good to consume and how one should look doing so. No matter what they are famous for, celebrities all have one thing in common. They are beautiful.
Even though beauty is simply biology, trends are ever changing.
Discovery did research on the beauty of symmetry and the science of sex appeal. They found that the more symmetrical your face is, the more beautiful you are considered. Additionally, features that indicate fertility and survival are inherently desirable. For women, wide hips and large breasts mean high levels of estrogen and the ability to bear children. For men characteristics like broad shoulders and facial hair signifies high levels of testosterone, indicating that in a primitive world he would be able to hunt and provide for his family.
Trends, however, do not necessarily follow biology’s every whim and are constantly changing. During the Renaissance, women who were curvy and a little plump were considered desirable, but fast forward to the 1990’s and the bone-thin look was considered chic.
Today the trends have once again changed. I think Tina Fey describes best the aesthetic women strive to attain in her book “Bossypants”. “Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits.”
Miss Fey may be crass, but she makes a good point.
In 2016 we have irresponsible and unreasonable beauty ideals.
Despite campaigns by companies and advocacy groups like Dove, society will not let everyday women fully accept the body they are born in. We are taught, albeit it subconsciously, to put ourselves down and admire images that are unrealistic.Women and men alike face body image pressures and endure body shaming.
My all time favorite story to tell is not one I remember.
It was relayed to me by my mom and my dad because I was only about 6 months old at the time. We had just moved down to the Atlanta area from Baltimore and my parents were mingling with some of my dad’s new co-workers. They’d brought me along, and apparently, I was enjoying myself in my baby carriage. One of my father’s co-workers, a kind Southern lady noticed the carriage and came over to say hello. While leaning over to look inside she began to say “Your daughter is so – “. Beautiful, cute, precious, adorable, pretty are all words you would expect to hear right?
Actually, she said “interesting”. This kind lady told my parents that their first born baby girl was interesting looking.
I don’t see this as an insult, but I think it is funny as hell and perfectly describes me. I have olive skin that tans quickly. I have big brown eyes, thick brows, a “strong nose” (Thanks, Dad), and I have dark hair. All of these attributes were not what this sweet Southern lady was used to seeing, and certainly not what she had been taught was beautiful.
So now we bring up the point that beauty is not only decided by others but influenced by the environment. Different cultures will admire different attributes, but generally, there is an overlap. Like Miss Fey noted, society likes to pick and choose features that are desirable, even if it is unrealistic to have them all at once.By now I’m just rambling, but my point is that there’s no clear definition of what’s beautiful. We’ve seen a push for more accepting modeling ads and calls for lessons in
positive body image to be spread through awareness programs. I’m sure that the media will still revere individuals based on their appearance alone and I’m sure that beauty, fashion and health-related businesses will still push products designed to “create the best you.”
