American Beauty Standards

We live in a digital era. A recent study have shown that an average american spend about 8 hours a day on digital devices like laptop and smartphone. We spend about 2 years of our life just watching advertisements(Epstein, 2014). Spending this much time online can drastically affect the way we think. It has the power to change our perception from reality to a false certainty.Society tends to put more stress on women especially these days for achieving this false standards of beauty for acceptance (Kilborne, 2010). The true perception of beauty is often taken directly from movie stars, models, and t.v. shows. Many people know that these beauty standards are unattainable but they still pursue it. This compulsive persuasion often result in irreversible
Barbie is probably the world’s most renowned toy for girls. What most don't know is that if Barbie was a real human being she would be 5’11 inches tall and 108 pounds, when the average female is 5’4 inches tall with 168 pounds (Goldstein, 2013). According to research, if Barbie was real, she would walk on all fours (Goldstein, 2013). At such a young age children are exposed to unrealistic expectations of beauty. Young girls are vulnerable about the way they view themselves from a young age and it is the duty of parents, teachers and society themselves to teach each other that beauty comes from within and learning to love yourselves. Even the case study we discussed earlier talks about the tragedy that happened to a family due to unrealistic media standards of today, vulnerable teens and lack of understanding of the depth of this issue between teachers and family. Infact failure is inevitable since they are chasing something unattainable for almost all naturally. The ideal beauty is created by airbrushing, cosmetics, plastic surgery and computer editing (John,2012). What I found baffling through my research is that sometimes the models we see aren’t even real.Computer editing is used to alter and create a new human being. Even though the image isn’t real, real women and girls compare and measure themselves to these art projects of a
These advertisements are constantly lying to the customer's subconscious mind. Utilitarianism would say the right choice is the one that promotes the most happiness. Not all advertisements are bad. Dove recently been producing commercials with women of all body types and they are all considered beautiful. This is a small step in a long journey. This advertisement by Dove have been getting all kind of positive support from woman and men all over the world. So we now know that we can promote a product without lying to the consumer