Beauty Myth and Media
The Beauty Myth and Media’s Distortion of Beauty
October 30, 2012
Semester Project Socy-2112
Shante White, Taylor Sharpless, Caleb McCora swhite47@uncc.edu, tsharple@uncc.edu, cmccora@uncc.edu
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see a well-dressed young woman on the street, at work or in class? Most people’s reaction would be that the young lady looks beautiful. However, everyone has a different perception of beauty, especially the media. The media’s distorted view of beauty is based on a Eurocentric ideal, in which a blonde haired, blue eyed, thin white female with large breast is considered the “ideal” beauty. Across the nation, this beauty myth is being reinforced in the commercial culture through magazines, television, and film. In doing this, women’s perception of beauty is being altered to fit the media’s unrealistic view of beauty. Beauty, as seen in cultures around the world, is expressed and revered in many fashions and forms made by those individual cultures. It seems that almost everywhere one goes; “beauty”, “beautiful people”, “beautiful things” or “beautiful places” set the trend for the norm in which society is to follow. As seen with popular television shows, advertising commercials, and the simply newspaper ad, beauty is the dominant focal point for which businesses or advertisers have turned to and are using as the object of desire to make an ordinary item seem more lucrative and marketable. People, especially women, envision themselves as being beauty and desirable by all; even if extreme measures are sought out and extensive procedures are performed to enhance themselves into what “society” deems “beautiful”. Even though many continue to revere this “artificial” sense of beauty, many continually pursue it, while there are others who condemn this concept and consider it a waste of time and energy. Furthermore, many feminists argue that emphasizing beauty only reinforces the idea of a sexual inferiority. Since 1970,
October 30, 2012
Semester Project Socy-2112
Shante White, Taylor Sharpless, Caleb McCora swhite47@uncc.edu, tsharple@uncc.edu, cmccora@uncc.edu
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see a well-dressed young woman on the street, at work or in class? Most people’s reaction would be that the young lady looks beautiful. However, everyone has a different perception of beauty, especially the media. The media’s distorted view of beauty is based on a Eurocentric ideal, in which a blonde haired, blue eyed, thin white female with large breast is considered the “ideal” beauty. Across the nation, this beauty myth is being reinforced in the commercial culture through magazines, television, and film. In doing this, women’s perception of beauty is being altered to fit the media’s unrealistic view of beauty. Beauty, as seen in cultures around the world, is expressed and revered in many fashions and forms made by those individual cultures. It seems that almost everywhere one goes; “beauty”, “beautiful people”, “beautiful things” or “beautiful places” set the trend for the norm in which society is to follow. As seen with popular television shows, advertising commercials, and the simply newspaper ad, beauty is the dominant focal point for which businesses or advertisers have turned to and are using as the object of desire to make an ordinary item seem more lucrative and marketable. People, especially women, envision themselves as being beauty and desirable by all; even if extreme measures are sought out and extensive procedures are performed to enhance themselves into what “society” deems “beautiful”. Even though many continue to revere this “artificial” sense of beauty, many continually pursue it, while there are others who condemn this concept and consider it a waste of time and energy. Furthermore, many feminists argue that emphasizing beauty only reinforces the idea of a sexual inferiority. Since 1970,