Critical Response to "The Ugly Truth About Beauty" by Dave Barry
The main idea of Dave Barry 's essay is the media puts too much emphasis on beauty. Women are lead to believe that they need to look like something that is not physically impossible, because we 're not all born to be super models. I agree with the points Barry is trying to get across.
I remember grew up playing with my Barbie doll and it being made physically out of proportion. It distorted my self image on how my body should be. I agree with Barry 's claim, " [most] women grow up thinking they need to look like Barbie, which for most women is impossible, although there is multimillion-dollar beauty industry devoted to convincing women that they must try" (369). The emphasis on beautiful skin by the media pushes women to spend lots of time and money on beauty products and improvement. As Barry says "Cindy Crawford, who is some kind of genetic mutation" (369). I see where Cindy Crawford would be some kind of genetic mutation because she is a model and has that perfect image. Models are underweight and wear allot of makeup to make them selves look pretty. We stand in grocery line and all we see are magazine full of beautiful women and of course we buy the magazines to see what we could do to make ourselves look like them. My experience is that I myself have tried very hard to look good, I spend excruciating pain waxing my face and I spend top dollar on my makeup at Merle Norman Cosmetic Company just so that I could try to meet the standards of being beautiful.
Most women have low self esteems, because they look at themselves and their not satisfied or as Barry remarks, "not good enough" (369). Girls growing up play with dolls that look superficial. Barry acknowledges, "girls grow up playing with a doll proportioned such that, if it were human, it would be seven feet tall and weigh 81 pounds, of which 53 pounds would be bosoms" (369). Some women will do anything to look beautiful for example, they will undergo plastic surgery, permanent cosmetic, and crash diets.
I remember grew up playing with my Barbie doll and it being made physically out of proportion. It distorted my self image on how my body should be. I agree with Barry 's claim, " [most] women grow up thinking they need to look like Barbie, which for most women is impossible, although there is multimillion-dollar beauty industry devoted to convincing women that they must try" (369). The emphasis on beautiful skin by the media pushes women to spend lots of time and money on beauty products and improvement. As Barry says "Cindy Crawford, who is some kind of genetic mutation" (369). I see where Cindy Crawford would be some kind of genetic mutation because she is a model and has that perfect image. Models are underweight and wear allot of makeup to make them selves look pretty. We stand in grocery line and all we see are magazine full of beautiful women and of course we buy the magazines to see what we could do to make ourselves look like them. My experience is that I myself have tried very hard to look good, I spend excruciating pain waxing my face and I spend top dollar on my makeup at Merle Norman Cosmetic Company just so that I could try to meet the standards of being beautiful.
Most women have low self esteems, because they look at themselves and their not satisfied or as Barry remarks, "not good enough" (369). Girls growing up play with dolls that look superficial. Barry acknowledges, "girls grow up playing with a doll proportioned such that, if it were human, it would be seven feet tall and weigh 81 pounds, of which 53 pounds would be bosoms" (369). Some women will do anything to look beautiful for example, they will undergo plastic surgery, permanent cosmetic, and crash diets.
Cited: Barry, Dave. "The Ugly Truth About Beauty." The Longman Reader. 7th ed. Ed. Judith Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. New York. Pearson, 2005. 368-70