misrepresented beauty Essay

Submitted By mirielle001
Words: 1365
Pages: 6
Open Document
Mary Nyone
Dr. Matt Oliver
English 112 07
16 February 2014
Misrepresented Beauty: Paradox
From the decennium of sybaritic stars such as Marilyn Monroe to the immense popularity of the Barbie doll, the ideals of the female figure has been misconstrued. Neimark in her article, “Why We Need Miss America” quoted directly, “Miss America is the official standard of beauty, kind of the dollar bill”. The rest of us are not necessarily repulsive; we are beautiful, but not by those standards. The media plays a very crucial role in this regard. This ludicrous beauty standards are taken as the benchmark for physical attractiveness in today’s society. Young girls strive to meet the mold of beauty reflected on TV, magazines, billboard, etc. where it is broadcasted. Pop culture and its entirety of ideas, serving as the basis for modern socialization has shaped our attitudes, beliefs and values, also the way we think and feel about ourselves. It is so unfortunate that its function is an aberration through its setting of false standards, objectification, and misogynist appearances which degrades, encourage abuse, leads to serious health problems and reinforce the patriarchal, sexist society.
According to Jean Kilbourne in her video, “Killing Us Softly 4” she helps analyze the different ways advertising has indeed distorted ideas of feminity. She claims ads today unconsciously dictate who we are and what we should be thereby selling values, lifestyles and concepts of normalcy. We come across ads everywhere and almost on a daily basis. As the author puts it, “It is therefore dishonest to say we are not affected by them”. Although, many feel personally exempt from the influence of advertising, they are mistaken. We cannot escape from them because these ads send subliminal messages which our brain works, reworks and interpret on the subconscious level. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that these messages do not shape our identity because they are part of our environment of culture.
The setting of false standard is one phenomenon mislabeled by popular culture. This happens when people measure their appearance with a so-called idealized body type therefore creating an appearance obsessed culture. Consider the physical demand that televised commercials assume, they suppose women to have a sexualized behavior and appearance. The perfect feature is pictured as light skin, thin, straight hair, Caucasian features, etc. The desire to look as perfect as these models can become all-consuming, and a wealth of evidence shows that people in the US are experiencing serious body image problems. A recent study by Fister and Smith on the effects of exposing women to realistic images indicated a strong relationship between high risk toward disordered eating and subsequent thinness and weight expectancy endorsement. It was found that the mean of positive thoughts about weight after the Media Truth Presentation (M=33.25, SD=10.9) was significantly higher than the mean of positive thoughts about weight after the Media Exposure Presentation (M=30.05, SD=10.62), t(79)=-4.99, p<.01, indicating that the media truth presentation had a positive influence on how the participants feel about their weight since the media exposure presentation was significantly different from the mean at the baseline (p>.017). (Fister 412).
Taken in this light, people who are unhappy about their bodies can develop eating disorders, turn to diet pills or steroids, or even try cosmetic surgery and Botox injections. This also affects adolescents and impacts on the way they think. It is important to buttress the fact that these depressive orders increase the risk of suicide and adverse health outcomes, namely lifelong recurrence of major depressions. A recent study on thirteen year old adolescents was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of body dissatisfaction and the association with depressive symptoms, according to gender. Among females, it was discovered that 15.8% desired a bigger figure
Show More

Related Documents: misrepresented beauty Essay

Art Fakes and Forgeries Essay

Chris Wiley English 1000 13 September 2010 Fakes and Forgeries Lessing v. Dutton The two essays, “What is Wrong with a Forgery,” by Alfred Lessing and “Artistic Crimes,” by Denis Dutton, explore the different reasons that they give negative connotation to the concept of an artistic forgery. Each author concludes that a forgery is indeed wrongful, however their reasons for this conclusion differ in several distinct ways. This essay will summarize both authors’ main points and compare and…

Words 1283 - Pages 6

Transcendentalism In Dead Poets Society

As a student newly out of high school the coming of age aspect, familiar cast and renown of Dead Poet’s Society initially drew me to it, but it was the authentic depiction of a teenager’s desire to challenge authority to help find oneself that was my deciding factor in choosing this film. English Professor John Keating inspires his group of students to question the conventional views of society as a whole by means of expressing themselves through poetry. He uses an unconventional view of poetry as…

Words 394 - Pages 2

Ethnic Minorities As A Threat Essay

perhaps more importantly provided a rationale for the apparent need for exclusion” Media representation of Islam and Muslims Poole (2000) – demonized and distorted by the media as a threat to Western ideologies, Patel (1999) – Islam is purposely misrepresented as it challenges Western cultural power, Richardson (2001) – empirical study of British Muslim in the press found that they are mostly negatively represented, Whitaker (2002) – Muslims are represented as intolerant, misogynist violent or cruel…

Words 529 - Pages 3

Misrepresentation In Media

Women all over the world constantly struggle with injustice and gender inequality, whether it’s in the mainstream media, professional world force, or in their own homes. Women who are misrepresented in the media are expected to resemble a porcelain figure with the most elegant features and toned muscles. This would be understandable if men were expected to look muscular and lean; however, this is not the case. We see a popular trend on TV and movies where the ideal American family showcases a husband…

Words 975 - Pages 4

Coco: Gender and Women Essay

Zhan xiaoyue Professer.cook Soc101 03/13/2015 Reaction Paper 5: Miss Representation Before the coming of the modern civilization, women were subjected to discrimination and mistreatment. It occurred because they were misrepresented in the leadership of the time. Modern civilization changed the way of living and brought up equality between men and women. As time changes, the media have become a powerful body that influences that individuals behave in the society. The media has brought back the issue…

Words 422 - Pages 2

Yellow By Olivia Chung Summary

she thought it would make her look prettier. Based on topics discussed in class, this pressure was aiming to Americanize Chung to fit into our vision of standard beauty. Ironically, through the years Chung describes the racist comments and pressure as eye opening. Her experiences have allowed for her to see that the definition of beauty is much more complex than she once thought. She now defines it as one that embraces differences and includes every girl, even if she is a Korean American with no…

Words 694 - Pages 3

The Gutenberg Bible: A Literary Analysis

qualities in various forms as well as confronting the iconoclastic movement in Christianity. The Bible incorporates religious elements, drawn from the contents and scale of it. In The Gutenberg Bible, the calligraphic font was used to demonstrate the beauty of God’s superiority. Following the reveal of the sculpture, Sweet Jesus outrage followed, because Jesus, part God, shouldn’t have been subjected to human form through his nakedness. The regular font would have…

Words 475 - Pages 2

Sexualization Of Women

today’s trends, a vintage vibe is extremely popular and we also see that girls want to be sexualized at an earlier age. You could present this image and to a young girl and she could think that it’s an “aesthetic” or that it’s highlighting “feminine beauty,” these being common words used to describe sexual exploitation in the name of art. The young woman has her skirt slightly hiked up in the back as if she is trying to be flirty, maybe even teasing her audience. When an image portrays a woman as being…

Words 1021 - Pages 5

Torture: Reality Television and Young Girls Essay

consequences that can accompany irresponsible behavior, the negative effects of these shows on our youth are becoming increasingly profound. Almost every scene is somewhat biased and extremely exaggerated, thus many real-world experiences are misrepresented. As a result, children and young adults are growing up with a skewed idea of reality and beginning to lower their standards. The lifestyles that teenagers and young adults maintain is some what reflective of the celebrities they idolize. This…

Words 1379 - Pages 6

The Carousel In The Catcher In The Rye

taken or given away willingly.” All in all, the novel The Catcher in the Rye is centered on Holden’s desperate attempts to preserve the innocence that is slowly being stripped away from him and those around him. His struggle demonstrates not only the beauty and preciousness of innocence but also the harsh reality that the loss of innocence is…

Words 684 - Pages 3