Beauty is defined as a characteristic present in something or someone that gives pleasure to the mind. It is subjective to each person, but everyone is being influenced every moment by the things he or she sees, hears, and feels. While people appreciate beauty, things or individuals that are not pleasant to us can be treated harshly. Everyone is afflicted in some way to be perfect, but women are usually under the most pressure. Men are expected to be the breadwinners of the family; they are thought to be intelligent, strong, and brave and women are just supposed “to become someone’s wife” (Cisneros) and look pretty. Over the ages and even now, women are looked at as objects rather than ...view middle of the document...
Another significant media influence is movies, which are normally fiction works written by people to give viewers a sense of hope and warmth. However, movies can raise the audience’s expectations in life, people, and love. The majority of women represented in Hollywood movies are “airbrushed and plastic-surgery enhanced” (Etcoff). Movie stars are also role models for many children, teenagers, and even adults. The public wants to look like them, be treated like them, and live like them. Photoshop is used in magazines, advertisements, and media on the internet is used to enhance products to amplify the product’s effectiveness. Models are typically on advertisements wear lots of makeup used to appeal to the mass as beautiful. Women who regularly read magazines will most likely “encounter more naked or semi-naked female bodies than they would otherwise” (Etcoff) that are altered in one way or another. Consequently, these readers begin to perceive these nude images as the norm and think of their own bodies as irregular.
Because of media, society’s perception of beauty is distorted and mostly concentrated on a specific look. Celebrities’ facial features are prominent and sometimes altered through cosmetic surgery. Beauty pageants for both children and adults also influence society’s perception of beauty. People who are considered good looking usually have big, round eyes, high cheekbones, plucked and shaped eyebrows, full lips, white teeth, and a commercial smile. The female body can also be changed to fit the “ideal” standard of beauty through plastic surgery. Most models are excessively thin and tall, causing people with healthy body types to want to become thinner. On the red carpet, celebrities wear clothing that is over the top so they are able to attract more attention. On television, children see outrageous things daily including “babes in tight, tiny uniforms bouncing up and down on trampolines” (Levy). Some people even believe “miniskirts and feminist strippers” (Levy) to be somehow empowering to women, instead of objectifying them. Recently, America is changing the definition of beautiful. Studies have shown that many people relate symmetry with beauty. In the past, people wanted to be pale, as a sign of wealth and status. However, when women were interviewed by CNN “70% reported that they wanted [their skin] to be darker, [have] full lips, and curvy bodies” (Dawson). Even though American perception of beauty is constantly changing, it is not necessarily changing for the better.
Clothing and fashion trends are important to celebrities as well as everyday people; who would not want to dress to impress? Good quality clothing is not what determines the price, but rather what is fashionable or popular. Large companies that advertise their clothes through celebrities are overrated and overpriced. Nike, “recently ranked as the world’s 31st most valuable brand in terms of its brand value- USD...
