2005 Beauty Standards

[Cecelia Seiner]

Inthis way, colonialism gave capitalism a brilliant business model to follow: It illustrated just how easy it is to profit off of deep-seated insecurities stemming from a lifetime of being treated as less than. And so throughout history capitalism has sowed the seeds of insecurity in all of us. Much of what we believe to be true about our bodies is nothing more than marketing, made up by beauty brands to make a buck.

Cellulite, it must be said, is natural and normal, and getting rid of it is nearly impossible. This is true of most of the things we have been conditioned to change on our bodies. We try to lighten our skin or darken our skin. We alter our hair color and hair texture. We attempt to slow, stop, and reverse aging. We remove fat from our stomachs and arms and add it to our breasts and butts. We remove hair from our legs and our armpits; we glue it to our eyelashes and tattoo it onto our brow bones.

I believe the work of subverting beauty standards is the work of liberation, equality, and wellness. It is self-care and community-care. It is spiritual. It is political. It is essential. Because when beauty standards change, the world does too.

But as social conditions and gender roles change, so do ideas about beauty. Consider some recent changes in the US. In the 1960s and 70s, beauty ideals for women shifted from the mature curvaceous body of stars such as Marilyn Monroe to the stick-thin, flat-chested figure epitomized by supermodels such as Twiggy or Kate Moss.The compelling fact here is that just as women started to make dramatic gains in the areas of education, employment and politics, the ideal female body began to look like a malnourished preadolescent girl, weak, emaciated and non-threatening. Women may have been gaining in freedom and power, but they were increasingly encouraged to discipline their bodies through diet and exercise to conform to ideals that were almost impossible to achieve.

Dr. Bethany Juby is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in trauma recovery and stress management. She founded Juby Clinical Services, LLC to provide psychotherapy to adults via teletherapy, utilizing acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). She is licensed to provide teletherapy in 39 states, including Illinois and Arizona, through the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT).

Kathleen lives in Western New York where she works as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the Psychiatric setting. She is married with three adult sons and a beautiful new daughter-in-law. In addition to numerous articles, Kathy is the author of the e-book Hepatitis C Quick Start: A Guide for the Clinician, for which she is presently working on a second edition. She loves trying new recipes, taking and editing photos, and enjoying long walks with her dog around the neighborhood.

Rachel Ann Tee-Melegrito lives in Metro Manila, Philippines, with her husband, daughter, and miniature schnauzer. She is a freelance content writer, a licensed occupational therapist, and a former university instructor, and she holds a Master of Education in Childhood Development and Education. She would love to read nonfiction books while sipping coffee if her daughter would allow it.

Caitlin Geng lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and three dogs. Her work, which has appeared in print and digital publications, mainly deals with health, mental well-being, parenting, and beauty. When she is not writing, Caitlin is usually curled up on the couch with her dogs, reading comics or a good book.

Beth lives in London and works as a freelance writer on a range of projects. Along with writing regular articles for Medical News Today, she writes for the Horniman Museum, an anthropology museum in South London. This involves recording minutes for conferences, blogging for their website, and documenting their process of curating art exhibitions. She loves theatre, yoga, and cycling in her spare time.

Body image concerns are a growing issue globally. With an inundation of images via social media and television, the mental health of individuals, especially females and young people, is an issue that is on the rise.

Young females are more likely to experience body image issues because females in the United States often feel pressure to measure up to unrealistic beauty standards that are placed on them by society and culture.

Research notes that these standards may contribute to the growing body image issues for various reasons. This includes that in the U.S. females are exposed to messages about how they should look from the moment they are born. Teens and young girls are also more likely to be given praise for how they look rather than for their actions or thoughts.

They are also constantly shown images through the media of unrealistic standards. Many of the images have been altered using technology, causing these young females to strive for body ideals and beauty that do not actually exist.

Negative body image, or body dissatisfaction, can also lead to low self-esteem. This can affect various aspects of daily life. For example, an individual may choose not to be around other people or constantly obsess about how much they exercise or eat.

The Dove Self-Esteem Project survey of 2017 found that globally 5 in 10 young females have put their health at risk by not eating or not going to the doctor. Among those who already experience a low body image, 8 in 10 have put their health at risk in these ways.

Anyone who suspects they or a loved one may have an eating disorder can contact the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, which offers a daytime helpline staffed by licensed therapists and an online search tool for treatment options.

Research has shown a strong association between body image dissatisfaction and symptoms of depression. According to research from 2020, this is especially true among young females who have overweight or obesity.

Research from 2017 noted that body image dissatisfaction has strong links to symptoms of anxiety disorders in adolescents. The research showed that higher baseline levels of body image dissatisfaction were directly related to higher initial symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as:

Some people experience excessive concern about the way others perceive their bodies. These concerns about how others may judge them based on their weight, height, or body shape can cause embarrassment, worry, and shame. Some may refer to this as social physique anxiety.

The 2017 Dove Self-Esteem Project notes that 6 in 10 young females globally have chosen not to attend social engagement or be assertive in their opinions because of their self-esteem. Among those with low body esteem, these numbers were 8 in 10.

Individuals, especially females, in the U.S. are exposed to societal beauty standards from the moment they are infants, throughout childhood, and into adulthood. This exposure can occur in a number of different ways.

Many people, especially young people, feel pressure from social media. This is especially true among young females. Social media brings people closer together. However, it can also affect your body image and self-esteem. It can also expose you to other issues like cyberbullying.

The American Psychological Association (APA) found that teens and young adults who reduced their social media usage by 50% for even just a few weeks saw improvement in the way they feel about their overall appearance.

From a very young age, women are raised to live up to unrealistic beauty standards put upon them by society. They are expected to be hairless all over their body, have to be slim with no tummy but big butt, smell like daisies and roses all the time, not have regular bodily fluids and gases, and be an all-around perfect Barbie. It is hard to live up to something so unobtainable especially starting at an age as low as three. Having a normalized yet extraordinary societal implication drilled into you as soon as you are out of the womb is and can be mentally and physically draining.

Societal expectations from women are exceedingly high and need to stop being forced upon us. It causes self-hate and confidence problems from a young age. It is mentally and physically draining because we try so hard to find the status quo when the status quo should be made to fit all realistically.

Why is it that females and males could not have been equally acceptable just due to cleanliness and good grooming, which should be enough? (Then something began long ago to have females be very fashion-conscious besides, with many following suit in order to fit in with society).

To the person who said beauty ideals are realistic to some women, its probably because they were blessed with genetics. Facial features, height and skin colour are related to genetics. These factors play a role in universal beauty standards.

I agree that physical appearance can be improved, but only to a certain extent. Its unrealistic for a woman to change her facial features to become a whole new different person, height or skin colour.

3a8082e126