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I wanted to include this website as I thought it was really well done and summed up a lot of what we learned in this course

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1. Feminist theory posits that although there are biological differences between men and women, culture and societal expectations drive gender roles and how they are conceptualized for both sexes. There is extreme pressure for women today to fulfill and maintain standards of beauty set forth by the media and technological and surgical advances. This has created unrealistic standards of beauty for women compared to men, that was conceptualized differently in other time periods and cultures. I chose this topic because it is a growing area of concern for the future, and something that is close to my heart as a woman.

2. One of the pillars of feminist theory is the work of Margaret Mead and her studies of the New Guinea tribes. She found that gender role expectations varied with each culture. This lends support to the idea that beauty standards for women are socially constructed and differ from that of men.

3. The following tweets illustrate that the standards of beauty today are reinforced by the media and are unrealistic and unattainable by the majority of women.

4. Here is an example of the unattainable ideal beauty that women are asked to achieve. This is supermodel Kate Upton, who appears flawless and also is depicted as being perfectly flawless even in extreme weather.

6. Here is another example of these unrealistic standards. Victoria's Secret promotes the campaign of "Love My Body," yet the women depicted in this campaign are supermodels, and not representative of the typical woman. In contrast, the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign depicts women of all shapes and sizes, fulfilling a more accurate representation of the American woman.

8. This blog further elaborates on the unrealistic standards of beauty, and how the ideal woman is supposed to have physical features that match the criteria of media figures from J Lo to Beyonce to Michelle Obama, etc. The blogger Rozanne Leigh, also asked 100 men through surveys what they considered true physical beauty and provides the results.

9. Within the last couple of years, society has supported the idea of a "thigh gap", which is believed to have originated in 2012 with a Victoria's Secret fashion show. Since then, dangerous diets have been recommended by the media to achieve this thigh gap. This article describes the dangers that achieving such a standard of beauty holds, such as eating disorders. It also names some big name corporations who contributed to the promotion of this standard and later apologized.

10. In 2015, the mons pubis replaces the thigh gap as the latest level of perfection for women. This standard of beauty is credited to Hannah Davis for her recent bikini cover photo on Sports Illustrated. This article describes women's quest for perfection and the bombardment of what perfection constitutes by the media. It also highlights the new surgery known as monoplasty to remove suprapubic fat and achieve this level of mons pubis perfection.

11. This article further describes the impact of the recent mons pubis beauty ideal and beauty standard trends for women over the last few decades.

12. This photo depicts reality start Heidi Montag, who the media started following on the reality series "The Hills," when she was a teenager. This photo illustrates the changes after she underwent 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day.

14. This article from ABC News further depicts Heidi Montag's transformation through plastic surgery and the physical and psychological scars that resulted, as well as the strain it put on her marriage, as her husband was opposed to the procedures.

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Unrealistic Standards of Beauty for Women in Society Today (with images, tweets) · Songgirl999

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Women are constantly bombarded by the media to attain a standard of beauty that is comparable to perfection. This unrealistic standard of beauty is resulting in a number of mental and physical health problems for young girls and women. By: Ashley Armstrong

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Beauty standards are seen everywhere in the world. They influence our everyday lives and how we perceive ourself. Women compare themselves to one another on a daily basics. We compare ourselves to others on social media, reality television, and in the cosmetic industry. In today's world there seems to be no room for differences. There are strict expectations that women are forced to live up to. We as women are looked down upon when we don't met the standards. Beauty and media has is good sides and bad sides. It gives women a common interest but it also manipulates us.

Cosmetics and beauty go hand in hand. In the Victorian times, when a women would wear makeup she was seen as a prostitute. To overcome this label cosmetic company's would market there products as items you needed because men would be looking at you.
Makeup was first created by women, but by the 1920's the cosmetic industry was manufactured by men. Advertisements promoted cosmetics using mobility and modernity.
In the 1930's and 40's cosmetics was based upon a women's physical and emotional health. Motion pictures came into play, which made cosmetics more popular.
The 1950's was the decade where cosmetics were targeted towards teenagers. Media played a huge role in this and had more influence than ever before.
Cosmetics today are not just about changing one or two things, its about  change the whole face or body. We see many forms of plastic surgery or photo shop. Today women are focused to look like the ideal women as I answered in my first question.

Media is the number one source for beauty standards and expectations. Through all social media platforms we see the thin and fit unrealistic body image. Advertisements allow us to believe as women that there is only one specific body type that is ideal. We want to look just like the women on the cover of the sexy ad or the model walking down the runway on TV. We think that if we look like this we will get the fame, the attention from men, and the feeling of being 'perfect'.
Not only is social media Ad's or TV but it is also social networking sites like Instagram and Facebook. We see photos of women everywhere on SNS, these women aren't just models or actresses they are normal women living the same life as everyone else.

Youthfulness in today's society is seen as beautiful. Having soft silky hair, glowy skin, red lips and no excess weight is today's ideal women. Older women on the other hand are not seek as beautiful because they have grey hair, wrinkled skin, and saggy skin. Unfortunately, getting older is not valued in our society. Because of his older women try everything to look youthful. Its hard in today's world to find a women over 40 in an ad. Yes there are older stars that play in movies but they have the best of the best when it comes to cosmetics. Ageing should be considered beautiful because it happens to everyone.

It can be very hard for women living in society today. Everywhere they go they are forced to see what they should look like. This can cause a lot of insecurities for many women and lower there self esteem. In the future I fell to lessen women's insecurities we should consider different types of women beautiful. If women of all different sizes, ages, cultures were seen in ad's, television, Instagram, and magazines there would be less of a standard. Everyone would be seen as perfect and ideal. In reality, media is never not going to portray the perfect image. I think women should just focus on themselves. Women were born unique to their individual characteristics, which makes everyone beautiful in their own way.

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"Breanna Bolton"
Age 20

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Question 1:
Why do you wear makeup? Do you wear it just for yourself or because its standard?

I wear makeup to feel more confident in myself. Truthfully, I don’t like going anywhere without something on my skin because that’s what I’m use to. I wear makeup for myself but then I also think that I wear it because that’s what’s normal and everyone else does. The ideal women wears makeup so I feel the need to.

Question 2:
Do today's beauty ideals influence you?

Yes, today’s beauty ideals influence me. The ideal image is seen everywhere; TV, AD’s, Magazines. Its hard not to fall into what society portrays as perfect. I try my best to be my own person but I do wish I looked like the women who are seen as perfect.

Question 3:
Do you compare yourself to people on social media?

I do compare myself to others on social media. I try to remember that what I see isn’t always what’s real. People put only the best on social media, not what’s reality.

Question 4:
Is your ideal image the same as society’s ideal image?

Yes, my image is the same. The ideal women would be tall, blonde, skinny. I think if society hadn’t put into my head what the ideal women should look like my perspective would be different. This goes to show you how easy it is for society and standards to influence you.

Question 5:

What do you think of the selfie?

I think it is good to post pictures of yourself on social media because it can give you a boost of confidence. It shows that women are comfortable in who they are and how they look. The one bad side to social media is comments and what people say about one another. Posting a picture and getting a mean comment can bring down your self confidence.

Question 6:
Do you think body modification is a good thing?

I think it is good and bad. If you want to get something done to your body that will help boost your confidence then I think people should do it. I don't think people should get anything done to their body if they aren't doing it for themselves or because they are trying to look like someone else.

Question 7:
What decade would you like to live in based on beauty standards?

To be honest, any decade besides the 20th century. I would love to know how it feels to not be so influences by social media.

Question 8:
How do you see yourself?

For me I'm constantly trying to perfect my body. Its hard for me to be happy with my body when I constantly see women that are slim with perfect figures. I work hard for the body i have now by going to the gym a lot, but I'm always striving for more. When it comes to facial beauty i am happy with what God gave me. I like being different than everyone else.

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Today we see a very different beauty standard then a few decades ago. Today there are two types of ideal body images. First are women with big butts, big boobs, and flat stomachs. This look is seen on the Kardashians and many other celebrities. The second ideal body is flat stomach, thigh gap, medium sized boobs and a round butt. This look is seen on women such as Victoria Secret models.

Diet teas, waist trainers, diet spills are all over social media. Women who have thousands of followers on social media promote these products. We see advertisements for nutrition bars, protein powders, smoothies all in hopes of getting that ideal body. Today's women are so focused on having "body goals" instead of just working out or losing weight the natural way. This shows how the media influences women and that many will go to any extent to look perfect.

As my sister said "We are constantly surrounded by 'beautiful' people and standards of beauty that are projected through the media is continuously set higher". Media is constantly showing us beautiful people, so we begin to think that there shouldn't be anything different. Standards are constantly being set  higher and higher which is tough for women.  The more we don't look like the ideal women the less we think of ourselves. The media shows a specific standard and that being different isn't ideal.

Today the cosmetic industry is huge in the world. Women always want the next best thing in the industry. Makeup can be both good and bad. Makeup gives women confidence and enables them to feel comfortable when going out into society. Makeup is always a way for people to express themselves. The way it can turn bad as my sister said is that women can feel that makeup is the only way they can feel confident in their own skin. Women may begin to only love the person they see with the makeup. In reality we need to love ourselves whether or not we are wearing makeup.

As you can see beauty standards have changed dramatically since the 1960's. There was no Instagram or Facebook.  Social media did not have as much influence as it does today. We are bombarded with images of perfect faces and bodies everywhere. This forces us to have an unrealistic view of what our appearance should be.

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The 1960's was a huge era for change regards to beauty. The feminist movement heavenly changed the average woman. The younger generation was extremely involved in this decade of beauty due to political and social changes.

When interviewing my mom I felt that she wasn't heavily involved in fashion or beauty when she was my age. She didn't live in a big city or have a lot of access to media.

When I asked my mom about her fashion she said that clothes were tight and big hair was in. Women in the 60's were very slender. If you were slim and wore tight clothing, you were seen as attractive. The high-towering beehive was the hairstyle to have in the 60's. This hairstyle was arranged high on top of the head with bangs coming down the sides.

Body modification wasn't popular in the 1960's. As my mom said "rarely was there any sort of body modification done amongst my peers other than ear piercing". Ear piercings became a hit when the hippie trend came into play. Besides that other piercings, tattoos, and plastic surgery were not heard of often.

When I asked my mom about makeup she said she wore mascara, foundation and blush at the beginning of high school. This surprised me because I would of thought girls my age or a bit younger wouldn't have worn makeup back then. I thought it was more about natural beauty. As I researched I found that women wore natural look or they wore what was on trend. In the 60's the trench was bold eyeliner with lots of eye shadow.

Concluding my research I found it interesting how different but also similar beauty standards are from the 1960's to now. They are similar because both time periods have standards that portray slim women. 1960's was centered around a slim look and today women are seen as more beautiful if they are skinny. In the 1960's body modification was pretty much unheard of but today it is seen everywhere.

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"My Sister"
Age 24

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Question 1:

What do you think the beauty expectations are in today's society/how have they affected you?

In my opinion the beauty expectations in today's society are very high. With how accessible media and social media is we are subjected to beauty standards everyday whether that be magazines, Instagram, Facebook etc. We are constantly surrounded by “beautiful” people and standard of beauty that is projected through the media is continuously set higher.

Question 2:

Do you wear makeup/why did you start?

Yes, I do wear makeup. I tend to only wear it when I am going out for a special occasion or a night out with friends. I started wearing makeup to feel more confident about myself and in my opinion it truly does make me feel more confident.

Question 3:

Does the media effect the way you perceive yourself?

Yes it does. The media portrays thin people as beautiful. For myself, I don’t feel as beautiful because I don’t fit into what the media portrays as being beautiful.

Question 4:

What do you think of society’s ‘ideal image’?

I believe society’s ideal image is developed through what the media portrays as the ideal image. Society’s ideal image is constantly changing. For example, this year larger butts and curvier bodies are ‘in’. Years ago people with those body types were seen has fat or overweight but because the media is portraying women with these body types as beautiful now society has accepted this as the ideal image.

Question 5:

Do you believe in body modification?

I don’t necessarily believe in it but I do not have an issue with it. If a woman or man feels they need to alter something on their body it is there decision. If it makes them love themselves more I am certainly not against that. I believe it is a personal decision.

Question 6:

What do you think about yourself/your image?

I don’t really have an image per say. I feel most beautiful and confident when I am wearing makeup. I tend to wear what is more comfortable than fashionable.

Question 7:

What effect has the cosmetic industry had on you?

I truly think the cosmetic industry is a great thing. It allows many women and girls to feel more confident with themselves than they normally would. Is this a good thing that people need makeup to feel confident? Probably not. But in this era media is unavoidable and our perception of ourselves is influenced by the media a great deal. If makeup allows someone to feel more confident and happier with themselves than I am all for it. For me personally, it has allowed me to feel more comfortable in my own skin at times when I don’t feel beautiful.

Question 8:

Do you compare yourself to others on social media like Instagram or Facebook?

Yes, with social media being so accessible it is hard to not compare yourselves to others.

Question 9:

How do you feel about selfies or getting likes on Instagram?

When posting a selfie whether that be myself or another person it shows that person is comfortable with themselves and feeling beautiful in that moment. I think selfies are a great thing! Getting likes on Instagram can be a good and bad thing. Having people like your photo gives a sense of satisfaction but when no one likes your photo or very few people like it, it can cause a sense of dissatisfaction with yourself.

Question 10:

Do you want beauty standards to change or stay the same?

In a perfect world I wish everyone could be considered ‘beautiful’ but beauty standards are constantly changing and they always will.

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"My mom"
Age 65

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Question 1:

What are the beauty expectations in your generation?

There weren’t that many and I was a country girl so probably even less for me.  When I started high school I began wearing mascara and foundation and blush but I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to trends and fashions in the beauty world.  My family was pretty ambivalent about it.

Question 2:

Did you ever compare yourself to others?

Oh, definitely! There were always the women that we wanted to 'look like' or 'act like' or be as 'popular as'! Whether that be a women I saw on TV or a magazine. I don't think women will ever stop comparing themselves to others or the ideal women

Question 3:

What was the typical fashion at the age of 20 in your generation/did you care about it?

Pant legs were wider and clothes were somewhat tighter, higher waists, spike heels seemed to be the trend.  Big hair was in style.

Question 4:

In your generation, did media have a large influence on beauty standards?

Again, I was a country girl and did not watch a lot of TV, nor access to a lot of social media.  While some of my friends who lived in town were more apt to pay attention to social influences I really didn’t follow very much of it.

Question 5:

Did anything effect the way you looked at beauty? (ex. Ad’s, television)

I was influenced more so by popular friends at school than anything else.

Question 6:

Was body modification normal? (tattoos, plastic surgery)

Rarely was there any sort of body modification done amongst my peers other than ear piercing.

Question 7:

Was there any expectation about body image when you were younger?

Definitely, there were expectations to be pretty and have a nice figure.  I don’t suppose that has changed a lot over time.

Question 8:

Were women suppose to look a certain way?

Women were expected to look ‘good’ and the better you looked, the more popular most women were.

Question 9:

Was there anything you weren’t allowed to wear?

In school, no short shorts, no spaghetti straps (straps had to be two finger width), no logos or words on shirts other than brand names, no hats allowed in school and no low-cut tops for the girls.

Question 10:

How did you feel about your image?

For the most part I felt okay about my image.  I had very good grades while in school and tended to hang out with the ‘smart but nerdy’ kids. I had a lot of fun with my friends!