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Haleigh Pearce was born January 5th 1989 and was raised in Lindsay, Ontario. She was the youngest of two children. She grew up in a rural farm area and wasn't much influenced by specific fashion. Haleigh's parent's both worked full-time jobs and provided well for their family.
Haleigh is my best friend, we have known each other since high-school We grew up liking most of the same things, we share some one the same values and often find ourselves testing out our best make-up skills and pairing new outfits for a girls-night out.

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Born June 25th, 1951, Ina Snell was the 4th child born of 5. She was raised in Haliburton, Ontario- a small rural town just over 2 hours from Toronto.
Ina's father worked in the logging industry and her mother stayed home to raise the children. During the late 70's and 80's her parents ran a summer camp.
Ina went to high school, and held a job in a department store to earn funds that provided her the freedom to purchase her own clothing garments.
Ina is my grandmother, she is married to her husband Rick of 45 years. Together they have 3 children, 2 grandchildren and 2 great-grand children.

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( Time Period - 1967-1969)
Q: Do you feel influenced by beauty?

“I don't think I am. I never really have conformed to 'trends and fads'.”

Q: Can you remember a time in your life or any specific age where you became influenced by beauty?

“ I think  I was high school when I started to focus more on my appearance, I entered a Carnival Queen beauty pageant with a good friend of mine just for fun and ended coming in second place.”

Q: What were some of the fashion or beauty trends from your generation?

“I can't really think back to some of the trends, but I do remember platform shoes and bell-bottom pants. Big glasses were also in style. Most of the older women I knew wore the homemade 'June Clever" dresses."

Q: When did you first start wearing make up?

“I never really wore make-up. I lived in a home that didn't have much money to spare so we had the basics. I got a lot of hand-me down clothes.

Q: Did you have a specific “look” and if so, what products would you use?

“ I always kept my hair short, i would wear earrings from time to time when it was a special occasion.”

Q: What was fashion like and how important it was to you to follow the fashion trends of your generation?

“ I can't think of a certain fashion trend, there wasn't as much focus on women and their appearance as there is today."

Q: Can you remember media and the messages that were broadcasted about beauty and make-up?

“ There were basic ads for face creams and make-up but nothing like there is advertised on tv today. Magazines had fully clothed women and depicted more of a house wife than a fitness instructor like nowadays.

Q: Body modification- was there an influence of tattoos, piercings, or plastic surgery that enhanced beauty? Were their trends as there are now, such as lip enhancements or permanent make-up?

"There were no body modifications back when I was younger. I never saw a tattoo until late adulthood."

Q:  As time has continued on, there have been many different types of “ideal bodies” , can you remember what the body image expectations ‘back then’ were?

“ I think there wasn't much focus on body types and being ideal. If you were skinny that's just how you were. If you were bigger there was't a fuss made over it."

Q: What messages did women receive about how to look during your generation?

“I remember my parents always making sure we looked clean and 'proper'. I guess being presentable was more important that looking a certain way."

How did you feel about how you looked ‘back then’?

“Back then- I think it's interesting to take a look at the changes over the years. I feel I looked different than I do now, youthful."

Q:  How did beauty expectations influence you? Did your appearance reflect the expectations of beauty from your generation?

“ I don't feel I was ever influenced by beauty expectations. I never paid much attention to clothing until I got a job and started buying it myself. I think perhaps then I changed my style a bit and went with more trendy items."

Q: What is your definition of beauty ?

“ I think beauty is being healthy."

Q: How do you interact those that you consider “beautiful”, have you ever felt out of place?

“ I think once in a while everyone feels out of place but I don't think that beauty should be a reason that someone can't participate in something. "

Q: Do you think that the influence of beauty can create unrealistic/unattainable beauty standards?

“ I think today there is too much focus on being skinny. All the ads are of women half-naked with their breasts hanging out. I think women have a hard time now because they are expected to fit into this 'plastic' body type- that no one in real life has."

(Snell, I. Personal Communication, December 2/2018

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Beauty has always been an influential component in the progression of our society. Across the globe, there are many different traditions and opinions related to what is beautiful.  When looking in a chronological order it is evident that different fads have affected how women dress, apply make-up and are perceived by the outside world. Trends related to beauty change through the decades just as much as they do when changing from different seasonal looks.  Looking at the progression of beauty and its standards in a generational approach may help understand why beauty standards have become such a highly focused area for young girls and women.  I feel that experiences from a past generation in contrast to experiences current beauty could be eye-opening in regards to what we consider beautiful. The objective in comparing different generations of beauty is to understand how perceptions related to beauty have influenced society and how women are perceived and how we display ourselves for the sake of being recognized as beautiful.

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Beauty is a combination of qualities that please the aesthetic senses. Beauty is self-perceived and can be related to anything- there is no significant quality that makes one person or object more beautiful than another.
It was discussed in course material about The Golden Ratio, how math and measurements were defining symmetrically beautiful faces and features. Plastic surgery and body modifications were also taught in this course, a permanent way to ensure certain qualities were mimicked to appear beautiful. Fashion, skin products and make-up are used to amplify appearances. Too often and mainly only women are subjected to having to appear a certain way in order to be noticed, just how young are we when dress up turns into our reality?

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After going through the interview with my two ladies of vast generational differences, I can see how time has changed so much of our beauty standards.

I have always felt influenced by beauty. At a young age I was taught about gender and beauty by the select television shows I was allowed to watch, and the clothing I was dressed in.

I agree with both Ina and Haleigh, High School was a turning point in the reality of my body and the trends I needed to follow.

I remember wearing low-ride jeans and skate shoes, heavy eye-make up and never being able to leave the house because god-forbid someone see my natural face.

I feel that in my older years I spend too much time agonizing over an outfit, my weight or how I look.

I have a daughter and my only hope as I teach her about her body is that she is comfortable and happy in her own body

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Ina had mentioned during her interview that many of the grown women she knew exemplified the "June Clever" lifestyle. Men worked and provided for families while women fit the description of a homemaker. They often wore short hair, or had it pulled back and had dresses. A lot of clothing she can remember from her younger years was hand-made or hand-me downs.

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(Time Period 2004-2007)
Q: Do you feel influenced by beauty?

“Yes I do. I think that everyone in today's society is judgemental and you have to fit to a certain standard.”

Q: Can you remember a time in your life or any specific age where you became influenced by beauty?

“ I think  I was high school when I started to focus more on my appearance.”

Q: What were some of the fashion or beauty trends from your generation?

“We went through so many, low-rise jeans, velour track-suits, crimped hair, heavy eye-make up. Now we go through trends like skinny jeans, lip injections and drawing on your eye brows.”

Q: When did you first start wearing make up?

“I wore lip chap mostly until I got to high school, then it was make-up everyday”

Q: Did you have a specific “look” and if so, what products would you use?

“ I always used blue eye-liner, blue eye-shadow and natural lips.”

Q: What was fashion like and how important it was to you to follow the fashion trends of your generation?

“ If you wanted to fit in you had to be stylish. I feel like low-rise jeans and high cut shirts were the most common in my generation- which focused on being thin.”

Q: Can you remember media and the messages that were broadcasted about beauty and make-up?

“ A lot of the beauty and media have been directed toward fit women, heavy make-up and tutorials have been a major thing that influenced beauty.”

Q: Body modification- was there an influence of tattoos, piercings, or plastic surgery that enhanced beauty? Were their trends as there are now, such as lip enhancements or permanent make-up?

“I think permanent make up has been a trend on the up-rise for a long time, we are tattooing our brows on, tattoos are a huge trend- everyone seems to get them now.”

Q:  As time has continued on, there have been many different types of “ideal bodies” , can you remember what the body image expectations ‘back then’ were?

“ I think an ideal body is a healthy one. Fashion seems to lead the skinny models as an ideal body. I remember not stressing so much about my body when I was younger, it wasn’t until I matured that I realized how much time and effort I spend on my appearance.”

Q: What messages did women receive about how to look during your generation?

“My generation is full of women who are making changes in society’s standards, we are no longer the stay-at-home mom, we are working, educating and are equal.”

How did you feel about how you looked ‘back then’?

“Childhood pictures of me are hilarious, my chopped bangs and hand-me down tracksuits. I can’t believe my parents dressed me in that style!”

Q:  How did beauty expectations influence you? Did your appearance reflect the expectations of beauty from your generation?

“ I think beauty expectations influenced my appearance in high school, I think of myself as a Tom Boy but I also like to dress up and look pretty. When I was younger it was more important for me to fit in and dress to show I was following the trends.”

Q: What is your definition of beauty ?

“ I think beauty is being comfortable in your own skin- beauty isn’t a specific quality.”

Q: How do you interact those that you consider “beautiful”, have you ever felt out of place?

“ I treat everyone equally, it is so unfair for girls and women to be bullied about their looks. I have felt out of place and wouldn’t wish that feeling upon anyone.”

Q: Do you think that the influence of beauty can create unrealistic/unattainable beauty standards?

“ I think a lot of focus is put on women today that creates unrealistic goals for weight-loss. Models are becoming way too skinny and women are seeming to get younger and younger with each ad. I think that if media influenced women on a more realistic level and taught us to appreciate out looks we wouldn’t have so much concern about our appearance.”

(Pearce, H. Personal Communication December 3/2018)

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Haleigh had mentioned during the interview that she wished she had focused more on being herself in high school instead of trying to fit in with the skinny, popular girls. She said how she wished she had spent more time building her confidence than being worried about what size she was wearing or what brand her jeans were.

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With the advances in media and celebrities taking a stand to not using photo-shop, limiting photo edits and using 'real models' in ads from make-up to clothing it is creating a much more tolerable environment for young women to grow into. Dove Skin Care has done a phenomenal job campaigning for self-love and building self-esteem.
I think the more we focus on natural bodies and attainable looks we have a higher chance of reducing mental health issues such as anxiety, eliminating eating disorders in teens and allowing these girls to understand the media uses unrealistic ideals about beauty.

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I feel that after completing these interviews, it shows that with the advances in technology and social media more and more pressure has been put onto women and young girls regarding their appearance and beauty.

I think that if we could go back to a simpler time like the 60's there would still be equality obstacles for women but the focus on a perfect body, clear skin, enhanced make up would greatly diminish.

I think that today's society has a long way to go in the realizations of what beauty actually is. Traits that are appealing to one person may be unappealing to another. The focus on self-confidence, self-esteem and inner beauty is something we should be more concerned about. Promoting self-awareness, realistic beings and  reducing the amount of judgement we put on bodies should be society's main focus to raising independent, confident young women.

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I think the first step toward a positive change is within ourselves. Understanding what beauty means to ourselves, and focusing on creating a positive environment for teens to grow up not feeling the stresses related to their physical appearance.
Media can continue with their changes in what type of models they portray and allow for more realistic outfits, make-up appearances and life-sized models instead of sickly thin women.

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Join us to help young people overcome anxiety and understand media influence on body image, improving their body confidence and self-esteem

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To go further into Ina's description of fashion and style in the late 60's I was able to gather information from a Sear's Catalogue. Debbie Session's wrote a column that explained women wore high necked blouses, low-heel shoes, funky print tights and a mixture of dresses.

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In a time where Paris Hilton ruled the media, it is simple to look back at fashion trends from the mid 2000's. Long, straight hair, short ruffled skirts, skinny, low-rise jeans, lace/slip-on shoes and rompers were all major trend setters during my high school years.