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The beauty myth is society's unrealistic expectations regarding what women should look like/behave. It is the belief that women must possess beauty qualities in order to be successful and liked by men. Many of these expectations are put forth by the media. These expectations include; being unnaturally thin, light-skinned, looking young, having large breasts and small hips, long lustrous blonde hair, looking flawless in every way, etc. The expectations to look perfect put a lot of pressure on a woman and when a woman doesn't add up to these expectations then her self-esteem is affected and can have destructive effects on a woman's physical/mental health including eating disorders. According to the lecture slides "over 90% of women are unsatisfied with their appearance in some way."
(L. Lockey, GNED 1440 Module 2 lecture notes, 2019).

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This is a good article regarding society and their beauty expectations on women. It talks about what the average female looks like compared to what is attractive. It explains how young girls are growing up in a society where they don't feel good enough based off physical appearances.

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If you were to go to any store down the street and pick up any woman's magazine, you will probably describe the same kind of woman on every magazine cover. In today's society, there is a standard on what it means to be beautiful and attractive as a woman. We all know -- we've all seen the magazine covers. We're all aware of the woman who walk down the catwalk during New York Fashion week and the woman who plaster the pages of magazines in ads for perfumes, clothing, beauty products, etc.

These women are absolutely physically stunning and have looks that seem impossible to reach by the Average Jane. They're impossibly thin, tall, beautiful, and for a lack of a better word, perfect. These are the woman that the average female looks to as the epitome of what is attractive. And that is a problem.

Most girls and women do not look like this, but they feel like they need to in order to be beautiful. You can look for yourself how photoshopped most of these women are. Their eyes are enlarged, their necks elongated, their shoulders pushed down. These are physically impossible to recreate naturally, and woman think that is what's most beautiful.

It's sad to know how young girls grow up in out society thinking they can never be good enough based off physical traits. Always comparing yourself, wishing you could look like the models walking in fashion shows.

I know I have been a victim of this since I was very young, and it's not an easy thing to deal with, especially the younger you are. There's a sense of worthlessness because you know you will never look like those women, and it's a hard feeling to overcome.

There's no promotion of the many different body types that a woman can have and certainly no mentioning that all are them are beautiful. It's not easy to feel beautiful when your whole world says you're not.

I took an intro to feminism class my sophomore year of college where I learned a lot on this problem. I honestly believe it's a class that everyone should take, male or female. It's quite eye-opening. The more you learn about this societal problem, the easier it can be to overcome personal difficulties with it.

We all should become aware and educate ourselves to either overcome it ourselves, or to understand what others are going through.

I hope that one day this problem will not exist and we won't have to worry about our children growing up with such personal struggles.

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"What do you want to be when you grow up?" It seems like this is the question we heard from the time we were able to talk. Our answers started out as whatever movie or action figure was popular that year. I personally was going to be Cinderella and shoot spider webs out of my wrists at the same time. The next phase was spent choosing something that we read about in a book or saw in movies. We were aspiring to be actors, skydivers, and astronauts.

After we realized NASA may not necessarily be interested in every eager 10-year-old, we went through the unknown stage. This chapter of life can last a year or for some, forever. I personally did not have a long "unknown" stage. I knew I was going to be a teacher, more specifically I knew I wanted to do elementary or special education. I come from a family of educators, so it was no surprise that at all the Thanksgiving and Christmas functions I had actually figured it out. The excitement of knowing what to do with the rest of my life quickly grew and then began to dwindle just as fast.

"Why?"

"Well, looks like you'll be broke all your life."

"That's a lot of paperwork."

"If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't choose this."

These are just a few replies I have received. The unfortunate part is that many of those responses were from teachers themselves. I get it; you want to warn and prepare us for the road we are about to go down. I understand the stress it can take because I have been around it. The countless hours of grading, preparing, shopping for the classroom, etc. all takes time. I can understand how it would get tiresome and seem redundant. The feeling a teacher has when the principal schedules yet another faculty meeting to talk an hour on what could've been stated in an email... the frustration they experience when a few students seem uncontrollable... the days they feel inadequate and unseen... the sadness they feel when they realize the student with no supplies comes from a broken home... I think it is safe to say that most teachers are some of the toughest, most compassionate and hardworking people in this world.

Someone has to be brave enough to sacrifice their time with their families to spend time with yours. They have to be willing to provide for the kids that go without and have a passion to spread knowledge to those who will one day be leading this country. This is the reason I encourage others to stop telling us not to go for it.

Stop saying we won't make money because we know. Stop saying we will regret it, because if we are making a difference, then we won't. Stop telling us we are wasting our time, when one day we will be touching hearts.

Tell us to be great, and then wish us good luck. Tell us that our passion to help and guide kids will not go unnoticed. Tell us that we are bold for trying, but do not tell us to change our minds.

Teachers light the path for doctors, police officers, firefighters, politicians, nurses, etc. Teachers are pillars of society. I think I speak for most of us when I say that we seek to change a life or two, so encourage us or sit back and watch us go for it anyways.

Cover Image Credit: Kathryn Huffman

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It is a sad truth to those who walk through these "shielded" campuses when they see the abhorrent life-altering effects of a sexual assault that have become all too familiar to our society. The college process changes every year, students tour the classrooms, campuses, while also catching a glimpse into the cold, depressing, and suicidal life of a college student that has been sexually assaulted.

Fortunately, it is not too serious of a crime, it is not worth concerning the government, the effects are not always lifelong, but since these effects are mainly related to the mental health of a victim, it is tolerable. Waking up in a cold sweat in fear the rapist has come back becomes a routine along with the plummeting grades, and loss of life's meaning to the victim. Everyone has nightmares once in a while, but they are not real, just figments of the human mind. It is a shame when we hear that " One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college." When we hear these statistics, sympathy is felt however there is no action taken to solve this issue. In a simpler time, the only thing college students would worry about was fitting in, achieving academic goals, and passing finals and now, it is a fight for survival.

Although, it is probable that "she was asking for it", and "he wanted it", it is obviously the only logical explanation for this. Maybe she was drunk too, you know how it gets, one thing leads to the next and the next morning someone is crying rape. But no, the government does not see this as the problem, the real "problem" is the "$154,423 in expenses the government pays following a rape," is, of course, more important to save money than to save lives. This expense, however, is nothing compared to the physical and emotional toll an assault will take on a victim, but lawmakers are more concerned over the financial cost, rather than the health of the victim.

Altogether, we must work to find a more effective solution, or get used to living in the society where it is okay to rob someone of their body, dignity, and their being. Get used to living in a world where college students believe a simple "hello" or a kiss on the cheek grants consent from both parties later in the night to engage in sexual relations.

One of the worst problems our country faces is the Rape Kit Backlog. When a victim is assaulted, and if they end up reporting it, they must endure tests in efforts to catch the aggressor. The victim will have invasive tests conducted such as DNA swabs, body fluids, and pictures, these all make up a rape kit. This rape kit is then tested up against databases such as CODIS and the FBI National Database, to see if the offender is already in the system and can be identified.

Problem solved, right? Wrong. The Rape Kit Backlog is a serious defect in our country that we must work to fix. Endthebacklog.org suggests in New York alone, there are 1,981 untested rape kits. This means the criminals who committed these acts are out free while these kits lie untested. The time they could be serving in jail for their heinous acts. Although this alone is an astounding number, states like Florida are even worse. 13,435. 13,435 untested rape kits. That's 13,435 potential arrests, 13,435 potential criminals, and 13,435 victims awaiting justice. Like myself, you are probably outraged by this number and asking yourself; why.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems revolves around the countries policies and systems. Depending on the police department, unfortunately, some prioritize cases in what they believe is more important. In other words, there needs to be more time and resources dedicated to sexual assault cases. The bigger issue is the lack of crime labs and funds necessary to keep them functioning. The bottom line is, action needs to be taken, and soon, as these numbers of untested kits continue to climb.

Luckily, there are ways that we can work to change these policies which will aid in the testing of these rape kits and prevent the backlog. In your state alone, you can write to your governor or other state officials advocating for rape kit reform laws. These will require law enforcement agencies and crime labs to make this a priority.

Victims have already taken the tremendous step to report their rapes and endure a rape kit, the least we could do for them is test it and investigate, the way it should be. Justice will prevail.

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What Is Society's Problem With Beauty Standards?

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If you were to go to any store down the street and pick up any woman's magazine, you will probably describe the same kind of woman on every magazine cover. In today's society, there is a standard on what it means to be beautiful and attractive as a woman.

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Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. - TED Talk 

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Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. - TED Talk 

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This TED talk, which was also seen in our class discussions, gives a great point of view from a model named Cameron Russel talking about beauty expectations, especially in the media. As a pretty white woman, she explains that for the past few centuries the way we define beauty is not just based on health and youth, but also being tall, extremely skinny, femininity and white skin. It is a legacy that was built for her and also many young girls around the world. The media sends a message that young girls must meet these expectations in order to be beautiful and accepted into society. Many young girls grow up wanting to look like magazine models, but as Cameron said, these models are not real. They are constructions by a group of professionals, hair stylists, make-up artists, photographers, stylists and many more. Mostly all the photos you see of models are also retouched to the point where the model isn’t even real, and this creates unrealistic beauty standards for young girls. Cameron also explains that young girls think that if they reach beauty expectations that they will be happier, but in reality most models, including herself are still very insecure and unhappy.

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Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.

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Cameron Russell admits she won "a genetic lottery": she's tall, pretty and an underwear model. But don't judge her by her looks. In this fearless talk, she takes a wry look at the industry that had her looking highly seductive at barely 16 years old.

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This is a very eye opening video. Four women participated in a Photoshop experiment. All these women suffer from self-esteem issues and wanting to look a certain way. They have all been affected by the medias "ideal beauty expectations" and feel like they are not good enough. After these women are photo shopped they realized that their picture looks completely different from who they really are. This video gives a great message to girls to embrace their imperfections and stop comparing themselves to women in the magazines. Instead of aspiring to be someone you're not, you should learn to be comfortable with who you are and be your best self. I really liked the message this video gave out and I learned that the ideal beauty expectation does not exist and we need to learn to love each other the way we are.

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Photoshopping Real Women Into Cover Models

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Victoria's Secret is known for sexy women in lingerie, but this advertisement says they have the ideal perfect body and to me this is wrong. Young women are constantly exposed to ads that target their insecurities and this ads tells women they must be extremely thin, tall and models for men to be attracted to them. Victoria's Secret has created the image of perfectly thin women and has shaped society to think we must achieve this look to be perfect. From our media and beauty lecture slides, we learn that "many of the images you see admonish women to be afraid of aging, of food, being alone, having too small or big of a bust, having wrinkles, acne, dull hair, etc." (L. Lockey GNED 1440 Media and Beauty Lecture A Module 2 lecture notes, 2019). Ads like these put pressure eon women like the desire to look "perfect" which affects self esteem and can cause depression. "When a women doesn't measure up to the expectations of society then her self esteem and self worth are affected." ((L. Lockey, GNED 1440 Beauty Myth Module 2 lecture notes, 2019).

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Body Evolution Model Before and After Photoshop

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Body Evolution Model Before and After Photoshop

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This 1 minute video is shocking. It shows how models are done up to look perfect for their shoots and how they are photo shopped. The model before and after the Photoshop is a completely different person. The models body appearance is changed and her face is made to look perfect. This goes to show that many young girls will never meet the media's expectations of beauty because it is all fake.

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body evolution model before and after photoshop

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How the duty to be beautiful is making young girls feel like failures Article

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How the duty to be beautiful is making young girls feel like failures Article

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This article talks about some of the few beauty expectations on young girls in today’s society. It touches on plastic surgery and other treatments such as fake eyelashes, tattooed eyebrows, manicured nails, body waxing, lip fillers, etc. and how these treatments are seen as “normal”. There are so many different products and treatments available today than ever before and puts pressure on girls on how they should and shouldn’t look. This article also explains that cosmetic surgery is normalized and it “will be the absolute norm for women by the middle of the 21st century.” (Widdows, 2018). This article also talks about how growing old in today’s society is seen as a failure and shows a lack of respect for yourself. The media sends out a message that girls are not allowed to age nor have grey hair. As seen from our lecture slides called “aging”, one critical aspect of being beautiful is being young. Youth is valued which means women must have a perfect face with no wrinkles or sagging, a firm and fit body and long lustrous locks that are not grey. Women are encouraged to do everything in their power to look youthful. This article also touches on the topic of body hair. Body hair is normal but in today’s society it is seen as unclean, disgusting and un-lady like. According to the article, “The Girls Attitude survey reports that 47% of girls aged 11 to 21 say the way they look “holds them back”, while 69% of girl’s ages seven to 11 feel like they are not good enough.” (Widdows 2018).

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A booming beauty industry is changing the way we see our bodies. Shutterstock

From the daily application of high-tech lotions and potions to non-surgical procedures such as botox, fillers and peels, the beauty industry is booming like never before.

With more products and treatments available there is also a growing pressure around how people feel they "should" or "shouldn't" look. So whether it's fake eyelashes, tattooed eyebrows, manicured nails, body waxing or lip fillers, the chances are we all know someone who has these - and often we view these types of treatments as "normal".

The sociologist Dana Berkowitz, has pointed out the increasing normalisation of botox. In her book Botox Nation she says:

The fact that Botox injections are temporary, repetitive, addictive, and marketed as preventative has made it such that these injections are fast becoming regular body upkeep, just like teeth cleaning and haircuts.

Sociologist Meredith Jones has also argued that cosmetic surgery is already normalised. She claims it will be "the absolute norm" for women by the middle of the 21st century.

While it is still the case that only a small percentage of women - and an even smaller percentage of men go under the knife - many more would like to. And the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons has reported a rise in what has been termed the "daddy makeover" in a recent report:

There has been an epic rise of 20% in male liposuction and a 13% jump in "man boob" reductions.

Growing old grey

Growing old gracefully is increasingly seen as a failure to make the best of yourself - and even shows a lack of respect for the self and or for others. It is to "let yourself go".

In my book Perfect Me!, I track the increase in what is demanded to meet minimal standards of presentation. And I look at routine practices such as hair colouring. I argue that while women in their 60s and 70s may be grey, very few in their 30s, 40s, and 50s consider grey hair an option. In fact only the young can be grey - which is more of a fashion statement - and grey for young women is high maintenance because it requires near constant colouring.

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Body hair is another particularly illustrative example - what once considered the norm has changed dramatically over just a few generations. To show visible body hair is now more of a political statement than a fashion choice - shown by the Armpits for August and other campaigns. Body hair is also seen by many people as being unclean, disgusting and something to be ashamed of - and these are judgements with a distinctly moral flavour. And it is now the case that both women and men remove all or some of their pubic hair - and shame is often attached to non-removal.

Shame is also often cited by doctors as part of the reason why women are wanting a labiaplasty - surgery to reduce the size of the flaps of skin either side of the vaginal opening. According to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, labiaplasty procedures spiked 39% in 2016, with more than 12,000 procedures in the US alone.

Never enough

This shift in the way beauty is increasingly defining people means it is functioning as an ethical ideal - in that it is the standard we use to judge ourselves and others, whether good and bad. And all of this has a significant impact on how people feel about themselves.

Recent studies, have revealed how much this is affecting people - particularly girls of a young age. The Girls' Attitudes survey has shown how body image worries affect many aspects of young girls lives - stopping them wearing the clothes they like, having their pictures taken, taking part in sport and speaking up in class.

The survey reports that 47% of girls aged 11 to 21 say the way they look "holds them back", while 69% of girls age seven to 11 feel like they are not good enough. It is with this in mind that the Youth Select Committee's recent consultation focused on this topic.

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This culture of beauty obsession is making young girls feel they are failures and that they don't measure up. To many of these girls, this feels like a "moral failure" - they have "let themselves go" and are ashamed of their very selves.

This is very different from past beauty ideals and recognising the depth and intensity of body shame - and understanding its moral nature - is vital. Because while the demands of what we have to do to be "normal" or "just good enough" continue to rise, there has also been a marked increase in anxiety and body shame in young women - which surely isn't just a coincidence.

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How the duty to be beautiful is making young girls feel like failures

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From the daily application of high-tech lotions and potions to non-surgical procedures such as botox, fillers and peels, the beauty industry is booming like never before. With more products and treatments available there is also a growing pressure around how people feel they "should" or "shouldn't" look.

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This is a before and after of photoshopped Faith Hill on a magazine cover. You can clearly see they made her appear thinner, have perfect skin with no wrinkles and blemishes, have fuller hair, a white smile, etc. This creates an unrealistic image of how women should look and many women will try to meet the expectations of the photoshopped version, although impossible.

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How Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are - TED Talk

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How Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are - TED Talk

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This is a very interesting article regarding young women and body image. One quote that I liked from this article says " There are many factors that contribute to a poor female body image. We live in a culture where thinness and beauty are highly valued for women and wealth and success are often considered to go hand in hand with a slim figure". (mirror-mirror.org). It talks about how the media glamorizes extremely thin bodies and due to this influence, many young girls are suffering from feelings of poor body image, depression and eating disorders. According to the Beauty Myth class lecture slides, "1 in 4 college women have sued some sort of unhealthy method of weight control ( fasting, laxatives, induced vomiting, skipping meals, etc). (L. Lockey, GNED 1440 Module 2 lecture notes, 2019).

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What is body image?

Body image refers to a person's personal view of their body shape, size, weight, and appearance. It also consists of how greatly one values a desired body weight, size or shape, preoccupation, level of satisfaction, and fear of weight gain. Body image is also influenced by personal body size and shape history, as well as cultural and societal norms and expectations. This image of oneself may or may not reflect how others view them or be an objective view of their body. It is important to note that most people experience some degree of body dissatisfaction or distress either at some point in their lives during a period of body change; For example, during adolescence, pregnancy or illness. Many experience body image dissatisfaction to some extent throughout their lives.

Causes of Body Image Dissatisfaction

Poor body image can begin to develop at a very young age. With estimates ranging from 20-70% of children under the age of 6 expressing body dissatisfaction. It is more commonly thought that negative body image affects only girls and women, but this is not the case. Men and boys suffer negative body image and related poor self-esteem too, but they may be less likely to admit to being affected because it is less socially acceptable. Body dissatisfaction in boys and men can often be focused on a desire to be bigger or have more muscle mass, rather than thinness per se.

There are many factors that may contribute to negative body image. Within American culture, thinness and beauty are highly valued, and wealth and success are often considered to go hand in hand with being thin. The media has historically glamorized thinness. This is witnessed in television, movies, news, and professional sports. Media, and social media, specifically, serve to fuel body image concerns in children, teenagers, and adults. Influencers and social media presences demonstrate what it looks like to be beautiful, thin, successful, and popular. Their body weight, appearance and beauty are often associated with their social standing, wealth, and success. This is despite the fact that social media accounts are highly curated, often unrealistically altered snapshots of an individual's appearance and lived experience. Thin-ideal media highlights the idea that thinness is a good and desirable thing to be, even if it is to a level that is potentially damaging to a persons health.

Participation in certain aesthetic sports or activities can also fuel body image concerns and efforts to alter one's body shape and size. Sports such as gymnastics, dance, distance running, and swimming may place participants at risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. These risks can be elevated in elite-level athletics.

Body image and eating disorders

The development of an eating disorder is the result of a complex interaction of biological, psychological, social and environmental factors. Negative body image alone is not necessarily enough to trigger an eating disorder. However, poor body image may result in dieting or restrictive eating patterns in order to lose weight, which can develop into an eating disorder. This is especially true for those with a genetic predisposition toward developing eating disorders.

One component of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa specifically is an over-valuation of shape and weight, meaning that body size and shape are given a high value in the person's overall self-concept. Those with anorexia nervosa often struggle to accurately perceive or describe their body size and shape, even if they become dangerously underweight. Furthermore, body image concerns typically do not improve over the course of the illness or as an individual loses weight. Though this is not described as part of the diagnostic criteria, people with binge eating disorder (BED) can experience over-evaluation of shape and weight, and it can be a strong indicator of severity of eating disorder symptoms in these individuals.

The Effects of Poor Body Image

The effects of a poor body image of women can be profound. For someone genetically predisposed to an eating disorder, dieting caused by a negative body image could trigger one. However for the majority of the population, what happens is a preoccupation with food and diet, weight cycling, low self-esteem, low self-confidence and never feeling that one's body is adequate. In addition to leading to the development of eating disorders, a poor body image can contribute to depression, anxiety, problems in relationships, the development of substance abuse problems, and consequently various health problems.

Poor self-esteem often contributes to problems in relationships, the workplace, and any area in life that requires confidence.

Addressing and treating Negative Body Image

Changing the way the media portrays women is a long-term goal for many advocacy groups. There are currently national and international efforts to make marketers take responsibility for displaying pictures of men and women that are unrealistic. The #truthinads campaign is an example of this and some beauty brands and clothing producers have reacted to public pressure by promising never to use photoshopped models in their catalogs and to expand sizes.

On the individual level, there are some things you can practice to improve self-esteem. Focusing on your accomplishments and good qualities and important aspects of your self-concept, repeating gratitude and loving kindness affirmations, and engaging in activities that result in a feeling of pleasure and mastery can all help to shore up self-esteem. Regularly engaging in enjoyable and moderate movement or exercise can also help with body image. With regard to social media, unfollowing social media accounts that result in excessive comparison or feelings of distress. Excessively seeking out social media content that results in downward social comparison, or, taking the stance that you are not as good (fit, thin, healthy, etc.), as the person or account you are viewing, is especially detrimental to mental health. Following body positive influencers or accounts may help. However, if you find it difficult to identify with the message that you should simply love your body as it is, it may be wise to distance yourself from these types of posts as well. negative body image and disordered eating in response.

For those with serious anxiety, depression or eating disorders related to poor body image, psychotherapy or counseling is recommended. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective form of therapy that can be used to target poor body image as a stand-alone issue or in the context of effective eating disorder treatment. It can take a long time to get to a place of love for your body, especially after years of dissatisfaction and efforts to change your body. Therapy can help you to move first toward a place of body acceptance and appreciation.
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Additional Information:
For more information on the media and body image, follow these links to body image in the media, the perfect body image, and Barbie and body image. To find out how you can help and to learn about healthy body images and body dysmorphic disorder, just follow the links. Learn more about how weight stigma and eating disorders are related.

Here is a list of celebrities that promote a healthy body image. Be sure to choose your role models carefully.

See also these tips from the National Eating Disorder Association: 10 Steps to Positive Body Image
Return To Home Page Written by Tabitha Farrar - 2014 References:
Updated by Dr Elisha Mitchell Carcierei, Ph.D. - 2019
1. Park, S. (2005). The influence of presumed media influence on women's desire to be thin.Communication Research, 32(5), 594-614.

2. Hargreaves, D. A., &Tiggemann, M. (2004). Idealized media images and adolescent body image: "comparing" boys and girls. Body Image, 1(4), 351-361.

3. LM, Irwin CE & Scully S: Disordered eating characteristics in girls: A survey of middle class children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1992

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Body image refers to a person's personal view of their body shape, size, weight, and appearance. It also consists of how greatly one values a desired body weight, size or shape, preoccupation, level of satisfaction, and fear of weight gain.