"While some media, ads, and movies may still try to define women only or mainly as sex objects, it's no longer considered chic or even acceptable by much of America."
Something that has changed very little since the 1950's is ideal beauty and the woman's obsession with achieving perfection. Yes, nowadays girls have more confidence in themselves and body positivity is running rampant in America and all over the world, but as a female, I can honestly say that I am not perfectly content with the way I look.
If you've ever read a magazine or watched regular television, it's obvious that there's a common occurence that the actresses and models used are drop dead gorgeous. They have tiny waists and perfect skin, and not a hair is out of place. They are the ideal women, the ones that all the boys want, and all the girls want to be. The same goes for men. We see those rugged underwear models with six packs and smolders and we swoon while our male counterparts are probably looking down at their abs in jealousy. There's no point in denying it, it happens to the best of us.
My question is, why do we give ourselves such high standards for beauty? Obviously, everyone is beautiful in their own ways, but we seem to systematically lean towards those with long, tan legs and perfect smiles. While some of it can be attributed to our primal instincts to find a mate with symmetrical features, ( studies show that people with more symmetrical or "attractive" faces are usually healthier than those with asymmetrical face and that it is our instinct to choose the healthiest mate.) we tend to go overboard. Going on ridiculous diets, permanently modifying our bodies, and covering our faces with make-up all to meet the unreachable western beauty standard.
But do things like this actually make us look beautiful? No, they don't, in my opinion. Each and every one of us is the closest to perfection we can get to. Do they make us feel a bit better about ourselves? You bet they do. In my opinion, beauty is not skin deep. There's so many beautiful souls out there who are convinced that they'll never find love because their looks don't match up to the latest Gucci ad.
For this week's inquiry, I'll ask this; what actually makes someone beautiful? Either men or women, or both.
Something that has changed very little since the 1950's is ideal beauty and the woman's obsession with achieving perfection. Yes, nowadays girls have more confidence in themselves and body positivity is running rampant in America and all over the world, but as a female, I can honestly say that I am not perfectly content with the way I look.
If you've ever read a magazine or watched regular television, it's obvious that there's a common occurence that the actresses and models used are drop dead gorgeous. They have tiny waists and perfect skin, and not a hair is out of place. They are the ideal women, the ones that all the boys want, and all the girls want to be. The same goes for men. We see those rugged underwear models with six packs and smolders and we swoon while our male counterparts are probably looking down at their abs in jealousy. There's no point in denying it, it happens to the best of us.
My question is, why do we give ourselves such high standards for beauty? Obviously, everyone is beautiful in their own ways, but we seem to systematically lean towards those with long, tan legs and perfect smiles. While some of it can be attributed to our primal instincts to find a mate with symmetrical features, ( studies show that people with more symmetrical or "attractive" faces are usually healthier than those with asymmetrical face and that it is our instinct to choose the healthiest mate.) we tend to go overboard. Going on ridiculous diets, permanently modifying our bodies, and covering our faces with make-up all to meet the unreachable western beauty standard.
But do things like this actually make us look beautiful? No, they don't, in my opinion. Each and every one of us is the closest to perfection we can get to. Do they make us feel a bit better about ourselves? You bet they do. In my opinion, beauty is not skin deep. There's so many beautiful souls out there who are convinced that they'll never find love because their looks don't match up to the latest Gucci ad.
For this week's inquiry, I'll ask this; what actually makes someone beautiful? Either men or women, or both.