Beauty Ideals of WomenBy: Emily Boccieri

The Perfect WomanIn Shape

Flawless Skin

Tall

Ageless/Young looking

Perfect Hair

Perfect Smile

Object of Desire

Why Men want the “Perfect Woman”

Media is the biggest influence. Images of women being “perfect” are what men are used to seeing and sometimes only go by that, when looking for a woman.

Also the way our nation is, we are so judgmental now, men judge women based on looks. If he doesn’t like what he sees then he will find another woman he likes beauty wise.

Effects of Beauty IdealsEating disorders

Depression

Plastic surgery

Increased spending to make appearance look better.

Bad body image/Self-esteem

Eating DisordersBulimia is an illness when someone binges on

food and uses methods such as vomiting or laxatives to prevent weight gain.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is consider healthy for their age or height.

These eating disorders happen to women who feel they are not skinny or in shape. Which can effect them in severe ways.

DepressionWhen seeing women in the media they are not

the average woman in America.

Women get depression because they feel they are not good enough and/or will never look like what the media is portraying them as.

Depression often leads to eating disorders and in return can also cause body image issues, that no one else can see, but the woman themselves.

Plastic SurgeryExtreme Makeover was a show about people

chosen to actually get multiple cosmetic surgeries and not be able to look at themselves until they were done healing.

The show wanted the audience to see that you can truly look like someone else with a bunch of plastic surgery.

This show helped media show people mainly women that plastic surgery is normal and acceptable if you want to look better.

Plastic SurgeryThe number of cosmetic surgeries has risen over

50% since the since the start of the century.

Plastic surgery is a lot of money and a huge industry, but women see it as a means to pay whatever, as long as it makes them look perfect.

With advances in plastic surgery, some can help with weight loss such as gastric bypass.

More money, More problems

Women can easily be persuaded to buy something if told that it will help their image in some way.

Make-up, skin care products, diet supplements, work-out equipment, and many other things companies feel women will buy.

Women do usually make less money then men, but have to buy all this stuff that men don’t have to, in order to maintain a “beautiful” image.

Body Image and Self-Esteem

Women themselves view their body differently than everyone else.

Some women feel they look/are fat, when in fact sometimes they aren’t.

Women have bad self-esteem because beauty ideals are set and if they don’t meet them then they look down upon themselves.

Women don’t feel beautiful anymore, unless someone tells them, and that someone is mainly men.

The RealityWomen deal with a lot more things, mentally,

emotionally, and physically compared to men.

The media hires actresses and models to portray a “perfect woman” that is not realistic to everyday America.

The reality is that over 63% of Americans are over weight or obese.

The RealityWomen go through so many things on a daily

basis.

With the way our media is, having a beauty ideal puts more stress on a woman because she doesn’t feel good enough.

Each woman is different and stereotypes in the media make certain women (depending on race and age) feel unwanted.

These beauty ideals are making women sick.

Work Cited Engeln-Maddox, Renee. "Buying A Beauty Standard Or Dreaming Of A New Life?

Expectations Associated With Media Ideals." Psychology Of Women Quarterly 30.3 (2006): 258-266. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.

Leslie Wise, et al. "Sexism, Hostility Toward Women, And Endorsement Of Beauty Ideals And Practices: Are Beauty Ideals Associated With Oppressive Beliefs?." Sex Roles 56.5/6 (2007): 265-273. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.

"The Effect of Thin Media Images on Body Dissatisfaction - Eating Disorders | Nutrition Research Newsletter | Find Articles." Find Articles | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Mar. 2002. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_3_21/ai_84209276/>.

  "Bulimia - PubMed Health." PubMed Health. 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001381/>.

"Anorexia Nervosa - PubMed Health." PubMed Health. 07 Jan. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001401/>.