Mom I’m I thin enough? Mom I’m I prettier than the girl in the magazine ad? Mom does this outfit make me look fat? All of these questions have something in common: exterior beauty. Is beauty only what you see on the outside surface?
In this modern day era, specifically the western society, it’s hard to encounter women who are completely satisfied with their physique. It seems that everyone is trying to be slimmer, have the “right” clothes, shoes, makeup, etc. to compliment them and or make them feel beautiful. The definition of beauty that this society advocates is that we need to go to desperate measure in order to feel beautiful. In the article 'The body and the reproduction of femininity', Susan Bordo talks about how the female body has become doctrine bodies, which means, “Bodies whose forces and energizes are habituated to external regulation, subjectation, transformation and “improvement””. This basically reiterates that women are always trying to enhance their beauty in many ways hence focusing on “ self modification”, as mentioned in the article. As a result, this makes women feel that they aren’t good enough, which can lead to insecurities and other complex problems such as eating disorders.
Becoming comfortable in your skin is an essential key that will make one truly feel beautiful both inside and out. At times when we look at magazines, we need to consider that they are most likely photo shopped and or airbrushed instead of letting it define what beauty is. Consider this: a beautiful person on the outside with an unappealing personality. Does that make them truly beautiful? I feel that materialistic things and being a certain size that supposedly make a person beautiful can only go so far. Hence, society needs to re-evaluate what beauty is, because beauty can be complimented on the surface, but true beauty comes within.
I agree. Completely. BUt do you think society can ever come to the point where an unshowered, sweatpant-wearing, perhaps obese woman could be labelled as beautiful?! Even if she has the best inner spirit?! Not sure we will ever witness that on magazines..
ReplyDeleteI think that this issue of deriving personal beauty from magazines is not solely a woman's issue. I feel like men are just as subject to developing insecurities about their appearance from what they see in mass media. All of us, men and women, just can't escape it!
ReplyDelete