Liya Abil- Week 6- Beauty Standards
Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Small nose. Hourglass Figure. Hairless legs and arms. Natural makeup.
This list goes on and on as there are so many beauty standards that have been put into place by American society. Women are expected to be dolls and act as if these standards are completely achievable. Many people have struggled with their body and appearances because of unrealistic expectations that have been deemed normal in society.
In American media, the main characters are almost always white, skinny, and beautiful, which makes women who look even slightly different feel like they are the background characters in their own life and less important than others.
Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries underwent her transformation from ugly to beautiful by straightening her curly hair, waxing her eyebrows and removing her glasses. This makeover insinuates the idea that girls with curly hair, glasses, or facial and body hair are not beautiful or desirable. As this movie is catered to younger audiences, mainly girls, a lot of them with the same features as Mia before her transformation are bound to feel insecure about their appearance.
This way of thinking is detrimental to much of society as there are very few women that actually look and fit the ideal beauty standard.
However, in America, there have already been movements that are rejecting these expectations and empowering those who don’t fit the standard. Plus size women have started to speak up and show off their bodies in order to inspire other women that have grown to hate their looks. Women of color have also spoken on this problem and emphasized the fact that all races and people are beautiful.
I am glad America has started to evolve away from the outdated and unachievable beauty standards that have been prevalent for decades. There are still many people with a mindset that agree with outdated ideas of beauty but we must grow as a society and accept all women and people for who they are and how they look.
Hi Liya! Your blog was really interesting to read because it touches on an important topic that is becoming more and more prevalent in media today: Beauty standards. An example of this is the popular 2023 movie Barbie, which touches on the topic of dolls made for girls displaying unhealthy stereotypes and thus increasing the body image issues that young girls might experience. I like your reference to The Princess Diaries because while the stereotypical beauty transformation was widely accepted at the time of the movies release, more and more people have begun to question whether beauty stereotypes should really be such a big part of a movie that is targetted towards a younger audience. I agree with your statement that there are actually very few women who fit the beauty standards in American currently, because many of the current beauty standards in place today are eurocentric and therefore favor those of caucasian descent. A lot of movements have arisen against this unjust system of beauty discrimination, such as plus size women and women of color making more media appearances, such as being in advertisements for many popular beauty brands, such as Dove and Rare. In fact, Dove launched a campaign in which they featured women of many different backgrounds in their advertisement in order to show how Dove caters to women of all backgrounds. While this may have simply been a marketing ploy, it is still an example of how modern society has begun to reject beauty standards.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to mind when I read the first sentence was Barbie. She has blonde hair, a small nose, and an hourglass figure. This is just one example of a beauty standard imposed upon a doll. I agree that American society has made so many beauty standards that it is impossible to be even close to perfect naturally. I have also noticed that a lot of the time the media portrays the main characters as white, skinny, blond, etc. I think part of the problem is that these standards are sometimes put on children at a very young age. For example, Barbie dolls. I remember watching a youtube video about Barbie's body, and how it was extremely unhealthy to even have a body remotely close to how her body was shaped. Recently, though, the Barbie company has included more versions of Barbie to make it more inclusive. I think they added more Barbies from different backgrounds, including adding Barbies with prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, down syndrome, and more. The media has also been including more people of different backgrounds that star in movies, plays, etc. I believe that society is finally starting to take some action to start being more inclusive and getting rid of these beauty standards, or having broader beauty standards of what is considered good looking or not, which is good to hear. Of course, like Dharshini said, it could just be a marketing ploy, but it is still a step forward.
ReplyDeleteHi Liya! In today's contemporary times, where the movement for change in beauty standards is more prominent than ever, the topic of your blog stands out. The pressure on women to conform to a specific set of beauty ideals is an issue that has been deeply ingrained in our society for centuries. As you highlighted, media has played a significant role in shaping these ideals, where the “main characters” are often portrayed as white, skinny, and conventionally beautiful. This limited representation only creates an unrealistic benchmark for beauty, making those who do not fit this mold feel inadequate. It's crucial to recognize that beauty comes in diverse forms, and no one should be made to feel less based on their appearance. Your insight into the underlying problematic message that the portrayal of Mia Thermopolis's transition may send is especially eye-opening. While The Princess Diaries is a childhood favorite of mine, I never really took a second look at the transition of Mia perpetuating the conventional beauty standards. The Princess Diaries serves as an example of the deeply ingrained standards that persist throughout media. Such narratives only reinforce the idea that certain natural features are undesirable, deeply affecting the self-esteem and body image of young girls. Your decision to shift from the an explanation of the issue to ongoing efforts to break patterns is refreshing, nonetheless, as you end on an optimistic note, spotlighting potential for progress through activism.
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