To say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is slightly inaccurate. While there are certain looks that appeal to us more than others, much of aesthetic preferences are influenced by the media. Despite the countless different fashion and beauty magazines, television shows, and advertisements out there, we are only presented with a limited view of beauty. Have you ever felt like the girls you see in clothing advertisements all look like same? Sure, maybe the color of their hair, skin, and eyes is different, but what about facial construction, weight, or body proportions? You can argue that we have strong selection of all types of beauty in our media, but how many long-legged, big eyed, light-skinned women are portrayed? The numbers are staggering.
Because our society only encompasses a narrow view of what is considered beautiful, it is a common conception that if we do not look like the people we see in the media that we are not beautiful. Our self-image is a major problem in today’s world. Women and men feel pressured to look a certain way in order to become beautiful. The media, by only presenting a small range of physical characteristics, basically tell us what is beautiful and drives people to change themselves in drastic ways. We need to celebrate all forms of beauty, not just the ones we see on television. By understanding that beauty goes far behind what is represented in the media, we can better love ourselves.
Representations of “plus size” women in the media has been a point of focus during the past few years. While some clothing lines have tried to extend their sizes to include those that are considered ‘plus size’, there is still not a solid amount of larger women represented in television, movies, and advertisements. Although most women are size 14 and up, there are almost no models or actresses that have these measurements. The majority of women in the media are incredibly thin, and, though they are common in advertisements and magazines, most women do not look the way they do. They are the exception, something that can be easily forgotten when all that we see are tiny-waist women who have the faint glint of abs. Even “plus size” models hold an inaccurate depiction of beauty. Most “plus size” models are bigger in the middle, still having lean arms, long legs, and slender faces. There are many different types of bodies, skinny or not. Some women carry more weight on their arms, or in their face, or in their midsection. However, these weight differences are not addressed. It’s important to remember that there is a variety of body types, not only the ones presented in the media.
Not only is one body type portrayed, but it seems as if there is only one universal face throughout all media. Most women in magazines have big eyes and lips, prominent cheek bones, sculpted brows, and an all-over slender face. Now, just looking through your friends list on Facebook, you can see an assortment of faces, all beautiful, all different. Just because someone has narrow eyes and thin lips does not make them less beautiful. Unfortunately, a lot of people, mainly women, subject themselves to dangerous surgeries and cosmetic procedures to have their faces sculpted into the typical, cookie-cutter style seen in the media. People frequently ask to change parts of their face to look like celebrities and are not satisfied looking like themselves.
What most people don’t realize is that the pictures we see of celebrities are actually edited. All photographs in magazines and the images we see on television have been tampered with in some way. So, instead of striving to look a certain way or aspiring to have the same physical appearance as an edited movie star, learn to love yourself (as cliché as that sounds).