Essay Sample on 'Beauty Standards': A Bane for Women's Mental and Physical Health

Introduction

In the contemporary world, feminine beauty is associated with physical attractiveness. For centuries, beauty has occupied the minds of painters, poets' musicians, and writers. As a result, an immeasurable amount of prejudice and criticism and constant attacks on the female gender is generated for the women who do not reach the 'beauty standards' (Buzzvideo, 2015). Thus, this has affected the mental and psychical health of women.Therefore, due to the harsh judgments by the society, some women have undergone the following mental and psychical issues; depression, suicide, anorexia and plastic surgery.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Firstly, constant need to follow and establish rigid rules on beauty standards. Currently, there are many health problems affecting women who are dissatisfied with their bodies. This is because of the need to homogenize the criteria and ascertain rigid rules concerning beauty standards. The ideal beauty is measured in terms of the straight-edged nose, fleshy lips, big backside, slim tummy, slender bodies, and smooths skin free from wrinkles and spots (Yamamiya et al. .2005). The pressure to have such qualities have pushed some women, such as Uma Thurman, to suffer from mental disorders such as Dysmorphophobia (BBC, 2015). It is because the actress felt uncomfortable with her appearance and opted for plastic surgery.

Secondly, the media's influence on people's perception of beauty. Things such as advertisement can change how individuals perceive beauty (Thorpe, 2018). This results to people comparing themselves to characters portrayed as beautiful in the media and can seek to look like them. Beauty magazines also change people's perceptions of what is perceived as beautiful (Duke, 2002). The changes women make on their bodies, as a result, may result in psychological problems such as; depression, suicidal behaviors, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Conclusion

In summary, beauty standards have affected women's mental and psychical health negatively. Therefore, society should strive to accept women the way they are and not put unnecessary pressure on them to make them want to change their appearances.

References

Thorpe, R. (2018). Ageing and the presentation of self: Women's perspectives on negotiating age, identity and femininity through dress. Journal of Sociology, 54(2), 203-213.

http://qlu.ac.pa/latitude/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Negative-Effects-of-the-Standards-of-Feminine-Beauty-in-the-United-States.pdf

Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions. Body image, 2(1), 74-80.

BBC News. (2015, May 11). Dismorfofobia, El Trastorno Tras El Cambio De Imagen De Uma Thurman?. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2015/02/150211_salud_dismorfofobia_uma_thurman_i

Duke, L. (2002). Get real!: Cultural relevance and resistance to the mediated feminine ideal. Psychology & Marketing, 19(2), 211-233.

Chinski, H., Chinski, L., Armijos, J., & Arias, J. P. (2013). Rhinoplasty and its effects on the perception of beauty. International archives of otorhinolaryngology, 17(01), 047-050.

Buzzvideo, (2015). Female Beauty Around the World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9Dp6D91fI