...Unveiling Beauty “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This quotation was firstly heard in Greek in the 3rd century. This means that various people could interpret beauty in different ways. So what is beauty then? According to Oxford Dictionary, beauty is “A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” On the other hand, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as, “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.” Based from these stated definitions, which is a more appropriate meaning of beauty? Where and how do these perspectives come from? From these descriptions about beauty, we can say that beauty has various meanings to people and media mainly influences these perspectives. Initially, the way a person looks plays an important role in our society. Our generation becomes conscious on aesthetic beauty and they base this on the trend nowadays. “Youth, clear skin, a symmetrical face and body, feminine facial features, and an hourglass figure —are those indicating that a woman would be a healthy, fertile candidate to pass on a man's genes.” This is an example said by Amy Alkon of how women should look for them to be seen as appealing and for men to be easily attracted to them eventually. Most women in this era struggle on numerous ways on how to become beautiful and maintain their physical appearances even at...
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...study broke grounds when exploring women’s roles in advertisements worldwide. The study concluded that consumers are exposed to over 3,000 ads each day, which means it’s a competition between companies on who can have the most attention-grabbing and sometimes controversial ad in a sea of advertisements. Many researchers have shown that women in advertisements are portrayed as sexual objects (Baker 2005). An analysis reveals that common forms of sexuality in ads include the following: nudity/lack of clothing, physical attractiveness of said model, seductive behavior portrayed in ad and suggested innuendos along with setting, context and camera effects in the ad (Reichert 2002). Sexuality isn’t just nudity in an ad, it’s the entire feel and perception of...
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...The beauty industry is something that has affected us all. We've all sat on a subway bench and stared at a poster with some beautiful woman or man, who just looks too perfect to be real. We've all also thought the same things when looking at that poster. Things such as “Why don't I look that way?", “How did this person get to look so perfect?” The moment that thought crosses our mind is the moment that the beauty industry gets paid in some way or another, this is because once we think that we are willing to buy whatever someone is selling. This is because to us the product is something that will bring us one step closer to looking beautiful and that translates to cold hard cash to the people running the beauty industry. Meanwhile, people are...
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...Advertising in our Society Advertising has become a massive part of our social environment, and can be seen at large throughout any industrialized society. Nowadays it is virtually impossible to avoid ads while carrying on with your daily life. Our daily dosage comes from television, radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards, and most recently, social media, among others. The average person is exposed to as many as 5,000 advertisements a day, and nearly 10,000,000 in their lifetime (Gustafson). With that said, advertising’s impact in society is so prevalent that if advertisers do not take caution, it can also become easily detrimental. Cosmetic advertising can be held accountable for feeding especially women with unrealistic results and false standards of beauty. The problems with cosmetic advertising and the effect it has mainly on, but not limited to, women are innumerable. Considering the fact that “cosmetics are a major expenditure for many women, with the cosmetics industry grossing around 7 billion dollars a year,” cosmetic advertising is a practice that should be approached with caution, as it affects so many women daily (Thompson). The most simplistic and widely targeted critique of cosmetic advertising comes from the excessive use of photo manipulation in ads, including Photoshop and the use of filters. These tools create unrealistic images of the benefits the product can actually offer, causing women to become more dissatisfied with their own appearances. This dissatisfaction...
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...Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a tale of truth and reality versus ignorance. It is an analyzation of human perception and can be applied to modern life. Allegory of the Cave also presents the difference of being closed minded versus being open minded. It shows the advantages gained to those who are open minded. It also presents the disadvantages and how ignorant one sounds when one is closed minded. Plato's Allegory of the Cave takes place in a dark cave. There are prisoners in shackles with something in place to keep their heads from turning. They are basically forced to only look in one direction. Behind the prisoners there is a fire and a runway where showmen can place items such as vases. The fire casts shadows on the walls the prisoners are facing and they play a game. They begin to guess what the shadows are and those who get the most right are considered to be the smartest people of the group. These prisoners know nothing but what is casted in front of them. To these prisoners, they are not shadows of objects but real objects themselves as they have no reality. Out of the group, one prisoner is freed and allowed to venture. He begins to look at the fire, the statues, and treys to comprehend everything. After direct sunlight to his eyes he is pained and confused. In that moment, being released might have seemed like the worst thing possible to that prisoner. Being utterly confused is frustrating and the pain of turning his head and staring at direct sunlight is a...
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...this worldwide-recognized show. Such as, “Not eating for the rest of the week,” “She is not real, how is she so perfect?” or sarcastic comments such as “I’m glad I look exactly like all those Victoria Secret models” (Profitable Objectification). This show is a perfect example of how the media negatively affects our society. Not only does the Victoria Secret Fashion show cause women to question their beauty, but it also instills unrealistic expectations of what women should look like to all the men. The media has a great influence on our view of beauty and has created a false perception of what females should look like. This has made it difficult for anyone that does not fit this ‘ideal’ body to accept themselves the way they are. Celebrities and models have become a representation of the ‘perfect’ body image that our society emulates. The negative affects of media today on our image of beauty are often underestimated; this false perception causes females to feel self conscious and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance. The media has distorted the definition of beauty and the ‘perfect’ body image; which causes women serious health problems concerning their weight. The definition of...
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...Unilever. Dove's logo is a silhouette profile of a dove, the colour of which often varies. Dove's products include: antiperspirants/deodorants, body washes, beauty bars, lotions/moisturizers, hair care and facial care products. Dove soap was launched in the United States in 1957, years after Unilever acquired soap factory De Duif (Dutch: The Dove) in The Netherlands, from which the English brand name Dove is derived. Dove has been positioned throughout its history without referring to it as "soap", but as a "beauty bar" with one-fourth cleansing cream. Dove has a great consumer following and has established itself as a premium Soap or rather a beauty bar in the market as well as in the minds of the consumer. [pic] Target Audience The target audience for Dove is basically • Women who want to care for their skin • Who want to look and feel their personal best • Aged 30 – 50 • Beginning to feel the effects of dry skin It has been observed that the core target audience of dove are women who are home makers or are working professionals Mostly they are the middle aged women who want beautiful skin and are not swayed by the fairness which other soaps offer. They don’t mind to spend that little extra because dove promises them wonderful skin and does not make false promises. [pic] What is consumer Behavior? The decision making process in acquiring, evaluating, using or disposing of goods...
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...Women cannot find strong role models in today's society without getting a false impression. Too often the role models are of women of unrealistic beauty. Take for instance the big screen: a bunch of skinny women with flawless faces, and not a spec of cellulite. Finding role models on the glossy pages of magazines and posters has become even more prominent. Gazing at these "role models" has become an act in which shapes the way women look and feel about themselves in today's beauty conscious society. American women base their lives on a myth, a beauty myth, which impairs their self-image and distorts their views regarding their peers. America stereotypes women to fit the myth by suggesting that they either have beauty or intelligence, but cannot have both. Women believe that the women featured in the magazines are the models of what a male finds attractive. In reality, that's what the advertisers want the reader to find attractive. If women believe skinny is the only way to go, they are going to buy their product that "promises a slim new you". Unfortunately, the media pushes an unnatural body type, making it difficult to accept natural beauty: It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder, seven million women and one million men. One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia, and two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia. Ten years ago 330,000 Americans underwent plastic surgery. This year that number has increased to over 6 million, of which...
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...In Homer’s Odyssey the Sirens, offering false promises of joy through seductive song, challenge Odysseus’s position of power in the Ithacan hierarchy by attempting to evoke the sense of unrestrained joy. Sealing his crew’s ears with wax, Odysseus mutes the crew’s senses and skews their perception of truth, contributing towards a reinforcement of social stability; Odysseus maintains his dominant status among the crew through his denial of complete submission to pleasure by binding himself to the ship mast; Ultimately, the measures Odysseus takes to sail past the Sirens serve to reinforce his seat of authority. Odysseus, on his quest to restore his throne over the Ithacans, encounters the irresistible call of the Sirens, hoping to plunge Odysseus’s...
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...2011 Hlavaty Argumentative Research Essay Exploitation in Beauty Pageants In 1920, the World War I ended and the women’s movement began to take off, marking the first year of the American beauty pageant formally known as The Miss America Pageant (“Child Beauty Pageants,” 2011). Women from all over the United States were given the opportunity to show their talent, superficial beauty and inner intelligence. Little did our country know that 40 years later, children as young as ten months old would be competing in these beauty pageants; since the tragic death of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, child beauty pageants have become a topic of debate (“JonBenet Ramsby,” 2011). Ramsey’s death opened a new door to the skepticism of beauty pageants. The media began to see beauty pageants as a threat to children and their safety. Children were exposed to the world at a young age with a made-up face of inappropriate maturity. Destruction of a child’s self-esteem and attentiveness to appearance are major ploys that continue to grow, ploys of outstanding expenses, loss of educational concern and loss of innocence also remain. Strengthening the fact that beauty pageants are harmful to children who compete in them therefore, children under the age of ten should not be allowed to participate in beauty pageants. Children who are aspiring beauty queens tend to be pressured by their parents. According to the article titled, “The child beauty-pageant queens who grew up” (2008), mothers hire make-up artists...
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...newest products. What started these phenomena? Advertisers have people wrapped around their fingers when it comes to new products that make your life more efficient. Advertisement companies have strongly emphasized the importance of being beautiful and how to do so. However, every so often these products leave the consumer with unrealistic aspirations. They discover ways to exploit the weaknesses of the consumers by offering superior merchandise to what they currently own. Advertisers have shaped our society with an unrealistic portrayal of an ideal foundation, leaving us defenseless against this regime. There are many definitions of beauty and there should not be one stereotype of how it should be. Commercials have a devious way of altering the societies perception of “beauty”. Looking natural and healthy was once the ideal portrayal of beauty. The meaning of being “beautiful” today has dramatically changed since our society has been brainwashed by the thousands of industries trying to sell their products. An example of this is the phenomena of looking young. Corporations have made us believe that the only way to truly look beautiful is to be young and flawless. There are millions of skin creams and formulas like Olay and L’Oreal to make your skin “wrinkle free” which will then result in magnificence. These types of companies have a large impact on the society and how they will respond. Along with being wrinkle free, there are many companies advertising models in bikinis...
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...Internet a. Statistics on internet usage i. Demographics ii. Locational demographics b. It’s all about the buzz i. Creating hype to sell – products, ideas, and personas ii. The difficulty in sifting through the hype to get to the real information III. The social media factor a. The current pervasiveness of social media i. A source of information ii. A form of expression iii. A means of communication b. The false standards social media set i. Standards on Beauty 1. Instagram and filters 2. Unreal Photoshopped pictures ii. Standards on lifestyle IV. The effect of photos on the Internet and social media on self-esteem a. Studies show social media causes anxiety i. Expanded perception of other person’s life ii. Weakened appreciation of personal circumstances iii. Padded presentation of personal circumstances b. Keeping up with the Joneses i. Keeping up in real life ii. Keeping up in virtual life c. Cost implications of keeping up V. South Korean girls – a case study a. The stringent standard of beauty in South Korea b. Surgery often used as resolution c. The vicious cycle of self-deprecation as standards get higher VI. Current moves locally and internationally to combat the growing problem a. Information campaign b. Participation of celebrities and influential people VII. Recommendations and Conclusions a. Value formation at home i. Constant communication as an important strategy b....
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...it was a subject of visual intrigue and something ,many in the west could not resist. This is probably why it was used in film which is what I shall get into later. Orientalism first came about with depictions of Arabic and Islamic regions. It became the norm as how this particular culture was to be viewed. This however overlooked the fact that there might have been styles that were incredibly similar to European styles. Naturally, this was not depicted as nobody wanted to know about a part of a new culture that was exactly the same as ours. That would be boring and not garner as much intrigue. So paintings of strange men with turbans and long beards with endless harems were used and as a result people saw these and perceptions were created. One of these perceptions were...
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...as well as any potential differences between them. In both “Snow White” and “The Rape of the Lock” women are portrayed as vain and obsessed with their beauty. The speaker in “The Rape of the Lock” condemns the girl described, Belinda, for her obsession with appearances by mocking her through the use of hyperbole, for example calling her a “Goddess” (line 132). He writes about her in heroic couplets, a form often used for satirical or comical poetry. Belinda is also presented as immoral and impious, for example when she is performing “the sacred rites of pride (line 128), or with the enumeration of her cosmetics and several “Bibles” ( line 138), suggesting that to her, these things have the same value. The text “Snow White” condemns the second Queen by calling her “proud and haughty” (line 13) and presenting her as extremely jealous “she could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone” (line 13). This exaggerated focus on beauty is ridiculous and a common way of making women look irrational and petty. “Snow White”, however, presents the good characters as beautiful, such as Little Snow-White being “fairer far to see”(line 26) and her mother being described as “a beautiful Queen” (line 2), sending a contradictory message as beauty is valued highly and equated with morality, but vanity or caring too much about ones beauty is presented as sinful. This reflects the pressure on women to try to be beautiful, but pretend not to value it. “Sonnet...
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...Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder. This phrase first appeared in Greece in the third century BC and is still believed by people today. With today's society’s standards, though, who is the beholder? The media produced all around us makes beauty seem like some big thing and that all people should look the way a model looks on a billboard or in a magazine. What kind of message is this? If you don't like the way your body looks, just try to make it look like that supermodel you saw! This is an awful way of portraying beauty to youth, so really, what exactly is beauty? There are many different views on what beauty is all over the world. Ancient Greeks introduced beauty as something that produces delightful reactions and sensations in the mind. In that time period, proportion and symmetry were beautiful to the human eye. The Ancient Greeks thought pale skin and golden colored hair were beautiful and showed prestige. Greek women would take the risk of lightening their skin with white lead, a toxic material that very well could have shortened their lifespans. To lighten their hair to this nice golden color, they would apply vinegar to their locks and spend time in the sun. To prevent tanning their skin while doing this process, brimmed hats were used to shield the skin from the sun’s rays (Beautiful with Brains). The Greeks were obsessed with the human physique, being an example of perfect symmetry. Aesthetics like these were what led to the modern opinions of what beauty...
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