ZamoraCastellanos1

ErikaZamoraCastellanos
Mrs.Bycer
Humanities1
29May2015
IsPerfectionWorthit?
Imagineifwhoyouweremarriedtoandthelengthofyourrelationshipwasdetermined
byjustonefactor:yourlooks.Teensandadolescentsfacemorepressurenowthantheir
ancestorsinwhattheyshouldlooklikeastherearemorestandardsinwhatisperfect.Duetothe
factthattheacceptedbodyimageinAmericahasevolvedthroughtheyears,thementalhealthof
teensandadolescentsisnegativelyaffectedbecause,itcreatesasenseofconfusiononwhatis
idealasitkeepschanging,anditcancausestressinfindingaromanticpartner.
Theidealimageofbeautyforbothmalesandfemaleshastransformedovertheyears.
AccordingtoBuzzFeed,femalebeautyhasadvancedbuthasneveractuallystayedthesamefor
morethantwodecades.
Whenitcomestothetopicofawomansbodyimage,mostofsociety
willreadilyagreethatitisimportantandmostfemalesstriveforperfection.Wherethis
agreementusuallyends,however,isonthequestionofwhatistheperfectbodyimage.Whereas
someareconvincedthatahealthylookingbodyisthebest,othersmaintaintheideathatlooking
thinisbetter.
AccordingtoKateFox,Thecurrentmediaidealforwomenisachievablebyless
than5%ofthefemalepopulationandthat'sjustintermsofweightandsize.Ifyouwantthe
idealshape,faceetc.,it'sprobablymorelike1%(Fox).Inotherwords,Foxissayingthatthe
chanceofbeingperfectisclosetoimpossible.Someexamplesofthedifferentfemalebeauty
standardsarethe1920s,whenwomenwerecurvelessandhadboyishbodies,the1930s1950s,


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knownastheGoldenAgeofHollywood,hadwomenwithcurvierbodiesandaslimwaist.The
1960shadtallandthinwomenwhichissortofrelatedtothe1980salsoknownasthe
SupermodelEra.Thistimeperiodalsohadtallandslimwomenbutalsohadanathleticyet
buxombody.Thiseraisknownforanupkickinanorexiaandasuddenemphasisonexercise.
Inthe1990sthislookwasknownastheheroinechicasfemaleswerethin,withdrawn,andpale.
Lastly,thereisthe2000stonow,knownasPostmodernbeauty,whichiswomenthatareskinny
yethealthy,havelargebreastsandbutt,andaflatstomach.Postmodernbeautyhascaused
womentohavemoreplasticsurgery,usingselfiestopointoutwhattheyneedfixed.Females
arenottheonlyonesaffectedbybodyimage,maleshavealsobeenpressuredtobeflawless.
EugeneYangemphasisesthepointthatmalesalsohavebeautystandardsthattheyhave
toreach.Inhisarticle,MensStandardsOfBeautyAroundTheWorld,Yangstates,Astudy
fromSanFranciscoStateUniversityfoundthatwherewomenstrugglewithmediapressuretobe
thin,menfacemediapressuretobemuscular(Yang).Thisbasicallymeansthatmalesalso
havestandardstokeepinordertobeattractivetothepopulation.Sometraitsthatmalesin
Americashouldsupposedlyhavearebroadupperbodieswithshoulders,biceps,pectoralmuscles
andavshape.Ithasbeensaidthatwhitemenwithbeardsandplaidshirtsareattractiveright
nowaswell.Maleshavealsoincreasedthesalesofmalebeautycareby4billiondollarsin2014
(TBC).Therehasalsobeenachangeinthetypeofclothingtheywearasmalesusedtowear
baggyclothesbutnowtheweartightshirtsandpantsthatshowofftheirphysique.Allofthese
ideasonbeautyareinteresting,butmaybeteensdonotdothisoutofwantbutoutofbiological
need.


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Thewayteenslookcanbeaffectedbyeverydaythingsandhelpthemfindaromantic
partner.Inherarticle,MirrorMirror,KateFoxtalksaboutthingsteensdointheireveryday
livesthatcanaffecthowtheyseethemselves.Theirselfesteemisdeterminedbynumerous
factors:species,sex,age,ethnicgroup,sexualorientation,mood,eatingdisorder,whattheysee
onT.Vandmagazines,maritalstatus,childhoodexperiences,sports,menstrualcycle,iftheir
pregnant,shoppinglocation,andwhattheyhadforlunch.Femaleteenswillshowabigger
dislikeoftheirbodyimages.Researchshowsthat8outof10willbedissatisfiedwiththeirbody
(Fox).Astudyalsoshowsthat81%of10yearoldshavedietedatleastonce(Fox).Whenit
comesdowntoraceAfricanAmericanshaveahigherselfesteem.Ithasbeenshownthatwhen
amaleishomosexualtheyhaveahigherregardanddislikefortheirbodyimagethana
heterosexualmale.Theoppositeissaidforlesbianswhoshowmoreconfidenceintheirlook.A
quotefrom,MirrorMirror,states,T.V,billboards,magazines,etcmeanthatweseebeautiful
peopleallthetime...makinggoodlooksseemreal,normal,andattainable(Fox).Thisshows
thatpeoplefeelthatbeingbeautifulisanormalthingandotherscaneasilyreachthestandards,
soteensfeelashamedthattheyarenotabletobepartofthegroupofbeautifulpeople.When
teenstrytoattainbeauty,theyusuallystartwithclothingandthereforegoshopping.Thereason
whywheretheyshopisareasonfortheirlowselfesteemisbecauseteenstryoutalotof
clothingandcriticizetheirbodyalotharsherthannormal.Allofthethingslistedareattributes
fromoutsideforces,neverthelessthereisamuchdeeperneedforlookinggoodthatmostpeople
donotknow.
Recentstudiesonbodyimageshednewlightonthebiologicalneedtobeattractive,
whichpreviousstudieshadnotaddressed.Inthearticle,WomensPhysicalAttractivenessand


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ShorttermMatingStrategies,itstatesthatattractivewomenhavebeenknowntobeableto
attracthighqualitymatesandthereforehaveabettersuccesswithreproduction.Thearticle
states,Giventheevidencethatwomensfacesandbodiestrackslightlydifferentsetsof
informationaboutreproductivevalueandfertility,womensdecisionmakingmechanismsmay
incorporatetherelativelevelsoftheirfacialandbodilyattractivenesstoconditionallybias
behaviortowardthematingstrategythatwasrecurrentlymoreeffective(intermsofreproductive
success)forthatconstellationofattractivenesscues(Perilloux).Thisbasicallymeansthat
womentakeintoaccounthowattractivetheyseethemselvesaswhenchoosingamate.The
studyshowsthatmenhavelowerstandardswhenitcomestoashorttermrelationshipbutthen
thosestandardsincreasewhentheyarechoosingapartnerforalongtermrelationship.Assaid
byGreiling,Withinthisoverallpattern,however,thereareindividualdifferencesand
conditionaladjustments,suchasthosebasedonopportunityandqualityofavailablemates
(Perilloux).Inotherwords,Greilingissayingthatmaleslookattheirsurroundingsandwhatis
availablewhensettingtheirstandardsandfiguringoutwhattheyneedtolooklikeinorderto
attractthosepotentialmates.Allofthesereasonsforwhybodyimageisimportantdoesnot
exactlymakeitagoodthingasitcanandusuallydoesleadtomentaldistress.
Bodyimagecanmaketeensestablishalonglistofmentalissues.RiceUniversityasserts
thathavinganegativebodyimagecanleadtoriskswithsexualhealth,socialwithdrawal,and
endinghealthyactivitiesthatshowyourbody.Inthearticle,BodyImage,itdeclares,Our
sensesarebombardedbyanonslaughtofmixedmessagesabouthowweshouldlookorthink
aboutourbodies(BodyImage).Thismeansthatteensgetconfusedandfeelashamed,
stoppingthemfromlivinganormallife.Itcanalsocausethemtopullawayfromothersbecause


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offeelinginferior.Theseissuesareonlyontheoutsidethough,teensfacemoreinnerturmoil
thanouterdisturbance.Intheirpersonallives,teensfacetroubleslikeemotionaldistress,low
selfesteem,unhealthydietinghabits,anxiety,depression,andthelistgoesonandon.The
anxietytheyfaceiscausedbyalwaysworryingabouthowtheylook,ifoneareaistoofatornot
muscularenough.Teensstopeatingoreatbutlaterthrowupthefoodthattheyate,causingbad
dietstogetandstaythin.Assaidin,Weight&BodyImageDisorders:Causes,Symptoms&
Signs,
Often,itistheearlydissatisfactionwithayoungpersonsappearancethatleadsthemto
concludethatlosingweightwouldenhancetheirappearance,andmakethemfeelbetterabout
themselvesandtheirbodies.Thus,restrictiveeatingandoverexercisingareoftennext,
frequentlyleadingtopatternsofdisorderedeatingandweightobsession...(Weight&Body
ImageDisorders
:Causes,Symptoms&Signs
).Thisshowsthatbadbodyimagecanleadto
horribleaftereffectsoflookinghandsomeandbeautiful.Iflookinggoodleadstofeelingbad
bothinsideandoutthenitisdefinitelynotworthit.
Americastoplookhasneverstayedthesameformorethanacoupleyears.Thishas
causedteenstobeconfusedandstressedcausingnegativeaftereffectstotheirmentalstate.
Lookinggoodhasbeenseentobecausedbybothartificialandbiologicalneedsandhasbeen
showntocausementalissuesthataffectboththeteenssocialandpersonallife.Thereshouldbe
classesthatteachyoungkidsthatwhattheylooklikedoesnotmatter.Thereshouldalsobe
morechubbymodelsinmagazinesandmoviestomakegirlsfeelliketheycanstillbeprettyeven
iftheydonotfitintothesupposedAmericanstandards.Peopleshouldwakeupeveryday
thinking,Itseasytoforgetthat,ultimately,yourbodyimageisuptoyou(BodyImage).


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WorksCited
"BodyImage."
:RiceUniversityWellBeing
.N.p.,n.d.Web.27May2015.
<https://wellbeing.rice.edu/bodyimage/>.
Fox,Kate."Mirror,MirrorASummaryofResearchFindingsonBodyImage."
Mirror,Mirror
.
N.p.,n.d.Web.27May2015.<http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html>.
Perilloux,Carin,JaimeM.Cloud,andDavidM.Buss."WomensPhysicalAttractivenessand
ShorttermMatingStrategies."
PersonalityandIndividualDifferences
54.4(2013):
49095.
PersonalityandIndividualDifferences
.Elsevier,10Dec.2012.Web.3June
2015.<http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/HomePage/group/busslab/pdffiles/Women's%20p
hysical%20attractiveness%20and%20shortterm%20mating%20strategies%20%20Final
%20published%202013.pdf>.
"TBCBeautyFacts,Figures,andTrends
."
TBCBeautyFacts,Figures,andTrends
(n.d.):n.
pag.
TheBeautyCompany
.12June2012.Web.3June2015.
<http://www.thebeautycompany.co/downloads/Beyer_BeautyNumbers.pdf>.
"Weight&BodyImageDisorders:Causes,Symptoms&Signs."
EatingDisorderHopeRSS
.
N.p.,n.d.Web.04June2015.
<http://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/bodyimage>.
"Women'sIdealBodyTypesThroughoutHistory."
BuzzFeed
.N.p.,n.d.Web.27May2015.
<
http://www.buzzfeed.com/eugeneyang/womensidealbodytypesthroughouthistory#.g
vGJ2w
xgN>.
Yang,Eugene."Men'sStandardsOfBeautyAroundTheWorld."
BuzzFeed
.N.p.,n.d.Web.27


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May2015.
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/eugeneyang/mensstandardsofbeautyaroundtheworld#.lm
Z8q7xAY>.