Tiffany Bell

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
4/1/16
Reflection
I have completed my first view pages of my thesis. Overall Im trying to create good
conversation that doesnt just have my voice or too much of other authors voice. I have used the
They Say, I Say book, and used their templates. Their templates were great to help me
transition from they say to what I have to say. After my conference I have gotten a lot of useful
feedback! I plan to continue with what I am doing but I need to try and elaborate what I am
saying, if it is not common knowledge. As I got to page 6, it got harder for me to tie everything
together. I used part 3 of the book They Say, I Say to attempt to tie it altogether.
Ideal Beauty
To all the girls that think youre fat because youre not a size zero, youre the beautiful one, its
society whos ugly.
-

Marilyn Monroe -- actress 1950s

For as long as I can remember, I have always viewed beauty as important. As a kid I
would constantly watch cartoons and movies with woman who had the same features: bigger
eyes or sexy eyes, perfect eyebrows with an arch, longer eyelashes, slender nose, smaller lips,
curvy body, longer legs, and a small waist with larger hips. Every single one of my childhood
favorite movies consisted of a female character with these features. Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel,
Belle, Jane, Jasmine, the list goes on and on. Now that I look back on the old days, I recall
myself whining and crying to my mother about how I wanted to be beautiful, how I wanted to
have smaller thighs and longer hair. But, what is beautiful? What qualifies someone or something
to be more beautiful or attractive than another?

There are so many definitions of the word beauty. A phrase that is common for beauty is
beauty is in the eye of the beholder. By claiming beauty is determined by the beholder, the
statement overlooks that a person should find beauty in themselves and not rely on others to say
they are beautiful. However our society, culture and family create this standard of beauty for
women and young girls to follow. After watching the video, A New Standard of Beauty, the
speaker Amber Starks gave me the idea to Google beautiful women. I was astounded at what my
result were. It was all different woman, but woman, with the same features I mentioned above. In
her article, Buying a Beauty Standard or Dreaming of a New Life? Expectations Associated with
Media Ideals, Renee Engeln-Maddox suggest that Depending on the individual, a range of other
beauty-related attributes may be essential when it comes to meeting the ideal (e.g., flawless skin,
well-styled hair, attractive facial features) (258). In other words, Maddox argues skin, hair and
facial feature matter in the standard beauty. Although I agree with Maddox up to a point, I cannot
ignore that body image and body shape also matter.
I argue that there is a direct correlation with the, so called-- standard of beauty and
womens body image, referring to their weight. The article, Womens Body Image and BMI, A
Look at the Evolution of the Female Figure, outlines how body image has changed in media
throughout a 100 years. Their analysis shows that over the course of time the female icons in the
media have ultimately decreased in weight/size. They use BMI as a weight indicator. BMI is
body mass index; this is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Normal BMI is
around 19, underweight BMI is 16 and lower and overweight BMI is 25 to 30. They show how in
1950 Marilyn Monroes BMI was merely 20 and as the years passed the BMI of the female icons
decreased year by year. In their view, As the size of the average woman continued to increase,
growing to 27.5 in the 2000s, models and actresses maintained what is by comparison a super-

thin look. Overall models BMI have decreased year by year, in the 1950s the average model
BMI was 20; whereas, models now have a BMI of 16 and below. The point is that media is not
portraying average women, which is having effect on womens self-esteem, creating this ideal
image.
This standard isnt just in magazines, movies and television it is also in music and music
videos. Many of Hip Hop and R&B lyrics and videos portray women with certain characteristics,
such as, lighter skin, curvy voluptuous body and long hair. In my opinion music influences our
generation; we listen to what the artist says and receive their message. Although I believe there
are artist who contribute to the ideal image, I also believe there are artist that give a positive
message to women. For example, J. Cole, a rap artist wrote a song inspiring not only women but
everyone, called The Crooked Smile. J. Cole recites these inspiring words Killing yourself to
find a man thatll kill for you You wake up, put makeup on , stare in the mirror but its clear
that you cant face whats wrong No need to fix what God already put his paintbrush on. He is
not the only artist that wants to contribute a positive message to their fans. Jazmine Sullivan,
Grammy-nominated songwriter and singer was recently on the cover of Ebonys The Body
Brigade issue, along with several other full figured woman. In her interview article with
Huffington Post they write, Sullivan says she acknowledges the importance of promoting
positive messages around body image in her role as an entertainer(Williams). Ultimately, what
is at stake here is young girls and women's self-esteem. All this evidence had me wondering,
how does the standard of beauty affect womens lives?
By creating so many illusory images of physical perfection, whether on store aisles or
storefront ads, magazine covers or TV shows, we speak more to the profit margin of companies
than the self-esteem of todays girls and women. Meaning instead of caring or bringing positive

images representing all beautiful women, businesses care more about the dollar. But this brings
me back to one of my original questions. Who decides what is beautiful? In her TedX speech, A
New Standard of Beauty, Amber Starks maintains ...the standard of beauty is actually simply a
cultural construct this simply means that it is a collection of ideas and thoughts around physical
appearance that each generation and each culture comes up with and then reinforces it, with
music, and its art, its media and even its politics. I wholeheartedly endorse what Amber Stark
insist, the standard of beauty is formed by. There is a major problem with how our society
defines beauty and how it affects all females.
Low self-esteem is one of the many results of societys ideal beauty. Self-esteem is ones
confidence level or someones self worth. There are many studies that show there is a correlation
between self-esteem and the ideal beauty. This study in particular, provides evidence that
awareness of ideal standards can adversely affect self-esteem among women, regardless of their
actual body weight and shape (Balcetis, Cole, Chelberg, Alicke, 109). From this perspective,
even if someone has the perfect body their self-esteem is still affected by this standard. For
example, a women might look at a magazine and read the front page that says, Sexy Curves
Now, The Best Weight Loss Advice. Although some might object that it's a woman's choice to
lose weight and apply makeup, I would reply there are so many influential factors that results in
a decision that is not your own. This issue is important because it self-esteem is how a person
values and love themselves.
In the article, Searching Out the Ideal: Awareness of Ideal Body Standards Predicts
Lower Global Self-esteem in Women, Emily Balcetis, Shana Cole, Marie Chelberg and Mark
Alicke analysis how ..female body ideals affect womens global self-esteem (99). The results
of this study is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficulties women face because of

this ideal image. The authors states, Perhaps one of the greatest and most frequent contributors
to body dissatisfaction is awareness of what society and peers believe are the ideal standards for
perfection and beauty(99). Basically, the authors are insisting that it's not only societal pressure
that influences body dissatisfaction but peers as well. Im of two minds about their claim that
contributors for body dissatisfaction are awareness of society and peers beliefs. On the one hand,
I agree that society and peers definitely contribute to body dissatisfaction. On the other hand, I'm
not sure if those are the only two factors that contribute to body discontent. I think parental views
and family history also contribute to body dissatisfaction.
My mom always says If the parents dont get blamed for their childs actions, the mother
surely does! I agree that parents do get blamed for their child's actions, a point that needs
emphasizing since so many people believe the only contributors to women's self-esteem (about
body image) are society and peer pressure. As I look back the first person I looked up to was my
mother and Im sure this is the same for most young girls. However mothers dont realize how
much their actions and words are absorbed by their daughters. Picture this, a 5 year old girl is
watching her mother get dressed in the mirror; the mother looks at herself and says Hhhh Im
so big, I need to lose weight! or I need to get these bags (referring to her eyes) removed. Then
13 years later that little girl is 18 years old and she is getting dressed with her group of friends
looking in the mirror. All of whom are expressing their fears of looking fat or having a big nose.
Has anyone stopped and pondered, why is the global self-esteem in women so low? This is not to
say mothers are at fault, but rather all women should reflect positively on themselves even at a
young age.
The article, Womens Body Image and BMI, A Look at the Evolution of the Female
Figure, goes into the effects of the evolution of female figures. According to Rehabs.com, In

one study, 40% of 6-year-old girls expressed a desire to be thinner. An overwhelming majority of
10-year-old girls - 81% - fear being fat. Half of girls in 5th grade through 12th grade feel that
magazine images made them want to lose weight. If we analyze this data we see as children get
older they want to change themselves more and more. The study shows this ideal image is
affecting girls as young as 6 years old and that is absolutely astonishing. However this ideal
image is also affecting women in their late 20s and above as well.
Self-esteem is not the only thing that is affected by the beauty standard. Even the
workplace is affected by it. Catherine Saint Louis wrote an article about how appearances are
relevant in the workplace called, Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in Hand. In this article she
focuses on the study by Professor Nancy Etcoff. The study, Cosmetics as a Feature of the
Extended Human Phenotype: Modulation of the Perception of Biologically Important Facial
Signals showed how makeup is relevant when it came to attractiveness, likeability,
trustworthiness and even competence. Isnt that crazy? A woman's competence can be measured
by how much makeup is on her face. Too much she looks like a hooker, just the right amount
makes her competent, trustworthy, beautiful, and a likeable woman.

This is utterly appalling to me; it should be every woman's choice when it comes to their
body. I always see memes with pictures of all women types that state, All women need love. If
this is true, why do so many women find themselves on a journey known as the pursuit of
beauty or even want an entire makeover because they dont feel beautiful. On her TedX talk
Amber Starks claims, There is a room in this world for beauty to be diverse. The essence of
Ms. Starks statement is beauty shouldnt be depicted as a few characteristics but it should be a
room filled with all body types, faces and hair types. Ultimately there should be no standard of
beauty or thin ideal.

In her interview Jazmine Sullivan states, Love yourself the way you are...its a constant
struggle, so I dont want to preach something thats unrealistic. In making this comment,
Jazmine Sullivan urges us to love oneself for who you are. Many women now associate their
happiness with beauty. My purpose is to ensure to all women beauty isnt tangible it's within.
However this standard of beauty has even caused conflict within the female community.
The importance of beauty for women has caused hatred within the female community.
What do I mean by hatred? I am referring to remarks regarding a woman's appearance from
another woman. This could be because she is envious, jealous or covetous. For example, a
group of friends are waiting in line at a nightclub, as another female walks by. This female has
long dark hair, a curvy body but is wearing a short, fit dress. The group of girls begin to make
comments such as, She know her butt too big for that dress and why she got all that makeup
on. I urge females instead of hating for unknown reasons, they should uplift and compliment
another woman's beauty.
Since I started this journey, I have come to some conclusions. I look at myself everyday
and I know I am beautiful because Im me. We all have our own beauty not only on the outside
but beauty shines from the inside out. And I want to make my message clear; I am not a beauty
basher (referring to makeup, hair extensions and a dieting). I believe not only should your beauty
radiate out from your core but if a woman chooses to diet, use extensions, buy new clothes or put
on makeup it should be solely their choice with no pressures. Lastly, a women needs to
understand that they have natural beauty and they shouldnt be ashamed to walk outside or to be
seen without makeup. I know I am beautiful bare faced and with my natural hair and so should
every other women.

Work Cited
Balcetis, E., Cole S, Chelberg M. and Alicke M. Searching Out the Ideal: Awareness of Ideal
Body Standards Predicts Lower Global Self-esteem in Women. Self and Identity, 12:1
(2013), 99-113. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Engeln-Maddox, Renee. Buying a Beauty Standard or Dreaming of a New Life? Expectations
Associated With Media Ideals Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30 (2006), 258-266.
Web 27 Mar. 2016.
Saint Louis, Catherine. Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in Hand. Skin Deep. New York Times
12 Oct. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Schmidt, Erica, schmidt693.The Objectification of Women and Misogyny in Hip Hop Music.
Department of Womens, Gender and Sexuality Studies. WordPress.com. Web. 04 Apr.
2016.

Starks, Amber. A New Standard of Beauty. Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube,
TEDxPortland, 16 Jul. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Williams, Brennan. Jazmine Sullivans Refreshingly Real Perspective on Body Image and
Representation. Huffpost Black Voices. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. 23 Mar. 2016.
Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Womens Body Image and BMI, A Look at the Evolution of the Female Figure Over 100
Years. Body Image and BMI. Rehabs.com. 28 Mar. 2016.