Beauty Myth Essay, Research Paper

My Beliefs on the Beauty Myth

In today’s society it seems as though women are forced into being something that they are not. Women see pictures in magazines such as this advertisement I have attached to this paper, and they think to be accepted by everyone else they need to look like “that.” I believe that some of the feelings from “The Beauty Myth” are still true in today’s society, but on the other hand I believe that it should not have to be this way. I believe that women’s feeling that they have to look like something they are not are brought on by advertisements like this one and many other things.

Many women go through life trying to make themselves something they are not by means of expensive surgery, expensive clothes and makeup, expensive hairstyles, etc. Certain aspects from this advertisement that I have chosen show exactly why there is a problem with today’s society. This is a picture of a very attractive, thin gorgeous looking girl posing for Tommy Girl perfume. I think there is a problem in the way this company is advertising this product. It is basically implying that if you wear this perfume you will look and feel like this. It also implies that only beautiful women, like the one in the picture, are capable of wearing this perfume. I think it is wrong because it causes innocent beautiful, innocent young and older women to lower their self-esteem. They see a picture like this and wish they looked like the girl in the picture when in all reality they are beautiful themselves.

This advertisement appears in a women’s magazine which also has many other pictures and advertisements which are very similar to this one. I can recall one similar article, which actually had the line “Don’t you wish you looked like her?” I believe it was for a makeup ad and it had a picture of a beautiful woman on it with a huge smile. Honestly I believe that that is taking it a bit too far. It causes girls and women to believe false thoughts about themselves and could easily make them depressed about the way they look. This should not have to be a worry in our society today. I believe that the ad I have chosen stands out a lot because of the beautiful, young woman “selling” the women’s perfume. This company could have easily made an advertisement without having to sell it with a beautiful, just about flawless face.

I think that it is somewhat ridiculous that pictures like this cause women to feel bad about themselves because they do not look like that. It shouldn’t have to be that way today. Many years ago women had to look and act a certain way in order to be accepted by society. These standards are not as present in today’s society but they still exist because of advertisements like this one and many other things that showoff beautiful women. All of these things cause women to attempt to transform into something they are not. I wish that all women could just look at themselves and know that they are beautiful. My friend, Laura, is a beautiful girl, but she does not feel that she is. It could be because of advertisements like the one I have chosen or from people on television that are depicted as beautiful. Either way I do not think it should be a matter because everyone will find someone that is right for him or her whether or not they try to change themselves. Maybe it is just because I do not totally understand the female mind, I probably never will, but if women could just see themselves as beautiful without having to change who they are, then I believe that the world would be a much better place.