The Beauty Myth

The beauty image

Humans seem to be obsessed with beauty, at least in our western culture. Thousands of advertisements are created and put into publication everyday and then distributed to communities all over the world. As we flip through our magazines and newspapers, turn on the TV, or glance at the billboards high above us, we can't help being influenced by what we see. Advertisements can be successful at selling their product to their audience by manipulating the consumers' fears. Advertising surrounds us and creates a world that we only wish existed. They focus on sending out a message that informs women what they need to do in order to become accepted by society. We will never see an ad that is labeled the perfect woman or man because if society gives us evidence that such as person or image is real, it can be easily manipulated and their role as the decision maker of beauty is now questioned.

I saw an advertisement on television for Dove; it showed four pictures of women who can be seen as wouldn't necessarily be viewed as beautiful according to society. This advertisement uses these four women and to try to persuade us that each of them are beautiful in their own way. This ad is very false in nature, due to the fact that none of these women were ever used prior to this to represent any of their products. When I first viewed this ad, it appeared that they had come to the realization that true beauty comes within, and that you don't need a beauty product to help you see what's already there. After reading this analysis you will learn the conclusion that was drawn out from this advertisement.

In her book, the beauty myth, Naomi wolf "argues that the purpose of the images, and the entire idea of "beauty", is to control women (Wolf 10). She shows us that the increased pressure of the female beauty ideals has lead to an overwhelming power, and says the power of these ideals is making women self-conscious and vulnerable to critic, because looks matter more than personalities.

"Since middle class women can best be weakened psychologically

[...] the beauty myth [...] has had to draw on more technological sophistication than ever before. The modern arsenal of the myth is a dissemination of millions of images of the current ideal (Wolf 16)."

She argues that these images are in fact motivated by the fears of the economic, male establishment, whose system is based on underpayment of women, and therefore need women to feel insecure and worthless. That's why we see millions of advertisements selling products with a different image every time you pick up a magazine. This is done so that you can never be at the top of you game, mentally or physically. Sure, you can pick and choose what suits you but the world of fashion and beauty are dynamic, and with the emergence and popularity of cosmetic and plastic surgery, and you'll never succeed, keeping women constantly dissatisfied with their appearance.

The disappointment women with their bodies, along with the world of advertisement whose job is to supply them with a constant reminder that are not beautiful; can lead to serious medical conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, severe depression, and anxiety, resulting in psychiatric treatments, counseling, and strenuous medication regimens. The concept of the "beauty role" proposed by Diane Barthel in her book, Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising tells us that the idea of beauty is something that is presented as early as "en vitro," throughout our life, and surprisingly post mortem, as relatives try to describe you. "The beauty role- the importance of appearing attractive in public, of maintaining standards, of encouraging male attention- becomes a central preoccupation for girls and remains a concern for women for much of their lives, if not all their lives. (Barthel) " This seems to imply that girls are good at being pretty or should want to mimic the images in the