The beauty ideal as
described in "Beauty Ideals Can Make You Sick" (208) is an idea that
all women should be thin, lean, tall, young, white and heterosexual with
flawless skin and perfect hair. As far as women of color they should be light
skinned and have the same body type as previously mentioned. TV, the
media, and the beauty industry all promote these beauty ideals that in term
promotes a distorted image of what beauty truly is. This
cycle perpetuates the body and beauty image issues that women are
concern with. Therefore, and because of this nasty cycle consumerism runs
rampant, enabling these companies to portray such images. These ideals for many
are completely ludicrous and unattainable.
Unfortunately, eating
healthy is on average more expensive than the unhealthy option. To fulfill the
beauty ideal it is important to eat healthy nutritious foods. In low-income
communities it is much easier to and economically safer to choose the
unhealthier option. Women who work who would also make dinner for her family do
not have extra time on their hands to prepare the healthiest option for their
families. These same women are sometimes also not only caretakers for their own
children, but in many cases care for other family members. They will prioritize
their outward appearance and become the consumer of makeup, clothing, and hair
products; instead of taking time to exercise. This motivates such industries to
continue to popularize the beauty ideal standards.
At
the culmination of this viscous cycle is overeating. Because these women live
busy, and stressful lives they lean to food for a source of comfort. Drugs and
alcohol are an inappropriate source of comfort and eating seems to be the most
acceptable way to deal with life.
Beauty ideal standards are
so difficult for women to achieve and are not a healthy representation of what
women should be most proud of. These standards add more pressure to the
adolescent stage of girlhood and continue through womanhood. It is important to
remember that true beauty ideals are not cosmetic; they come from the inside.
References:
Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 4th
ed. New York: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Health. McGraw-Hill, 2007.
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