Do you think that women today are placed under pressure by society to obain the impossible 'ideal' beauty?

Answer 1

This has been going on for centuries. In the mid 1800s women had to have full round faces to be attractive but they had to squeeze themselves into tight corsets in order to have tiny waists. There has always been some sort of societal pressure to achieve a certain defined standard of beauty.

Answer 2

Yes, and I think it IS far worse today, because of the media. There was an anthropological study done awhile back in the Polynesian islands. The girls in this culture had a very "positive" and healthy body image...eating disorders were non-existent. When television was introduced, eating disorders increased dramatically, (90210 was a favorite show). Girls who never even THOUGHT about whether or not their figures were acceptable, were suddenly concerned with dieting and losing weight. It is interesting to note that the "physical ideal" of the culture (what was considered beautiful and desirable by the men, etc.) didn't really change, just the self-perception of the young girls and women.

Answer 3

Yes, but what society considers attractive in women does change. Botticelli's beautiful women would be considered far too fat today, as would the women of Rubens.

The Greek and Roman statues of Aphrodite-Venus, goddess of love, beauty and sexuality, in the Getty Villa collection, portray a woman with plenty of poundage.

Cleopatra entranced some of the most outstanding men of her time, yet apparently her beauty was not in her physical appearance but in her mind and her remarkable character, accomplishments and skills and her ability to engage the men in conversation.

Queen Nefertiti is beautiful as portrayed by the bust in the Berlin Museum, the only image we have of her, yet there is a theory that the person portrayed is actually a homosexual male.

The female figure known as "La Parisienne" on ancient pottery recovered from the ruins of Mycenae is beautiful for her remarkable elegance and air of self-confidence more than for her physical features. The discoverers named her in recognition that she would turn eyes today if she were to stroll down the Champs Elysees.

Answer 4

They use 2 be under pressure, now ladies are re-defining beauty. They setting their own standard of beauty. Everyone can not be Barbie and wear a size 2 so they r learning 2 love themselves. once u become comfortable in your own skin, your self-esteem increases. Everyone views of beauty is different, what i consider ugly u may find attractive. So who can really define TRUE beauty. It's n the eye of the beholder. Look at America Top Models they are all very different yet unique in their own way. The key 2 u feeling beautiful is 2 love yourself, being confident and letting your light shine thru.

Answer 5

Women are not pressured by society to look a certain way. Women are free to look however they wish. Women are completely internally motivated to look a certain way - don't blame it on society - it's women pressuring themselves to fit in. The pressure is not external. It's complex, but all truly beautiful women I've met understand that true beauty comes from within and aren't worried about covering themselves with makeup or brand labels.
However, if you look at insecure women, they are the ones conforming to societal standards of beauty--the belly shirts, the latest fad in jewelry, whatever the designers are pumping out. The pressure does not come from society. That's an excuse to cover women's self-given pressure to conform.

Answer 6

Society can try to pressure women so they feel they need certain products, but I think it comes to confidence. I believe, the early messages that a parent(s) give, influence self-image. I was happy with my appearance. I like my curves and hips.

I don't like all this dieting women do....it is a simple matter of eating less and moving more...and watching emotional triggers..but companies capatilize on making it some complicated formula and targeting insecurities.

Beauty comes from being happy with yourself spiritually and physically as a matter of health and not conforming for the sake of it.

Answer 7

attractive people and thin people make more money- so that is a bit of a pressure... but tall men make more than short men so it goes both ways. Other than that I think women put most of the pressure on themselves or each other. If you aren't medically obese or very disfigured most men are pretty much happy with the way you look. Women will put each other down for physical appearance especially when they are young and I think that stays with with people into adulthood.
As for magazines and eating disorders... i think that has to do more with chemical imabalances and emotional trauma. Judging from the experiences of the people I know with eating disorders it really has nothing to do with appearance.
I don't think the media showing people that are beautiful is a new thing.
I think the fact that people put so much weight on that part of their life is the problem. We aren't all insanely beautiful! but there are other parts of us that are strong and the fact that they'll never be a supermodel shouldn't bother people the way it does.

Answer 8

If she thinks (or is brainwashed) that she's only an object then yes. This will result in her using her looks for career, family, and friends. Should she have it, she can cause serious damage to herself and those she encounters. Beauty is a responsibility and not a freedom.

I look at Tyra Banks, who for the most part has intentions to help others, but her gift of beauty has confused her major. Sure she does TV talk shows about fixing young woman's images, but then on "Next Top Model" she asks the contestants to pose as dead lingerie models as a contest ... WTF??? She wants to promote rape, killing, and necrophilia in a society already drownding in sex & violence? Isn't "Top Model" a show by women 4 women --- WTF!!! Okay, this is one incident, but none the less, it shows how twisted her (Tyra) being neck deep in the industry (objectification) can get distorted intentions which may be permanant.

It's not all bad to want to be beautiful, but we all (men & women) could do better by searching for more postitive intangible goals in life.

Answer 9

There is less pressure to look like one particular standard of beauty - today there seems to be a choice a a few body types that are considered beautiful - but beauty and appearance is still over-emphasized.
Just look at how much advertising there is for weight loss products and services, cosmetics and cosmetic surgery -- and the vast majority of it is targeting women.

And even with a wider view of what beauty is, women are still criticized harshly if their appearace falls outside of what is considered "acceptable."

When was the last time you heard anyone comment on Dick Cheney's or Steve Forbes' appearance?

Answer 10

Yeah to an extent. I think a lot of it depends on who you are though. I'm 22 and still a tomboy.. always have been. When I was young, my mum tried desperately to get me to dress really girly, wearing makeup and stuff. The more she crammed that stuff in my face the more I rejected the whole feminine, perfect, girly girl image. I'm not a lesbian, and my guy loves the way I dress cause I stand out from the crowd and havn't given in to the lure of media and my perfect peers.

Don't be afraid to be different!