You Are Beautiful
 
 The Media’s Impact on the Social Perception of Beauty in America

By: Naqeeb Stevens

Images have profound effects on people’s beliefs, perceptions and understanding of the world around them. Often the images received by the masses of the public do not depict reality truthfully. They are often bias and manipulated as well as layered with hidden meaning. Deception of reality can be detrimental as one tries to define his or her own sense of person. Currently, we live in a world reliant on the media. Media provides people with information and news about countries and cultures all around the world. The media also plays a vital role in our economy through commercialism. One aspect of commercialism is advertisement, which entails “getting one’s message noticed among the thousands of promotion messages and other data people are flooded with everyday” (Reichart 22)¹. People are affected greatly by what the media presents because of it is ubiquity in society. Sometimes in order to effectively sell a product, advertisers manipulate images to make them seem more appealing. Two key tools of advertisement are sex and the idea of beauty. Beauty is a forever changing idea. As the Illustrated Oxford dictionary defines, beauty is a combination of qualities that pleases the aesthetic senses. In every aspect of the media and commercialism beauty is constantly manipulated, illustrated and produced. Currently society obsesses with material. This obsession has led to a materialistic trend in which people define themselves by their possessions, which are only superficial. Is beauty more than skin deep? From looking at the current advertisements shown in magazine, newspapers, and television one may conclude that it is not. The term beautiful has come to loosely mean attractive or in style by companies for the sake of making profit. Media and commercialism prostitutes the concept of beauty.  

            Beauty has no standard. However currently, due to commercial influence there is certain qualities people associate with beauty. Those qualities derive from “the continued cultural and communal conditioning we receive every day of our lives that physical beauty does have a standard…it is in our newspapers, on our television, in our motion picture houses, on our advertising billboards…[and] in our daily interaction with our fellow human beings”(Beauty 2)². Through all of these interventions we have become accustomed to think in a restrictive manner. The idea of _expression through physical appearance has now become altered by the emphasis on enhancements and the profound effect media and commercialism has on the human body. Enhancers did not aid physical appearance. “Greek sculpture did not idealize an abstract body, but rather sought an ideal Beauty through a synthesis of living bodies, a synthesis that became the vehicle for _expression of a psychophysical Beauty that harmonized body and soul” (Eco 45) ³. Then beauty was not affected by commercialization. Currently the social belief in what is beautiful is based on an overall opinion and not of the individual. This is an effect of social conditioning. We have a small ability “of refuting this overwhelming tidal wave of conditioning” (Beauty 2)⁴.

It is evident that images play a key role in the world and its development not only of a society but also of a people. People receive many images, “some of the most powerful images in documentary history … [which may be] photographic and cinematic images of war, poverty, and disease. Are they beautiful or ugly, these images? Or are they beyond standards of beauty and ugliness? ...What is our relationship to the images, and to the experience behind them?”(Halprin 264)⁵.  Standards are developed in an attempt to establish formality. Establishing formality in an idea as aesthetic as beauty is impossible. There can never be one model. The bombardment of images is creating a sense of social normality. The connection one gets “when… see[ing] these kinds of commercials…they make you think that’s the normal, that it’s normal to have these kinds of feelings. And it’s normal to expect to have a beer commercial with beautiful women in it. Basically, what’s normal-kind of like a mass consent thing (Art, 30)” (Shields 71)⁶. If people constantly see a certain thing it will become common to them.

 The only individual idea people have is preference. “If we accept the premise that we are all individually physically unique, where even identical twins of the same sex have some slight difference…then where is the standard against which we measure physical beauty…we can [only] say we prefer [different qualities]”(Beauty 1)⁷. In essence, a standard is merely a guideline or a trend produced through social conditioning. It is impossible to clearly define what is beautiful and what is ugly. One “might say that both ugliness and beauty are matters of mass hypnosis” (Halprin 187)⁸.

Prostitution denotes the use of a certain idea for corrupt practices.

An aspect this prostitution is American obsession over material wealth. Through material, and money American society believes that it can attain anything. That idea is true to a certain extent. Because of today’s society money can one almost anything. Money can buy one looks and money can make one beautiful, at least from the commercial perspective.

The nature of popular culture has helped to demoralize beauty. “Perhaps popular culture is inevitably vulgar but today’s is more vulgar at any time in the past” (Shea124)⁹. Out of this demoralization due to vulgarity beauty became association with another idea; materialism. One aspect of beauty is physical attractiveness. People want to enhance their features to become more beautiful or achieve the look of models and movie stars, who themselves have probably done the same thing. At the core of that is the idea that money can in fact buy you beauty, because it has almost become tangible. Madonna was correct in her song Material Girl which includes lyrics that say “Living in a material world and I am a material girl. You know that we are living in a material world. And I am a material girl” (Brown)¹⁰. That describes pop culture. Although the song debuted in 1984 it still has relevance in today’s popular culture. Just as Madonna defined herself as a “material girl” we have become a material society.  Without a doubt the clothes and other material objects advertised by models, do help glorify the beauty of the human figure but at the same time the body is only a prop to sell the product. In that sense beauty is being prostituted to attract money. Although the physical aspects of the body are highlighted are considered beautiful, they are not all the time natural.  In order “to market…[beauty] products advertisers unearthed a need they exploited as best they know how- the need to be attractive and loved”(Reichart 82-3)¹¹.

Commercialism plays on popular culture and imitates it in order to sell products. People “wear jeans or designer clothes and wear their hair or make up according to the model of Beauty offered by glossy magazines, the cinema, or television- in other words by the mass media. These people follow the ideas of beauty as suggested by the world of commercial consumption” (Eco 418)¹². We as a society seem to rely upon the widespread acceptance of an idea instead of being our own person. When wearing the clothes one sees advertised and fitting perfectly on this model, one can assume that he or she too can achieve this state of being. Magazine “readers themselves are often ambivalent about the pleasure mixed up with anxiety that they provide.” I buy them”, a young women told me…They give me a weird mixture of anticipation and dread, a sort of stirred-up euphoria. Yes! Wow! I can be better starting from right this minute! Look at Her! Look at her!” (Wolf 62)¹³.

Due to the association with material the idea of beauty is being diminished. Society tends to be drawn so much towards definition through material “because there is such an emphasis on the production of beauty…bodies are sculpted by exercise and draped with clothing” (Halprin 257) ¹⁴. I would like to reiterate the idea of “production of beauty”. Currently we as a society can produce anything. But the idea of production suggests that anyone can acquire this state of beauty, which is true because aside from everything every person has a unique beauty of his or her own. Produce leads one to believe that with some material or change one can achieve it. Leading people to believe that with material they can become that type of being, society’s beautiful, commercial beauty. If it can be produced then it can be attained. In that, the media and consumerism is diminishing the idea of real beauty by adding layers of commercialization and artificiality and indirectly telling people that with one product they too can be what they see and what is praised. It is nothing more than a tool to make money. There is nothing wrong with making money but the problem occurs when an entire society has become obsessed with something fake.

Society’s lack individuality is caused by the ever growing connection with media and everyday life. The media is creating “a growing web of related icons in which cultural ideas and ideals are gendered, communicated, and preserved” (Kitch 191)¹⁵. It is indirectly perpetuating a cycle unrecognized by society.

Due to a desire to be attractive, from the current social perspective and assumed standard some people feel a constant need to measure up. It is natural and apart of life to feel a sense of lo love and self acceptance.  Women especially in “this society…carry... a ready checklist of body attributes that… [they] feel are society’s ideal of beauty. This idea was based on “discussions of body cropping in terms of men’s definitions of what is attractive. These responses suggest that advertisers supply the public with a male vision of beauty, centered on the perfection of individual body parts and virtually nothing else” (Shields 44)¹⁶. This suggests that the exterior is the most important feature. It is the most persuasive. The excess we have seems to determine who we are.  We as a culture look to the images in magazines, on billboards, on television to provide us with entertainment. It goes unknown that the images we receive are actually conditioning our minds to formulate and think according to a standard. There is a saying that “clothes don’t make the man, the man makes the clothes”. However, it appears as though the clothes are actually making the people. It is making them spend money, and worse define themselves by the brand and mental association of self worth and beauty.

The commercial idea of beauty is all based on the superficial. People forget that the images of beauty that the Media portrays are merely creations in order to sell a product. It is evident that “beauty and good looks turn people on, and advertisers have known that for a long time and that attractive models draw attention…advertisers also know that attractive models serve as an implicit argument to buy the brand: Good-looking people use the brand , so the brand will make you good looking”(Reichart 34)¹⁷. Everyone wants to achieve a certain look. Unfortunately, the “look” people want to achieve comes at a high cost. It is not without strain and struggle that people go through in order to achieve “the look”. We base our feelings of beauty on the social ideals. Due to those standards, we constantly try to emulate match that. Theory states that it is human nature to compare oneself to another and that social structural factors influence which referents will be chosen(Milkie199)¹⁸.

The most important goal in advertising is to sell. If women are the targets, perhaps skin is shown to reveal the brands beauty enhancing benefits. It is natural and importation to have nice skin by at the center of the advertisement is the use off beauty as a lure for profit. Essentially companies are saying that beauty can be bought. Because of its prominence and importance in society, the media is shaping people’s minds to believe that what is being shown is the definite truth. One woman observed an advertised woman’s figure as “society’s ideal because of the appealing curves … [and] her breasts… stuck out… [but came to conclude that] no [real] women would stand like this” (Shields 44)¹⁹.  The woman’s conclusion suggests that at least within our society there is some recognition of a distortion of reality. Constantly people obsess over their figure. They want to look better. People want to lose weight. The reason they are so overweight is because of overindulgence and lack of self-control when eating and monitoring their diet. Not only are dieticians saying

that obesity is unhealthy but media is saying that it is unattractive. Regardless if it is or is not, the bottom line is the profound influence in the media.  In fact, there are new scientific drugs made in order to enhance ones features. One of which is botox, which helps decrease aging in the face. Cosmetic surgery is at its highest interest. Advertisements for lipo-suction, breast enhancements, and tummy tucks flood the daily air-waves, newspapers and magazines. It appears that commercially, how one looks defines his or her beauty. Is this health consciousness or obsession? Beauty, although a definition not intentionally defined by corporations is being manifested in the minds of society because of the media’s profound influence. Women’s beauty in the media is based on two aspects: face and figure because the media seems to set the standard of beauty “women spend great sums of money…to emulate the flawless faces on magazine covers and movie posters” (Halprin 257)²⁰. It is not wrong to adore what one considers great. However, altering the body because beauty is socially defined by those people is wrong. Another reason for this is the importance and involvement sex has become. Beauty goes hand in hand with sex in advertisement. Sex further demoralizes beauty.

Sex itself is a persuasive device used to lure people. It attracts attention. Sexuality is one of the most recognizable traits of today’s media. People constantly want to be sexy or become sexier. Like beauty the media uses sex to turn a profit. Beauty is irrelevant in commercial sex. Sex sells and that’s the bottom line. The issue of sex is deep rooted in American culture. Conflicting ideas date back into puritan society, “but it appears…that the essential thing is not this economic factor, but rather the existence in our era of a discourse in which sex, the revelation of truth, the over turning of global laws, the proclamation of a new day to come, and the promise of a certain felicity are linked together” (Foucault 7)²¹. Sex is grabbing and rebellious. Advertisement realized what great affect sex has on attracting attention so companies capitalized on it. Unfortunately, while sex is helping companies make money, which is ultimately helping the economy; it is demeaning the idea of beauty and people’s perception of it. Companies seek to fulfill human desires such as the desires such as “more romance and intimacy… [and qualities] to attract beautiful people” (Reichart 22)²². One way to have those desires is to “just pull out your pocket book” (Reichart 22)²³.  There is a connection between money and beauty. At the root of it all is capitalism. Money is the driving force and in order to get money t some things must be sacrificed and used. Sex sells beauty. Everyone wants to be beautiful its part of life. Unfortunately people associate their beauty with the ideals and values proposed by the mass media, commercialism and advertisements.

People are misinformed through commercialism that what is shown; the physical depiction of beauty solely based on the appearance and material is its definite form. One person concluded from an advertisement: “She is blonde, she’s got big boobs, skinny arms, skinny stomach, I mean she is build perfectly as far as what men like in women….She is very beautiful. She is society’s ideal. She sells top products so she must be society’s ideal” (Shields 44)²⁴. Is it true that what sells the most must be the best? With that in mind, the idea of beauty at least commercially rests only within the material one has. This results in social conditioning to believe that the idea is true. It is evident in today’s society how we people obsess over our looks. It is natural to see beauty in the physical form, but what we as a society now have become obsessed with is how we can alter and manipulate ourselves to fit a standard created by the media, in their efforts to sell a product. It is natural part of the Darwinian idea of “survival of the fittest”, in this case survival of the prettiest of both men and women. Some of these images may even help people gain a sense of self-confidence. Certainly “sex in advertising doesn’t always promise to make consumers sexual magnets or reapers of sexual pleasures; it can offer consumers the opportunity to feel better about themselves” (Reichert 38)²⁵. Appearance although many would disagree in efforts not to appear shallow plays a large role in society.

Sex just like materialism and the obsession with material displayed to the public eye as a capitalistic tool is conditioning the minds of the viewers to believe beauty is what is being shown. In essence it is creating a definition. A definition, which I have stated before has no foundation but mere commercialism.  Within sex which is overly commercialized, we see beauty but is sexy beautiful? It appears as though there are two different levels of reality and consciousness that we as a society must become aware. First is the level of the media, which is determined to help companies advertise and at any rate sell a product. The second level is the reality issue. Distortion of reality goes farther than just the idea of beauty but also exists in the idea of politics. Reality is not on television. Reality is everyday life. Society is being spoon fed beliefs produced by the media. The third level is complete propaganda. If one believes that what is shown is real then they will forever be stuck. Beauty is the easiest example to illustrate this, as I have mentioned before about standards and people who attempt to live up to standards. The media portrays unrealistic images of considered beauty creating a standard many try to live up to. The obsession with looks shows that we believe beauty exists in the material and if desired, falsely, can be attained through superficial alteration. Our society has become so obsessed with commercial and material that even an idea such as beauty is now a victim. What happed to the sate of beauty that did not exist in such a commercial form? It appears as though it has died or become overshadowed by the dark cloud of commercialism, materialism and obsession with artificialities.

Coupled with beauty is the idea of ugliness and the unattractiveness. For everything positive there must be some sort of negative. The media plays on the idea of ugly as a contrast to beauty to make profit. First, realize that this comparison of beauty versus ugly exist more than just in advertisement but in everyday life. Ugliness repels us where as beauty attracts us. Like beauty, the definition is somewhat of a mass consent although, ugly is more based on personal preference; likes and dislikes. Beauty involves like ugliness “the willingness to identify with … appearance over time” (Halprin187)²⁶. The media can’t define what is beautiful and what is ugly. It can only provide images and ideas to the public. The people must make a decision themselves as to what to think and believe. That decision is being made unconsciously. We don’t decide what is beautiful instead we rely on the media and opinions of others to dictate it for us. Media plays on human’s natural desire to be accepted and content. It utilizes beauty and ugliness negatively because it “is as much of a challenge as any other difference from mainstream values…ugliness is entirely a subjective judgment, based on a consensus by those who observe, whether they are external judges or internal”(Halprin187)²⁷. With this idea of superficial, materialism, standards and aura of popular culture propelled and backed by the media, people’s perception of who they are is diminished.  The problem occurs when you have an entire society brainwashed and conforming to one idea of beauty, which is commercial. What about non-commercial? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Many people who do not have the look or posses the specific objects the media has deemed to distinguish beautiful are still beautiful. Our society is headed down a road of mass conformity.

This idea of beauty illustrates social conformity in America. It is not the same in other countries where the media is not as defining in cultural and traditional beliefs. I say the media is prostituting beauty because in fact it is being used. To prostitute means to corrupt through with unworthy purposes. Beauty once used to be seen through nature, but because it does not turn a profit in our capitalistic society it is irrelevant and dismissed. Once, “beauty was a quality that could be possessed by natural things (such as moonlight, a fine fruit, a beautiful color” (Eco 10)²⁸, now it seems that it does not exist as such.  America relies on commercialism to depict beauty. There are different levels: physical and intangible. It would be wrong of me to say beauty doesn’t reside within the physical because to an extent it does.

            There are many people who cannot afford the material objects that seem to define beauty. Some people cannot afford to have plastic surgery. Often this obsession over the superficial can cause harm to the body. It is evident that these images of beauty, as depicted through the figure of women are a main cause in teenage anorexia. So is this beauty? Why do we believe something that is so detrimental? Women who appear to be most affected and used by the media stand out in the numbers of anorexia. According to some magazines “90 to 95 percent of anorexics and bulimics are women… [and] America has the greatest number” (Wolf 181)²⁹. But where has this epidemic developed? People do have to the ability to make their own mind and live healthy. One might say it is possible to resist. But living in a society based on such aspects as materialism and the superficial which has been ingrained into “popular culture” it is hard not to be affected. Skinny became beautiful. It became commercially appealing as Vogue magazine introduced a model nicknamed Twiggy, who had “legs… [that looked] as though she ha[d] not had enough milk as a baby” (Wolf 184-5)³⁰. When this “new beauty” was introduced to the public by the media people, women in particular strived to emulate it. This clearly shows the profound effect commercialism has on a society.  This commercialized beauty is nothing real. How can beauty be so limited especially when it “has never been absolute and immutable but has taken on different aspects depending on the historical period of the country: and this does not hold only for physical beauty”(Eco 14)³¹. Association of beauty has led to conformity. It shows how malleable the minds of members of our American society are. We believe everything and base our beliefs on what is shown.

It takes a sense of self realization to resist the constant media output, telling people to buy this clothing or change clothes so that they will achieve the state of beauty as seen on television. Society will, through “understanding… [the relationship between beauty and ugliness be able to] play with these culturally assigned roles and transcend the stereotypes [created and perpetuated by the media]” (Halprin 10)³². If you consider something beautiful, then it is. If one considers something ugly then it is. The media is only concerned with making money. People need to resist. If society does not break free from the mindset that the media defines beauty, we will forever be slaves to the time. Beauty can exist in everything and should not be based on what the media defines it to be.

I merely want to point out that the direction our American culture is taking regarding appearance and attractiveness, and definition of beauty. The basis of commercialism and consumerism is not real. It is just a ploy to sell products and make money. We as a society must transcend and promote situations of self-realization and self-affirmation. You are beautiful. We as a people are beautiful. Do other countries suffer from the same sort of social conditioning or does it only exist in America? The land of the free has turned into the land of the confused and the manipulated. Everything that seemed sacred of intangible has now become commoditized and associated with money. Advertising elicits a notion to buy a product and should not be definitive of a social belief. The media has in fact and will continue to prostitute beauty and other aesthetics for its needs, but we as a society do not have to take the bait. I would like to conclude by proposing a question of morality to help find a reason and alternative for this social epidemic. If in fact we are all human beings, why play on each other’s own sense of self and being to turn a profit that will not matter at the end of time.