There comes a time and everyone’s life where they ask the question “am I really beautiful?” How do we answer that? What do we compare it to? Well according to society beauty is flawlessness. According to Merriam Webster can be defined as “the quality of being physically attractive.” This raises many questions because it leaves us wondering “according to whom?” One thing that bothered me is when I Googled images of beauty the women that came up were all flawless and a lot of the pictures consisted of make-up brushes, lipstick, etc.Society has this misconception of beauty and being flawless is a requirement. When in reality, nobody is flawless. And I don’t understand what make-up has to do with beauty? Why would society want you to cover your flaws instead of accepting them if we as a society knows that nobody is perfect? It makes it hard for women young and old to be comfortable with their appearance with the pressure of society telling you to be flawless. We turn to the media to help us understand beauty which is a mistake. The media only shows perfection. You won’t see somebody on the cover of a magazine with acne. Only time you see that is on commercials telling you how to get rid of it. You won’t see nappy hair, you’ll see weave. You won’t see natural eyes, you’ll see contacts. Even down to the skin tone. You won’t see pale, you’ll see an air brushed tan. And these things are becoming so popular they’re being sold to the public. Does everybody sincerely want to be perfect or is society pressuring you to do so? I blame society! I blame society for insecurities and the need to look like those superficial women they see on the shelves at Walmart. Society needs to change their perception of beauty and start accepting people for who they are and what they look like instead of the cosmetics they use. It’s becoming such an issue that girls won’t even check the mail without spending two hours in the mirror trying to look perfect. Young girls in middle and elementary school are already indulging in cosmetics. This is an issue in society. If children are being made fun of so bad that they feel like they must put a mask on to cover their actual appearance then a change needs to be made. This is not to say that every female that wears makeup is insecure. However, knowing that you are more attractive with the makeup gives you the urge to wear it. I say EXPOSE! Expose all the models, actresses, entertainers and anybody else that is helping define beauty as being flawless. We as a society need to accept the truth and a “non-cosmetic” spread in a magazine may be what these young girls need so they know the truth.
by: Nicole Peck
Intro to Women's Studies (WMST 2010) 