A HEALTHIER FUTURE IN BEAUTY IDEALS 1

Creating a Healthier Future in the Midst of Beauty Ideals

Pamela Vucinich

Seton Hill University

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Beauty is in large a vital aspect of our culture, as we are innately programmed to find

certain attributes attractive. Societal norms can adjust our ideals, in speaking of trends of

hairstyles or clothing, but we will always be drawn to something that is seen as beautiful. They

say that “beauty is the eye of the beholder,” but what is unquestionable is that media pushes us in

a certain direction of what is beautiful and to be desired.

In the Ted Talks video, Dr. Englen speaks on the growing epidemic regarding “Beauty

Sickness.” Messages bombarding our culture speak to the point that beauty is the most important

and most powerful thing a girl or woman can be. Girls grow up hearing that they are pretty, and

their physical attributes are commented on throughout their life by friends, strangers, and later

on, romantic partners. Dr. Englen shares that within her classes of bright, young students, their

“quest for beauty seemed to overrule any other interest or goal that they had.” She shares that

while many women understand that models shown in fashion magazines are statistical outliers, it

does not stop the fact that they are drawn to the what they are seeing in these photo-shopped and

unrealistic images as being the ideal shape or look. Furthermore, women who are shown images

of these ideals have an increase in depression and self-shame, which also lead them to feeling a

decrease of satisfaction in her own body and her own self-esteem. What Dr. Englen points out is

that although the average body weight of both men and women in the world is becoming heavier

than ever, the ideal body image that women are striving for is getting thinner than ever. The

discrepancy in this is that the gap continually is increasing between reality and actuality. What is

also said is that you will actually become an observer of yourself as you internalize other

people’s evaluations of yourself. This statement means that we are accustomed to hold other

people’s opinions about ourselves more highly than our own.

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In the research of Halliwell, the objective was to discover whether a brief video

intervention showing adolescence girls that the media images were artificial in nature could

protect them against any negative effects on body dissatisfaction. The article shares the

staggering statistic that about forty percent of adolescent girls are dissatisfied with their bodies.

(Halliwell, 2011). Researchers find serious concern with this, as body dissatisfaction is

associated with negative self-perception, and more advanced psychological issues, like

depression and eating disorders. Their hypothesis is that, in the absence of any intervention,

exposure to thin media images compared to control images will lead to a decreased state body

satisfaction and state body self-esteem amongst adolescent girls. What the study aimed to gauge

was whether a short intervention that centralized on the idea that what was being seen in media is

fake and not something to be envious of, would in fact reduce the negative effects. Their sample

size consisted of 127 girls between the ages of 10-13 (late elementary/middle school aged girls)

that were selected from two schools in South of England. The girls that were studied were white,

as were the models. Within the no intervention group, body esteem was significantly lower after

viewing the thin models than the control group; however, those participants exposed to the

intervention thought more positively about themselves. It is important to note that the case

demonstrated in teaching the young girls that distorted and photo-shopped images are unrealistic

and not a true representation of beauty. It can be deducted that there was a disruption in the

“social upward social comparisons that many young girls make when viewing idealized media

images.” (Halliwell, 2011). What was found in the research as well is that because the viewers

were able to conclude that the images were not realistic and that they were fake, it was an

“inappropriate comparison target,” meaning that the girls really did not have a reason to feel

down on themselves. Lastly, this article speaks to the point that the study only measured the
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short-term effects of the benefits of the intervention, but it can be assumed that extended

exposure can have a continued positive influence on body image. (Halliwell, 2011). Within the

research of Maddox, this study was designed to see if young college women “would change if

their appearance were consistent with a media-supported female ideal.” (Englen-Maddox, 2006).

Social comparison theory suggests that people internalize media messages and will strive to alter

their appearance to meet unrealistic standards. This study seeks to examine how women

associate with looking like a media ideal and whether these associations are predictive of

appearance-related dissatisfaction. Participants were asked to speak on how their lives would

change if they were to look like a model and how positively they viewed said changes to be.

What the researchers hypothesized was that the tendency to believe that their lives would change

positively in looking like the media ideal. The participants that were selected were 109

undergraduate women from a Midwestern University’s psychology department, and all were

about the age of 18. What they were asked to consider was what the ideal woman would look

like according to the media, and they were given a space to write about this. They were then

given the instruction “to imagine that you look just the woman you just described,” and then to

think about the ways in which you think your life would be different. Thoughts from the

participants included statements such as “I would have more confidence,” “I would have an

easier time getting a job,” and “I would have ease in shopping and picking out clothes.” Some

participants felt that they would care less about school or even be conceited. (Englen-Maddox,

2006). In summary, many felt that with being better-looking, that they would be presented with

better opportunities in life. As researchers predicted, there was a significant association between

the expectations women associated with looking like a media ideal and being satisfied with their

appearance. Internally, many women may seek this ideal because of the psychological rewards
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often linked to it. The assumption from the article is that when you emulate such ideals, you

have a happier and more successful life. (Englen-Maddox, 2006).

Through my experience in working in the cosmetics industry, I am extremely familiar

with the varying types of attitudes towards what is being sold. Some people try to cover up their

natural beauty, seeing mostly a flawed complexion, and others confidently smear loads of

makeup on their already near-perfect faces. Yet, there is a whole other class of people that

believe that they do not need makeup. Despite the negative connotation behind using makeup

and other accessories/tools to aide in altering one’s beauty, there is a lot to be said for enhancing

one’s beauty to feel more outwardly confident and beautiful. External appearance affects how

people treat one another and also how it makes one feel internally. What my hypothesis is is that

makeup makes someone feel better. Outward appearance directly affects internal value and how

one judges themselves. My study would take people that don’t wear makeup and those who do

and interview them in regards to how they feel about their outward appearance. Participants

would be a group of women in a professional office environment between the ages of 25-40

years old. There would not be compensation for their time, but those in the study would get any

of the makeup items that they tried at a discount. Those of course that would not be wearing

makeup for the purpose of the study would still be offered the discount, and both groups would

have access to the knowledge and recommendation of a beauty expert. They would be given a

questionnaire that would ask the women how they view themselves and how they feel at various

times of their day. The group that does not typically wear makeup would be given a crash course

by a makeup professional on certain cosmetics techniques and be asked to proceed through their

typical day while made up. They would then take note of how they feel about themselves, about

how they think others see them with the makeup on, and any potential new interactions they may
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experience as a result of the altered appearance. The group of women whose day typically

involves wearing makeup would then be asked to go a day without or with minimal makeup and

record their findings. Based on the demographic, key social interactions would include, but

would not be limited to, arrival at the office, work meetings, shopping at the grocery store (or

other place of business), eating at a restaurant, and interactions within the home. As a

researcher, I would analyze participant’s recordings and note what attitudes exist afterward.

Messages bombarding our culture are that “beauty is the most important, most powerful

thing a girl or woman can be.” Ultimately, this is a toxic message that should be changed.

Everyone deserves the opportunity in feeling beautiful, but even more, to have their other aspects

about them recognized. Essentially, it is unhealthy to feel the need to meet certain ideals.

Unfortunately, when the “ideal image” is unlike one’s own, there becomes question of self-worth

and internal satisfaction. As Dr. Engleen encourages, there needs to be reform around the topic

of beauty and to “stop telling little girls that they are so pretty, but instead compliment other

attributes, like her persistence or hard-working nature.” Changing the focus on the ideas

surrounding what is important is critical for this to be successful. Shifting the focus in an early

age in children may certainly help, but also, creating campaigns that are creating a message

where everyone is beautiful in their own way.

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References

Halliwell, E., Easun, A., & Harcourt, D. (2011). Body

dissatisfaction: Can a short media literacy message reduce
negative media exposure effects amongst adolescent girls?
British Journal of Health Psychology, 16(2), 396-403.

Engeln-Maddox, R. (2006). Buying a Beauty Standard or

Dreaming of a New Life? Expectations Associated with Media
Ideals. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(3), 258–266.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00294.x