Accepting Flaws As A New Beauty Standards In Todays Society

Human nature includes a desire to be attractive, and historically much of the fine arts are
depictions of human beauty. Much time, money and emotional energy are spent in improving
our appearance to reach a goal of beauty. People feel better about themselves when they think
they are attractive to others. We devote portions of our brains to evaluating characteristics of
attractiveness that are remarkably similar among cultures. Our bodies are shaped not only for
function but also to match the image of attractiveness to others.
The simple answer that “beauty is for attracting mates” is no longer sufficient to explain
the wealth of data on human preferences for beauty. Attractiveness is part of our status ranking
among our same-sex peers, and we actively deceive others and ourselves about our personal
appearance.
This review is crafted to place the study of personal appearance and beauty in the
context of evolutionary biology. This theoretical framework best explains the quirkiness,
universality and unexpected behaviors of people striving to be attractive and seeking out
beautiful people.

Beauty ideals are heavily implemented within our society, especially within the media
telling us how we're all supposed to look. Due to beauty ideals many women often end up being
dissatisfied with what they see in the mirror. As an effort to meet these beauty ideals, women
change their appearance in various ways. Some practices are more drastic than others. While
some of the less drastic ways are simply changing their clothes, hair, and applying makeup. Now
some women resort to using a number of dietary methods, exercising, and opt into getting
surgery.
There is a good evolutionary reason why we place so much value on appearance. Looks have
always been a reasonable guide to what is good and bad for us. When analyzing fruit, brown
spots and wrinkled skin give us the indication that the fruit is bad. A bright green color tells us
that the fruit is not ripe. It is through these type of general observations that we have developed
such an importance towards appearance. Instantly, we look towards external characteristics to
gain a better understanding of the internal. We have heard the cliché of “not judging a book by
its cover” but attractive books certainly attract more readers.

There is no doubt that being attractive results in a higher self-esteem and greater
potential for success in the future. Attractive children are known to receive more attention from
teachers. Positive school experiences are known to enhance a child’s self-esteem. This gives
them an edge over their peers and it continues well into their future. “This notion extends
throughout the preparatory years good grades and strong bonds with teachers are translated
into acceptances at better schools and, later, may result in winning higher-paying jobs” (Romm,
1). This is obviously a basis for discrimination. Moreover, attractiveness is linked with the notion
of higher social status in comparison to someone of lesser appeal. “Studies show that people
assume that an attractive person comes from an upper social stratum and that a less appealing
person does not” (Romm, 1).

Even being treated the way beautiful people are treated can cause some changes in
behavior. “Psychologists set up a study in which women and men talked on the phone for ten
minutes. During this time the men were told to try to get to know the women. Each man had
been given a Polaroid snapshot of the woman they were supposed to be talking with. In their
mind’s eye, the phone companion was beautiful or ugly. In fact, all men were talking to the same
woman” (Etcoff, 1). The really interesting part of the whole experiment was that the woman
became more animated and confident in conversations with men who believed her to be
beautiful.

It is to no surprise that naturally beautiful women obtain a form of power they never
have to work for. On the other hand, “many women of average appearance are said to be
ambitious; clambering up the ladder of success toward leading positions in business, medicine,
law, politics or education. They are expected to, and would not feel completely confident in their
workplace without at least trying to be attractive” (Hancock, 000). This is why the fashion and
cosmetics industries have been booming since the 10s. Still, the woman of normal appearance
secretly hates naturally beautiful women who seem to get to take the easy road. Simply put,
attractive people are given better treatment in general. To illustrate this point, psychologists at
the University of Rochester proposed that an attractive student would influence how others
evaluated her work. To prove their point, they prepared two essays on the role of television in
society. One essay was well written, while the other one was disorganized and simplistic. The
researchers made thirty copies of each essay and attached pictures of the supposed authors to
some of them. For each essay, ten copies had a picture of an attractive woman attached, ten
had a picture of an unattractive woman attached, and ten had no picture attached. Sixty male
undergraduates then rated the essays for creativity, style and general quality. They also
speculated about the author’s intelligence, talent and sensitivity. Not surprisingly, the results
favored the attractive authors. “The well-written essays, ascribed to a writer of either good or
poor looks, were rated high. However, the weaker essays were ranked high only if the author
was assumed to be attractive” (Romm, 1). The study concluded that although ugliness can be
overlooked if performance is impressive, when performance slips below par, attractiveness
matters. “Perhaps because attractive people are expected to do well or are better liked, they
more often are given the benefit of the doubt when performance is substandard” (Romm, 1).

One of society’s faults is our tendency to judge the characteristics of beauty separately,
as inner (character) and outer (looks). Susan Sontag wrote about the views of the Greeks in
distinguishing a person’s inside and outside. She explains, “the well-born young Athenians who
gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent, so brave,
so honourable, so seductive, and so ugly” (Luciano, 001). The Greeks view of Socrates directly
relates to our own view of women. We are so set on certain standards of inner and outer
beauty, we become surprised when a woman is actually beautiful and intelligent. Sontag
explains that it was Socrates intention to appear ugly so he could teach his good-looking
disciples how full of paradoxes life really was. This lesson must still continue to be taught today.
Beauty can appear in any normal, unattractive, or intelligent person.

As women remain in a cycle of imperfection, always searching for methods of

correction, society continues to place more pressures on them. Through the media outlets, we
have fallen into the trap of manipulating the human form. Artists paint pictures that leave out
flaws. Photographs are airbrushed to eliminate what is undesirable to the eye. Body doubles are
used in films. “Specialty models,” which center on perfect body parts, model only those parts, for
they are not perfect for modeling the rest of their bodies. When we see any sort of imperfection
on the human body we instantly criticize, wishing to fix what is “wrong.” This results in the
feeling of losing control, of constantly attempting and failing to achieve an impossible standard.

Advertisers often emphasize sexuality and the importance of physical attractiveness in

an attempt to sell products, but researchers are concerned that this places incredible pressure
on women to focus on their appearance. “Advertising images have also been recently accused
of setting unrealistic ideals for women as they risk their health to achieve the media standard”
(Woznicki, 000). “Only % of commercials have a direct statement about beauty, but many more
implicitly emphasize the importance of beauty - particularly those that target women and girls”
(Holzgang, 000). This constant exposure to “ideal beauty” advertisements may influence women
to become self-conscious about their bodies and to obsess over their physical appearance as a
measure of their worth. Some researchers believe that advertisers purposely normalize
unrealistically thin bodies, in order to create an unattainable desire that can drive product
consumption. Paul Hamburg, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
writes “By reproducing ideals that are absurdly out of line with what real bodies really do look
like, the media perpetuates a market for frustration and disappointment. Its customers will never
disappear” (Holzgang, 000). Through a constant bombardment of media images and unrealistic
goals of achieving beauty, it is no surprise that women drive to look beautiful. Attractiveness is
seen as a cultural norm and can have many positive effects for an individual that is considered
beautiful.

Beauty is an advantage in all realms of life. It is important to realize the magnitude of this
advantage. Social psychologists have found that attractiveness has an impact in many areas,
including business choices, romance, education, to name a few. Beauty has the power to imply
qualities such as goodness, sanity, and success that a person may not otherwise possess.
There is a definite relationship between our outer appearance, the development of our social
traits, and an observers response. Thus, the body image shapes one’s behavior, alters
perceptions of the self and others, and defines our feeling of worth and value in the world. The
social benefits of attractiveness have created a bias to those who are deemed “beautiful”
throughout history. Beauty assists in the selection of a mate, a higher self-esteem, superior
education thus leading to a better occupation, a social dominance, and a greater chance at
opportunity in general. Beauty is said to be “skin deep,” however, in today’s society, it is a great
factor in the quality of life.
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 UKAY UKAY AS A NEW FASHION TREND
Fashion designers and brands all over the world feature their latest collections in
Fashion Week. The most famous of these events are the “Big Four,” namely, Milan, Paris, New
York, and London. Runways in the Big Four showcase the newest designs for the media and
possible buyers and retailers. These shows also influence and spark global fashion trends as
“name brands,” or well-known clothing companies, are the ones usually featured in such affairs.
The clothes and accessories sold by these name brands could go up to thousands of dollars.
Though, a person on the street can barely afford an Oscar de la Renta, a Gucci, or a Louis
Vuitton. These luxury brands are quite expensive, and a person who owns such will keep them
forever if they can. Alternatively, if they let go of them, they resell these items for a hefty price or
pass them on to others.
In the Philippines, although Fashion Weeks are held twice a year, most brands featured
are fast fashion brands or brands by more affordable retailers. Clothes do not go up to a
thousand dollars, but a few thousand pesos or even less. Some of these brands include SM
Department Store, H&M ,Bench, Avon Fashion, and Human. These are known as fast fashion
brands or brands that offer “low cost and flexibility in design, quality, delivery and speed to
market” (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010, p. 165).Also known as “throwaway” fashion, fast fashion
was a response to the changes in the industry in the past three decades, such as the fading of
mass production, fashion seasons, and restructuring of production operations.
Although most revenue is generated in China, in 2019 alone, revenue in the fashion
segment amounts to US$ 229M with an annual growth rate of 9.9% in the Philippines (Statista,
n.d.). Due to Filipino’s mall culture and entry into the market by huge but more affordable name
brands such as Uniqlo, H&M, Zara ,and Forever 21, fashion has come to be such a huge
industry in the Philippines. Considering this, it is quite unsurprising that the Philippines also has
a huge secondhand clothing trade.
According to Ma. Rina Locsin – in her research about Baguio’s ukay-ukay – it’s hard to
pinpoint the exact beginning of the secondhand industry in the country. However, three factors
led it to its thriving: donation, fundraising, and Hongkong OFWs.
After World War II, access to secondhand clothing grew within Southeast Asia.
According to anthropologist Lynne Milgram, this coincides with the time the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) gave billion-dollar worth of donations to Asia
around 1943 and 1949.
Fast forward to the 1980s, this continued to flourish as non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in the country sold donations they received, supposedly for their needy members, as a
fundraising activity.
Filipino domestic helpers from Hongkong are also seen as crucial players of the ukay-
ukay industry. There are two versions of how this came to be. The first pertains to how Filipina
OFWs would buy old clothes for disposal while the second version points out that it was their
personal belongings or Salvation Army thrift finds. Either way, these are shipped as balikbayan
boxes and sold to Baguio.
In the Philippines, Baguio City is seen as the ground zero of the ukay-ukay business.
Veronica Isla – in her investigation about secondhand consumer culture in the country – points
out that Baguio City’s Session Road used to be the most-known hub of ukay-ukay in Luzon,
although the trade still expands to other parts of the country. Eventually, sellers from Baguio
branched out to areas within Metro Manila.
 From here, ukay-ukay has found its way to the rest of the country and is now a national
phenomenon.

Some bargain hunters, consider it like fun when hauling through heaps and racks of
passed down textile that is not always in the best condition and clean. For a few it is the
equivalent of treasure hunting, for many it is an ongoing quest for affordable clothing and an
inevitable part of common life. Browsing through your local thrift shop has not only financial
advantages, you can get authentic pieces that are hard to find anywhere else. Because there
will be less production, it is environmentally friendly and it is humanitarian since it reduces child
and slave labor in the manufacturing countries. Ukay-ukay is big business, many outlets and
makeshift-stalls can be found all over the nation, there is no city, municipality, barangay or
barrio without it and any local public market or village fair will not be complete if it does not have
an "ukay-ukay" section. The barter has also provided a viable livelihood to a large number of
families, with a minimal amount to invest they started off retailing pre-loved regalia in their own
yard or house trying to turn trash into treasure. Over the years this Segunda Mano phenomenon
became socially accepted and very popular to scores of cash-strapped Filipinos from all walks
of life and has risen from a local market operation into a thriving trade. It offers fashion minded
individuals the opportunity to shop for signature clothes with a rock-bottom bill.
Still, the ukay-ukay will benefit the poor and lower middle class most, it will allow them to
bargain for cheap wear and gives them the chance to get hold of mannerly clothing that
otherwise would end up as cleaning material, meeting its final destination at a garbage site.
These days more and more people want or need to dress for less and are joining the ukay-ukay
craze. So, dig in and dear to wear, ukay-ukay is okay, it is a number-one shopping experience
for second-hand happiness.
References:
Abueg, L. C. (2005). The economics of secondhand
retail trade: An analysis of the market for ukay-ukay.
Philippine Journal of Development, 32(1), 52–77.
Bain, M. (2015, March 25). The neurological pleasures of
fast fashion. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.
theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/theneurological-pleasures-of-modern-
shopping/388577/
Bhardwaj, V., & Fairhurst, A. (2010). Fast fashion: Response
to changes in the fashion industry. The International
Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research,
20(1), 165–173.
Buzzo, A., & Abreu, M. J. (2019). Fast fashion, fashion
brands, & sustainable consumption. In S. S. Muthu
(Ed.), Fast fashion, fashion brands and sustainable consumption (pp. 1–17). Springer.
 WRITTEN REPORT IN ORAL COMMUNICATION
In doing public speaking it takes a lot of preparation and courage to speak in front of
many people. You should think of what you’re going to say, deliver the speech with giving
motivational and inspirational message to the listeners.
According to the student government officer that I interviewed. Public speaking is an
intervention, facing social fear. When it was my first time having a public speech, it was an
opportunity to at least show the wonders that I have but I was trembling with fear thinking about
what might happen during the duration of the delivery. Maybe, I was shaking because I was
thinking of the disappointments that my possible mistakes would bring. Speaking in front of a
crowd is a grace but a pressuring one. Public speaking is not innate within me. It requires me to
be prepared that I may impress people and not to make myself worthy of shame. I should protect
my dignity so I should better be good. Sometimes when I speak, I seek perfection thus making
me ran out of words and deliver the speech not as what I should do. It really feels great receiving
good remarks from the people listening and from the experts. I often commit mistakes when I
speak but I just take as a new learning opportunity for me to grow and be the best that I dream.
Seeing myself gets better is as good as having plus points for reaching heaven. When I speak
now, I try to deliver my speech quite slow that it could be understood. It is fundamental that the
listeners would know what I am talking about and I learned it from the comments of my
listeners. Speeches are my coming out experiences. It sends me to another dimension of my life
that I thought I do not fit in. Public speaking made me embrace my imperfections and feel good
about it.
The way that you should deliver your public speaking is when you are reading your
speech look at audience from time to time. Don’t focus to look on one person because its
displeasing. Don’t think about what other’s think of you. The point of delivering the speech is to
deliver it clear, to easily understand by the audience.
Being a public speaker is not just for politicians, you can also be a public speaker to
share your experiences and knowledge, to keep them inspired and motivated.
 WRITTEN REPORT IN ORAL COMMUNICATION
Our capacity to communicate through systems of language differentiates us from other
species, but the use of that language to communicate effectively is actually harder than
anticipated, particularly in front of an audience.
I interviewed a government officer about his experiences in public speaking, according to
him, he was so overwhelmed at the beginning of his speech but along the way he did not
expected that it actually turned out great.
On his years of serving in our local barangay as a barangay captain, Cpt. Peter Pagayonan
shared different kinds of advocacy which we admire about him. It takes a lot of effort and time to
prepare a speech and how you will deliver it to your audience effectively.
In my conclusion, your role as a communicator, you will encode and deliver a message
which will then be decoded by audience members. At the same time you are speaking, you will
be receiving verbal and non-verbal feedback from the audience. The way that the message is
decoded will depend entirely on the amount of noise interfering with the message as well as the
worldviews of audience members. Whether you are new to giving presentations, or a more
experienced speaker, it is important to remember that the best way to improve your public
speaking skills is through preparation and practice. Although it may take time to learn effective
speaking skills, the effort is well worth the benefits you will reap in your personal, professional,
and public life
“An effective speaker knows that the success or failure of his talk is not for him to
decide- it will be decided in the minds and hearts of his hearers.” -Dale Carnegie