LONGING TO BE BEAUTIFUL
Some social norms, values, and sanctions are how people tend to react different to people who are more physically attractive compared to those who aren't. People who look better are more likely to get along with others and have better social experiences. Those who aren't happy with their appearance distance themselves and have a hard time interacting with people. We also think that those who are beautiful are usually smarter, more confident, and more capable. For example, when going to job interviews, the more attractive people are more favorable and likely to get the job because they are more appealing.
A value is the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Three values associated with my Fire Project issue of the media's perception of beauty would be:
-- Superficiality
-- Racial beauty
-- The cost of being "beautiful".
1. Superficiality is held as a value because society and the media worry more about how someone looks on the outside, rather than how they actually are in the inside. The media doesn't highlight the values that actually matter. For example, the media doesn't always portray how nice, kind, or loving a person can be. On the rare occasions that it does demonstrate these values, they belong to someone with a pretty face and nice body.
2. Beauty relies a lot on race. In today's society the white race is considered to be beautiful. If your skin is dark than it is not considered as beautiful as someone who is white complected. Many people with dark skin are so unhappy with their complexion that they take extreme measures to become lighter. For example, some people bleach their skin in order to lighten their skin tone. This can harm a person but they feel it necessary in order to look like the image shown by the media.
3. People not only have to pay a lot of money to become "beautiful", but some even pay with their lives. Since it is believed that the skinnier a person is the more beautiful they are, people become bulimic and/or anorexic. Anorexia is when a person starves himself or herself in order to loose weight. Bulimia is when a person forces himself or herself to throw up because they feel fat. These are both health problems that can result in death.
Norms are standards of proper or acceptable behavior. Three norm violations associated with my issue are:
-- Undergoing surgery to appeal to others
-- Trying to change your skin color to meet beauty standards
-- Changing the size of your body
1. It is not strange to hear about people that had surgery to change their appearance. Some decide to go under the knife to look thinner, while others do it to change their facial features. For example, Julie Chen revealed that she had plastic surgery on her eyes to make them look bigger because she was told that it was a must in order to make a career in the media. She had to fit in with the ideals of beauty portrayed in the media.
2. People of color try to change their skin tone because they believe in the idea of "Beauty Whitewashed". This supports the idea that in order to be considered beautiful, you must be white. The media, by accepting this concept, excludes people of color. The media tends to show whites as superior. For example, in movies the most desirable women are usually of white complexion. They tend to get the leading roles. This affects people because it makes them think that they must be white to be considered a beauty.
3. When we look at magazines we usually see women with very thin bodies. Movies and TV shows also portray skeletal body types as ideal beauty. People start to believe that, that's the way beauty should be.
A value is the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Three values associated with my Fire Project issue of the media's perception of beauty would be:
-- Superficiality
-- Racial beauty
-- The cost of being "beautiful".
1. Superficiality is held as a value because society and the media worry more about how someone looks on the outside, rather than how they actually are in the inside. The media doesn't highlight the values that actually matter. For example, the media doesn't always portray how nice, kind, or loving a person can be. On the rare occasions that it does demonstrate these values, they belong to someone with a pretty face and nice body.
2. Beauty relies a lot on race. In today's society the white race is considered to be beautiful. If your skin is dark than it is not considered as beautiful as someone who is white complected. Many people with dark skin are so unhappy with their complexion that they take extreme measures to become lighter. For example, some people bleach their skin in order to lighten their skin tone. This can harm a person but they feel it necessary in order to look like the image shown by the media.
3. People not only have to pay a lot of money to become "beautiful", but some even pay with their lives. Since it is believed that the skinnier a person is the more beautiful they are, people become bulimic and/or anorexic. Anorexia is when a person starves himself or herself in order to loose weight. Bulimia is when a person forces himself or herself to throw up because they feel fat. These are both health problems that can result in death.
Norms are standards of proper or acceptable behavior. Three norm violations associated with my issue are:
-- Undergoing surgery to appeal to others
-- Trying to change your skin color to meet beauty standards
-- Changing the size of your body
1. It is not strange to hear about people that had surgery to change their appearance. Some decide to go under the knife to look thinner, while others do it to change their facial features. For example, Julie Chen revealed that she had plastic surgery on her eyes to make them look bigger because she was told that it was a must in order to make a career in the media. She had to fit in with the ideals of beauty portrayed in the media.
2. People of color try to change their skin tone because they believe in the idea of "Beauty Whitewashed". This supports the idea that in order to be considered beautiful, you must be white. The media, by accepting this concept, excludes people of color. The media tends to show whites as superior. For example, in movies the most desirable women are usually of white complexion. They tend to get the leading roles. This affects people because it makes them think that they must be white to be considered a beauty.
3. When we look at magazines we usually see women with very thin bodies. Movies and TV shows also portray skeletal body types as ideal beauty. People start to believe that, that's the way beauty should be.
Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism the view of social behavior that emphasizes linguistic or gestural communication and its subjective understanding, especially the role of language in the formation of the child as a social being. Some major assumptions of this theoretical perspective are that people try to look things they see and they follow strict procedures to look like something they're not. This connects to my issue because there are certain things that represent beauty. For example, whiteness and thinness are considered symbols of beauty. The whiter and skinnier you are, the more beauty you possess. Some symbols that are associated with this issue are Barbie, Ken, and models. Girls as well as boys try to look like fictional characters such as Barbie and Ken. Valeria Lukyanova is a Ukrainian model who has had many surgeries and procedures to make herself look like a barbie. She even wishes to act like a barbie doll by eventually not having to rely on food nor water. She hopes to be able to live without eating to maintain her look. Guys are also affected by what they see. Justin Jedlica has also taken extreme measures to look like a real life Ken. He says that he was inspired by cartoon-like characters. He likes the way they look animated and wished to portray that image. He started to look for surgeons at the age of 17 and by the age of 18, he got his first nose job. Like them many models go on strict diets and surgeries to look like the things they se on the media.
This theoretical perspective is the best lens to apply to my issue because people's ideas of what is beautiful is guided by the images and symbols that the media shows. They even photoshop pictures to make them look like someone they aren't. All of this happens because they follow symbols that they see.
This theoretical perspective is the best lens to apply to my issue because people's ideas of what is beautiful is guided by the images and symbols that the media shows. They even photoshop pictures to make them look like someone they aren't. All of this happens because they follow symbols that they see.
Real-Life Ken.