McConnell 1 Shannon McConnell Dr.

Mary Miles ENG 137H 29 October 2013 Beauty is Universal Beauty is defined as the qualities in a person that give pleasure to the senses or the mind. It is also considered to be equivalent to the quality of physical attractiveness. For centuries there has been a standard of beauty that women are expected to live up to, and this standard is constantly changing. Something that may have been considered beautiful fifty years ago would not be equivalent to how society envisions beauty today. Even so, todays idea of beauty is changing day by day and will continue to evolve for many years to come. The shift in Americas standard of beauty is something that can be shown through advertisements in the media, popular fashion, and the influence of celebrities and how they have changed throughout the years. Theres no doubt that the media has always put pressure on people, especially women and girls, to look a certain way. However, the desired look that girls and women are expected to achieve is what is constantly changing. In the 1950s it was not uncommon to see advertisements encouraging women to gain weight and showing them how to add glamorous curves to [their] figure. One ad states that skinny girls are not glamour girls and implies that if you are skinny it is not uncommon to be ashamed of your body and want to gain weight. There were even ads showing men new and easy ways to add 5 to 15 pounds quick, and

McConnell 2 encouraging them to do so by stating skinny men havent a chance (Nodell 1). Just a few decades ago the common theme seen throughout the media was the desire for women to have full figures and curves, n idea that is not so common today. Today in American society, the desire to lose weight and be thin is at an all time high. There are thousands of pills, diet plans, exercises plans, and other methods geared towards making women skinny, and the hottest tips are too often about weight loss (Chun 1). The goal of losing weight is no longer to get into shape and stay fit, but instead to be skinny and fit into societys idea of perfect. Advertisements now encourage women to lose weight so they can achieve the body they want. However the body [they] want has become something other than what [they] have and as time goes on it is also becoming more and more unattainable (Chun 1). Women are often too focused on losing weight and fitting in that they miss the big picture. They are no longer worried about staying true to themselves, but instead being accepted by society and more importantly their peers. The shift in the standard of beauty is accurately shown through the change in advertisements regarding beauty. The media no longer encourages its audience to add on attractive pounds but instead strongly suggests they shed all the unwanted weight (Nodell 1). Fashion is one thing that will never stop evolving. Popular fashions vary depending on location and era, and this is something that is also true for societys standard of beauty. The fashion trends of American women in the late 1800s were conservative, especially when compared to fashions of today. Each outfit consisted of layers upon layers of clothing, not to mention the corsets, corset covers, and

McConnell 3 petticoats that were worn beneath the clothing (Baughman 2). Women would wear shirtwaists, which were long sleeve blouses that came up to the neck, paired with a highwaisted skirt that extended to the floor (Baugmen 2). As time went on and fashion trends evolved, clothing become less elaborate and much more revealing. Today, popular trends include crop tops, high wasted shorts, and a whole lot of skin. Trendy clothing encourages girls to show skin, simply because the styles give them no other choice. The standard of beauty experienced a shift when popular clothing switched from elaborate and conservative to simple and revealing. Almost every woman in America wears makeup, whether just a little bit of mascara once in awhile, or a full face of it every day. In the early ages women would wear a lot of face makeup to make themselves very pale, because that was something considered beautiful in that time (Baughman 4). While today, women pay hundreds of dollars at tanning salons to make their skin darker, because that is what seems to be desirable. On average, a woman will spend $13,000 on makeup in her lifetime (Douglas 1). This is a ridiculous amount of money to be spending on anything, let alone makeup. The money and time that is spent on things used to help women fit into societys idea of perfect beauty is an extremely unnecessary amount, especially since individual beauty should be just that, individual. As the standard of beauty shifts, women continue to try to live up to it in any way they can. Young girls and women grow up admiring famous actresses, singers, and models. They aspire to be like them and will pretty much do anything to achieve the perfection that these celebrities seem to have. In the 1950s a woman that almost every female wanted to be was Marilyn Monroe. She was seen as perfect in every

McConnell 4 way possible, and she brought body-conscious designs to the forefront of fashion (Warlick 1). Perhaps her greatest contribution to fashion and beauty was how she embraced her curvy figure and taught women that it was okay to stay true to yourself and be comfortable in your own body (Warlick 1). Although this standard of beauty was much more inclusive, and models from earlier decades were definitely heavier than those of today, their weight was concentrated into all the right places. Each woman had a thin waist, distinct facial features, and large bust, ultimately having a much fuller figure. The first time that thinness was glamorized rather than condemned was when a girl named Lesley Hornby, otherwise known as Twiggy, rose to fame in the mid-1960s. This was a decade in which runway modeling became very important to high fashion, and the models of this decade were much less womanly with their boy-like figures than models of the previous decade who had shapely curves (Williams 2). Twiggy weighed ninety pounds and fit in perfectly with the new glorification of thinness that represented beauty. Designers and photographers loved the way clothing fit on her wire-like figure, and thus the fashion industry was forever changed. In turn, this changed the standard of beauty that society perpetuated. Young girls and women desire to be thin not only in the waist, but also in their arms and legs. This standard is still present today; Kate Moss even stated in an interview that one of her mottos is, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. By saying this she is basically encouraging girls to change their eating habits to fit into the standard. Girls aspire to be like models, just like Kate Moss, whom appear on billboards and in magazines even though almost every model on any given ad has

McConnell 5 been airbrushed and electronically distorted to make her look just how the company wants. Women look at these ads and desire to look just like a person that is not even really herself. Societys standard is based on something that is artificial, computerized beauty edited to perfection, yet real women are still expected to be able to fit into that same category. Throughout time, many models have gained and lost fame, and each offered a different characteristic that has since influenced societys standard of beauty. Whether it be Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, or Kate Moss, each woman provides a new take on beauty and thus a new standard is formed. Beauty is constant and universal and it will never stop changing. There will always be a distinct standard that is considered beautiful to society, whether it is depicted by advertisements in the media, popular fashion trends, or the influence of celebrities. Each individual will always have a different view on what they consider beautiful. However, one thing is for sure, a standard that women are expected to live up to will always exist, no matter how much it changes.

McConnell 6 Works Cited Chun, Anne K., "WARPED STANDARD OF BEAUTY: All Editions.=.5 Star. 4 Star. 3 Star. 2 Star. 1 Star." The Record: l.10. 1996. Print. Douglas, Joanna. "Women Spend $13,000 Each on Makeup." Yahoo Shine. Yahoo!, 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Nodell, Jacque. "Weight Gain Ads Retronaut | Retronaut - See the past like You Wouldn't Believe." Weight Gain Ads Retronaut | Retronaut - See the past like You Wouldn't Believe. Timescape, 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Warlick, Heather. "50 Years Later, Marilyn Monroe Still Influences Fashion and Beauty." NewsOK. Christopher P. Reen, 30 July 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Williams, Erica. "The Effects of Changing Beauty Ideals in America." Teen Ink. Emerson Media, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.