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Bryan Gonzalez
Professor Beadle
Eng115; TR; 11am
3 November 2016
The Over-Emphasis of Womens Beauty
Margaret Wolf Hungerford is credited with coining the phrase Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. When you think of beauty do you automatically start thinking of celebrities, actresses
and models? If so, then our society is to blame for this. Although one might claim that society is
moving away from over-emphasizing and rewarding model-status beauty, the truth is it is not
happening quite effectively or rapidly. One can witness in a Covergirl magazine with Taylor
Swift on the cover just how society establishes and emphasizes higher expectations of beauty and
looks on women in their youth and enforces it as they mature by rewarding beauty, and this is
causing direct negative effects for women in forms such as body altering.
Society makes an association in womens youth between what it means to be good looking
and the development of the female gender identity itself in order to establish higher standards of
beauty for women. This Covergirl ad depicts Taylor Swift flaunting her nice, hair-free armpits,
curly, white hair and most importantly her young, vivacious skin. A young girl would see this
Covergirl magazine cover, and many others like it and start associating being a girl with being as
pretty as Taylor Swift or another model, actress, or celebrity it may have. In Claire Renzetti and
Daniel Currans work From Women, Men, and Society one can exhibit a similar action being
done with toys; A quick perusal of most contemporary toy catalogs reveals that little has
changed. The toys for sale in the catalogs are usually pictured with models, which can be taken
as an indication of the gender appropriateness of the toy (Renzetti and Curran 80). This

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association between toys and what it means to be a girl and feminine has been around since toys
were created. With the creation of this association, girls are taught to be just like, say a Barbie
doll or a Disney princess, and in still being young and developing when they are taught this,
many naturally assume the mindset that they must be pretty and look like a Barbie or princess in
order to be able to be a girl. This association transcends further than toys and as Lorber discusses
in her work Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender, Many cultures go beyond
clothing, gestures, and demeanor in gendering children. They inscribe gender directly into
bodies. In traditional Chinese society, mothers once bound their daughters feet into three inch
stumps to enhance their sexual attractiveness (Lorber 24). Emphasis on womens beauty exists
cross-culturally, and in some cultures, such as the Chinese, they are present to a far worse extent,
to the point where they find the need to permanently establish it in a young womans anatomy.
These practices when held in comparison to those of are society are far worse, and evidently
more painful yet they stem from the same concept of achieving the maximum amount of beauty
that can be attained in that society, all because beauty and outer looks are over-emphasized.
Society continues to reinforce a higher standard and emphasis of womens beauty as they age
with better treatment in life as exhibited in the Covergirl cover. Covergirl magazine, with this
cover as well many others, is essentially rewarding Ms. Swift and the other various actresses,
models, and celebrities for their attractiveness. In her article The Truth About Beauty Amy
Alkon discusses the importance that good looks have in our society, looks matter a great
deal. The more attractive the woman is, the wider her pool of romantic partners and range of
opportunities in her work and day-to-day life (Alkon). In doing this, society cements the belief
that a woman must be beautiful in order to be able to succeed or at least have a pleasurable
experience in life. This then, in extension, harms women since it generates womens high sense

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of insecurity and blocks any perception of their good qualities. Furthermore, a woman might
seek to correct these imperfections through unhealthy means such as plastic surgery. Another
example in Jacque Jackson and Antonia Lyons work "The Perfect Body: Men and Women
Negotiate Spaces of Resistance Against Beauty and Gender Ideologies" defines the extent to
which looks are valued, In the Western context, body-altering practices are a rational response,
rewarded by the social capital of acceptance physical appearance has greater currency than
other forms of achievement. (Jackson and Lyons). In order for a woman to succeed they must
look attractive since as the quote says looks are valued far more than any other achievements
and this is something that again, is reinforced by the Covergirl magazine. One can associate the
reason for Taylor Swift getting to feature on the cover with how beautiful people consider her
to be.
Ultimately, the issue is that this emphasis that society places on the need for a woman to be
beautiful and attractive is a practice that negatively effects women. This high value that
people, the media, and this Covergirl ad place on a womans looks are causing women to do
harmful practices such as body altering. This can be evidenced in Jackson and Lyons work:
Within contemporary Westernised cultures there is a pervasive interest in altering the human
physique. Such practices, which include cosmetic surgery, bodybuilding, dietary modification,
exercise regimes, and eating disorders, signify a cultural fascination with (a pursuit of) the
'perfect' body (Jackson and Lyons). Extreme forms of altering the body are being used
particularly in order to reach this ideal figure that society, with images emphasizing slim and
beautiful women such as the Covergirl magazine has created. Further examples of body altering
can be viewed heavily in the Kardashian family. They are the highlight of getting surgery after
surgery in order to try to reach the figure that society idolizes and a large part of the attention

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they receive is for continuously doing so. Not only is the constant surgery dangerous to any
womans physical health, but mentally they share the damage as well. The mental damage they
receive is the belief that they will never achieve the perfect figure, form, or complexion and this
will only push them towards other body altering practices which will continue to put their health
at risk. The effect that over-valuing a person who is beautiful is no different than body shaming
and harming more people, particularly women in this case, than it is helping.
People might argue that society is making improvements in terms of not imposing high
beauty standards on women and while this may be true to some extent, it is not the entire reality
of it. For example, in the situation of the Barbie dolls and Disney princesses, one might say that
both these brands have taken initiative in correcting the situation by implementing dolls and
princesses of colored skin and more varying body shapes. Though this may be true, the reality is
that these changes are minimal and have little substance since Barbie dolls, despite any changes,
still maintain makeup caked faces and the Disney princesses, despite their changes are still
designed with thin waists, slim bodies, and perky breasts and butts. To the Covergirl magazine,
one might argue that Taylor Swift is on the cover because of her success rather than looks and
state that there are women who did not earn their success based on their looks such as
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. This too, though absolutely true just as the last argument,
is also flawed. The first part of the claim cannot be supported and it is quite clear that what is
being advertised is Ms. Swifts looks rather than any indication of her accomplishments. The
second part of the claim is fair; however, the truth is that this, just as the changes in Barbie and
Disney is a severe minority. Even in our considered more advanced and more forward
thinking/looking society there are not many women like Mrs. Clinton to substantiate the claim
and when one looks at it globally, it is even less demonstrated.

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Through the means of gender association in womens youth and unattainable portrayals and
rewarding as they mature, society has placed a rather large and unrealistic expectation on
womens outer beauty which have caused women to approach negative sources for trying to
become more beautiful. Though attempts to rectify this situation have been made, they are far
and few. Change cannot be made instantly on a national or global scale and so I challenge one as
an individual to seek to change the emphasis they themselves and those around them have placed
on beauty, that of womens in particular and to stop helping these enforce unrealistic
expectations about outer beauty, one person at a time.

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Works Cited
Alkon, Amy. "The Truth About Beauty." Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 1 Nov. 2010.
Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
Jackson, Jacque, and Lyons, Antonia C. "The Perfect Body: Men and Women Negotiate Spaces
of Resistance Against Beauty and Gender Ideologies." Women's Studies Journal, 26.1
(2012): 25-33.
Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender,
edited by Rachael Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford/St. Martins, 2014, pp 24.
Renzetti, Claire and Curran, Daniel. From Women, Men, and Society. Composing Gender,
edited by Rachael Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford/St. Martins, 2014, pp 80.
"Covergirl Introducing Taylor Swift." Covergirl. Easy Breezy Beautiful COVERGIRL, Jan.
2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.