Beauty Standards

Beauty Standards

Many children face different adversities as they age, however, many face problems that are caused by society's standards which you may have experienced yourself. Growing up I had many adversities which included lack of self confidence and insecurity, but I did not realize it was our society targeting people my age. I also grew up with six sisters which made me realize how much they were being impacted themselves. They spent hundreds of dollars on beauty products in order to feel normal. As I grew up I was influenced by my parents, uncles, and popular people on TV.

This was a problem since many people my age were beginning to spend countless of hours on social media or television where they were large amounts of beauty advertisements. A journal article written by, Jennifer Millard, titled, “Performing Beauty: Dove's ‘"Real Beauty"’ Campaign” states, “ Then a fast montage of thin female models’ images, prodieting messages, plastic surgery scenes, and sexualized flesh smacks the screen, dramatically evoking the mighty world of beauty advertising to which the young girl and women everywhere are exposed. A simple tagline follows: ‘“Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.”’ This one quote that was in Doves advertisement portrays the ways young girls and women are constantly being exposed to beauty standards and how much of an impact the beauty industry has on one's child. The beauty industry is constantly influencing children in their daily lives in order to make money for their business which leaves a negative impact on their mindset.

This is what was happening with my sisters and I at an early age especially when

we are Mexican Americans in an american society. Another serious issue is the way beauty advertisements are setting the standards for children and women of color throughout their lives. Women are constantly being shown what they are supposed to have and look like through

advertisements. More importantly, women of color in

America are constantly being judged on the way they look. My sisters were heavily impacted by many popular celebrities and TV shows and other classmates in school. A book chapter written by, Stephanie M.H. Camp, titled ,Making Racial Beauty in the United States: Toward a History of Black Beauty, states, “The entertainment-industrial complex trumpets narrow and demanding beauty standards and relentlessly advertises the means—chemical and surgical—to realize them(Camp 1).” This shows the ways the our society is applying pressure for people in our society to become what they call “normal” even if it costs surgical and chemical changes. Later on in the same page it also states, “Black women have a long and troubled relationship with Western concepts of beauty. Historically,” the model-turned-author Barbara Summers has written, ‘“Black women in White America have been called many things: Mammy and mule, radical and religious, Sapphire and sexpot, whore and welfare queen. We have been many others on a too-long list. Beautiful was among the last.’”

This is a big problem for people of color who are being judged on their skin color. This can also be seen as a process of deculturalization in African Americans where the American ideology is negatively impacting those who are black in the U.S. and leaving a negative stigma of being African American. My sisters are people of color which also makes them relate to the problems African Americans face. These issues left an impact on my mind and how I viewed myself as well as my sisters. A journal article written by Dia Sekayi, titled, “Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women,” states, “ African American women are not seen as the archetypal symbol of womanhood, as is the case for White American women,” This shows us how America views African American women as an image they do not want to represent in their country and emphasize their

looks but rather make them less than white american women. Later in the article Sekayi states, “ Girls whose form of beauty is validated by teachers and peers may be affected positively in the form of high self-confidence and self-esteem.”

This shows us how even girls at an early age are being influenced and validated by others which either makes them feel confident or less confident based on their looks and opinions of others. This shows how my sisters were also being targeted

and unknowingly being psychologically impacted. This process also leads to insecurities at a young age which will negatively impact them in the future since they always want to be validated by someone and instead of being who they are.

Ultimately, these ongoing issues impacted my family psychologically by targeting us at an early age. These adversities that we face and other children around the world can only create less confident and insecure women and children by creating a

norm in our society of how a person should look like. More importantly this is an issue that is also seen in a broader aspect. This is also what many minority groups go through when they undergo a process called assimilation. This process not only deculturalizes minority groups but also makes them view themselves as an American since they are pressured in their everyday lives to be and look and act a certain way. These issues affect minority groups and children as they grow up while the beauty industry is ignoring the issues they face.