MEDIA PAINTS A PERFECT PICTURE OF WHAT BEAUTY LOOKS LIKE OR DOES IT?

Before mass media existed, our ideas of beauty were limited to our own communities. One was able to form their ideas about females and what was considered beautiful. Females are portrayed by the media as Young and Skinny and with those assets many of them are advertised as Beautiful. Female actors, anchors, models and even politicians try to maintain a “look” that supports the media’s perception of beauty. As a result, those females who age or gain weight may be forced to look at themselves as unattractive.

The image of perfection we see in the media excludes females who are old, disabled or overweight. Rarely is beauty associated or recognized by the media of women who fall into these categories. Black women have a very different issue that only makes their quest for perfection more difficult. Media portrayals usually give images of beauty that often reflect “white” features such as thin lips, pointy noses, slim hips, perky breasts, long hair and fair skin. This is an image that starts persuading the minds of young girls at an early age with dolls such as Barbie. It has been proven in numerous studies that even girls that are not white would prefer to play with white dolls over black ones.

Commercialized media has created a fantasy world that women often hope, in some way, can become theirs. Every women has different features that makes their beauty unique but those who do not look like advertisements may often find themselves trying to strive for that type of beauty. Because the media has generated so much money from their created idea of beauty; it may take years to mold the idea of true beauty amongst young women. So until then, females will struggle with self -objectification that will often lead to self- consciousness and low self-esteem.