BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Image Influence of media on body image

Hi everyone, I am a fourth year university student currently doing my dissertation. I am investigating what influences women's magazines and their idealized images of physical attractiveness have over female�s perceived body images and associated consumption behaviours. I aim to discover how women feel when they see images of models in adverts, particularly adverts for cosemtics and if these adverts encourage women to go out and purchase the products beliveing that they too will look like the models if they only used the right cosemtics.
If anyone has any thoughts on this matter I would be really grateful if you could share your opinions with me.

Thanks

Great question!

You know what? I think it's more subtle than what you describe. I think most women don't aim to look like the models...and don't think they will look like the models. I think they're more savvy than that. We're a very propaganda-aware bunch of consumers, we are.

I think the message women DO get from the ads with beautiful models is that this is THE standard of beauty they are working amidst. Whether or not they buy the cosmetics - and so many don't - they get the idea that there is ONE standard of beauty that earns full approval in society - and to attract or keep a mate, they must either emphasize their congruence with, or opt out of aiming for, that standard of beauty. So you have women who use beauty aids as essential tools, not to meeting a standard of beauty but to allying themselves with that standard of beauty. And you have others who scorn the tools and the body/beauty image that goes along with them.

I think today's women don't want to look like airbrushed models; they're not deifying the models. Instead, they're learning a social norm and either trying to demonstrate conformity to that norm, or show they reject it.

Is that distinction too subtle? What do y'all think?

Karen

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