Beauty Standards In America

Beauty standards in America have been changing with time. What was seen as beauty years ago has now changed. All through history, to be underweight was normally frowned upon. It was a indication of poverty and absence of resources. In fact, obesity was viewed as “prestigious and admired” (Bissell 4). To be overweight was seen as an accomplishment, as a way to judge success. Each time and generation has its standards. We now live in a period where fixating on our bodies and our looks have become a daily activity. The rates of obesity are rising, but it is no longer a sign of success. Instead, we are living in a world that idealizes the sickly thin and shames the overweight. The media is responsible for creating standards about beauty and body image. Women are suffering from negative self-perception, which leads to an increase in dissatisfaction with oneself and can cause many negative effects such as
The role of media today is increasingly critical, as it can now interfere in everyday life through several platforms and devices. It is common to find college students multitasking, such as balancing homework with the constant updating and checking on various social networking profiles. It is important to understand the role that social media plays in the lives of college students as well as grasp the unbelievably high consumption rates at which social media is used, before reviewing its’ potentially negative consequences. The problem of body dissatisfaction is particularly acute on college campuses. The negative body image among women between the ages of 18 and 23 has become so strong that one study reported that “over ½ of females between the ages of 18-23 would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat, and ⅔ would rather be mean or stupid”