Society's Definition Of Beauty Essay

1. What factors affect society’s definition of beauty? Describe the evolution of beauty from Maya’s childhood in Stamps through modern times. What has caused this change?

Unfortunately, society has a definition of beauty, which has forced mostly women to change themselves, or want to change themselves, into an “idealistic” character. Society’s definition of beauty consists of looking a certain way: one has to have the perfect, skinny body, but not too skinny. One has to have big breasts, a large butt, big lips, no acne, etc. Society makes individuals feel like they do not belong. When Maya was a child in Stamps, the definition of beauty was different from what it is now. From the beginning of the book, Maya has made it clear to the audience
Throughout the book, Maya has made a couple of imaginary social relationships with people she is and is not familiar with. A bittersweet example of this is Mr. Freeman. Mr. Freeman, despite his eeriness, made Maya feel safe in the beginning of their relationship. Maya was not sure of his intentions or what he did to her before the rape, but she treasured the warm feeling he gave her. In the novel, Angelou says, “I felt at home. From the way he was holding me I knew he’d never let me go or let anything bad ever happen to me. “This was probably my real father and we had found each other at last” (Angelou 73). This portrays how Maya felt when Mr. Freeman showed her the slightest bit of “affection”. When Mr. Freeman held her, Maya felt like that was what a father should feel like: homely and protective. Little did Maya know that he was using her for pleasure, and such acts were building up to something abhorrent and inhumane. For weeks, Mr. Freeman ignores Maya while she craves the security that resides in his arms. When she attempted to show him affection, he, again, took it negatively and