Essay Sample on The Negative Impact of Societal Beauty Standards

In today’s time, societal beauty standards are present in everyday life, all around the world. Beauty standards are the ideal concepts of what one’s appearance should be, which affects majority of society. These standards have been observed throughout majority of time. However, in recent years, these concepts have become increasingly unrealistic. Societal beauty standards are often extended through the world by the media, these standards have become unattainable throughout the years, which often result in a spike of both physical and mental illnesses in people of all ages, gender, and race.

To begin, beauty standards often portray that a man or woman needs to look a certain way to be attractive. In the article “The Effect of Beauty Standards on Adolescents,” Sneha Kandalgaonkar says, “Women are expected to have a flat stomach, curves, thigh gaps, smaller noses, and fit a certain body type. Men are expected to be muscular, have abs, and have a very low body fat percentage” (Kandalgaonkar). In society, every person is different. Whether it be a different race or body type, each person is unique. However, beauty standards often tell people that they must look a certain way to become attractive. Here, Kandalgaonkar tells of how society wants women to be skinny and to have smaller facial features, while men are expected to be muscular and fit. This shows that societal beauty standards are negative because they only fit a small range of people. Beauty standards do not include people’s differences, and what makes them all unique. This can result in people who do not fit into society’s standards feeling as if they are unattractive, since they do not conform to society’s image of the ideal person.

Secondly, societal beauty standards can cause one to obtain a negative body image. According to Lauren Muhlhiem in “The Connection Between Body Image and Eating Disorders,” “Studies show that approximately 50 percent of preadolescent girls and 30 percent of preadolescent boys dislike their body, and that 60 percent of adult women and 40 percent of adult men have a negative body image” (Muhlhiem). A negative body image is often associated with majority of people, no matter the gender or age. Beauty standards will portray an ideal image, and if one does not appear this way, they will often be dissatisfied with their appearance.  Mulheim tells of how in preadolescent girls, around half have a negative body image, while thirty percent of preadolescent boys have a negative body image. These are children who range from the age of nine to thirteen. This reveals that societal beauty standards do not just affect teens and adults. These unattainable standards also affect children whose lives have barely begun. Children should be concerned with what they are going to play next, instead of worrying about their appearance. Unattainable beauty standards cause people to focus on their exterior appearance instead of focusing on what matters. This shows how the toxicity of beauty standards affects people of all gender and age. 

In addition, body dissatisfaction can have a detrimental effect on a person’s life. In “What are the Negative Effects of Beauty Standards,” Ben Davis says, “Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviors and eating disorders” (Davis). Body dissatisfaction is the negative attitude towards one’s appearance, in comparison to their actual physical appearance. Beauty standards can often cause people to develop body dissatisfaction, which can spiral into other serious issues. For example, Davis tells of how a person with body dissatisfaction often has both mental and physical issues. This further proves how societal beauty standards are negative because it shows how they can cause one’s life to negatively spiral. Beauty standards can cause eating disorders, which can become life-threatening, as well as mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia, which can lower the quality of someone’s life. Unattainable beauty standards can often result in one’s life being miserable, which can result in more serious complications such as suicidal thoughts.

The media also influences the impact societal beauty standards on a person. According to Mavis Henriques and Debasis Patnaik, “The images on social media sites are idealized and unreal, due to digital alteration thereby setting high expectations from individuals in society. Imperfections are removed by airbrushing and using other digitized apps to whiten teeth, slim waists and reduce sizes in order to be accepted as beauty ideals” (Henriques and Debasis). Social media is something that is prominent in modern day life. Whether it be a phone, computer, tv, or iPad, most people have access to a source of internet. On the internet, there is often pictures or ads depicting the ideal person. However, majority of the time these pictures portray a false image. Mavis Henriques and Debasis Patnaik tell of how these pictures are often photoshopped to fit the beauty ideals. The increase in technological advancements substantially contributes to the unattainable aspects of beauty standards. Pictures are often altered so that a person appears thinner and flawless and fits into the ideal beauty standards. These false images can cause one to gain a negative body image, since their bodies do not appear like the altered images online. Furthermore, people will often alter their own images, to try and conform into society’s ideal image. This is important because people are changing the way their bodies look because society influences them to, instead of embracing their authentic selves.  

Furthermore, celebrities and influencers are also known to further influence society’s unattainable beauty standards. In “How Society’s Standards of Beauty Affect Men and Women” Sara Mohammed explains, “…many women base their careers off of dieting and exercising to raise money by posting pictures of themselves and marketing the latest fat loss products and skinny teas, which are promoted on social media platforms that include multiple teas, extracts, and herbs that are supposed to help people lose weight” (Mohammed). In today’s time, celebrities and influencers are held on a pedestal, and are known to have great influence on others. These people are known to do brand deals with companies on social media to make money. They will make posts in support of things such as teas and pills, which are supposed to make people lose weight.  However, most of the time these supplements do not work. People will buy them because the people they look up to in the media are in support of them but will experience no results. These teas and supplements can also cost a substantial amount of money. Companies will advertise these weight loss tricks to help people, but in reality, it is all a money scam. However, people will continue to purchase these weight loss supplements because they feel as if they need to look like the people who advertise them. This can make one spend a substantial amount of money on weight loss supplements, of which will give them no results. 

On the other hand, beauty standards are resulting in body-positive ideals, that focus on better living and self-love. Although there are toxic beauty standards in the media, in recent years there has been an increase in body positive beauty standards. These standards include people celebrating their stretch marks, cellulite, and the things that makes their bodies unique. According to Rachel Cohen, Amy Slater, and Jasmine Fardouly, “…research shows that viewing body positive Instagram content may actually improve women’s body image, at least in the short term” (Cohen, Slater, Fardouly). This shows that the increasing amount of body positivity standards are influencing women to love themselves. However, while there is an increasing amount of body positive beauty standards, the negatives continue to outweigh the positives. In the article “Beauty Standards: The Positive Effects of the Standards of Beauty” it says, “While the ideals are supposed to promote health awareness, fitness motivation, and self-love, it unfortunately results in many unfavorable consequences…beauty standards are unrealistic and unhealthy to pursue and misinforms the public on what true beauty is. While not all beauty image ideals promote negative feelings and dissatisfaction, many believe that the negative effects far outweigh any positive effects” (“Beauty Standards: The Positive Effects of the Standards of Beauty”). While there has been an uptick in positive beauty standards, there is still a large amount of negative beauty standards prominent in society. However, with the increasement in positive standards, there is hope that in future years, people will be able to be comfortable with their true selves. 

In conclusion, beauty standards often portray that one needs to look a certain type to be considered attractive. These standards can cause one to gain a negative body image, which can lead to a poorer quality of life. The media is also responsible for influencing the negative standards. Furthermore, celebrities and influencers are also known to promote beauty standards and false solutions. Societal beauty standards are spread throughout the world by social media and can often many illnesses in people of all ages, gender, and race. In order to fix this, society needs to learn that there is more to a person than their external appearance. While there is an uptick in awareness of positive beauty standards, society needs to come together to put an end to the toxicity of the unattainable beauty standards that are present in life today.