It's no surprise that our current beauty ideals are vastly different than those held by our grandmothers. Cultural beauty remains a shape-shifting standard. Catch an episode of AMC's Mad Men and you'll notice that it wasn't just hairstyles and lipstick trends that were different in the sixties. That era's attractive body types came in well-endowed, curvaceous forms as well as slim figures.
Just a few decades later we've managed to back ourselves into a corner by promoting terms of beauty that simply aren't achievable. Our collective answer to these unrealistic aesthetic standards has become plastic surgery, to the extent that cosmetic procedures in America numbered 10 million in 2008. The result appears to be a growing unhappiness that is rooted in unobtainable desires. It's time to take a look at how we adopted these standards of beauty, and where we're headed with them.
Join us for a beauty wake-up call.
Celebrity, Media and Plastic Surgery
Airbrushing, photo retouching, plastic surgery, botox, fillers, liposuction: these are just some of the tools currently used to shape and mold our bodies, visually and often physically, into a state that can only be described as unnatural. Certainly plastic surgery has merit; it's a miracle option for correcting physical deformities or achieving reconstructive operations. But in other ways it appears to have spiraled out of control. Between 1997 and 2007, the overall number of cosmetic procedures increased 457 percent in America, according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Why did face- and body-perfecting procedures become so commonplace on our society? For years we've known that romanticizing ads, celebrities and magazine covers distorts our collective understanding of reality. But these images are so seductive that it's easy to find ourselves mimicking them, even in subtle ways.
The September cover of Self magazine, graced by an image of singer Kelly Clarkson, recently grabbed the attention of thousands of women for its unrealistic depiction of beauty. The situation? Ms. Clarkson appears to be retouched almost beyond recognition in the cover photo, a decision that Self editors have defended. "Did we alter her appearance? Only to make her look her personal best...in the sense that Kelly is the picture of confidence, and she truly is, I think that this photo is the truest we have ever put out there on the newsstand," wrote Editor-In-Chief Lucy Danzinger. Thousands of women responded in outrage over the slimmed-down, airbrushed photo of Clarkson on the cover. Of course we cannot place blame on one magazine alone for creating these beauty standards, but we can unite with others in our disapproval.
Redefining Beauty, Now and In the Future
Even as we announce our opposition to false images, Americans continue to turn to plastic surgery. It's difficult to view this paradox objectively when, in our society, such overwhelming importance is placed on beauty. It's not surprising that we fall prey to our beauty ideals on a daily basis. So what can we do to find a balance and realign our thinking?
Changing our role models is the first clear step. Looking to real women, those who are making a difference in the world and those who are inspirational in our daily lives, for new aspirations turns our focus from our physical selves to our actions. With the support of our mothers, sisters and friends, it's possible to create a network that encourages and supports, rather than focuses competitively on appearance. Continuing the dialogue about unrealistic images and harmful beauty ideals is another way to change our societal views. To look at an advertisement and understand its illusion is a serious advantage over the persuasion we typically feel as we page through a fashion magazine. In the beauty industry, there are now makeup artists who speak to groups of young girls, letting them know that most of what they see in the media is created by makeup, beauty tools and computer imaging. This is a critical way of pulling back the curtain to separate fantasy from reality.
Overall we can continue to hope that someday "personal best" will be defined by reality, and not an aesthetic ideal in a magazine. Though the fervor with which Self's cover image was supported by editors hints that we may not see true portraits on magazine covers for decades to come. But if we arm ourselves with knowledge, the tide may turn. For now, it's up to us to restore depth to our current beauty ideals and to relearn the immense value of aging gracefully.
