\"Beauty\" Standards in American Culture PDF

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Martin 1 Alexandria Martin Dr. Namorah Gayle Byrd English 102 – 51 29 April 2020 “Beauty” Standards in American Culture In modern society, the unconscious mind subliminally makes judgements on strangers that it comes across every day, delivering an “educated guess” to fill in the blanks of what it does not know about that other person, thereby causing that individual to judge or make assumptions (Mlodinow, 2020). The play “Beauty” by Jane Martin captures an accurate depiction of beauty standards in modern society. This play is about two girls, Carla and Bethany, who are both considered to be beautiful women, but by different means. Carla is a conventionally beautiful model, while Bethany is a college-educated accountant. Their actions clearly indicate how individuals tend to not be content with the lives that they have. Rick Guidotti, a high-profile fashion photographer, stated “someone’s always telling me who’s beautiful” during his TEDxTalk (Guidotti, 2012). His main point? The standard of beauty is constantly changing. Every person comes in different shapes, sizes, colors, and genders, and no two people are alike. So how can society create one single streamlined statement of what is beautiful? Bethany states, “But it’s what everybody wants,” when questioned by Carla on why she would possibly want to be beautiful (Martin, 2013). As a model, Carla likely is always expected to have her hair and makeup done prior to leaving home, since society requires “perfect women” to wear copious amounts of makeup and have a thin frame in order to be beautiful (Simmonds, 2020). For individuals to continue being accepted as physically attractive, they must keep up with the current beauty trends. Many people are “quick to argue” that the standard

Martin 2 of beauty “barely, if at all, applies to men” (Simmonds, 2020). Dangerous beauty standards are a human issue, not just a woman’s issue. It is often forgotten that men also have very high standards of who is considered to be attractive. Instead of starving themselves or succumbing to a life-long eating disorder, men take the route of “mutilating their bodies” at the gym and spending thousands of dollars on equipment and supplements, all to achieve that modelled look that society set (Simmonds, 2020). Under the assumption that men could not possibly have difficulty with their self-image or self-esteem, society does not have the ability to acknowledge when men have a problem, and “among our many misconceptions of male beauty” is the inference that men who are lean and muscular are in good shape (Simmonds, 2020). In her play, “Beauty,” Jane Martin portrays Carla as a socialite with expensive clothes and powerful links to celebrities like Ralph Lauren. People care a lot about social status, and some will go to any extent to climb to the top of the social popularity ladder. This used to be obtained through having luxury items, such as designer clothes, luxury cars, and top-notch electronics. However, in today’s society it is becoming more apparent that the key to obtaining a high social status is to acquire and hold power, property, and prestige. Prestige is respect or regard for another person or for a profession. Certain professions hold a higher social status due to the time and education needed to have that profession and the salary made from it. For example, a physician would hold a higher social prestige than an entertainer. Although Carla and Bethany lead very separate and different lives, they long for what the other has. At the end of the play, Bethany summons the genie for her third wish and wishes to be beautiful. Instead, the girls switch bodies and quickly realize what happened. The moral Jane Martin is trying to give the audience is that both women are beautiful in different ways. The struggle to become and be modelled as successful creates an astronomical level of stress and may

Martin 3 lead to depression in adults. Society portrays success as being something that you achieve but being successful comes along with that person’s state of mind of what they appreciate and enjoying the journey to get there.

Martin 4 Works Cited Martin, Jane. “Beauty.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 7th Edition. Eds. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioria, Pearson, 2013. Guidotti, Rick. “Seeing beauty for a change: Rick Guidotti at TEDxPhoenix.” YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, 12 Feb 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcmU7Uyvf94/. Mlodinow, Leonard. “How We Are Judged by Our Appearance.” Psychology Today, 11 Jun 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/subliminal/201206/how-we-are-judged-by-ourappearance/. Accessed 27 Apr 2020. Simmonds, George. “Ken’s Got Issues Too: Let’s Talk About Male Beauty Standards.” Huffpost, 20 Aug 2014, www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/george-p-simmonds/kens-got-issues-toolets_b_5692506.html/. Accessed 27 Apr 2020....