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Kraken
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To note I had to include bluebill and liberal media brainwashing shit because I had to use it for source material as a requirement I wrote this in like 5 hours
Have you ever felt that you weren’t good enough or didn’t like what you saw in the mirror? Society likes to portray the thought that our appearances don’t matter and that only a superficial person would judge someone for how they look. This is in fact the opposite and couldn’t be further from the truth. The media reinforces this by portraying perfect men and women in lead roles for movies and tv shows, modeling, and social media. Society creates an unrealistic beauty standard that leads to an unhealthy comparison between normal and perfection. This need for perfection can lead to negative long-term effects on us mentally and physically (Social Comparison Theory).
Men are portrayed as uber masculine heroes and main characters of media. The features of these men consist of tall stature, wide frame, muscular, and handsome. These men have masculine personas to match these looks. With movie character examples such as Chris Evans’ Captain America, Pierce Brosnans’s James Bond, Robert Pattinson’s Batman, and Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones. These standards are universal to most beauty cultures and media. “Men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender” (Gender Identity). People who regularly compare themselves to others may find motivation to improve, but may also experience feelings of deep dissatisfaction, guilt, or remorse, and engage in destructive behaviors like lying or disordered eating” (Social Comparison Theory). When the average man makes an average wage, looks average, and lives an average life it’s easy to compare yourself to others and think that our lives would be better if we looked a certain way or were taller or more fit. Would our quality of life improve?
The effects of not being up to par with the male standards of beauty and perfection can have mentally and financially damaging effects on men today. Many men have had similar experiences of bullying and harassment in conjunction with being skinny or short and even ugly. The Napoleon Complex, for example, deems short men as aggressive and likely to feel threatened by their taller peers. “Taller men enjoy several advantages over shorter men, such as a higher social standing in the workplace (e.g., Gawley, Perks, & Curtis, 2009), and are typically healthier and better educated” (Knapen E.P). Tall men are seen as more masculine and thus better genetically than their shorter peers leading to social and financial benefits. “Height, together with muscularity, represents mens physical formidability, increasing their perceived competitive fighting ability against other males” (Knapen E.P.). There is a clear link between perceived good physical traits with intelligence and social power. Increased fighting success is correlated with strength and respect.
While men are expected to be masculine, women are expected to be feminine and submissive. Women are shown in media as damsels in distress or as a trophy of a man. A woman is expected to be beautiful, good figure, short, and skinny. Some examples of these women are movie characters Padme Amidala played by Natalie Portman, Lea Seydoux’s Bond Girl interpretation as Madeleine Swann or Margot Robbie’s Naomi Lapagalia in the Wolf of Wallstreet. All of these women conform to perfect standards of beauty while taking a backseat to the main male lead role. “If you watch television, walk on the street, wait for the bus or do other things, you are always confronted by images of men and women” (University West 1). Women face pressure from social media to be an impossible version of perfection where women are comparing themselves with edited pictures! Social media makes you believe that every woman can have an ideal figure when that simply isn’t the case without going under the knife or editing pictures. This is all to give the illusion that influencers and celebrities are perfect people when they are in fact still human and will go to extreme measures to capture an idea to their audience. Media enforces these unrealistic standards of beauty and dress size upon women that most can never reach.
The effects of these standards can also lead to negative financial and mental health effects on women. Society deems women’s first and primary value on their appearance and their ability to support a household. Women may face discrimination in the work place due to their looks more than men even while women already face unequal pay in the workplace. “When intense social pressure turns pursuing beauty into a mandate rather than a freely chosen activity, beauty practices become socially coercive, an obligation women must fulfill” (Forbes). When physical beauty gives an incentive to look better, this can lead to negative effects on mental well-being and financial status. “Although beauty norms reinforce gender inequality at the societal level, individual women who attain beauty reap real rewards–such as attracting mates with greater resources or creating a favorable impression in the workplace” (Forbes). There is clear evidence women face appearance-based workplace discrimination as one study found that women were 16 times more likely to face employment issues due to their weight (Science Direct).
Men and women do share societal standards that can affect their quality of life. Men and women share being physically fit at a good weight which requires effort and time. Men and women are both expected to be beautiful following their gender’s ideal beauty standards. They are both expected to be well groomed and have great skin. “In employment settings, employees who are affected by excess weight or obesity are less likely to get hired or be recommended for promotions compared to thinner employees. They are also faced with lower wages and increased risk of job termination based on their weight alone” (Weight Bias). We are told that we are accepted and treated just the same and that our looks don’t matter when this is just not the case as society reinforces the idea that looks do matter with media being thrown at us of ideal standards of perfection daily. “False messages of acceptance, approval, and likeability are entrenched in the countless images that are fed to us on a daily basis; lies dripping from pages of magazines, television commercials, and across the internet, encoded in photoshopped and skewed images presented as truth” (Eating Disorder Hope). When these images of perfection are constantly shown to us it’s hard not to compare ourselves and think that we aren’t good enough.
Men and women are both more likely to face weight-based employment discrimination based off of their weight being unideal to societal norms. These standards can affect men and women socially and financially. Men and women can both improve their appearance by taking better care of their skin with a skin care routine, they can groom themselves better and they can dress better. Having good dental care with great teeth will always boost someone’s appearance to a great degree for men and women alike. Exercise and keeping a healthy diet can boost energy levels, healthy hormones, promotes better sleep quality, lower the risk of depression/anxiety and help people look better (Preiato Mental Health).
Although men and women are very different physically, our personalities and psychological traits are not as different as perceived. Men and women are both equally intelligent and both experience emotional highs and lows. “This was true regardless of whether we looked at cognitive domains, such as intelligence; social personality domains, such as personality traits; or at well-being, such as satisfaction with life” (Iowa State 1). Men and women both share feelings of morality, cognitive function, and risk taking. Men and women both want to be successful by striving for our goals and both have the desire to live happy lives.
In closing, unhealthy comparisons between normal and perfection occur as a result of society’s unrealistic beauty standards. With being what is considered perfect there are benefits that we don’t like to talk about like better treatment in the workplace and higher pay or better responses from strangers and coworkers. It is a hard pill to swallow but looks do matter and they do affect our quality of life. Fortunately, we can take steps to look better and feel better mentally but when we are always exposed to the ideal version of what we as people should be, it’s hard not to compare ourselves to others that could be considered better off than us. In no way should our worth as humans be determined by the way we look. If we think this way, it’s easy to feel dissatisfied with our lives and not feel good enough.
The Impossible Standards of Perfection
Have you ever felt that you weren’t good enough or didn’t like what you saw in the mirror? Society likes to portray the thought that our appearances don’t matter and that only a superficial person would judge someone for how they look. This is in fact the opposite and couldn’t be further from the truth. The media reinforces this by portraying perfect men and women in lead roles for movies and tv shows, modeling, and social media. Society creates an unrealistic beauty standard that leads to an unhealthy comparison between normal and perfection. This need for perfection can lead to negative long-term effects on us mentally and physically (Social Comparison Theory).
Men are portrayed as uber masculine heroes and main characters of media. The features of these men consist of tall stature, wide frame, muscular, and handsome. These men have masculine personas to match these looks. With movie character examples such as Chris Evans’ Captain America, Pierce Brosnans’s James Bond, Robert Pattinson’s Batman, and Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones. These standards are universal to most beauty cultures and media. “Men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender” (Gender Identity). People who regularly compare themselves to others may find motivation to improve, but may also experience feelings of deep dissatisfaction, guilt, or remorse, and engage in destructive behaviors like lying or disordered eating” (Social Comparison Theory). When the average man makes an average wage, looks average, and lives an average life it’s easy to compare yourself to others and think that our lives would be better if we looked a certain way or were taller or more fit. Would our quality of life improve?
The effects of not being up to par with the male standards of beauty and perfection can have mentally and financially damaging effects on men today. Many men have had similar experiences of bullying and harassment in conjunction with being skinny or short and even ugly. The Napoleon Complex, for example, deems short men as aggressive and likely to feel threatened by their taller peers. “Taller men enjoy several advantages over shorter men, such as a higher social standing in the workplace (e.g., Gawley, Perks, & Curtis, 2009), and are typically healthier and better educated” (Knapen E.P). Tall men are seen as more masculine and thus better genetically than their shorter peers leading to social and financial benefits. “Height, together with muscularity, represents mens physical formidability, increasing their perceived competitive fighting ability against other males” (Knapen E.P.). There is a clear link between perceived good physical traits with intelligence and social power. Increased fighting success is correlated with strength and respect.
While men are expected to be masculine, women are expected to be feminine and submissive. Women are shown in media as damsels in distress or as a trophy of a man. A woman is expected to be beautiful, good figure, short, and skinny. Some examples of these women are movie characters Padme Amidala played by Natalie Portman, Lea Seydoux’s Bond Girl interpretation as Madeleine Swann or Margot Robbie’s Naomi Lapagalia in the Wolf of Wallstreet. All of these women conform to perfect standards of beauty while taking a backseat to the main male lead role. “If you watch television, walk on the street, wait for the bus or do other things, you are always confronted by images of men and women” (University West 1). Women face pressure from social media to be an impossible version of perfection where women are comparing themselves with edited pictures! Social media makes you believe that every woman can have an ideal figure when that simply isn’t the case without going under the knife or editing pictures. This is all to give the illusion that influencers and celebrities are perfect people when they are in fact still human and will go to extreme measures to capture an idea to their audience. Media enforces these unrealistic standards of beauty and dress size upon women that most can never reach.
The effects of these standards can also lead to negative financial and mental health effects on women. Society deems women’s first and primary value on their appearance and their ability to support a household. Women may face discrimination in the work place due to their looks more than men even while women already face unequal pay in the workplace. “When intense social pressure turns pursuing beauty into a mandate rather than a freely chosen activity, beauty practices become socially coercive, an obligation women must fulfill” (Forbes). When physical beauty gives an incentive to look better, this can lead to negative effects on mental well-being and financial status. “Although beauty norms reinforce gender inequality at the societal level, individual women who attain beauty reap real rewards–such as attracting mates with greater resources or creating a favorable impression in the workplace” (Forbes). There is clear evidence women face appearance-based workplace discrimination as one study found that women were 16 times more likely to face employment issues due to their weight (Science Direct).
Men and women do share societal standards that can affect their quality of life. Men and women share being physically fit at a good weight which requires effort and time. Men and women are both expected to be beautiful following their gender’s ideal beauty standards. They are both expected to be well groomed and have great skin. “In employment settings, employees who are affected by excess weight or obesity are less likely to get hired or be recommended for promotions compared to thinner employees. They are also faced with lower wages and increased risk of job termination based on their weight alone” (Weight Bias). We are told that we are accepted and treated just the same and that our looks don’t matter when this is just not the case as society reinforces the idea that looks do matter with media being thrown at us of ideal standards of perfection daily. “False messages of acceptance, approval, and likeability are entrenched in the countless images that are fed to us on a daily basis; lies dripping from pages of magazines, television commercials, and across the internet, encoded in photoshopped and skewed images presented as truth” (Eating Disorder Hope). When these images of perfection are constantly shown to us it’s hard not to compare ourselves and think that we aren’t good enough.
Men and women are both more likely to face weight-based employment discrimination based off of their weight being unideal to societal norms. These standards can affect men and women socially and financially. Men and women can both improve their appearance by taking better care of their skin with a skin care routine, they can groom themselves better and they can dress better. Having good dental care with great teeth will always boost someone’s appearance to a great degree for men and women alike. Exercise and keeping a healthy diet can boost energy levels, healthy hormones, promotes better sleep quality, lower the risk of depression/anxiety and help people look better (Preiato Mental Health).
Although men and women are very different physically, our personalities and psychological traits are not as different as perceived. Men and women are both equally intelligent and both experience emotional highs and lows. “This was true regardless of whether we looked at cognitive domains, such as intelligence; social personality domains, such as personality traits; or at well-being, such as satisfaction with life” (Iowa State 1). Men and women both share feelings of morality, cognitive function, and risk taking. Men and women both want to be successful by striving for our goals and both have the desire to live happy lives.
In closing, unhealthy comparisons between normal and perfection occur as a result of society’s unrealistic beauty standards. With being what is considered perfect there are benefits that we don’t like to talk about like better treatment in the workplace and higher pay or better responses from strangers and coworkers. It is a hard pill to swallow but looks do matter and they do affect our quality of life. Fortunately, we can take steps to look better and feel better mentally but when we are always exposed to the ideal version of what we as people should be, it’s hard not to compare ourselves to others that could be considered better off than us. In no way should our worth as humans be determined by the way we look. If we think this way, it’s easy to feel dissatisfied with our lives and not feel good enough.
