PERCEPTION of BEAUTY has been DISTORTED!!

BEAUTY PERSONIFIED

•SIZE ZERO

Are they really beautiful?

• Aristotle called beauty the ‘gift of god’.

• Beauty is no longer god’s domain. It now rests in the hands of surgeons or cosmetologists. Like instant food, beauty treatments have also become instant.

The Beauty Myth

• This issue is for women who believe their hair is boring, their skin is flawed, their body is shaped funny, or their clothes are outdated.

• This is for women who believe their life would improve if they could lose 15 pounds; if they could afford contact lenses, that new perfume or anti-cellulite concoction; if they got a nose job, a face lift, a tummy tuck, etc.

• This is for women who feel shameful or are unhappy when they look at themselves. In other words, this is for 99.9% of the women reading this and this is also for the men who care about their mothers, sisters and daughters.

Mirror! Mirror! On the wall who is the fairest of them

all??• “Perfect" woman -She is

a gorgeous blonde.

She is tall and willowy, weighing at least 20% less than what her height requires. She rarely looks older than 25, has no visible flaws on her skin, and her hair and clothes are always immaculate

SURVIVAL OF THE THINNESTSIZE-ZERO

• Size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system, believed to be equivalent to a UK size 4 or a Europe size 32-34. It is also a concept within the fashion media relating to models with low body mass.

• Madrid Fashion Week 2006 prohibited models with a Body Mass Index below 18 — classified as unhealthy by the World Health Organization

• In fact, the average catwalk model has a BMI of just 16.

• Under such a ruling British supermodel Kate Moss would not be able to take part.

• A factor driving the controversy was the death of 22-year-old South American model Luisel Ramos, who suffered a heart attack after stepping off a runway in August. She had been on a three-month diet of green leaves and diet Coke after being told she could be an international sensation - if she lost weight.

• Experts recommend that women eat 2,000 calories a day, but to be a size-zero and maintain it, one needs to survive on 500 calories per day.

• The proportions needed to squeeze into the tiny and controversial size zero clothing are a 31.5-inch bust, 23-inch waist and 34-inch hips.

• To go back into the waist size of a 10-year-old girl is preposterous by any measuring-tape standards

‘KILLER’ LOOKS• The use of spindly models sets

unrealistic standards of beauty that encourage young people to crash-diet at the expense of their health.

• "When the knee joint is wider than the thigh, it can be scary."

• Each year 150,000 American women die of anorexia. It is estimated that one woman student in five is anorexic.

• Holy grail of "beauty“- The Beauty Myth preaches that normal, round, healthy women's bodies are too fat; that women lacking the "perfect" face aren't attractive; that a woman over 30 who shows signs of life on her face is ugly.

Weight Obsession and fear of Aging

• Adult women of diverse ages ranked weight loss far above all other goals in their lives. Dropping an elusive few pounds was specifically more important than family, personal relationships and career.

• Her calorie-conscious goal is to appear more youthful than her birth certificate as she gamely tries to extend her shelf life with various forms of self-punishing strategies and over-priced cosmetics.

• Over the last five years, high-school-aged females’ use of diet pills have doubled.

• The study found that by age 19, 20 per cent of women used diet pills. 62 per cent of teenage girls used unhealthy methods of weight control

• 22 per cent admitting to using diet pills, vomiting, laxatives and skipping meals

• And, scientists add, in girls age 15-24, the group most vulnerable to societal and psychological pressures, the incidence of eating disorders continue to rise.

Poor self esteem and negative self-image

• The pressures on women in society to be beautiful and thin ultimately lead to women’s low self-esteem and negative self/body image.

• Our image of our body plays a major role in how we feel, what we do, whom we meet, whom we marry, and what career path we choose, even if it’s precise meaning an its role in menial well-being continue to elude psychologists.

• How many people have gotten excited about a new project and then thought, "Who am I to do that? They'll think I'm too old, too fat, too weird-looking..."

THE BLAME GAME• Designers blame model-casting

agents, who blame model agencies, who blame fashion stylists, who blame their editors, who blame designers for the thin aesthetic, and it starts all over again

• Pass the buck they may, but one does not have to join any dots to see where these norms spring from and who the culprits are.

• The harmful results of an anorexic body are also well-documented. Yet, these punishing vital statistics are discreetly and happily promoted

CULTURAL FACTORS• Our culture teaches women

they can't be happy unless they are "beautiful"

• We forget that "beauty pornography" we may call it, pictures underweight models that are usually between 15-20 years old.

• We never see a picture of a woman who is not wearing makeup applied by an artist, hair professionally coiffed, clothes professionally designed or chosen. Any natural flaws or wrinkles in her skin are airbrushed out. Unsightly lumps or anomalies in her body are also airbrushed out.

• If you don't look as gaunt as the fashion models, then you should starve or exercise to get that way.

• If you have lines on your face, you should have them cut or burned off.

• If your thighs are round, have a doctor stick a vacuum cleaner under your skin and suck the fat out .

• If you don't look perfect, there must be something wrong with your willpower, because if you really wanted to you could.

CHILDHOOD FANTASY

• Conditioning since childhood contributes to the beauty myth.

• A huge example of a gender related toy from my childhood is the Barbie doll. The only point to a Barbie doll is to make her beautiful by dressing her up and doing her hair.

• If we were to translate Barbie into human terms, she would stand at 5 feet 6 inches tall, 110 pounds, with a 39-inch bust, an 18-inch waist and 33-inch hips. They are very nonsensical.

• If as children we are tormented with images such as these where can they clearly look to define themselves?

THE FASHION INDUSTRY• Because I’m worth it.-L’Oreal

slogan• It’s what makes you a

woman, it’s a source of female power. Paloma Picasso, Fashion Designer, when asked about lipstick.

• Resolution Number 1: ‘I won’t leave the house without make-up’. From a ‘resolutions’ article in Superdrug’s ‘Spirit’ magazine Februaury 2001

• Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline. - Maybelline slogan

MEDIA GLARE

• Every time you turn on the television or flip through a magazine you are reminded of how society prefers to see women: beautiful and thin.

• Models make up less than 1% of the population. Yet the way the media portrays them, you would think the majority of women are drop-dead gorgeous and wear a size 0.

• Not to mention that almost all magazines air-brush their models. Some models in ads are not even real people, but are computer-generated images.

FEMALE LIBERATION• There is a relationship between

female liberation and female beauty• Women breached the power

structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty

• More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how women about themselves physically, they are actually worse than their unliberated grandmothers.

• How many folks have succumbed to the idea of the ugly feminist activist who is only a feminist because she's too undesirable to get a man?

MEN &MONEY• Spas, plastic surgery, botox

and tummy tucks and so on are de rigueur for the confident and successful woman. Mind you, it is not for the ones with a thin wallet and fat stomach, but only for those who can open their fat wallets for a flat stomach.

• Beauty is not about women at all, but about men and power.

• The market defines and judges what good skin, good complexion, good body size, good height, good clothes, good shoes, good cars, good mobiles.

CONCLUSION• We need to become much more

aware of how prevalent and damaging this kind of influence is on the women, it is very insidious--so much so that we accept it's pronouncements without a thought.

• You will soon be able to take a pill and, in 20 to 25 minutes, a non-synthetic substance will color your lips. Five years from now, you will be able to put a drop in your eyes to change their color

• Clearly, to be and stay beautiful has always been made to be the ultimate goal for a woman.

• The trouble is that till there is an organized way to challenge the beauty phenomenon, things will not change.

• Polite, submissive, innocent are some of the traits that make women feminine.

• Sadly, millions of mascaraed eyes are still trapped in these 'social blind spots' .

• The numbers stated earlier are startling, and they tell us we need to do a better job of helping our daughters feel better about themselves and avoid unhealthy weight control behaviors.

You’re Beautiful like a rainbow!!

• The whole beauty myth goes hand-in-hand with self-esteem. The bottom line is being happy with yourself.

• It is about believing that you really are an attractive, desirable woman who has a lot to offer.

• That means you can look in a magazine, see Claudia Schiffer, and think she is very pretty. And then being able to say to yourself, you know what, I look pretty damn good too!

• Personality is what ultimately attracts, and what you have inside is what truly matters!

• Either every being is perfect, or no one is, because no two of us on the planet are exactly alike, including identical twins.

• Each of us is a marvelous minority of one. • Character of spirit, far more vital than form or features,

shines though like a beacon when we get out of our socially correct roles and dress.

• It only makes sense to accept, even love unconditionally the fragile, miraculous, mobile, custom-designed, self-healing, energy-converting, systems-regulating, environment-sensing, consciousness-carrying container of one's life, however uniquely shaped, scarred and different it may be.

Is this real beauty???

• It’s midsummer, and the air is thick with the smell of fake tan. The honey-limbed lovelies are out on the razzle in a blur of high heels, faux-Vuitton handbags, and hoicked-up bosoms. They flick their highlighted hair hither, thither, and rat-a-tat-tat their false nails on the counter, trying to catch the barman’s eye.

How about a woman's joyful smile lighting up her face with the thought that finally, she is

pregnant?

•This is beauty!!

How about children seeing snow for the first time, ever?

•This is beauty!!

How about snowcapped mountains at sunset to a

skier?

•This is beauty!!

How about the waterfall in the lap of nature?

• This is beauty!!

How about dew on a prized rose at first morning light to a

gardener?

• This is beauty!!

How about the eyes filled with tears of the woman you just

asked to marry, again after 25 years?

• This is beauty!!

What about the innocent eyes of a child?

• This is beauty!!

• What about love?

BEAUTY PERSONIFIED!!