Society's View Of Beauty Essay

“I’m too fat.” “I’m not tall enough.” “I have too much acne.” “My hair isn’t the right color.” “I’m not pretty enough.” These, and many more, are phrases used by girls all over the world. Girls are taught by society at a young age that they must look, act, and speak a certain way. This shows how much society influences the view of beauty. Society’s view of beauty can be good because it helps girls learn how to set goals and accomplish them, but overall it has a negative effect on young girls because it lowers self-esteem, sets an unrealistic standard for girls to reach, and can cause girls to have health issues. It is important to learn how to set and accomplish goals at a young age to be able to function normally later in life. Young girls are constantly surrounded by society’s idea of beauty. Because of this, girls strive to be able to live up to that idea of perfect beauty. This causes them to set goals, such as eating healthier and exercising more. Girls then learn how …show more content…
Girls compare their weaknesses to models and other “beautiful” people’s strengths. People are careful to hide their worst attributes to make a good impression on those around them. Girls recognize only their worst attributes because these are what they are trying to hide from the world, instead of focusing on their best qualities. This causes them to think of themselves as “ugly”, “awful” or “imperfect”, which can cause their self-esteem to lower. The foundation “Kids Matter” interviewed psychologist Annabelle Ryburn and titled it “Body Image and Mental Illness”. In this interview she says, “Having poor self-esteem and a sense of low self-worth can result in emotional distress, which can prompt young people to seek a ‘solution’, such as changing/controlling their body image to attempt to feel better about themselves.” The “emotional distress” she talks about is feeling of no worth or