19 April 2010

Other Pressures

My project sort of focused on how the media affects women's image of their body size and shape, but that doesn't even begin to cover all the other pressures it puts on us. This post will cover a few of the biggest, explain how they are forced on us by the media, and what the reality is.

The first one I'll talk about is tanning. Now that it's prom season, everyone is obsessed with going to the tanning bed. We all consider pale people to look sickly, and that tanned skin looks healthier. Think about how many pale celebrities on the cover of magazines there are; none. It's weird when you think that back in the Renaissance days, royal women did everything possible to keep their skin milky white. Being tan was a sign of lowliness and poverty.



In the modern age, we know for a fact that tanning causes cancer. My own father has had 3 cancerous tumors caused by melanoma removed, because he works outside for a living. Tanning beds come with warning labels. We KNOW it's unhealthy and makes us age faster and die faster. Yet, the power of the media somehow keeps us going back.

Plastic Surgery - Do I even have to explain this one? Elective cosmetic surgery gets more popular every year, as people vie for the perfect look instead of accepting what has been given to them naturally. The field of plastic surgery developed to help those who became disfigured in accidents, etc. - not to cater to the perpetually unsatisfied. Not only is it physically unsafe - as the results are never guaranteed - but plastic surgery is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You will one day learn to love your whole body, but you can't undo the surgery or get your thousands of dollars back.

Besides, it's always painfully obvious when people get plastic surgery.

Besides these two, think about all the other ways the media actually hurts us - high heels leading to foot and calf problems, hair straighteners, excessive dyeing and curling irons killing our hair, etc. It goes on and on. Is it really worth it, letting someone else tell us how to be beautiful when we already are?

No comments:

Post a Comment