...Sydney Johnson Graham Writing April 9, 2013 Defining true beauty "Better Buns in 10 Days!", "Flatten Your Stomach!", and "Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days!" These are all headlines that are thrown at women each and every day. The media today presents an unrealistic image of women, which pressures women to make unhealthy decisions. Perfection is “important” and the media has no problem letting women around the world know they are slacking. In today's society, women are plagued with images of the so-called "perfect woman”; this causes a catalyst of effects in the women of today's society. Over the years the average woman’s weight has increased while the average fashion model’s weight has dropped. “This growing difference has had a well-documented and pronounced negative effect on the body image of the women and girls who read women’s magazines” (Qtd in Kramer). Throughout history women have been constantly pressured to have the “ideal” body image. As the years went by, the women in the magazine became less realistic and more idealistic. When we look into the magazines today we are bombarded with thin models. In 2004 a journal “Eating Disorders,” women were portrayed in the media as having ideal bodies weighed approximately 15 percent less than average women, making the ideal body difficult, if not impossible, for most women to attain” (Qtd in Kramer). Since women today are feeling so much pressure to look a certain way they will believe any Magazine ad that they see for weight...
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...Tim O'Brien does a fantastic job of blurring the lines of what is true and what is fiction in The Things They Carried. In fact, he often points out that he has made entire stories up, after the fact. He defends his decisions by proposing that what he has done is, in fact, not lie, but rather tell a story-truth. He argues that his reason for doing this is to bring the story to life more than it could live through the happening-truth. 'I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth' (O'Brien, 183). O'Brien believes that, when accompanied by vivid details which essentially make the reader view the scene as a dream, story-truths can carry greater emotional truths than ever possible to be achieved through actual, happening-truths. With this, he shows, contrary to belief, how story-truths are often truer than happening-truths, and demonstrates this through the addition of often graphic details. Happening-truth encompasses actual events that take place. However true these stories may be, they are often times viewed as unreal simply because they have no details to back them up. The entire shit field scene that was put into this book, for example, was turned from a happening-truth into a story-truth because the original version was not believable. The reader can see this through O'Brien describing the letters that he received from Norman Bowker. Norman writes to Tim, telling him that he should write about the event. 'What...
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...“What I tell you three times is true.” (Lewis Carroll) Might this formula – or a more sophisticated version of it – actually determine what we believe to be true? Repetition is our way of learning knowledge. Repetition is drilling something to memory, reinforcing the idea in our heads. It is the key to reflexive use (use without conscious thought). Your mind “learns” by repetition and reinforcement. Repetition and its effects on what we believe to be true, play a major role in the way that we accumulate general knowledge. The formula implies that repetition is equal to truth, when really repetition is just repetition. Repetition does not make a statement the truth. But a statement, if repeated often enough, can come to be accepted as truth. This leads us to the question whether a lie can be accepted as truth. From the standpoint of logic, the number of times an incorrect fact is repeated is irrelevant. It is still false. But research has shown that a statement, even an incorrect fact, if repeated often enough, can be accepted as truth. This paper will examine several research studies, influencing variables, and examples from everyday life to identify this occurrence. In addition to this, the possible effects of repetition will be discussed as well. One of the simplest ways to show how repetition causes a statement to be accepted as truth is gossip. First, someone tells a friend a statement, which can be true or false. This friend tells another friend, who tells another...
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...Sydney Roberts Mrs. Williams English IV- 1 10 November 2011 Beauty Within Throughout history, emotions, and events have been reflected in the arts. No matter the time period artists have used their works to convey a meaning to the audience. The arts are used to communicate feelings in a way that impacts the viewer. Literature, music, and artwork are all genres that artists use to express their feelings and thoughts. Beauty is often used as a theme in each of these genres. Beauty can be illustrated in many different ways, and not everyone sees beauty the same way. Poets use their works to express a mental state. By using specific literary elements and words the reader can determine what they are feeling. Musicians use musical notes and beats as well as words, which allow them to express themselves. Artists use visual elements to represent a particular theme or emotion. Although all of these genres are different, they each contain a message and a theme. Beauty as a theme can be found in the eighteenth century poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron, in the twentieth century song “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” by Prince, and in the fifteenth century painting The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. Lord Byron is famous for his works in literature, especially his poetry. His journey to fame was full of obstacles. “Byron was born in London to a poor but noble family” (“Prepare to Read”). He used his writing as a way to express his feelings. At first his works were not accepted...
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...JoAnn Ross Mr. Shaw Sociology 11 March 2014 The Origin of the Beauty Myth The origin of the beauty myth is an age old question. Some have said that it was around the 1830’s that this myth came to fruition. Some will argue that it has been around since the beginning of time. The beauty myth as we know is predicate around several sociological behaviors; work, culture, and religion to name a few. The main reason as we will see is that the beauty myth is not about how a woman looks, but man’ institution and power. So if the beauty myth is not based on evolution, sex, gender, aesthetics or God on what is it based? It claims to be about intimacy and sex and life a celebration of women. It is actually composed of emotion distance, politics, finance and sexual repression. The beauty myth tells a story: The quality called “beauty” objectively and universally exists. Women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it. This embodiment is an imperative for women and not for men, which situation is necessary and natural because it is biological, sexual, and evolutionary: Strong men battle for beautiful women, and beautiful women are more reproductively successful. Women’s beauty must correlate to their fertility, and since this system is based on sexual selection, it is inevitable and Changeless. None of this is true. “Beauty” is a currency system like the gold standard. Like any economy, it is determined by politics, and in the modern age in the West...
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...S******* Engl 1201 – 17 Chapter Four Paper October 11, 2013 Beauty Lies Within The Eyes Of The Beholder The year is now 2010 and as we enter this new decade, we encounter so many new trends, fashion and styles. No matter what your budget might be, it seems like everyone has the same goal in mind. They want to be beautiful and look “beautiful.” Grace Suh’s essay, “Eye of the Beholder,” details her struggle as a Korean girl to conform to a Western ideal of beauty. After her makeover, Suh felt negated and also felt like a stranger was staring back at her when she looked at herself in the mirror. Finally, she realizes that she was content with the way she naturally looked, which causes her to leave the makeup behind her on the commuter train. To me, beauty is not only something that pleases the eyes, but also pleases the other senses and the mind. I think true beauty makes you see beyond the lovely sight. It will give you insight or realization of something interesting beyond just the outward appearance. Think about the word beautiful for a moment, when we talk about beauty in people, we often refer to their physical attractiveness. Of course, a beautiful or handsome face is pleasant to look at. But I find that the most memorable "beautiful people" are the ones who have captivating personalities behind the beautiful faces. In my high school graduating class, there were two girls whose beauty just stood out among the rest, Chelsea and Tressa. Both had almost...
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...Aromatherapy Outer beauty is a key to success and it is accepted today that is ultimate goal for both women and men and as Plato said «beauty is the greatness of truth». As true as this is, it is also true that we have to use products that preserve our skin and outer beauty, but also highlight our inner peace and harmony. The ideal beauty depends on the balance of our inner self, our thoughts and emotions. If somebody is constantly in the flow of life, easy and calmly, then he has understand his uniqueness. Do not fall into the trap of fake products with the toxic ingredients, but look for these which trigger your vitality. Your face or body, and not the one you saw in the TV which is fake and trashy inside. You could find this out only when you embrace yourself with affection and accept your body. You have to be charming and happy against everyday challenges. The skin is the...
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...It seems humans are programmed with their own unique beauty detectors. Across cultures, there are variations of aesthetic preferences shaped by thousands of years of evolutionary standards, and now – in this modern age where technological advances influenced social ideals such as the mainstream media’s portrayal of physical beauty, it caused some of us to be subliminally fooled into copying unrealistic beauty standards of Photoshop and one of the solutions towards that insane goal of perfection is by using a wide selection of trendy makeups. We hear a lot of stories out there that tell women don’t really need makeup to look beautiful and it’s okay to have blackheads, acne and other image issues. Meanwhile, there are those girls who have a...
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...Beauty Overlooked Priscilla Sisneros Central New Mexico Community College Beauty is often associated with wealth, good looks, a nice body or some physical characteristic that is attractive. From the minute you turn on your TV you see into a world that admires fame and wealth. Commercials portray a picture of sexy men and women with big smiles on their faces living it up. Billboards throughout any city I have ever passed through have attractive people on them in hopes that their “beauty” will gain your attention long enough to read what they are selling. Is this the true beauty that brings happiness to people? As a society we have become so superficial that we forget about what really matters, the beauty that people possess on the inside. The story “A very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez depicts a story of a fallen angel that is molting, ugly, burdensome, and considered a circus freak. However, the deeper you read into the story you soon began to realize that this anomaly of nature is there for a reason. He was Pelayo and Elisenda’s child’s guardian angel that they assumed was there to take their child. “Frightened by the nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife, who was putting compresses on the sick child.” “He’s an angel,” she told them. “He must have been coming for the child but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down.” Garcia wrote (2013). However, as you continue to read into the story you see that the angel’s inner beauty...
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...Alicia A. Smith October 29, 2014 Eng.4705/Essay #2 Beauty Complex The word beauty has many negative connotations for African American women. Over the years African American women have been subjected, misrepresented and also dehumanized by the exemplification of beauty and identity. This pattern of internalizing the perception of beauty to coincide with European standards have caused many African American women in the process to alter their physical appearances and personify a culture that has disregarded the uniqueness of being “ black and beautiful”. The cultural aesthetics of being “black and beautiful” has been distorted in literature, movies and television shows to appease an acceptable standard of beauty that in reality is unrealistic....
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...How might a person develop inner beauty? I think this is a great question. We are all familair with the expression that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This expression could not be more true. We live in a society today where people belive physical looks are considered most important. This could not be more untrue. Beauty is not defined by physical appearance, intelligence or status. Inner beauty is more relevant than physical beauty. It is about love compassion and kindness. Inner beauty has a great importance of building your self esteem. Finding your inner beauty should be continuously worked on. It is a life developing process. Finding your inner beauty is about knowing yourself and your own self worth. It is about achieving and recognizing your own good charater qualities. This includes your positive attributes and strengths. Inner beauty is simply about being yourself. Being true to who your are and what you believe. It is showing compassion, kindness and in some instances forgiveness. It is about loving the skin you are in. Not the physical outward appearance. A great way to obtain inner beauty is stayin away from negative people and comments. You should not allow anyway to bring you down. It is about staying positive and living an honest life. By surrounding yourselg with positive people with admirable qualities it will bring out your own unique qualities. Finding your own inner beauty is a process that should be worked on a daily basis....
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...Barbie Doll Women have a wrong perspective about beauty. With media and social networking on the rise, the standard of beauty is skewed to what others portray it to be. Women who don’t have supportive people around them to reinforce the true concept of beauty often grow up to be self-destructive and seek validation from all the wrong places. There is too much importance and too much anxiety placed on women to surrender to the image of being or becoming a Barbie doll. In the poem “Barbie Doll,” written by Marge Piercy tells a story of a young girl’s short life. The girl is born and lives a normal life until she is made fun of during puberty which causes her to commit suicide. In this poem we see evidence to this idea in the poet’s use of irony, her attitude on the subjects of both inner and outer beauty, and her attitude on the significance of words interfering with a woman’s self confidence. To begin, the poet’s use of irony is felt most toward the end of the poem. The very thought that people would say a person is pretty only after they are dead and it is too late for them to hear is sad and disturbing. “Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said.” In fact, the reason a person looks pretty in their casket is because they are “made-up” to look their best. This is seen more specifically with these lines, “the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, and dressed in a pink and white night.” We are lead to believe that the entire group of people at the funeral thinks...
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...Breaking down the media’s distorted views on beauty: Beauty. At the mention of this word, most girls are inclined to take a quick look into a compact mirror or run a few fingers through their hair, sizing themselves up with the nearest advertisement featuring a flawless bottle blonde. Some may go a bit further, running an endless list of insecurities through their minds and letting out an exasperated sigh. Every girl has done it at least once in her lifetime but it isn’t her fault. Women have been taught to compare themselves to others for most of their lives. There are signs everywhere, at every corner, flashing the words “you aren’t good enough” to every teenage girl. For years, the world of media has been working hard to construct the ideal image of what a “perfect woman” is supposed to look like. You and I know it well. Magazines, movies, and commercials, among other outlets, have spoon-fed girls with the idea that they can only be beautiful if they have long legs, great hair, and curves in all the right places. According to modern day society, girls should walk and talk pretty, have perfect skin, and cake on makeup; they should watch their weight and keep up with the newest trends in fashion. In Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ when referring to next door neighbour Bernard, Biff states, “He’s liked but he’s not well liked”. Most people are liked by their friends and acquaintances. Willy’s recipe for success is based entirely around a cult of personality. Only great...
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...statement, “[i]t hurts to be beautiful” (Rhode, The Beauty Bias)? However, I find it more truthful to say, “[i]t hurts not to be beautiful” (Rhode, The Beauty Bias). Our society places a high level of importance on appearance and if you are unfortunate enough to not fit the mold then that becomes a problem. Men and women are forced to meet a set of standards that society will view as acceptable. However, women are more often discriminated against for their looks and are held to higher standards than men. It is as if the media industry and our culture “will never be satisfied and will always expect more” (Smithy). Our country, with the exception of “only one state and six cities or counties,” has no laws or policies forbidding discrimination based on appearance (Rhode, The Beauty Bias). This is ridiculous seeing as how I believe that the beauty bias is becoming one of the most common forms of discrimination today. Our society has become that of a clown. Our painted faces, hiding our true selves, are turning our world into a show. Who can put on the best performance and allow others to laugh at those who have been sprayed in the face with the unkind prejudices from the flower called society? Deborah L. Rhode clearly depicts the issue of the beauty bias in our society through many examples and reinforces the idea that so many individuals before have had; something in our society needs to change. Section II: The Beauty Bias is a book written for women by a woman of absolute...
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...19 November 2010 Definition Essay Beauty To say that beauty is defined through the eye of the beholder is an accurate statement, yet quite cliche. Beauty is a something in a person or a thing that gives great pleasure to the mind and senses. Beauty is youth, a captivating smile, an alluring waterfall, and a sunset overlooking the vast ocean. There is no simple definition for this word and that in and of its self is beautiful. Although our worldly views of beauty have been shaken, twisted and contorted, the true meaning of beauty is beyond the single sentence Websters definition. Ideal beauty of the physical body is strived for daily in our society and all over the world. We have constructed our own meaning of beauty and strive for it. To us, beauty is pleasing eyes and a warm smile. Beauty is long blonde hair with bronze skin and skyscraper legs.To some, beauty is association with other people who have been defined as beautiful by others, because of their physical features. To be included with them, comes the title of beauty. Although these physical features are attractive, they do not accurately define beauty. This is such a shallow definition of the word. Overtimes, the meaning and definition of this word has been altered and redefined according to society and what it deems as attractive. Having an emotional well-belling is attractive to some. In history, symmetry of the body has been viewed as beautiful since it suggest the absence of physical defects and deformities...
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