The Disfigurement of Beauty in America: How the American Brand of Beauty Diminishes Women and Girls
It’s a bit overwhelming, how the idea of beauty has been co-opted, warped, even disfigured in Western culture. In so many ways, beauty has become synonymous with “perfection,” with thin, with “toned,” and with looking youthful. In this way, it seems “beauty” has been reserved for the genetic anomalies and for the fiction that inhabits print ads that have been “touched up” and then retouched some more.
As females in this country, we have been raised on the idea that our beauty is in our image. The “look” we convey to others. Any female raised in the midst of popular culture has absorbed this “ideal body image” via media representations and advertising. We are not only inundated with the “ideal body image,” but also with ads that tell us how to tweak or “perfect” our somehow “flawed” exterior self. The assumption is, we are flawed in some way and we need some product or exercise regime or cleanse to help us move toward “perfection.”
This view of beauty is at best problematic. For one, American women have absorbed a third-person view of themselves and of their bodies, meaning that some portion of our mind is often busy musing, “how do others perceive me?” “Am I looking beautiful today?” Essentially, “will others accept me based on my external image?” This tendency, known as self-objectification has been associated with disordered eating, “increased feelings of anxiety and shame, reduced mindfulness of internal bodily cues, and decreased ‘flow’, which is defined as being entirely immersed in a mental or physical pursuit.”1
In short, women often have trouble accessing the cues of their “true self” because they have been taught to live outside their body instead of in it.
Furthermore, we are inundated with our culture’s ideal image of beauty throughout our day via all sorts of technology. We are tied to our phones and to our TV viewing habits and, so too, we are tied to media’s image of “ideal beauty.” The documentary The Illusionists names that we are at the point of media saturation, spending more than 80% of our waking hours exposed to some sort of media. Meaning we are also immersed in images of the “thin ideal” throughout much of our day.
It is no wonder then that such a large number of females (and males) of all ages are dissatisfied with their body, a significant component of cultural “beauty.” It has been estimated that 80% of women in America are dissatisfied with their appearance. 2 And in a study conducted by Glamour magazine, with the assistance of psychologist, Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph. D, results demonstrated that 97 percent of the 300 recent participants reported having at least one "I hate my body" moment over the course of one day. 3
The allure of the cultural thin ideal is not isolated to adult women, as 42 % of first to third grade girls want to lose weight and 81% of 10-year-old girls fear being fat. 4
Sadly, this sort of body dissatisfaction comes at a cost. For instance, body dissatisfaction has been found to be a central risk factor in developing high anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders. 5 Activist and author, Jean Kilbourne even states "The obsession with thinness is a public health problem, " 6 as the prevalence of eating disorders has now reached epidemic proportions, affecting four times as many people as breast cancer. 7 Furthermore, negative body image among adolescents has been correlated with depression, anxiety, and suicidality. 8
Long story short, the cultural “beauty” we have been raised with actually isn’t beautiful at all. Instead, the brand of beauty so often touted in Western culture breeds disintegration and comparison, low self esteem and shame.
In so many ways, American “beauty” is a cheap, distorted, and watered down version of true beauty.
But what if authentic beauty is so much bigger than this distorted version so many of us have been raised with? What if rather than a perfectionistic aesthetic standard to strive for it is more of a sacred Rhythm in us and all around that we are already very much a part of? So, instead of striving for it, we simply rest in it?
I believe that that Rhythm or the authentic beauty we are invited to wake up to is the life of God at work in us and among us. I believe it’s that kind of beauty that we are created for and it is where we find wholeness.
That kind of beauty brings about depth and wonder. It expands us, our hearts and souls and even our minds. That kind of beauty is mysterious and deep. It invites us into something beyond ourselves. And it’s that kind of authentic beauty that unites us.
Put another way, I think beauty is a lot like the ocean. That’s right, the ocean. Recently, my husband and I went to the Florida coast. We didn’t stay on the beach this time, but a few blocks away. It was striking to me. Even though we couldn’t see the ocean from where we stayed, you knew it was nearby.
You could smell the sea salt on the breeze and feel the moisture in the air. And the whole island was inundated with all varieties of “by the sea” décor; nautical themed furnishings, fish, coral, mermaid knick-knacks, you name it. It’s as if the oceans’ existence somehow saturated and defined our whole experience, though we couldn’t physically see it most of the time.
I think beauty is like that too. The life of God is at work in us and around us all of the time. Alive in the rhythm of the seasons, summer breezes, and the loyal currents of the ocean. Alive in our closest relationships or in a stranger’s smile. All those things that remind us that we really do matter. Alive in our intuition that guides us or tells us to just keep going.
Our trip to Florida
The ocean also reminds me of beauty or the Life of God because of its expansiveness. Its mystery. How its splendor somehow beckons me to something greater, something beyond myself. It reminds me that I am an integral part of something much bigger than myself. Its vastness makes me feel so small and yet so uniquely inspired. It’s so powerful. Otherworldly somehow.
That kind of beauty dwarfs the American version of beauty. It changes the whole game. It changes me and I begin to see American beauty for the moneymaking ploy it is. “Beauty” is no longer a game of comparison and striving for the moving target of aesthetic perfection, but an invitation to awe, wonder, and wholeness.
As women, we are saturated with images of American beauty. It can be an ongoing challenge to live in the reality and with the perspective of authentic beauty. My hope for you, and for myself, is that in this moment, you might be awakened to the Life that is in you and all around you. The Life that you are a part of and that fills you with more beauty and splendor than you can even imagine. May you rest in that kind of beauty. Put another way, may you smell the salt in the air today and know that the ocean is real and it is closer than you ever imagined.
Are you tired of being sold a broken brand of beauty?
The brand of beauty we are so often sold as women is way too small. It divides and dis-integrates us. I am on a mission to expand and re-discover beauty, authentic beauty. I believe beauty is the life of God at work in us and among us. Will you join me in exploring that kind of beauty?
Sign up and follow along on my journey. Let’s re-define beauty. Together.
1 Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206.
2 “Why Do Women Hate Their Bodies?” Carolyn Coker Ross, MD, Psych Central, Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/why-do-women-hate-their-bodies/
3 “Shocking Body-Image News: 97% of Women Will Be Cruel to Their Bodies Today,” Shaun Dreisbach, Glamour Magazine, February 3, 2011.
4 www.nationaleatingdisordersassociation.org
5 Katz, T. L. (2009). The women's health watch. Costly self-criticism, 9(6), Retrieved from http://www3.nd.edu/~acorning/Self-Affirmation Study Threat Stimulus.
6 “Killing Us Softly 4” trailer transcript, Jean Kilbourne
7 The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt: https://eatingdisorder.org/eating-disorder-information/faq/
8 Lifespan. "Negative Body Image Related To Depression, Anxiety And Suicidality." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 June 2006. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060606224541.htm>.