The Beauty Myth

In Don Sabo’s “Pigskin, Patriarchy, and Pain” he explores how young athletes are destroying their bodies without awareness. While Naomi Wolf’s “The Beauty Myth” investigates how the media and society as a whole are constantly portraying unrealistic images of beauty for women. The media constantly perpetuates that if females are not beautiful then they will not receive recognition. Sabo’s approach to reach his audience is solely on his experiences from being on the field. Wolf uses many direct quotes from other authors and sources to take a more logical approach. Although both articles are filled with similarities and differences, one being more analytical and filled with outside sources, and the other from personal experiences. The two essays…

The novel The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf focuses highly on feminism in today’s times. Throughout the novel the author describes different situations in which so many women are stereotypically looked upon. Many women think that the real meaning of beauty is what is shown on television. Many women disregard their opinions and instead mold it into the views of others. The author argues that some women are being victims by; work, media, religion, sex, violence, and hunger. Beauty was once ago seen as…

In “The Beauty Myth”, Naomi Wolf describes this myth as “prescribing behavior and not appearance” (Wolf 14). Women try to attain a look that is unattainable and because they are trying so hard to be skinny and attractive, they are distracted from the real problem. The real problem is their lack of control. Society uses the “beauty myth” to distract women from obtaining power. They are told not to eat, and focus on dieting rather than fighting inequality. Images like “Keep Calm and Don’t Eat” are…

In this modern era, everybody needs to be looking great and appealing. As, Kimmel and Holler (2011) utilize the idea of Naomi Wolf to portray the “beauty myth” the stigma in which woman being caught by the high premium models of fashion markets. Kimmel and Holler (2011) use Naomi Wolf’s definition that the “beauty myth” is an inaccessible female excellence that uses the pictures of female magnificence as a political weapon against women. It depicts that “the ladies itself get caught in an…

The beauty myth is an unreachable ideal of female beauty that suppresses women and, as Kimmel and Holler (2011) explain, “uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against women’s advancement” (324). It creates an “Iron Maiden” - a cage that forces females to focus on cosmetics, beauty aids, and exercise fanaticism to become ideal female (324). This beauty myth then portrays women as objects whose worth comes from the beholder: the male gaze. This was first used by Laura Mulvey in…

The beauty myth refers to the idea that beauty is something that is impossible to attain. This myth is focused around the image of having the perfect body , hair ,eyes etc. meaning that the "whiter " you appear then the more acceptable you 'll become in society. Women have come to the realization that to get ahead in life they need to have this perfect image, so looking the part is the beginning stage. For instance, cosmetic surgery is something that plays a huge impact in our society today,…

The beauty myth is a set of ideals women should attain to be considered beautiful. The beauty myth is a form of control against women after women won more rights during second wave feminism. If women were to consumed with being beautiful then men would not lose as much power. The beauty myth was more about control and power over women than it was being beautiful. Women were pushed this consumer mindset on beauty to control them. If women are spending time working out and getting ready, then they…

“Inside the majority of the West’s controlled, attractive, successful working women, there is a secret ‘underlife’ poisoning our freedom; infused with notions of beauty, is a dark vein of self-hatred, physical obsessions, terror of aging, and dread of lost control” (Wolf 10). In today’s media, women are consistently sexualized and degraded through advertisements, music videos, movies, etc. and utilized to sell products and catch attention in the media. Black women, specifically, are sexualized…

The book “The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women” by Naomi Wolf explains the forced standards of beauty on women. Naomi explains how the amount of power gained by women can affect the more beauty standards they also gain. Naomi puts these standards in six different categories: Work, Culture, Religion, Sex, Hunger, and Violence. She does state that the book is not so much about the women, but more so about men’s power and industrialization. Naomi explains the beauty myth as…

Naomi Wolf’s “The Beauty Myth” begins with explaining how beauty is a social construct, and one that is constantly changing. The media constantly forces the idea that ideal beauty exists only if you are thin, white, blonde, and overall conventionally attractive. This creates an image for women to strive to, as well as perpetuating gender roles, and if a women’s appearance is anything less than ideal, she is not considered as much as women as those who are conventionally attractive. Wolf states…