The Modern American Female Ideal of Beauty: Is it Our Downfall?

"Helen of Troy" by Evelyn de Morgan (1898)
Considered the most beautiful woman in the world.

I strive for beauty. A common desire among many women in this consumerist, American culture. I also strive for love, not just the romantic kind, though it is a personal hope, but another genre of love only provided by friends, peers, and those in my surroundings who may give me the admiration, support, and security that my self-perceived shortcomings fail to procure. These feelings, however afflicting, are customary within the present female culture; a culture that tells us, and myself, that love only comes to women who are beautiful, to women who are outwardly appealing, and to women who are physically attractive. 

In addition to this societal pressure, we are told what makes a woman beautiful to others in order to achieve their love and acceptance. As women are encouraged to adopt society’s standards of physical beauty to obtain the ultimate reward, love, they are simultaneously told that those who do not fulfill these aesthetic requirements will remain without admiration. So, in this brief blog post, I plan to expose some of the detriments the social demand of beauty has on the female psyche, with an intention to reform the current perception of beauty.

Most girls that I know always have some issue with their bodies. I have witnessed girls who are the pinnacle of aesthetic perfection complain about their cellulite, love handles, or non-existent stomach fat. These complaints vary from girl to girl, but we always seem to have them. This unhealthy way of seeing ourselves can lead to disturbing circumstances, often resulting in an eating disorder, severe diets, and an intense desire for rapid weight loss. Though I don’t have an eating disorder, I have certainly dabbled in these types of behaviors. Even more unnerving is the fact that I am speaking for several girls. Too many of us have succumbed to the notion that skinniness is one path to beauty, which is, of course, the only path to love. 

So, we’re told to be skinny, but what else does our culture tell us to do to become beautiful? To start, we are told that our faces, wardrobe, and hairstyles are some of our key accessories to beauty, or, as I’ve argued, to acceptance. As much as I love shopping and other superficial tools I “need” to acquire beauty, I can’t help but wonder that this has been socially, deeply engrained in my mind- Now you’re thinking it’s too late to change these likely permanent self perceptions, right? Which may be true, but they’re not ideas that I can’t amend. 

To find love and social acceptance, women are told that a low body weight, cute hair, a nice outfit, and a hot face are the key methods through which admiration will come. What I find wrong with this picture is the toll it takes upon each and every girl who has acquiesced to these demands. In order to change this, we need to change ourselves. Though we can’t change these social constraints overnight, we can alter the way we accept them into our life. Perhaps we should place more value on more simple luxuries in life that will always remain, like family, an intellectual hobby, or one’s career. These are just some aspects of life that cannot be taken away, like superficial beauty, which will inevitably fade. 

I would be lying if I said I didn’t love to feel pretty, shop, or look presentable when I go out, and I know I will probably enjoy these frivolous, unnecessary pleasures until the day that I die, but I am making efforts now to modify what I should cherish in life. This may vary from individual to individual, but I know my family, my love of reading, writing,  food, cooking, and the close friendships I’ve had for years offer more stability to me than a face full of makeup.