Beauty Myths

Myth #1: Beautiful People are Better Liked

Not neccessarily. Research has shown that initially beautiful people are often evaluated more positively compared to their peers on such dimensions such as popularity, health, honesty, and friendliness. However, they are also perceived as being superficial and occasionally not as intelligent, especially in regards to beautiful women. Everyone can be expected to stereotyped in negative ways, regardless of their outward appearance. Furthermore, while many strikingly good-looking people might have an advantage at the beginning of a relationship, their beauty is unlikely to sustain the relationship if they lack other valuable qualities such as honesty, loyalty, flexibility, and emotional stability.

Myth #2: The 'Beautiful People' are Simply Born that Way

It takes most celebrities at least two hours along with the help of four or more assistants to get ready for an event or a photo shoot. Yet many women often judge their appearance in comparison to the end result. Most of us are far too involved in daily activities to devote that kind of time to our looks.

Myth #3: Most People Would Rather See 'Real People' in the Media

The media often justifies the appearance of their models by claiming that "its what the people want to see." That just might be true. Think about it, would you buy a copy of "Vogue" that had an average or even less than average woman gracing the cover? Standards of beauty are not determined solely by media mavens. It often starts there, but we choose whether or not we accept them as our own and most often, we do.

Myth #4: The Media's Aim is to Corrupt and Desensitize

"The Media" has become a sinister phrase to many people. However, rather than being some sort of larger than life dark entity, we need to look at the media for what it really is: a collection of advertisers and promoters which utilize mass communication to get their ideas across. Most of the time, their ideas involve trying to sell you something, in order to make money. If their aim is just to make money, then why does the media often try to magnify the inadequacies of their viewers? Wouldn't that make people dislike the media? Not neccessarily, because the media always manages to provide a solution to one's perceived inadequacies. Consider the possibility that causing women (and men) to worry excessively about their appearance is a good way to keep them looking for solutions, thereby making them much more vulnerable to advertising claims.
In the movie Legally Blonde, the title character perkily declares, "Happy People don't kill themselves! They just don't."

Happy people don't spend the majority of their extra money on wrinkle creams or plastic surgery either. Bombarding people with pictures and articles that imply inadequacy on the part of the reader, are a good way to keep consumers slightly unhappy-but still hopeful about the possibility that armed with the right products and procedures, significant "improvement" is within their grasp.

Myth #5: The Media Presents A Diverse View of Beauty, therefore We No Longer Need to Worry about Rascism in the Media

Recent years have shown an improvement in the ethnic diversity presented on television shows, movies, commericials, and magazines. Far more celebrities of Latin, African, and Asian ancestry appeared than before. However, how many of these women have retained a 'natural' look that separates them from the mainstream beauty ideal? How many of them were far more Western looking to begin with? The media has become more tolerant of different skin colors, but is still blind to the fact that most women do not possess the so-called "ideal" facial proportions and features represented by such people as Jennifer Lopez, Lucy Liu, and Halle Berry. The beauty ideal has been colorized instead of "ethnicized" as many people would like to believe. If you're interested in reading more about how ethnicity has been white-washed by the media, check out the page on this site entitled Ethnic Flavor.