0762283 Beauty is in the Eye of the Beast

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beast

The Economics of “looking good”

Over the years, the fashion and beauty industries have been steadily growing to never before achieved heights to the point where they are now raking in over thirty two billion dollars annually (2007) which is more than double the revenue generated in 1997.

But at what cost?

These industries continue to rely on the insecurities of young females to generate their revenues

Consider the following:

70% of editorial content in magazines focuses on beauty and fashion

The average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day, and by the time she is 17 years old, she has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media

What is the result?

92% of the young women in the USA want to change some aspect of their physical appearance

a woman between ages of 18-34 has a 7% chance of being as thin as a supermodel however 69% believe that models represent ideal body shape and 80% have dieted to become as thin as models seen in magazines…etc

Why?

because of the widening gap between girls' self-images and society's messages about what girls should be like

“ Advertisements can eat away the self esteem of being comfortable with one's own body through its introduction of a million and one mediators - make-up, plastic surgery, pills and potions. You need this "solution" because you're not slim/fair/smooth/stylish enough, and if you don't have these things, you're just not good enough. Advertisements display images of seemingly perfect women as the norm with such incessant regularity that it’s small wonder our diversity - which is actually the norm - begin to look hideously abnormal (Jacklyn Kee, 2004).”

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Fragrance Stores Industry: Earnings Distribution (2007) Source: www.ibisworld.com

Truth: Exposed Most Advertisements for cosmetic products undergo extensive retouching to the point where the effect of the product is almost futile. Dove © recently launched a campaign for real beauty whereby a video called Evolution progresses through the steps of turning a regular “girl-next-door” into a billboard model.

Body Image Data

Celebrity Influences…

What they really look like…

References

"Beauty and Body Image in the Media." Media Awareness Network . 9 Oct. 2008 <http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm>.

"Cost of Female Beauty." Female Beauty . 9 Oct. 2008 <http://www.public.iastate.edu/~womenstu/ws201student/beauty/ws201/home.html>.

"Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising." Healthy Place . 25 Apr. 2000. 9 Oct.

2008 <http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/eating_disorders/body_image_advertising.asp>.

Kee, Jacklyn. "Selling Low Self-Esteem." Women's Aid Organization . 8 Feb. 2004. 9 Oct. 2008 <http://www.wao.org.my/news/20040102talkp_selfesteem.htm>.