Final Project - Website; "What is Pretty?"

     For my final project for Women and the Media, I created a website based around the question “What is Pretty?” The idea for this project came about after the readings we did based on the post for blog number three that heavily discussed the beauty notions that exist and are “standards”. These standards and ideals are influenced in the media, but in reality no one lives up to these standards. Who want to conform and fit in? True Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

       In creating this website I decided to do some research on the conceptions that individuals feed off that the media deem the standards for beauty. Which consists of people, females in general, who have long hair, slim waists, and curves in all the right places. In reality no one can fit this ideal standard and those that due 9 times out 10 have had lots of surgeries done to achieve that look. Instead of pushing ourselves to look like Barbie’s, we should be empowering who we are and how we naturally look. The definition for pretty is itself contradictory, to be attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful or handsome. So you’re beautiful but not really beautiful? The definition makes about as much sense as the media’s perception does, which is none at all.

   

     One thing that I wanted to examine was the beauty norms and ideals on a global scale, and when I did so, I came across some astonishing practices. Like the women in India who keep the surgical bandages on, or the women of a tribal group in New Zealand that do tribal tattoos. I believe every country has their own norms that others would seem erattical, but when it become apart of the culture it tends to be hard to disarray. It is my belief that because the media is such a dominant force in American Culture, that it become hard for people to shy away from fitting in and sticking to the status quo.

 

      Two of the primary topics that I am focusing on for the present week on my site for this week, sincethe topics will change weekly, are the issues of weight and make-up. Lots of women feel like if they don’t wear makeup that they’re ugly or not up to par. And in terms of weight no one ever feels that they’re a decent size. Instead of conforming to the unrealistic ideals we should rejoice in our variety of shapes. As long as we are all healthy, I don’t see anything else that should matter. Currently comedian Amy Schumer has started a hash tag campaign #girlyoudontneedmakeup, as a way of empowering other woman to feel content in the skin their in, regardless if they have a little blemish here or there. That’s a sum of this weeks post on the site continue to check it out and look for new posts, the link is: https://sites.google.com/site/wwhatiisppretty/

Anyone can access, but in order to comment one must have a Google account.

Works Cited:

"Amy Schumer's One Direction Spoof Inspires a Real Feminist Rebellion." Uticaod. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.

Atkinson, Katie. "Breaking Down the Media's Distorted Views on Beauty." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.

Gross, Dr. Gail. "Celebrity Influence On Your Teen's Body Image." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.

"Long Necks, Super-Sized Lips, And Other Bizarre Beauty Standards From Around the World." Cosmopolitan. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015

"Teenagers Start Body-Image Campaign to Teach Girls Self-Love." TakePart. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015

Catalog, Thought. "What It’s Like To Be A Pretty Girl." N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.