The Pressure to be Perfect
In today's competitive society, a person strives for perfection, due to the fact that so
much emphasis is placed on one's outer appearance. No matter who we are or where we live,
society puts this pressure upon us. We are typically faced with this pressure by models
on television and in magazines. Companies seem to have targeted women more so than men.
They usually use women with good looks and nice figures to advertise and market their
product. When companies use these women in advertisements, it is setting a standard that
other women feel that they need to follow.
What has happened to internal beauty? Society puts so much importance on external beauty
that people have forgotten about an individual having beauty within. The sayings "beauty
is in the eye of the beholder" and "beauty is only skin deep" come to mind when I think
about just how much emphasis is placed on outer appearance.
A major factor that has increased the percentage of overweight people in society is
technology. This includes items such as elevators, escalators, garage-door openers,
drive-in windows, and the remote control. It use to be that you would at least burn some
calories by having to get up and turn the channel on the television, but thanks to
technology it is now a push of a button. Just think, things have the possibility to grow
increasingly worse because of the 'information super highway'. There is no need to get
out and walk the malls in search of a particular item or gift. With the use of the
'super highway' you just need a credit card and the item is delivered to your doorstep.
Can technology be causing more harm than good?
One of the most disheartening facts is that there are people and companies that are
benefiting from those who continue to struggle with weight loss. Magazine publishers
boost sales by promoting articles on how do lose weight. Book publishers and
self-improvement Gurus profit from the diet books and weight loss programs that they
sell. Where as, manufactures capitalize from the selling of home-based exercise
equipment. Weight loss franchises and the purchasing of diet products such as liquid
diets and pre-packaged frozen meals are the main contributors to the ones who benefit
from the weight loss struggle. These are just some of the beneficiaries of over 50
billion dollars spent every year on weight loss products that promise results.
The images that I chose to represent my topic of "The Pressure to be Perfect" are ones
that show just how perfect society wants us to become. They are all of women because that
is the focal point of society. On a whole, most women will never be able to look the way
that these models do. The models have devoted themselves to looking flawless in order for
their careers to survive. They have the time to make their body into the perfect form
that it is in. However, tell me what woman in today's society has time to devote to just
to her body. Women live in a fast paced, rat race of a life and seldomly have time to
give to just their bodies.
Advertisers kind of send out a false message. Sure it is more appealing to look at a
women with a slender physique, but it is the product that you should be concerned with. I
am sorry to say, but by wearing a particular article of clothing or consuming some
product it will not make you look like that model. If you turn on a talk show today, you
are likely to see an overweight person sharing the hurt and outright prejudice that they
have suffered from society. The audience smugly tells them to diet and show some will
power. Overweight and obese people wish it were that simple.
Fitting into the perfect image that society places on individuals is almost a delusion.
Rather than dieting, changes in food selections, an exercise plan, and an attitude
adjustment can help you lose the weight and keep it off. There is no way that we can
possibly please everyone, but being okay with yourself is the most important thing and if
that involves changing your outer appearance; be sure that you are doing it to please
yourself and not society.
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