Obsessed with Beauty (Essay Sample)

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Obsessed with Beauty
People have always been concerned about how they look. As a result, they have always dedicated a considerable portion of their time to personal grooming. Although the amount of resources dedicated to beauty, as pointed out by Lemayian, is today larger than it ever was, there is sufficient evidence that humans were always concerned about their looks (The Economics of Beauty, 4). In ‘The Economics of Beauty’, it is clear that the some levels of obsession with beauty dates back to the ancient Egypt with archeological evidence showing that people used ochre and other paints used for decorating the body (4).
Contemporary society appears to be overdoing its efforts to attain beauty. Lemayian reminiscences how the shopping experience have considerably changed overtime with consumers enjoying or rather being able to choose products from an even wider range of products compared to what older generations were exposed to (3). Lemayian laments that beauty definition has changed from where beauty is appreciation of an individual’s identity to one where people perceive beauty as acquisition of new, different, and foreign forms and looks. She feels it to be an erosion of human definition of beauty and an adoption of a flawed perception that emphasizes cosmetic beauty over the beauty of the personality (4). Indeed, it is plausible to deduce that such obsession has resulted in people being less empathetic regarding the social problems that face the society such as children dying of hunger.
In order to evaluate how much flawed the society’s perception of beauty is, it is imperative to observe the trend that exists in the fields affected ad affecting beauty and society’s perception about it. For instance, the media and cosmetics manufacturing companies are critical in development of the different perceptions about beauty witnessed in the society. The cosmetics companies ensure that the markets are flocked with different types of ‘beauty’ products (Runkle, 11). A case of India indicates that suppliers of beauty took the market by storm where from only several brands of basic beauty products, a major beauty product manufacturer, Hindustan Lever, Ltd., added more than 250 beauty products in just five years (Runkle, 11).
A concern of the many critics of beauty products is the pain that women have to go through in order to appear beautiful in the eyes of the society. Many critics are concerned about the safety of some of the products supplied arguing that the products have harmful side effects (Lemayian, 3; , 1). Without the need to generalize the entire cosmetics’ industry, it is clear that women are exposed to toxic materials through their extensive use of beauty products.
There is a different story to the cosmetics industry that many of the critics overlook. It is not sound to argue that people spend all the effort and resources in vain. It is plausible to argue that the consumers derive a certain level of utility from using the products, which explains the continued success of the cosmetics industry. Scott affirms that women derive self-confidence from cosmetics that make them look and feel beautiful (3). Cosmetics help a woman to conform to what the society perceives as beautiful and is sufficient to raise a woman’s self-esteem. Women feel appreciated more in the society when they are wearing make-up and find it easy to excel socially and career wise (TBC, 20). Other than improving their self-image, over 82% of the women believes that make-up help them attain higher self-confidence (TBC, 20).
Perhaps the most appalling of the obsession of beauty is the fact that the industries supported by the beauty-crazed generation reap profits in the tune of billions of dollars, yet some of the consumers live in societies languishing in poverty. Like Lemayian, it is possible to deduce that people prioritize worthless things at the expense of other critical aspects of the society. For instance, a FAO report indicates, “one in every five persons in the developing world is chronically undernourished” (FAO).
With close to 800 million people barely managing to meet their basic needs, such as a well balanced diet, (FAO), it is illogical for people anywhere in the same planet to use billions of dollars on their faces. In 2011, “total sales in the beauty and personal care industry were roughly $426 billion” (TBC, 5). With such an astounding figure, it is possible to start many development projects that could help families across the world to feed their children. While everyone has a right to use their resources as they please, Lemayian has a point when she argues that the search for beauty has blinded many in the society so that important issues have lost their urgency.
The problem with the society’s obsession with beauty is that the process never stops. The manufacturers ensure that the markets are fresh with new products implying that consumers always have a new style or beauty product they will be craving at any given time. Personal care products and fashion keep changing and the consumer feels that she needs to consume the latest if she does not want to miss out in the beauty arena (Runkle, 11). For instance, women in India have to keep in pace with the western fashion, a feat that requires huge amount of money to accomplish. A beauty product advertised in Femina Magazine, “bottle of L’eau D’issey, cost about as much as the subeditors at Femina” (Runkle, 11). This shows how costly it is to use some of the beauty products, yet women feel that they must use them in order to feel at par with the rest of the world.
The underside to the obsession is that manufacturers and media have managed to script the mindset of the consumers and the society towards placing more value on outward appearance of an individual over their other attributes. The woman feels that she has to look beautiful for her to excel in life, which means she is willing to spend much of her money and time in pursuing beauty. Runkle echoes similar concerns when she exclaims that it is very disturbing to find editors emphasizing the need for the Indian woman to become modern and to embrace the international concepts about beauty (11). Women who remain confident in their natural beauty are then synonymous to those “left out of it all” (Runkle, 11).
A different perspective on the extensive use of beauty products does not eliminate the possible dangers of using the same. Indeed, it is plausible to argue that the very fact that women associate beauty products with self-image and self-confidence is in itself a danger to the society. In a world where diversity merges freely with globalization, it is risky for the people to base their values on temporal and artificially acquired products instead of basing them on abilities and ethical principles. For instance, a conventionally beautiful woman that excels professionally cannot attribute her success to her looks because she had to work hard in order to attain the academic qualifications required to enter her profession. To the society, the hard work of such a person may be lost if the society links her success to her outward appearance. Such perceptions are flawed yet are common in the contemporary society.
The perceptions of the peo...