African American Beauty Standards

America’s standards of beauty were created and taught to younger generations. Businesses reinforces unattainable standards with photoshopped images in order to make a profit. The media reinforces the ideal american body with movies and magazines. In America, beauty is important. People are obsessed with looks because they are constantly being taught that they are ugly by businesses and the media (Miner 288). People spend enormous amounts of money and take on great risk to be considered beautiful. When a person cannot reach the standard, insecurities, physical disorders, and mental disorders develop. This is the ugly truth behind beauty in America Beauty is subject to the dominant standards of the ruling class (Owens 25). Since white people …show more content…
Dark skinned individuals bleach their skin to get achieve a lighter skin tone. African Americans with kinky hair chemically alter their hair texture to become straight. They spend a lot of money on weaves, extensions, and wigs. If African American fail to adhere to White beauty ideals, they can suffer consequences such as losing their job. The 1981 case of Rogers v. American Airlines, upheld the right of employers to prohibit the wearing of braided hairstyles in the workplace (Owens 37). In 1987, the Hyatt Regency, forced Cheryl Tatum to resign because she wore cornrows to work and refused to take them out (Owens …show more content…
Americans believe that the only way to avert the ugliness is through powerful rituals and ceremonies (Miner 288) Businesses reinforce an impossible standard of beauty. They do this so that people will never stop buying products as they desperately try to achieve an impossible goal. As a result, businesses thrive, but the individual’s self image does not. American women spend on average $12,000 to $15,000 a year on beauty products and salon services (Miss Representation). Weight Watchers tells people that they are ugly. Weight Watchers tell people if they want to be beautiful they must buy their program. Cosmetic companies tell Americans that they have uneven skin and wrinkles. Cosmetic companies also tell Americans to buy foundation and concealer if they want to be beautiful. These companies show commercials for mascara with long lashes, but what they do not tell the consumer is that the model is wearing fake lashes. The companies also have foundation advertisements in magazines, but they don’t let the consumer know that the model’s face was photoshopped. The businesses are deceiving the American people. The beauty that is being portrayed in the advertisement cannot even be achieved with the foundation that they are selling. Every advertisement is photoshopped, the models don’t look that way in real life. Beyonce does not wake up perfect. She wakes up to a team of makeup