Annie Husted

The Ugliness of "Beauty"

It is safe to say that the society that we live in today exalts beauty; good personal aesthetic is rendered more valuable than good personality traits. Although this initiative is to create a more beautiful society, these efforts are propelled by very ugly forces-- consumer capitalism and big industries making a profit. In the book Beauty Up by Laura Miller, her chapter “Male Beauty Work” hones in on the specific male beauty industry and its boom in Japanese culture. In The Political Economy of Choice: Genital Modification and the Global Cosmetic Services Industry by Rebecca Herzig, the fad of genital waxing is analyzed, as well as the driving factors that created its prevalence in today’s society. The documentary Miss Representation also depicts the skewed notions of beauty and the industries that instigate a desire of unattainable beauty. All three sources focus on different beauty practices, yet they demonstrate the overarching hype created around beauty practices that replace--or remove--what is considered part of the “natural” human body, as well as discussing the external drives that fuel humans motives to conform to the new standards of beauty. 

The chapter “Male Beauty Work” in Lauren Millers book Beauty Up provided an interesting look into the male beauty industry in Japan. I found this article fascinating in comparing the differences in the male beauty industry in the United States to the one present and flourishing in Japan. In the U.S., although male hygiene is an important part of maintaining a sense of “masculinity,” the emphasis on male beauty is definitely not strong. The chapter began with discussing the shift in what was considered desirable in a man in the past versus what is considered desirable in today’s society. Miller wrote, “previous generations were evaluated primarily on the basis of character, social standing, earning capacity, lineage, and other social criteria” (Miller 126). However, in recent years the shift has shown that there is a prevalent emphasis on external traits rather than “personal or social identity” (126). Miller delves into the idea that men (specifically in Japan) are today praised for their sexual appeal and aesthetic. She discusses the plethora of male beauty practices that have created a pivotal change in male beauty. Beauty practices that range from hair removal, eye brow shaping, the rise in male Esute salons, manicuring, and skin care all are becoming a craze for men Japanese beauty culture. Miller states how much of the drive to promote the male beauty industry comes from, “intertwined forces: it is informed by female desire, white it concurrently symbolizes consumption-driven identity and rejection of their father’s model of masculinity” (127). As I read the chapter and learned about all of the meticulous beauty practices than men undergo in Japan, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between the meticulous beauty practices for females in the United States. It was fascinating to see the similarities in beauty practices and the hype built around them and to note that all these practices were geared towards mens beauty. In the U.S., women change their appearance to be desirable men, and in Japan, men change their appearance to be desirable for women. Personally, I believe that people should not be pressured into succumbing to new beauty standards just to fit into an ideal of what is “desirable.” I think that humans should be judged on aspects reflected through their personality and character. It’s also interesting to note that so much of the emphasis for bettering one’s beauty is harnessed through social media. The magazine industry holds a strong initiative to promote ways to perfect one’s self, as well as celebrity endorsement. I thought that it was very interesting to learn about how in Japan many people would try to emulate the mega-star, Gackt’s, hair styles. In adhering to what social media tells society what is attractive, I believe that people are losing a critical part of what makes everyone unique. 

In Rebecca Herzig’s article Genital Modification and the Global Cosmetic Services Industry, she discussed, similarly, the craze for aesthetic alteration, and the driving forces that promote such practices. Herzig specifically focused her article on the practice of genital waxing. She opened her article with a horrific story of a woman who became severely ill shortly after receiving a waxing treatment. This scary story opens up the article in a way that calls into question why someone would risk their personal health simply for a beauty treatment, and why, if it does pose a threat to one’s health, it is such a popular practice. Herzig quotes in her article a statement by Sheila Jeffreys in her study Beauty and Misogyny, “shaving and waxing of women’s genitals’ as yet one more sign of women’s ‘alienation’ from their own bodies” (Herzig 252). This statement relates back to the idea of these exalted beauty practices ultimately promoting the escape from our natural born bodies. Herzig states how the roots of the depilation industry reside in “specific political and economic developments as in long-standing religious, scientific, or artistic views” (Herzig 254). Although she discusses at length the labor and the jobs that are fueled by these practices, I thought it was interesting how Herzig’s article didn’t really discuss the correlation between intimacy and hair removal the way that Miller did her chapter on “Male Beauty Work.” I feel that most of the hair removal treatments that women receive are all towards making their appearance be more beautiful in the eyes of men, and they are willing to go through such excruciating pain to make their bodies appear hairless and clean. I think that it would have been a intriguing addition to Herzig’s article if she talked more about this, especially because it calls into question if making the choice to receive these depilation treatments is really rooted in “choice” or if it is, again, driven by a desire to be desirable.  

Lastly, the compelling documentary, Miss Representation, combines both overarching ideas addressed in both Miller’s piece and Herzig’s article. Miss Representation dives into the idea of the media holding today’s beauty standards in their hands, and more specifically, the damaging implications of these standards. This documentary sheds light on the beauty standards for females in the U.S., and ultimately how they are molded by the workings of men in media and advertising. One thing that I thought was interesting was how the film placed an emphasis on the idea that men want power and women want beauty. I think that it is truly sad that in our nation, young girls are being conditioned to believe that their greatest achievements revolve around achieving an “idealized body” and not great accomplishments that are linked to their inner qualities. This conditioning is done through the media telling girls that a woman’s power lies within their bodies--a message that is actually very disempowering. I thought that an important point that the film focused on was how the negative stereotypes that the media creates is so vicious because the same stereotypes are being portrayed repeatedly. For example, I thought that the discussion of looking at TV/ movies and seeing how women are never the protagonist in search of power or destiny, unless it is with a significant other. The film also discussed how media poisons not only how women view themselves, but how men view women. The media exploits women’s bodies--just look at any perfume add in a magazine where the women is nearly naked (having literally no relevance to perfume). It is through this mass-exploitation that young men are conditioned to think that women are merely “body props,” or as Jean Kilbourne stated in the film, “turning a human being into a thing.” It was astounding to see how even in positions of power, such as women reporting the news, they are styled in ways to make them appear “sexy” and ultimately distract viewers from their real roles. Personally, I really liked this film. Although it addressed so many hideous aspects of the media’s influence on female beauty, it provided an eye-opening look at how much work needs to be done to change how women are displayed and the media’s true influence. 

Overall, although all three sources revealed an extremely ugly truth about beauty,  I found each source to be extremely enlightening. I hope that through outlets such as readings and documentaries, people can learn about how so much of the “idealized beauty” that we want to achieve is really just a working of the media, and how many of the body perfecting practices are eliminating what makes us who we are.