Essay/Term paper: The pressure to be perfect

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Science Research Papers

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.