Madison Gregory
English 101
Summary/Response Essay
October 16, 2015
Absolute Standard of Beauty
“There is certainly no absolute standard of beauty. That precisely is what makes its pursuit so interesting.” I like this quote by John Kenneth Galbraith because It makes me consider the different variations in the standards of beauty. In society today, these standards vary greatly, especially between men and women. In the essay “The Ugly Truth About Beauty,” Dave Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, discusses the differences of the beauty standards set upon men and women. Barry makes many valid points, but is incorrect when he implies that women do not think very well of themselves, that men decide how they feel about their appearance early on and do not change their minds, and that men will not change how they look if they think there would not be any difference.
Men and women have different beauty standards set upon them. Men think of themselves as average looking, no matter how they actually look, and many are content with feeling average. They do not devote much time to appearance, except for shaving. Women never feel as if they are good enough; they feel less than average even if they are actually above so. Women have low self-esteem because of how they have compared themselves with the toys they played with as children, such as Barbies. Men typically played with unattractive action figures with large amounts of self confidence, such as Buzz-Off. Since women grew up thinking they must try to look like Barbie, there is a “multibillion-dollar beauty industry” that tries to help them accomplish this (qtd. in Barry par.8). When in reality, no matter how much makeup a woman wears, she will never meet the unrealistic beauty standards set upon her. Men realize that they may never be as attractive as the famous actors seen on TV, so they focus on other ways to improve self-esteem. Women think men want them to meet the unrealistic beauty standards set against them, but in actuality “men do not notice 97% of women's beauty efforts,” according to Dave Barry (qtd. in Barry par. 12). The self-esteem levels and amount of effort in appearance of men and women differ because of the beauty standards set upon them.
Although Barry is a man, he makes a statement describing how women feel about themselves, a statement he believes to be true. He states, “If I had to express, in three words, what I believe most women think about their appearance, those words would be: ‘not good enough’” (Barry par. 6). Although he thinks women do not think very well of themselves, I disagree. His statement is stereotyping women and offensive. Just because some women are not very confident, does not mean they all are. There are times where I feel pretty and have high self confidence, even though on occasion, I can feel inferior. All in all, I disagree with Barry because I have seen guys act contradictory to Barry’s statement..
There are many factors that change how a person perceives his or her attractiveness. According to Barry, “Most men form an opinion of how they look in the seventh grade, and they stick to it for the rest of their lives” (Barry par. 2). I believe that Barry saying that men do not change how they think about themselves is false. I know from experience that guys can get self- conscious too, even if they usually think they are good looking. One time, I went shopping with a guy I am friends with. He talked about he looked nice in one outfit, and he did not feel as if he was attractive in another. In brief, a guy may change how he feels about his appearance, as this is not limited to women.
Barry makes a reference in his article to how women take advice from makeup professionals and how pointless he thought this was. He then states, “I’m just saying that you’re not going to get a group of middle-aged men to sit in a room and apply cosmetics to themselves under the instruction of Brad Pitt, in hopes of looking more like him” (Barry par. 10). Barry insinuates that men are not going to change how they look if they think changing will not have any difference. Also, Barry implies that women, on the other hand, try too hard (qtd. in Barry par. 10). I find that his connotations are very sexist. Men may not normally use cosmetics, but if a professional male, bodybuilder gave a group of men work-out advice, most men would listen to what the male bodybuilder said, even if it was pointless. A lot of men spend time in the gym to change how they look, however, this may not always show a great difference. Men and women both try to meet the expectations of today’s beauty standards, although in different ways.
In conclusion, Barry is incorrect when he implied that women do not think very well of themselves, that men decide how they feel about their appearance early on and do not change their minds, and that men will not change how they look if they think there would not be any difference. I believe that the different perception of beauty standards vary not only upon men or women, but to each individual.
Works Cited
Barry, Dave. "The Ugly Truth About Beauty." Miami Herold. Miami Herold, 24 Oct. 1998. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
<https://www.deltacollege.edu/emp/pwall/documents/TheUglyTruthAboutBeauty.pdf>.
English 101
Summary/Response Essay
October 16, 2015
Absolute Standard of Beauty
“There is certainly no absolute standard of beauty. That precisely is what makes its pursuit so interesting.” I like this quote by John Kenneth Galbraith because It makes me consider the different variations in the standards of beauty. In society today, these standards vary greatly, especially between men and women. In the essay “The Ugly Truth About Beauty,” Dave Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, discusses the differences of the beauty standards set upon men and women. Barry makes many valid points, but is incorrect when he implies that women do not think very well of themselves, that men decide how they feel about their appearance early on and do not change their minds, and that men will not change how they look if they think there would not be any difference.
Men and women have different beauty standards set upon them. Men think of themselves as average looking, no matter how they actually look, and many are content with feeling average. They do not devote much time to appearance, except for shaving. Women never feel as if they are good enough; they feel less than average even if they are actually above so. Women have low self-esteem because of how they have compared themselves with the toys they played with as children, such as Barbies. Men typically played with unattractive action figures with large amounts of self confidence, such as Buzz-Off. Since women grew up thinking they must try to look like Barbie, there is a “multibillion-dollar beauty industry” that tries to help them accomplish this (qtd. in Barry par.8). When in reality, no matter how much makeup a woman wears, she will never meet the unrealistic beauty standards set upon her. Men realize that they may never be as attractive as the famous actors seen on TV, so they focus on other ways to improve self-esteem. Women think men want them to meet the unrealistic beauty standards set against them, but in actuality “men do not notice 97% of women's beauty efforts,” according to Dave Barry (qtd. in Barry par. 12). The self-esteem levels and amount of effort in appearance of men and women differ because of the beauty standards set upon them.
Although Barry is a man, he makes a statement describing how women feel about themselves, a statement he believes to be true. He states, “If I had to express, in three words, what I believe most women think about their appearance, those words would be: ‘not good enough’” (Barry par. 6). Although he thinks women do not think very well of themselves, I disagree. His statement is stereotyping women and offensive. Just because some women are not very confident, does not mean they all are. There are times where I feel pretty and have high self confidence, even though on occasion, I can feel inferior. All in all, I disagree with Barry because I have seen guys act contradictory to Barry’s statement..
There are many factors that change how a person perceives his or her attractiveness. According to Barry, “Most men form an opinion of how they look in the seventh grade, and they stick to it for the rest of their lives” (Barry par. 2). I believe that Barry saying that men do not change how they think about themselves is false. I know from experience that guys can get self- conscious too, even if they usually think they are good looking. One time, I went shopping with a guy I am friends with. He talked about he looked nice in one outfit, and he did not feel as if he was attractive in another. In brief, a guy may change how he feels about his appearance, as this is not limited to women.
Barry makes a reference in his article to how women take advice from makeup professionals and how pointless he thought this was. He then states, “I’m just saying that you’re not going to get a group of middle-aged men to sit in a room and apply cosmetics to themselves under the instruction of Brad Pitt, in hopes of looking more like him” (Barry par. 10). Barry insinuates that men are not going to change how they look if they think changing will not have any difference. Also, Barry implies that women, on the other hand, try too hard (qtd. in Barry par. 10). I find that his connotations are very sexist. Men may not normally use cosmetics, but if a professional male, bodybuilder gave a group of men work-out advice, most men would listen to what the male bodybuilder said, even if it was pointless. A lot of men spend time in the gym to change how they look, however, this may not always show a great difference. Men and women both try to meet the expectations of today’s beauty standards, although in different ways.
In conclusion, Barry is incorrect when he implied that women do not think very well of themselves, that men decide how they feel about their appearance early on and do not change their minds, and that men will not change how they look if they think there would not be any difference. I believe that the different perception of beauty standards vary not only upon men or women, but to each individual.
Works Cited
Barry, Dave. "The Ugly Truth About Beauty." Miami Herold. Miami Herold, 24 Oct. 1998. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
<https://www.deltacollege.edu/emp/pwall/documents/TheUglyTruthAboutBeauty.pdf>.