The Function of Beauty in Contemporary Society - Assignment Example

Effect of “cuteness” or Zaniness or the function of “beauty” in contemporary society Introduction Cuteness can be referred to as word depicting a form attractiveness usually associated with youth and appearance. It is also a scientific idea and analytical model in ethology which was first introduced by Konrad Lorenz (Stephanie 43).Lorenz suggested the notion of baby schema as a set of facial and body characteristics, that make a being appear attractive and stimulate release in others the enthusiasm to care for it. According to Stephanie (47) cuteness may be attributed to people and things that are seen as beautiful or charming. Cuteness affects our pre-attentive processing of visual data. Before the image of a creature registers in our conscious minds, we already have a visceral emotion about it. The emotion is a positive one. The cuteness creates its mark even if we are concisions we are being influenced and guard against it (Cheok 79). Salesmen have recognized this for a long time, which is why cuteness features so highly in marketing. Most businesspersons know this too. Where there is a human desire or flaw, there is a market demand that can be addressed. And so we have the cuteness economy, an international industry worth billions of money. Unlike most other industries that exploit human weakness the cuteness economy has few detractors (Stephanie 56). Effects on society Beauty provides a standard of contrast, and it can cause anger and discontent when not attained. Individuals who do not fit the beauty ideal may be excluded within their society. For example, the TV sitcom Ugly Betty shows the life of a girl faced with problems due to communitys hostile attitudes toward those they deem ugly. But, a people may also be targeted for pestering due to their beauty. In the movie Malèna, an amazingly beautiful Italian lady is drawn into poverty by the women of the society who do not give her work for fear that she may entice their husbands. The film Beauty in the Eyes of the Beheld examines both the community blessings and curses of woman beauty via interviews of ladies seen beautiful (Cheok 84). Studies have revealed that good looking learners get good grades from their tutors than those with an normal appearance (Stephanie 62). Research employing mock criminal trials have revealed that physically attractive defendants are less likely to be imprisoned and if sentenced are likely to get lighter sentences than less attractive ones (Cheok 91). However the vice versa was seen when the suspected crime was cheating, perhaps because judges thought the defendants beauty as aiding the crime. Research among teenagers and youth, like those of psychiatrist and self-help scholar, Eva Ritvo, reveal that skin conditions have a significant impact on social behavior and prospect (Cheok 103). How much money an individual earns may also be affected by physical attractiveness. One study revealed that individual low in bodily attractiveness earn almost 8 % less than normal looking people, who in turn earn nearly 8 percent less than those who are seen to be attractive (Stephanie 65). In the market for loans, the less attractive individuals are less likely to get loans, though they are more likely to repay. In the marriage sector, ladies looks are at the top; however men’s physical looks do not matter much. Conversely, ugliness increases the person’s tendency for criminal acts for several of crimes ranging from robbery to theft to trading in illicit drugs. Discrimination against people based on their physical appearance is referred to as lookism. St. Augustine asserted that “Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; however that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked” (Cheok 117) From the online-trade baby to the geico gecko, marketing is full all things cute. Far from being a new marvel, marketing has used people’s love for cute since stipple prints of babies graced the first Victorian print advertisements (Cheok 104). However individuals’ obsession with the cute has reached an all-time high in recent times According to Stephanie (71) our attraction to the cute and cuddly may have an evolutionary basis. Most traits that portray cute (large eyes, round faces and susceptibility) originate in human infants. And paying attention to those features makes good sense in advertising. Cute creatures, fuzzy animations, exciting clothing and feel good jingles are taking over the world. Effect of beauty on individual Influences of beauty are nearly outrageous in the contemporary world. Individuals are frequently being judged based upon their appearance and being classified into classes of attractive and not attractive or just, beautiful and ugly. Influences of beauty are commonly on teens where people begin to know the very wrong however well-known concept, that beauty is everything (Stephanie 62). Beauty influences all things; it influences our careers, lives etc. Each day you have the feeling of being judged by your physical looks which makes you always feel uncertain about yourself. Beauty tends to get many individuals too far in life. Individual perceive that if you are attractive then you have everything. The notion that with beauty comes self-confidence, acumen, and generally just a good individual is most of the time very noticeable in our contemporary society. We are a world that is obsessed with image. Look at most celebrities or prosperous business ladies and they all are very beautiful people. Why is this? The reason is that if a very gorgeous person was looking for a vacancy and very ugly person was looking for the same vacancy, odds are the gorgeous person will get it. This, sometimes even happens when the unattractive individual might even have good skills than the beautiful person. It is so miserable that employers are placing beauty over merits and that it is good to be average and good-looking than clever and unattractive. A recent research effort revealed that unattractive employees tend to earn less than those who are attractive, and that those who are beautiful tend to make more money than those who are ugly (Cheok 106). In addition, being overweight is taken has unattractive and weight based discrimination is a prevalent practice in the workstations. Another influence of beauty is that it decides someone’s friends and how famous or cool person is. In many cases if someone is attractive he or she is automatically regarded as being cool. If a person is not attractive, and is considered as being ugly then he or she has a much difficult time fitting in or will be friends with the less famous individuals. This results into many bad things to happen to youth. Teenagers will do anything to be liked and if it is changing their appearance then they will change. Most youths will starve to get an attractive body or get face surgery to make them feel attractive enough. Money used on cosmetic surgery is increasing rapidly among individuals particularly younger ladies. Also, almost 50 percent teenage girls are using harmful weight control habits like avoiding meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, and using laxatives in order to be attractive. More than 40 percent of newly-identified cases of eating disorders are in teenage girls; however signs of this can occur as little as nursery. Teenagers are continuously comparing themselves to other persons and celebrities they see in publications, TVs or on ads. These individuals are always being depicted as slim, airbrushed, and ideal. Persons work too hard to look like these images that world portrays as being beautiful. Competition is a vast influence of beauty. Individuals, mostly ladies, will find themselves in a competition with others on who are beautiful. The employment of violent bullying between girls has increased drastically in the recent pasts, based on issues such as physical features and social standing. This competition will lead ladies to compete with teenagers, who will lead them to want acquire younger, and what they perceive are better, appearance of themselves by harmful techniques. Most ladies think that winning the looks competition will gain them all that they have ever dreamed of like a dream partner, career, or simply a good life. What they do not understand is that individuals who use most of their time on their looks suffer a huge loss in their confidence. In addition, rather than being focused on yourself you are always focused on others which cause depression. Conclusion The effects of beauty /cuteness are increasing rapidly in our contemporary society and that it is appalling. When individuals are succeeding farther in life and are given more chances than others only as a result of being attractive, is not good at all. This is leading people to hide who they really are simply so that they can attract other people. Even though beauty influences mostly ladies, men are very much targeted equally; it is simply much more discrete. Individual need to be aware that everybody is unique and beauty should not be one appearance that all people strive to have. Works Cited Cheok, A. Art and Technology of Entertainment Computing and Communication Advances in Interactive New Media for Entertainment Computing, London Springer-Verlag London Limited, 2010. Print Stephanie A. “Your Appearance, Good or Bad, Can Affect the Size of Your Paycheck.” USA Today, 2005. Web accessed 19.11.2004 Read More